Soul Snatcher (9 page)

“
Mr. Brighton seems to be making good use of his
money,” Baden remarked, sounding angry. She wasn’t sure how he had
heard her say that because he had been out the door. She must have
yelled it. She started to wonder if he knew Eli.

“
He is quite generous in my time of need,” she
explained. Baden’s eyes narrowed.

“
Need?” Baden asked, concern obvious in his
voice.

“
The predicament of being homeless has come upon me
suddenly and he has offered to aid me for a time,” she informed
softly. She felt anxious, as if she was making an excuse to a
school teacher as to why she was late to lessons.

“
You are living with him?” He asked after realising the
situation. This time Annie thought she could hear jealousy in his
voice, it was easier to detect after she had realised her own
feelings. She nodded hoping he wouldn’t become angry. Antoinette
ran up to them with Annie’s old dress wrapped in brown paper. She
handed it to Annie and she grabbed it in a daze, she had completely
forgotten that she had even been to Antoinette’s.

“
Come back to me again, Annabelle,” she said. Annie
smiled and nodded, she liked this seamstress. Antoinette left with
a grateful smile and Baden and Annie were left alone once again.
She looked back to him and it surprised her how he seemed to become
even more magnificent every time she saw him.

“
Are you off somewhere?” He asked eyeing her dress
again, his gaze distinctly hovering around her neck. It sent a
shiver down her spine.

“
Eli…” Annie paused when she saw the anger in Baden’s
eyes after she said Eli’s name so intimately. “Mr. Brighton has
asked me to dinner…” Annie couldn’t help how shy she felt around
Baden. She had never really been nervous around men before and it
was completely new for her.

“
So then that is it?” He asked a little
harshly.

“
Is what it?”

“
I was unaware that you and…Mr. Brighton…” the words
came out strained. “Were something of an item.”

“
We most certainly are not!” Annie said indignantly.
Baden studied her as if to gauge the truth in her words.

“
And how are your feelings towards him?” Baden didn’t
seem to mind that he was stepping over the boundaries of social
etiquette. Annie didn’t notice, all she was concerned about was
making her feelings about Eli clear.

“
I can assure you that they are strictly of the most
respectful manner and I do not wish for our association to be
construed as romantic,” Annie said confidently. A small twitch that
was almost a smile came to Baden’s lips. He stepped towards her and
she moved back just a little but they were much closer than they
had been a few seconds ago.

“
And how would you like our association to be
construed?” His warm breath melted over her and she felt like she
could pass out from the pleasure of it.

“
That is….is…certainly…uh,” she stumbled over her
words. “An interesting topic to raise.” When she saw the pleasure
he seemed to be getting from her inability to answer she thought
giving it back to him would work a treat.

“It may be
best if we bring this back to your perspective of our association?”
She suggested smugly. Far off in the distance Baden heard Garrick
heading for Antoinette’s store and it stole the fun right out of
him.

“
Another time, Annie.” She loved when he said her name.
He gently touched the trimming of her shoulder and looked at her
intently. “It is a lovely dress on such a divine creature. It will
be fortunate eyes that witness your exquisiteness tonight at
dinner,” he said softly then he walked away. She felt a longing to
follow him but something held her back.

Baden seemed
to keep so much to himself. One moment he would act as if he was on
her side then he appeared to erect a partition of arrogance and
refuse to let her see who he was. Whoever he was, she was
determined to find out.

Annie went
and sat on the wooden bench out the front of Antoinette’s store.
She was waiting for Garrick to come back for her but she also
wanted a moment to bask in the excitement of seeing Baden. She
couldn’t help but smile to herself in delight that she had seen him
again. Saw what he looked like in the daylight, spoke with him and
felt him close to her. Such simple things that brought her so much
elation…maybe she was going mad? Being thrilled over ordinary
socialising seemed silly to her. But they weren’t just the usual,
boring interactions she had with everyone else. They were with
Baden and that made it completely different, he made it
special.

Baden stood
across the street, standing just in the alleyway so he could still
see Annie but she couldn’t see him. He watched her as she smiled to
herself and before he could stop it, a small smile crept onto his
lips. She looked resplendent as she sat in the soft glow of the
afternoon sun. Her hair swayed gently in the calm breeze and his
heart skipped a beat when he thought she looked in his direction.
For a moment he thought she had spotted him but his heart sank when
she turned away without noticing. And then he felt foolish,
standing there watching her. He looked down at his clothes and
almost rolled his eyes at himself. So many years he dressed like a
peasant because he simply didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion
and now he wore the most expensive clothes that money could buy.
All for what…this girl whose soul confounded him? He decided that
he should leave, this time for good.

Before
he
turned to walk away he
took one last glance at her, to make sure he would always remember
her soul. And with that one glimpse he hesitated and once again
doubted who he was.

“
Miss Belle,” Garrick said approaching Annie as she sat
on the bench. She turned and smiled as best she could, she was
still overwhelmed from Baden’s presence. Garrick took her things
from her as soon as he was in reach. “It is time for dinner,” he
advised.

“Is it that
time already?” She asked. She stood, brushing her new dress clean
of any dust and looked around in shock at the time.

“
Mr. Brighton commonly has his dinner at an earlier
hour as he usually is busy in the evenings,” Garrick explained as
they walked up to the carriage. Annie became curious as to why Eli
was out at night so often. “Are you dressed or would you like to
return to the manor? Mr. Brighton will not mind waiting,” Garrick
assured.

“
No, Garrick. We may go now, I will tousle my hair on
the ride to dinner and hope for a creative masterpiece,” she said.
He smiled at her fun.

“
I am sure you will do a fine job of it, Miss Belle.”
He opened the door of the carriage and held his hand out to assist
her. She took it appreciatively and stepped into the
seat.

“
Thank you.” Annie smiled at this friendly man who she
liked more each time they talked. He latched the door shut and soon
they were on their way to dinner.

CHAPTER
7

Annie sat
across from Eli
at the table
and they ordered straight away. He wore a lovely full suit,
complete with all the extravagant, unnecessary trimmings that were
obviously made of the finest material. Everything was faultless and
he looked the picture of perfection. The restaurant was one of the
most expensive in town, its dim lighting and rich feel made it
popular amongst the wealthy. It was extremely exclusive, with only
a few select tables in the dining room with the settings arranged
perfectly. Even the waiters were dressed better than some of the
patrons. She felt a little out of place because all she had done
was bustle her hair atop her head with some pins. Though it may not
have been the neatest hairstyle Eli still found it rather
appealing, showing off the porcelain skin of her neck.

“
Do you enjoy your status, Eli?” Annie felt free enough
to ask. He seemed quite open and straight forward about most things
so she didn’t see a problem being the same way with him. He took a
sip of wine before he answered.

“
I am grateful for the easy lot I have been offered in
life. It makes other things I must do more manageable,” he
answered.

“
And what are the other things you
must
do?”
She wondered aloud trying to act nonchalant. He may be an open
person but he was also very mysterious. He watched her from across
the table.

“
Let us talk about your day, Annie. Tell me, what did
you think of Antoinette?” He decidedly changed the subject. She
wouldn’t have fallen into the trap but he lowered his gaze to her
dress and she became distracted by it.

“
She is a charming woman. Controversial name,” Annie
commented. She played with the loose, wispy strands of hair around
her neck in an effort to try and cover herself better.

“
Yes, she relocated here to start anew. I have found
her to be quite talented in her chosen profession. Just look at the
lovely dress she has made you.” Annie chose to take a sip of wine
instead of look at the dress. “Or I believe it is more so the
wearer of the dress that makes it so.”

Annie had no
idea why she wasn’t responding to how forward Eli was being. She
appreciated the compliments and his help but his attention was lost
on her. He was handsome, wealthy, enjoyable and intelligent. She
trusted him to respect her so why didn’t she care more?
Maybe
he
knew he was all those things and that was part
of the problem? The thing that really bothered her most was that
Baden wasn’t as forward.

Annie looked
off to the other side of the restaurant and saw Baden sitting in
the furthest corner of the room. Her eyes widened in shock before
she regained her composure. He smiled a cheeky little smile and sat
with his hands clasped together just watching her. Everyone seemed
to be ignoring his presence, patrons and even waiters ignored
him.

“
Annie, what is the matter?” Eli asked looking around
to the direction she was facing. Just as he did a waiter came up
and started serving their food. Annie breathed a sigh of relief
that Eli hadn’t seen Baden, not that she knew why she kept Baden a
secret. When the waiter had moved out of their way Baden was gone
and Annie couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

When
Annie and Eli were part way through
their meal, people who knew Eli came up and greeted him while Annie
remained quiet and polite. They were introduced to her and you
could see the spark of curiosity in their eyes in question of the
relationship between her and Eli. It made her feel uncomfortable
and she was glad when they left.

During
the
meal she felt more than
one set of eyes on her constantly but decided to ignore the feeling
as best she could. Soon enough they were in the carriage on their
way back to the manor.

“
Would you like to see your friends at Miss Danes’
manor?” Eli surprised her by asking.

“
I do not believe Miss Danes would appreciate me
intruding on her household.” Annie looked out the window trying to
hold back tears.

“
Well, Miss Danes does not need to know. She will be
travelling shortly and we can pay a visit after she leaves,” he
planned mischievously. She turned and looked at him, feeling almost
hopeful.

“
I…” Annie wasn’t sure what to say. Would that be wrong
if she went behind Miss Danes’ back? “That would be perfect!” She
decided it wouldn’t be after how Miss Danes had thrown her
out.

After a while
of silence Eli spoke.

“
She only threw you out because she was jealous of you,
Annie,” he said to try and comfort her.

“
The reasons are useless to me. I have no need for an
excuse,” she said. Still, she was grateful for the compliment. He
smiled a little to himself at her way. She was strong and made the
best of situations that were thrown at her. He admired that very
much and what made her even more incredible was that she was beyond
compare in her exquisiteness. It was like she was an undiscovered
treasure, hidden away…until now.

Soon they
were home and Eli jumped out of the carriage to help Annie. He held
out his hand for her but as she took it she also tripped on the
length of her dress. She tumbled into his arms and he caught her
easily. She peered up through her falling tresses and stared into
his face. The slightest smile slipped across his lips as he
steadied her.

“
We may have to get Antoinette to adjust that hem for
you,” Eli suggested, breaking the tension. He had to be somewhere
and he didn’t want to be distracted by what could happen between
them. She let out an awkward laugh and turned to walk inside. Eli
waited a moment before he headed for the stables. He thought to
himself that it was going to be a long night.

When Annie
was inside Garrick found her and took her to her new room. He had
headed home after he dropped her at the restaurant to prepare her
accommodation at Eli’s request. She felt bad for not even realising
that he hadn’t been driving the carriage on the way back. She
walked into her new room and there was already a fire lit, which
warmed the room and rid it of the cool night.