A/N - So sorry for the delay, my laptop crashed last week and I finally got it back today. Only one more chapter left after this, hope you enjoy!
Over the next few days, Grace was extremely busy, for which she was grateful. It gave her less time to think, well, ruminate was more like it. Despite her vow to go about her business as usual, her thoughts often strayed back to Mr. Warbucks. Grace's earlier optimism, the morning Mr. Warbucks asked her to plan the party, had faded. She was beginning to think that she had misread everything that had happened between them, which unsettled her. She wasn't experienced with men or love by any means, but she didn't think she was that ignorant about it.
Grace appreciated the distraction the party gave her, as Mr. Warbucks had taken to spending either the morning or afternoon each day with Annie. Grace used the extra free time to concentrate on planning the party. But now most of those plans were finished, the party being only two days away. All she had left to do was outfit Annie's friends for the celebration, a task she intended to take care of this afternoon. The girls were all arriving at the mansion the following day, and spending the weekend with Annie.
At least her nights were busy as well. Given the time off he was taking during the day, Grace and Mr. Warbucks worked in the evenings after Annie had gone to bed, often late into the night. Grace was usually so exhausted, she fell asleep almost immediately, for which she was thankful. The tiredness didn't stop her dreaming, however, and she had awoken almost every morning, a blush in her cheeks at what her mind had conjured up during the night. She was grateful for the mornings Mr. Warbucks spent with Annie. It gave Grace more time to compose herself before beginning work with him.
This morning however, had been a different story. She'd woken late, fresh from a dream she couldn't even begin to think about without reddening. She had quickly dressed and readied herself for the day, rushing to the office without even time for breakfast. So distracted had she been, worrying about being late and still trying to push that dream from her mind, that she didn't watch where she was going and slammed straight into Mr. Warbucks right outside the office door.
"Oh," Grace exclaimed, as warm hands grasped her arms to keep her from toppling over.
"Miss Farrell, are you all right?" Mr. Warbucks asked, concern in his voice. As Grace looked up at him, their eyes locked and she found herself unable to respond. Mr. Warbucks had stared at her for a moment, loosening his grip so his hands slid to her elbows. Grace was unsure how long they remained standing there, but the spell was broken by the shrill ringing of the phone in the office.
"I'm sorry sir," Grace said, blushing, as she extricated herself from his grasp and entered the office to answer the phone.
"No harm done, Miss Farrell, no harm done at all," Mr. Warbucks had responded, following her into the office.
Mr. Warbucks had been quiet and thoughtful since their exchange in the hallway. Grace glanced up at him every few minutes, trying to work out the expression on his face. She began to grow concerned that something was wrong after she had to remind him of his place in his dictation twice, something that never happened.
"Sir," Grace began, when they had finished the last letter. "Is everything all right?"
"Of course, Miss Farrell, why do you ask?" he responded, looking confused.
"Well, you seem a bit," Grace paused, "distracted." Mr. Warbucks pursed his lips, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling.
"Yes, well, I suppose it's just everything that's going on around here," he finally said. At that moment, Annie burst into the room.
"Mr. Warbucks, Miss Farrell," she called, running and giving her new father a hug, then doing the same for Grace. Grace couldn't help grinning at the girl, her enthusiasm was infectious. She glanced at Mr. Warbucks, who wore a grin as well, although his didn't seem to reach his eyes. Grace's brow furrowed, she had noticed similar behavior from him in the past few days. He seemed more hesitant with Annie, and less affectionate than he had been right before and right after the kidnapping. She thought this odd, but before she could think on it further, Annie was pulling on her hand.
"I take it this means it's time for lunch," Grace chuckled as she rose to her feet.
"Yes," Annie said, continuing to pull Grace by the hand. "And then Mr. Warbucks is going to play tennis with me. He promised." She smiled at him and he smiled back, genuinely this time.
"So I did, so I did," Mr. Warbucks replied. "Well, we better get to lunch then, hadn't we." He winked at Annie, took her by the hand and the three of them walked to the dining room together, Grace's earlier worries forgotten.
Grace returned from her shopping trip, she and the Asp laden with packages which he helped her carry to her room. She gave him her thanks and then went to search for Annie, eager to show her the treasures Grace had found. As it was almost dinner time, Grace went to Annie's room assuming the girl would be there reading, as had become her custom.
Grace knocked lightly on the partially opened door and entered to find Annie sprawled on her bed, book open in front of her. Grace smiled as the girl looked up at her.
"Did you have a good afternoon, Annie?" Grace asked. Annie hesitated for the merest of moments, but it was long enough for Grace to notice.
"Oh, yes, Mr. Warbucks and I played three games of tennis and I even beat him once," she smiled, but it wasn't the full-face, joyful smile Grace was used to from the little girl. Grace frowned, puzzled by the exchange, but before she could say anything, Annie jumped up and took her hand.
"Is it time for dinner? I'm starved," Annie said. Grace chuckled.
"Yes, let's go down, shall we?" And the two of them walked down to the dining room.
Grace and Annie were alone in the dining room, Drake explaining that Mr. Warbucks had sent down for a sandwich, intending to catch up on some paperwork. Grace's brow furrowed at this information. She wasn't sure what Mr. Warbucks would need to work on, they had finished nearly everything pertaining to the Pittsburgh factory, Grace just needed to type up a few last letters. And all the normal day-to-day work had been taken care of this morning. She would have to go and check with him after dinner to see if there was anything he needed her to do.
Annie was much quieter than usual while she ate her dinner, glancing every so often at the doorway to the dining room, as if she expected someone to materialize there. Grace frowned again, remembering the girl's reaction to Grace's question about her afternoon. Deciding to try and get Annie's mind off whatever was troubling her, Grace brought up the party.
"Are you excited to see your friends tomorrow?" Grace asked. Annie glanced up at her, then back down at her plate.
"Oh, yeah, sure I am," Annie replied, without much enthusiasm.
"Annie, is there something wrong? Are you nervous about seeing your friends again? Or is it something about the party?" Grace was concerned now, unsure if she had done the right thing in inviting the other girls from the orphanage. Perhaps they brought up too many bad memories for Annie.
"No, it's not that," Annie said, still looking down at the table. Grace reached across the table and cupped a hand under Annie's chin, raising her head up so Grace could see her face. Grace gasped at the expression of sadness on Annie's face, then saw the tears in her eyes. Without any further thought, Grace got up and went around the table, gathering the little girl into her arms.
"Annie, what is it?" Grace asked quietly, Annie crying silently into her shoulder.
"Do, d'you think, Mr. Warbucks still wants to adopt me?" Annie finally said into Grace's shoulder.
"Of course he does," Grace insisted, smoothing the little girl's hair. "Why would you ask such a thing?" Annie sat up on Grace's lap and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.
"It's just," she paused, as if unsure how to explain it. "He seems different lately. He hasn't been laughing as much and he doesn't give me as many hugs. He smiles, but it's not a real smile." She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders, looking down at her hands in her lap.
Grace bit her lip. She had noticed many of the same things and wished she had followed through on talking to Mr. Warbucks about it. It didn't seem to Grace that Annie had noticed, she was still her normal bubbly self whenever Mr. Warbucks was around, but perhaps that had been Annie's way of coping with his abrupt change in behavior.
"Don't you worry, dear," Grace said, hugging Annie to her. "Mr. Warbucks has just been very busy with a big project we've been working on. I'm sure he's just a bit distracted. He loves you, don't forget that." Annie nodded, seeming to accept this explanation and went happily back to her dessert. Grace breathed a sigh of relief and vowed to talk to her boss after Annie went to bed.
Oliver sat in his office, uneaten sandwich still on its plate, the final adoption papers laid out on the desk in front of him. His elbows were propped on his desk, hands clasped in front of him, chin resting on top of them. He stared out the window unseeingly, deep in thought. The papers had arrived yesterday by special messenger and he had yet to sign them. The self-doubt that had he had managed to push to the back of his mind most of the week, had crept further and further to the forefront, until it had all but taken over.
Oliver was being ridiculous, he knew this, but something wouldn't allow him to sign. He knew he had cooled his affections toward Annie and was quite sure that others had started to notice. He had seen the frown on Miss Farrell's face this afternoon when Annie came to get them for lunch. Oliver was even concerned that Annie had started to notice. She was quiet and subdued as they walked back to the house after their tennis games, but when he asked her about it, she had told him that she was just tired.
And now he was hiding from them, both Miss Farrell and Annie, hiding like a coward in his office. Although he was almost positive that Miss Farrell would know he had no work to do when Drake informed her of Oliver's absence. Oliver fully expected an inquisition from his secretary, just as soon as Annie was in bed. He smiled ruefully at the thought, just another thing about Miss Farrell that he admired. She was nothing if not protective of those she loved.
Oliver sighed as a great melancholy overtook him. He had been thinking about Davey quite often in the last few days. Most likely because Annie reminded Oliver so very much of him. He knew this was the biggest reason for his hesitation. Things had improved a great deal since he was a child, and were made better still by the large fortune available to him should anything happen, but children still died everyday from diseases or accidents and there was nothing their parents could do about it. The pain he felt from the loss of his brother so very long ago, was still as poignant and deep as it had been the day it happened. Probably from refusing to deal with it all this time, he thought ironically.
Burying his feelings all these years meant he had become an unfeeling, hard and callous man. The need to show genuine emotion towards Annie and still keep the pain from his past bottled up had become a very precise balancing act on the very thinnest of wires. One that he wasn't sure he could continue to maintain. One that he was positive he could not continue to maintain if he let anyone else in. Still, none of this was Annie's fault and Oliver knew he would never give her up. He would just have to try harder. Sitting up straight, Oliver pulled a pen from his desk, signing his name with resolve.
Mr. Warbucks did not appear after dinner, nor did he leave word that he required Grace's presence in his office. Grace spent the evening with Annie, showing her all the purchases from the day and laughing and giggling with her at Grace's dressing table. Grace helped Annie get ready for bed and still Mr. Warbucks did not appear. Grace was concerned, but put on a happy face for Annie, reassuring the girl that Mr. Warbucks was simply trying to finish up the rest of his work in order to be able to spend the weekend with her and her friends. Annie seemed convinced and snuggled happily into her bed, with a hug and a kiss from Grace.
Her young charge put to bed and sleeping soundly, Grace went in search of Mr. Warbucks in order to talk to him about what had happened at dinner earlier. She absentmindedly chewed on her lower lip as she tried to decide how to approach him without sounding accusatory. Maybe there really was a problem with work and he hadn't involved Grace thinking she was too busy planning the party. That must be it, she decided. Why else would he be avoiding his daughter? Grace walked purposefully towards the office, intent on getting to the bottom of things.
Coming down the hall, Grace noticed the door to Mr. Warbucks' office slightly ajar and she knocked lightly as she peeked in the door. Mr. Warbucks was not at his desk, nor pacing the floor as he often did when struggling with a problem that needed solving. Grace stepped into the office, thinking that maybe he had retired for the night, when she caught sight of him lying on the couch. He had removed his jacket and shoes and loosened his tie. One arm behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles, he was asleep, snoring softly. Grace looked at him, so peaceful in his slumber, and smiled. She crossed quietly to the chest at the end of the couch, pulling out a light blanket and draping it over him. She brushed a finger, whisper soft, over his cheek and turned to walk quietly out of the room, not noticing the small smile that graced his lips as she turned.
Grace lay in bed, vainly reaching for sleep which seemed to slip from her grasp every time she thought she had it. Thoughts of the coming party, Annie's friends' arrival and Mr. Warbucks' attitude crossed her mind, one thought after another, like jackrabbits fleeing from a predator. She sighed loudly as she looked at her bedside clock which read midnight. Grace sat up in bed, swinging her legs over the side. Perhaps some tea, she thought, standing and slipping her feet into slippers, grabbing her robe which lay across the chair and pulling it on as she left her room.
She made her way quietly to the kitchen, only turning on the light over the stove as she reached it. She set the kettle to boil while she took a cup and saucer from the cabinet and a spoon from the drawer. She pulled a tin of her favorite tea from the cabinet and waited for the water. She pulled it from the burner, just as it began to whistle, so as not to disturb Mrs. Pugh, whose quarters adjoined the kitchen. She mixed her tea and sat at the table, taking a small sip. Realizing she was a bit hungry as well, Grace rose and went to the pantry, to look for the tea biscuits she knew Mrs. Pugh kept there.
As Grace opened the door, she noticed that the knob seemed a bit loose. Making a mental note to speak to Drake about it in the morning, Grace turned on the light and scanned the shelves for the tea biscuits. She saw them in the far left corner on the third shelf and stepped into the pantry, the door swinging closed behind her. She pulled down the package of biscuits and turned to go back into the kitchen. She grabbed the knob and turned, but the knob just wiggled in her hand, looser than the one outside. Grace tried it again, to no avail. She pushed in on the knob, hoping to brace it enough to be able to release the latch, but it didn't budge. She jiggled it a bit more, but it was useless, the knob was too loose to turn. She was trapped in the pantry.