A/N Song is in italics. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I'm moving to Texas in a couple weeks and I have a crap load of packing to do! UHG I have like ten boxes of extra clothing that I don't want. Anyway, here we go.
Annabelle sat nervously in the drawing room. Sarah was sitting across from her on the couch sipping tea from a porcelain teacup. Mrs. Long had insisted Sarah attend afternoon tea on Friday. Annabelle didn't object. Seeing a friendly face was welcome.
"Annabelle, why won't you tell me what's bothering you?" Sarah asked softly. Mrs. Long was in the hall talking to two of the maids and the two girls wanted to keep their private conversation…well…private. Sarah had been asking since she arrived as to why Annabelle was so pale, why she wrung her hands as she sat, and why she seemed so distracted.
"Its nothing serious," Annabelle lied. She discovered the secret to lying. Instead of looking Sarah in the eye, she concentrated on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, the spot just above her head…anywhere but her eyes. "James and Mr. Doyle are coming over for dinner tonight."
"I see," Sarah replied. "Don't worry; Father Marshall will be over tomorrow to speak with Mrs. Long, though. Have you thought of a way to prove what James has been doing?" Annabelle's eyes flew to the hour hand of the clock on the wall behind Sarah's head.
"No…no, not yet," Annabelle said flatly. Sarah set her teacup down and brushed the bangs out of her eyes. When she looked up she saw Annabelle's eyes darting away from hers.
"What's that look?" Sarah asked in an accusatory voice. Annabelle furrowed her brow. She was trying to look confused and failing. "Annabelle, what are you planning?" Before Annabelle could answer with another lie, Mrs. Long entered.
"Finished?" she asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Sarah, the coach is waiting out front to take you home." Sarah stood as Annabelle kept her eyes on the floor. She gave her a suspicious look before walking past Mrs. Long into the hall. "Annabelle, make sure you put on your lavender dress before Mr. Winchester arrives," Mrs. Long ordered before seeing Sarah to the coach. Annabelle waited until she heard the front door close before hurrying into her room and changing as instructed.
X
Annabelle paced in her room. She'd been pacing for almost an hour. The polish on the wooden floor was beginning to dull along the path she walked. Her hands were twitching at her sides and she shook them to try and rid herself of her nerves.
"Dear Lord, give me strength to carry on. Dear Lord, give me strength to carry on. My home may be out on the highway, Lord, I've done so much wrong, but please, give me strength to carry on."
There was a ring from the front door. Annabelle stared at her closed bedroom door waiting for Mrs. Long to come and get her. Then she did. Knock, knock, knock.
"Annabelle, Mr. Winchester and Mr. Doyle are here to see you," Mrs. Long called from the other side of the door.
"Alright," Annabelle answered. "I'm on my way down." With one last glance at herself in the mirror, Annabelle straightened her posture, brushed the wrinkles from her dress, and held her head high as she left her room.
"Annabelle dearest," James said as Annabelle stepped into the drawing room. She plastered on a smile and allowed James to kiss her cheek. He helped her to the couch before taking the seat next to her. Mrs. Long and Mr. Doyle were sitting across from the couple.
"How was your day at the office, James?" Annabelle asked much to the surprise of everyone.
"Rather busy, actually," James answered. "My father and I have been overseeing the cases of the workers and it seems that their paperwork has become rather sloppy. We ordered a detailed account of every case that each worker has. I've spent the last three days trying to piece together an impossible mess of files…" Annabelle stopped listening. She had intentionally asked James about himself because it was his favorite subject. He could spend hours, if not days, talking about absolutely nothing of importance.
"How interesting," Mrs. Long interjected as James paused on his story. "Annabelle and I have had a rather busy few days as well. We've been in and out of town taking care of fittings, purchasing decorations, meeting with Father Marshall. He will be here for supper tomorrow."
"How marvelous," James said with a smile. "I trust you two have made all the necessary preparations?"
"Of course, Mr. Winchester," Mrs. Long said. "I'll be stopping by the courthouse tomorrow morning to retrieve the marriage license. The church has, of course been, reserved. Annabelle and I have decided to have pink and yellow roses in the bouquet. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"Ah, as long as my lovely bride is happy then of course. I fear I am hardly an expert when it comes to flowers," James said with a laugh. Annabelle was sickened by him. How he could sit there and pretend to be a nice man with pure intentions. He was the epitome of a two faced monster. Only she wasn't sure which side of him made her more ill, the monster or the mask he hid behind.
"Annabelle, why don't you get the wedding book we have started on? I'm sure James would love to see what we have prepared." Annabelle nodded and led James over to the desk. She opened the top drawer and pulled out the booklet Mrs. Long had given her two weeks prior.
"This is the dress we've chosen," Annabelle said quietly as she opened the cover and pointed to the drawing. James ran his fingers over it and grinned. "I had my last fitting yesterday."
"Simply beautiful," James murmured. He was standing too close to her. She sat at the desk and he was leaning over her to look at the book. When she looked up at him he was grinning down at her. "I'd like to see the dress."
"Perhaps after dinner I can arrange that," she said in a light voice. James' grin turned into a full smile.
"Dinner is served," Mrs. Long said and the four of them left for the dining room.
X
Annabelle had grown quiet again. The three of them, James, Mr. Doyle, and herself, were sitting in the drawing room after dinner having tea. Mrs. Long had excused herself after dinner to finish placing the food order for the next day.
Annabelle was biting her lip and nervously picking at the pages of the wedding book in her lap. She had to do something now. Now or never.
"James," Annabelle said in a lowered voice. James set his brandy glass down on the coffee table and turned to her. "Would you like to see the dress now?" she asked in as close to a flirtatious voice as she could. He grinned and nodded.
"Indeed I would," he answered. Annabelle stood and silently led James from the room. Mr. Doyle didn't follow.
Annabelle tentatively turned the knob to her room and opened the door. She could feel James enter after her and she brushed over to her wardrobe after setting the book down on her vanity table. She opened wardrobe doors and removed the wedding dress that hung neatly inside. When she turned to show James, he approached her and stood directly in front of her. His fingers trailed the silk fabric and he smiled.
"It is lovely," he said politely. A cold sweat overcame Annabelle as her nerves frayed at the edges. "I can't wait to see you in it." His eyes had grown frighteningly dark. Annabelle hated that she was in the room alone with him. Especially since he'd had more than one drink so far that night. "You should try it on for me." What? James stepped closer to her. "Will you try it on?"
"Right now?" Annabelle asked in shock. Is only response was to place a hand on her face and trail his thumb over her lower lip. Dear Lord, give me strength to carry on. "James, stop," Annabelle ordered. He didn't however. He took the dress from her and dropped it on the floor as he walked toward her. Annabelle matched each of his steps backward until she ran into the chair of her vanity table.
"Why else would you bring me up here, Annabelle?" he asked in a teasing tone. "You've become so…compliant lately and I must say I like it." Annabelle stood completely still as James swooped down on her and kissed her. Icy tears rolled down her cheeks and she discreetly felt behind her on the vanity table for something. Her hands wrapped around the book. She simultaneously sank her teeth into his bottom lip. He jumped back and, using both hands, she slammed the book across his face.
"There is a reason I brought you up here James," Annabelle said vehemently, "to tell you will never see me in a wedding dress." James had stumbled backward and was clutching a hand to his bleeding lip. James lunged at her and ripped the book from her hands. Annabelle ran to the side of her bed and yanked on the string that led to the bell in the kitchen. James grabbed for Annabelle and she instinctively ran from the room. She tripped on the hem of her dress, hoever, and fell into the railing above the staircase. She turned in time to see James standing behind her with the book raised above his head.
Annabelle flinched and raised her arm to cover her face. James, instead, brought the book slamming down on the hand that still rested on the railing. Annabelle screamed as she felt the bones in her hand crack. She clutched her wounded limb to her chest, her eyes watering with the pain. James dropped the book and grabbed Annabelle by the hair near the root.
"You are mine, Annabelle, forever," he growled through clenched teeth. Then Annabelle felt herself falling. She felt a sharp pain in her left hand, then her back, then the side of her head, and then nothing. Blackness.
X
Hours later Annabelle awoke as she heard the buzz of murmuring. She hesitantly opened her eyes and saw the canopy above her bed. She turned her head to the side and saw Mrs. Long speaking with an unfamiliar character. They seemed to notice her stirring and Mrs. Long quickly came over.
"Annabelle, thank God," she said and Annabelle winced as she felt something cool and damp pressed against her head. "This is Doctor Baker. Do you remember anything?" Before she could answer, the she felt someone sit on the bed to her right. She glanced and saw James sitting there. She began to panic. She started crying and Mrs. Long pulled her head onto her lap. "Poor thing, she needs her rest," Mrs. Long said, her voice quivering. The two men slowly left the room.
"J-James," Annabelle croaked out. Her head was throbbing, even worse now that she was crying. Her eyes were burning with hot tears and her body hurt all over.
"He's gone dear, you should sleep. You had a nasty fall. Dr. Baker said you broke two of your fingers and have a bad bump on your head." Annabelle shook her head.
"No…No, he…he did this, he smashed my hand and he pushed me down the stairs, didn't you see? I rang for you." Annabelle was starting to get hysterical.
"Dear, you don't know what you're saying. Mr. Winchester loves you, he would never hurt you. Sleep, everything will seem better in the morning."
"No! No, I want him gone forever! I hate him! I hate him!" Annabelle screamed. "Please, you have to believe me." Mrs. Long pushed Annabelle back into bed and pulled the covers around her.
"Nonsense, you've hit your head and aren't thinking clearly. Father Marshall will be here for dinner tomorrow so get your rest." Mrs. Long left and Annabelle began to sob. Her plan hadn't worked. Mrs. Long hadn't come running up to her room to ask what she wanted. No one had seen James injure her. Failure. Now what?
"Spot….I want Spot, please God…please give me Spot."
X
Sarah didn't go inside after she was dropped off in front of her house by Annabelle's coach. Instead, she followed her instinct and began walking toward the Lodging House. It was a short walk and she spotted Jack with several of the other Newsies lounging around the statue of Horace Greeley.
"Heya Jack," Race said and pointed to Sarah. Jack turned and smiled as he saw her walking toward him. His smile faltered however as he saw the worried look on her face. He wrapped his arms around her waist and hers fell on his shoulders.
"What's the matta? What's wrong?" he asked and brushed the hair out of her face. She glanced over his shoulder and saw the others were watching the encounter. Jack turned and glared at them. The small group disbanded giving the couple their privacy.
"I'm worried about Annabelle and Spot," Sarah said truthfully. "We have to do something." Jack nodded, but his face was solemn.
"I know that ya concerned, but there aint a lot we can do. Spot aint exactly himself lately." It was Sarah's turn to nod.
"Neither is Annabelle…I can't tell you everything because I promised Annabelle I wouldn't, but we have to do something to help her. I'm afraid something…something bad is going to happen if we don't."
"What do you mean by 'bad'?" Jack inquired. Sarah looked away and Jack sighed. Obviously she couldn't answer the question without betraying a confidence. "Alright, I'll go see Spot tomorrow and see what I can do."
"I'm coming with you," Sarah said strongly. Jack didn't look to happy about the idea, but he didn't argue it. "Thank you, Jack," she said and kissed him. Jack smiled down at her and took her hand as he led her to rejoin the other Newsies.
A/N 'Give Me Strength' by Eric Clapton