Chapter Five:
The Presentation of the Engagement Ring
A slow knock was heard reluctantly thumping on the Coles' front door as it was every Thursday afternoon at about four o'clock. Annabelle sat in her usual ivory, silk chair in the parlor, nervously pinching her cheeks; attempting to make them even more rosy.
Ben was admitted inside by the Coles' head housemaid, Prudence. As Ben passed through the halls of the Coles' home, he met Elizabeth coming down the main staircase carrying a small pile of piano books. As they made eye contact, Elizabeth confidently nodded a look of encouragement to Ben. Ben returned a troubled sigh and shrugged. He then laughed a little and continued following Prudence. Elizabeth smiled and laughed in sympathy back at him, playfully shaking her head. After Ben was out of sight, Elizabeth looked down at the floor feeling genuine sorrow for him. She solemnly continued on her way down to the music room to practice for her music lesson.
Prudence rapidly knocked on the parlor door, then opened it without delay. "Mr. Benjamin Davidson to see you, ma'am," she announced with a curtsy.
"Thank you, Prudence," Annabelle replied, dismissing her routinely.
Prudence turned to leave. However, on her way out, Prudence noticed that a used teacup and its saucer had accidentally been left out overnight on one of the side tables. As Prudence turned to collect it and bring it back to the kitchen, she came into eye contact with Annabelle, who shot Prudence a fierce "get out of here" glare. Hot with shame, Prudence promptly forgot the teacup and quickly turned to leave with as much embarrassment as though she'd made a grave mistake. As Prudence made her way to the door, she stumbled a little over the hem of her dress and fell down to the ground. Out of gentlemanly instinct, Ben turned to help her up. Prudence, not wanting to annoy Annabelle any further, waved him off politely, and removed herself from the awkward situation as quickly as possible.
After the door clicked shut behind Prudence, Ben turned back around and looked at Annabelle with a confused expression. He caught Annabelle making a nasty expression—her lips pursed in anger as she bitterly shook her head. After making eye contact with Ben, she quickly snapped out of her angry stare, sweetly smiled, and laughed a little as though to say, "Maids today!" The pair proceeded to sit down in their customary seats.
After a few awkwardly quiet seconds of Ben anxiously bouncing his right leg up and down, discretely looking at the ceiling, and whistling a slow, high-pitched tune, his eyes finally dared to sneak a look over at Annabelle, who's tongue was practically hanging to the ground in complete adoration of Ben. Her posture suggested the arm of her chair to be the only barrier keeping her from swarming over to Ben. He awkwardly smiled and laughed a little before looking away with a shocked expression, swallowing hard.
"Well Benjamin, how do your parents and siblings do? I trust they are all in good health," Annabelle finally began.
"Yes, my family is always in excellent health, thank you," Ben hastily replied.
"And I do hope that you are in excellent health," Annabelle prodded, slowly inching her chair closer to the sofa where Ben was seated.
"Yes, thank you, I am in health in good deed," Ben nervously babbled. Annabelle gave him a puzzled look in return. "I mean— 'I am indeed in good health.' I beg your pardon," Ben corrected, embarrassment growing red at his cheeks.
Annabelle laughed. "Oh Ben, we are engaged for heaven's sake! Let us not fumble over such formal pleasantries any longer. And there is no need to be so nervous! Are you quite sure that you are, as you put it, 'in health in good deed?'" Annabelle teased with a playful smirk.
Ben relaxed a little, and said, "Well, I suppose I am a bit uneasy this afternoon. You see, I have something I'm supp— I mean, something I wish to give to you."
This spontaneity threw Annabelle head over heels. The idea that Benjamin Davidson had brought her a gift tickled her to the very core.
"Oh, what is it?" Annabelle asked with delight.
"Well, it's a…well, here," Ben stuttered as he reached into the front pocket of his breeches. His hand reappeared with a small, silky box. The box was a pale shade of blue, closed tight with a silver latch. "This belonged to my grandmother during her lifetime. I was always quite fond of her, and I have to say, I was a favorite of hers as well. On her deathbed, she left this with me to give to my future bride," Ben reminisced.
Ben handed the box to Annabelle, both of them handling it as delicately as though it were made of glass.
"Oh Ben, how wonderful!" Annabelle expressed, lovingly looking from Ben to the box. She impatiently flipped the silver latch upward, opening its lid.
"Oh!" Annabelle exclaimed upon seeing the box's contents. A silver ring adorned with a single sapphire encircled by tiny diamonds gleamed back at her. This engagement ring was not nearly as grand as the large gold and ruby ring Lord Harry Lacey had presented her with. Attempting to swallow her pride, she tried to find something nice to say about it.
"It's simply…divine!" Annabelle mustered, taking the ring out of its case. "I know this will complement the shade of my eyes perfectly. It must be fate!" Ben rolled his eyes to himself.
Annabelle looked up from the ring, expecting Ben to already be on one knee, ready to slide the ring on her finger in an instant. There was an awkward pause between the two of them, as Annabelle went back and forth between eyeing Ben and the vacant space on the floor before her. Ben returned her gestures with a blank stare before finally understanding what her dark, brown eyes were communicating.
"Oh!" he exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat.
After setting his three-cornered hat down on the sofa, he turned back to Annabelle and walked toward her. Annabelle gleefully set the silk case on a small table beside her chair, stood, and handed the ring to Ben, desperately trying to control her excited anticipation all the while. Nervously, Ben got down on his left knee and took Annabelle's left hand into both of his.
"Annabelle Cole," Ben said uneasily, "I—," suddenly, Ben was interrupted by the sound of the parlor door opening. Ben shot up off the ground and released Annabelle's hand, causing Annabelle to turn around in surprise.
Elizabeth came through the door. Her attention was carefully focused on not shutting one of the many folds of her elegant day-dress into the door frame. After she was certain of the clearance between the doorway and her attire, she closed the door. Elizabeth jumped in surprise to look up and find Ben and Annabelle still occupying the parlor. Ben's visits were typically much shorter, and he normally would have been halfway back to Mr. Merriman's store by now. Judging by Ben's bewildered stance and humiliated face, and by Annabelle's livid frown and flaming eyes staring back at her, Elizabeth realized she had likely interrupted a "mushy" moment. She felt mortified, yet it was all she could do to resist the temptation to burst out laughing over what now appeared to be an awkward situation for the couple.
"Oh! I am sorry. Do excuse me," Elizabeth said with a smirk, trying to smother a giggle as she slowly walked backwards towards the door.
"Bitsy!" Annabelle heatedly sputtered as she strode over to the door. Elizabeth swiftly slipped out of the parlor to avoid Annabelle slamming the door on some part of her body. Annabelle threw the door shut, accidently shutting a part of Elizabeth's dress in the door. She quickly opened it again, allowing Elizabeth a brief moment to pull her dress free before slamming it shut again with a grunt of irritation. Elizabeth's light footsteps were heard bouncing up the stairs, as was her vivacious laughter.
Ben watched the scene with astonishment, repulsed by Annabelle's overreaction. "If she's that cross at Elizabeth for making a simple mistake, how much more would she fume if I ever really upset her?" Ben wondered with fear. Annabelle took a moment to collect herself before whirling around with a fresh smile and walked back over to Ben. "Please excuse her…silliness," Annabelle said.
"Alright, then," Ben said to himself, clearing his throat as he resumed his position kneeling in front of Annabelle.
Ben again took Annabelle's hand. "Annabelle Cole," he restated. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked solemnly, trying to suppress a shudder.
"Yes, yes, YES!" Annabelle exclaimed as she blissfully closed her eyes and got louder with each "yes."
Ben looked up at Annabelle with a slightly sickened grimace. Annabelle opened her eyes, realizing she'd let her eagerness get the better of her social decorum.
"Oh, excuse me, I mean—" Annabelle said, before clearing her throat, "The honor would be mine, Benjamin Davidson," she politely adjusted.
"Great," Ben muttered with a hint of sarcasm, detectable only to himself.
"But you know, you really didn't have to ask me. We were already engaged," Annabelle reminded Ben, though secretly, his unnecessary proposal pleased her.
"I know. But I felt we should go about some part of this the right and proper way," Ben replied.
"Oh," Annabelle excitedly nodded, Ben's small slight completely going over her head.
Ben slid the ring over Annabelle's finger. Annabelle brought her hand closer and admired her new jewelry. "Oh, Ben!" Annabelle exclaimed as she pulled him off the floor in a large, suffocating hug.
Ben was taken off guard, and quite frankly, horrorstruck. It would have been different if he actually had tender feelings for Annabelle. He knew he'd have to come around sooner or later, so he awkwardly returned the hug.
After a few seconds, it all became too much to handle. Ben pulled away. "My goodness, look at the time! I'd better get back to work," he said in desperation.
"Oh Ben, couldn't you stay for tea just this once?" Annabelle begged.
The very thought of tea—a taboo commodity for him and every other patriot—sent a sickening shiver up Ben's spine. "Uh, no, I'd really better get back to work. It's been a very busy day at the store, and Mr. Merriman wouldn't like it if I weren't around to help him," Ben lied. Rarely had the shop known a day with slower business. Besides, Mr. Merriman had graciously given Ben time off to present Annabelle with her engagement ring and spend the afternoon with her. But to Ben, everything seemed like it was happening so fast; each bit of it out of his control. He needed some time alone to collect himself.
"I suppose so," Annabelle replied, looking down at the floor in dismay. "But tomorrow's Saturday! Could we not go for an evening stroll, say at six o'clock?" Annabelle pleaded.
"I don't see why not," Ben unenthusiastically replied, ultimately defeated.
"Until tomorrow then," Annabelle said brightly.
As Ben turned to lean over to pick his hat up from off the sofa, Annabelle closed her eyes, leaned forward, and puckered her lips, hoping Ben would be exceptionally bold and share her first kiss with her. The next thing she heard, however, was the loud thump of the parlor door pounding shut. She quickly popped her eyes open and realized she was alone. Annabelle looked again at her new engagement ring. She brought her newly adorned left hand close to her heart, clasped it with her other hand, and danced around the room on the tip of her toes, delightfully humming the wedding march.
Just outside, Ben was practically sprinting down the street, away from the Cole's home. The situation was a lot for him to process. He could hardly stand the thought of his beloved grandmother's ring on the finger of Bananabelle Cole—soon to be Bananabelle Davidson!