A/N: Here we are again; I would like to say thanks for all the great reviews and for some of the great ideas that were suggested.
Rogue paused at the front door, her hand frozen just inches from the ornate doorknob. She hadn't realized it the whole ride home but waiting on the other side was probably a whole group of people that would have questions as to where she'd been. This wasn't exactly a time period where a woman could just leave a party and disappear for a few hours without a chaperone. What was she going to say? She didn't even know what would be an acceptable excuse and the truth was something she defiantly couldn't tell her waiting family.
"You know Stripes those things generally work better when you turn them," Logan hinted at the doorknob with a tilt of his head.
"Ah know, ah just need a moment ta think."
"Your trying to think of something to tell them aren't you?" he smiled
"Yah as a matter of fact ah am, and your not helping any," she shot back.
"Well you might as well get it over with because standing out here I don't think is doing us any good."
Rogue knew he was right but wasn't going to give the nine-year old the satisfaction of knowing it; he would get enough of that when he was older. Taking one last deep breath in the hope of clearing her jumbled thoughts she grasped the doorknob and marched into the front hallway.
Five sets of eyes immediately shot in her direction. A "Where have you been?" flew out of Samuel and Krispin's mouths at the same time a sympathetic "Annabelle are you alright?" came from Jane and Kathy. Nobody seemed to notice Logan at all. Only one person of the group remained silent. Rogue watched as Charles let out a sigh of relief and even attempted a small smile. The only thing that he seemed to care about was that his daughter was home and home safely.
"Ah can only answer one question at a time," Rogue said, "First, yes ah'm fine."
"Then why did you leave the picnic?" Kathy fired off before Samuel and Krispin had time to try their question again.
"Ah wasn't feeling well earlier and ah didn't want ta make ya'll miss anything so ah left, but don't worry ah'm fine now." Man, she really was bad at this. Rogue herself even had a hard time buying that lame excuse, but her fumbling explanation gave Samuel the opening he needed.
"Yes but that was hours ago. Colin came to find us as soon as he realized you left and we came straight home. Krispin and I were just about to head out and search for you. How did you possibly get home? Who took you?" he said in a voice filled with irritation.
Rogue raised a hand to rub her forehead, the day's events were already starting to take their toll and she could feel her headache returning. She really didn't want to be answering these questions right now especially with so many other thoughts running through her brain. Fortunately for her a voice spoke up at her side.
"I drove her," Logan said. He walked around her side to stand in front of her. Rogue thought it was funny seeing the small boy try to impersonate a grown man's stance as he stared Samuel down. Rogue really had to suppress the urge to laugh when the grown man looked away.
"Miss Devereux said she wasn't feeling well, Sir," he said turning to Charles, showing him the proper respect, "I volunteered to take her home since she didn't want to bother anyone at the picnic, we simply got lost coming back."
"You got lost," Samuel huffed. Logan merely shrugged as if to say "I'm nine what do you want from me" which made Sam's eyes bulge. Rogue could tell he wanted to say something but Charles raised his hand, thankfully, to silence him.
"You are Howlett's son James if I am not mistaken," he gave the boy a grin, " I want to thank you for getting my daughter home, even if it did take longer then intended. I will be sure to tell your father of your kindness. Now I do believe everyone has had enough excitement for one day and it looks like Annabelle could use some rest." While Logan stood up proudly, Charles raised his eyes to Rogue and she could see that while he was calm on the outside his eye reflected a deeper concern.
Charles went into a room on her right reluctantly followed by her brother and cousin, while Jane took Logan to the kitchen after asking if he had eaten anything. Rogue waved off Kathy's offer to help her as she began to make her way carefully up the stairs with a "Give me a little while, ah'd like to be alone." Kathy looked surprised but mutely went off in search of Jane.
After two almost fatal trips on her skirt hem Rogue let out a long breath as she finally reached the dark safety of her room. Sinking down onto the large bed Rouge began to go over every aspect of her day, there had to be a clue somewhere that would help her get out of here. Playing everything back it was so weird to see how much she felt like she was surrounded by the people she knew without them being the people she knew, well with one exception since Logan really hadn't changed much.
Kathy had Kitty's sense of style and the same inquisitive nature. Krispin was just as protective as Kurt but was a little less obtrusive. Scott and Samuel could have been twins in the "Stick-up-the-butt" club. S'ayapo had said that souls remember things even if the person changed and it was actually weird how much souls apparently kept.
Then there was Rene. It was always obvious to anyone who knew Remy how much he loved New Orleans and how he considered it his city. Rogue couldn't even picture that face now without hearing a Cajun accent and smelling the spices. She had always wondered though why Remy never seemed to view his mutation as a curse as most of the other people at the institute thought of theirs from time to time. Rogue had always assumed it was due to his excellent control and his natural cocky nature. It was really a shock to see that his acceptance was deeper then that, that being a mutant was more a part of him, a part of his soul, then she could ever really grasp.
She was still laying there thinking things over when she heard a soft yet authorative knock on her door.
"Kathy ah told ya ta give me a little while," she called, irritated as her thoughts scattered once more.
"Annabelle, its your father and I would like to speak to you," came Charles reply.
Getting up and moving as swiftly as she could she opened her door only to be blinded by the sudden light from the candle in his hand. Apologizing he moved past her to locate another candle on the desk. He calmly lit the wick, illuminating the room in a soft light, then sat down slowly in the desk's chair. Rogue perched herself on the end of the bed waiting for the lecture to begin on proper behavior for young ladies.
"I know your having second thoughts about me announcing your engagement tomorrow darling and that's why you left today," he said his voice heavy with regret.
This was not at all what she had been expecting; she nodded her head in agreement. Maybe she had finally caught a break; since there was no way she was going to agree to marry Colin.
"Father, why would ya pick a man who considered other people as property ta marry meh ta?" she asked.
It was Charles's turn to look at her in surprise, "Annabelle you were the one who insisted on the match. I tried to talk you out of it when he first started to court you." Here he let out a heavy sigh, "I blame myself. I tried so hard after I lost your mother to keep you girls sheltered from the world and its unpleasantness. I figured when Colin first met you at that ball that it was a passing fancy on your part, since he was the first to pay you compliments, I didn't think it would get to this. Then when it did I told you everything hoping to change your mind but you said you loved him too much to be without him, so I gave my consent. He told me though when you disappeared today that you both had been walking and you saw your first glimpse of the plantation slaves. I knew you could no longer deny how he made his living and you'd change your mind. I only wish you would have listened to me and changed it before the contracts were signed."
"What contracts?" Rogue asked her mouth had gone suddenly dry. She watched as pain and embarrassment flashed across Charles's face as he leaned an elbow on the desk and rubbed his forehead.
"It would be useless to hide the truth from you now. For sometime my shipping company has been failing in profits, probably due to the many smugglers in this city. When I agreed to Colin's request for your hand I told him that at the present time I had nothing to offer him for your dowry, I also warned him that you would probably change your mind because his way of life was so different from the way I raised my children to think. Needless to say he was not happy with this and he insisted on a marriage contract to insure that it took place. I wanted to bring it up to you at the time but I saw how happy you were talking to your sister at the thought of marrying him and I could not bare to ruin what I thought made you happier then I'd ever seen you. Since I could give him no money on the occasion of your marriage, Colin accepted ownership of the company. He agreed to financially support it and let your brother and I remain in charge. Once you two married and the business showed profits again he would allow us to regain it in full so it could be passed down to your brother. The only catch was if the marriage failed to take place our whole family would be left destitute. With no other way to give you what you so wanted I signed the contract just this afternoon, then I heard you disappeared and I knew the reason why, darling I am so sorry can you ever forgive me."
Rogue could feel the tears rolling silently down her face as she looked at the man who was obviously suffering. Forgive him? She may have blamed him if he had done it through greed or power but how do you blame a man who was trying to give the daughter he loved something that she was so determined to have.
"There is no way out of this engagement then without making mah family suffer," she said.
"I will make the announcement as agreed but if this is not what you want we will find away out," Charles said in a soft but determined voice.
Rogue knew there would be no way out. She didn't know Colin well but she knew enough to tell he always got what he wanted. The fact he even asked for the contracts in the first place showed he had no intention of letting Annabelle slip through his fingers, even if her family objected.
She stood up and walked over to the poor man who was sitting across from her and gently placed a kiss on his head. Rogue felt she had to tell him something to ease his mind for now, this was not the time or place to fly off the handle since whatever she did may affect the outcome of these peoples lives. Rogue knew she had to try harder to get out of here since she had no idea how Annabelle's life turned out. For now though she had say what she thought Annabelle might.
"I will marry him, I was just shocked this afternoon that's all. I will be happy." She tried to put as much conviction in her voice as possible, " Father you need to rest now. Please don't worry you will make the announcement and everything will be fine."
Charles looked at her face, he could see she was hiding something from him but he knew his daughter well enough to know she would not tell him. He nodded in agreement to try to let her see he believed her but secretly was going over every option in his head on how to get her out of this mess. He stood and made his way to the door.
"Please sleep well Annabelle," was all he could manage to say as she shut the door silently behind him.
Rogue felt like she just stepped into the middle of a play. It hadn't occurred to her that events had already been set in motion before she was sent here, that Annabelle had willing put herself and her family in this position. She couldn't believe that if Annabelle was really a part of her, her past life, she could ever have chosen a man like Colin. Rogue slid to the floor and pressed her back to the wood of the door. Was this why she never let anyone close to her, was it not merely because of her mutation, though that certainly was a huge part, but was it also because in this life Annabelle had been so blinded by a trust in the first man to like her that she couldn't see the man he really was and ended up trapped in a miserable life.
She closed her eyes, willing with all her heart that when she opened them she would be back in a small fortunetellers shop. When she opened them though all she saw was the same room glowing eerily in the light of a single candle. What was going to happen if she never got home? Would she be forced to live a life with a cruel man when all she really wanted to do was wake-up in a fortunetellers shop and skip out the door to meet her friends?
What about Remy? Was he even now waiting for her outside ready to take her back to the hotel? She didn't realize how much she was starting to miss him until now when she could really use him. If anybody knew how to escape an unwanted engagement it was Remy, having already dodged one himself.
With this in mind her thoughts brought forth a pair of chocolate eyes. Maybe Rene could help her, being the closest thing to Remy she had. For one brief moment hope flared in her chest but quickly died as reality set in. She didn't have the first clue where Rene was. He was a smuggler who at their first meeting was already planning a voyage. For all Rogue knew he could be miles away by now, and who knew when he would be back.
Finally sighing in defeat Rouge eased herself off the floor. With great difficulty she managed to get out of her complicated clothing and into the white nightgown that was lying folded on the dresser. She was too tired to think anymore and she was quite certain she was going to need her strength for tomorrow, since it was probably going to be the worst day of her life, or lives however you wanted to put it. Climbing into the bed and settling under the covers she could feel herself start to drift off as soon as her head touched the pillow.
In her dreams a pair of deep brown eyes with little flecks of red was watching her and as she looked at hem the flecks became bigger until they glowed a brilliant scarlet on an ebony sky.
A/N: Yeah another chapter up and running. It's funny when I started writing this I figured I would be wrapping up my story by chapter eight but it doesn't look like that is going to be happening anytime soon so I hope everybody is in for the long run. I know not a lot going on this chapter but I promise the next will see the return of Rene and defiantly some new plot twists. I look forward to your reviews and I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. : )
