Annabelles Will – Lily Orevba

She felt the impact of that kiss even now as she sat alone in her bedchamber with her hands buried between her lap, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular. She could have easily turned away from his kiss, but she had walked right into it. She had responded perfectly to it; she had taken his hand and had allowed herself to be held by him.

Worse than that, she had allowed herself to be seen yet again—in the same position that would put any woman to perpetual shame—by a servant. They would surely think the worst of her right now; they would think her a woman of ill manners and zero dignity. She was soiling herself before the servants—people she now considered her family—but what was even more concerning was her not caring. For the life of her, she couldn’t bring her stubborn heart to care for anything other than Henry.

She groaned, rising to her feet. News would spread—sooner than she could even imagine—that she was having an affair with Henry. The town would be set on fire by rumors of an affair with a father and now his son. Nobody would care to know the falsehood of these accusations; they would be easy to believe. But Annabelle didn’t think their hatred toward her could get any worse; they already ignored her, they failed to pass across invitations to events, they neglected to visit especially after Elijah’s death, and the rumors about her knew no bounds.

She worked to slip out of her dirty brown dress and into a clean, white tea dress. Perhaps when she had gotten something to eat, she’d have the energy to contemplate the implications of her new feelings—one of which was practically losing Maggie. The young maid went about her business, completely ignoring Annabelle and clarifying that she kept her job for the money.

It didn’t matter that Annabelle had tried several times in the past weeks to talk to Maggie. She made her way out of her bedroom door, down the stairs and to the dining area. She was about to pass by Elijah’s private parlor when she heard it; a loud sound and a hiss that would quickly follow. She paused in her tracks, confused. Caesar stood by the entrance of the parlor, his eyes darkening at the sight of her.

She rose a brow, and he forced a smile, imploring her with his eyes to keep moving. It was then that Annabelle knew something was wrong. Hope had spoken about a visitor. Perhaps it was an unpleasant visitor? She didn’t pause to think before turning to go into the parlor. “Miss Annabelle!” Caesar bowed slightly, his frame moving to the doorway as if to deny her entry. “Lord Finley has a guest…” The words died on his lips when he found that she wasn’t pausing in her resolve to enter.

She stared at the carriage that stood before the building, her heart rate tripling in speed as she watched the two strangers climb out of it and make their way into the building. “Annabelle!” She heard Maggie’s breathless voice, accompanied by the sound of the door slamming against the wall.

“Annabelle, he’s here! The master is here!” She stood still by the window, her gaze fixed on the empty carriage. “Annabelle!” Maggie screeched, exasperation clear in her tone. Sighing softly, Annabelle released her grip on the curtains and stiffly turned to acknowledge the frantic maid. “Lord Henry Finley just arrived the estate and you would remain calm?!” Maggie half yelled, her big brown eyes growing in size as she balled her fists on her hips.

“Perhaps the master shall be a monster, then what shall we do?!” she spat, brown tendrils slapping her face as she shook her head furiously. Turning from Annabelle in an obvious move to hide the tears that glistened in her eyes, she began pacing the length of the room. Annabelle watched her, her heart sinking with the weight of the truth of Maggie’s words. “Have Caesar inform Lord Henry Finley that I shall join him shortly,” she choked out, fighting the urge to give in to her tears, for she couldn’t cry.

For the life of her, she couldn’t break down now. “Perhaps the new master intends to get rid of us?” Maggie’s tears slipped down her pale cheeks. She shook her head, swallowing her tears. “Every master needs help, Maggie. I am certain he does not intend to get rid of the servants in his home.” “Perhaps he intends to get rid of you?!”

Maggie cried, falling forward as her arms tangled around Annabelle’s waist. Burying her face in Annabelle’s chest, she wept. Barely able to contain her own emotions, Annabelle stood still, her gaze traveling the length of the room that had made up a major part of her life. The sight of it filled her with memories—happy memories.

Memories that forced a bitter smile to her lips at the mere thought of leaving it behind. Yet, she knew leaving it behind was inevitable for Elijah Finley, the lord of the estate, was dead and with his death came the termination of her stay in his house. Annabelle wasn’t foolish enough to think Henry, Elijah’s son, would permit her continual presence in his father’s estate.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: c755faa67b538086
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 7,950,985 bytes (7.583 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 323
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 392.93 minutes
• Total Words: 78,585
• Total Characters: 437,803
• Average Words per Page: 243.3
• Average Characters per Page: 1355.43

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