Page 30 of Annabelle Enchants the Rejected Earl
“But what if I helpedyou?”
“What do you mean?” Annabelle asked cautiously. “You cannot help me. I know it is what I want, but I also know that it cannotbe.”
“But what if I tell you that I will help you?” Josephine pulled a wad of cash out of her pocket and showed it to Annabelle. “What if I could give you the money that you need to getstarted?”
Annabelle’s eyes bulged out of her head. She had never seen so much money all in one go. She did not know how much was in that pile but it looked like it was enough to keep her going for a very long time... if she accepted it. “What is that?” she gushed desperately. “What are you doing with all that money? Where did you getit?”
Josephine had stolen it from Otto, she had taken it from his safe, but Annabelle did not need to know that. That was her issue, it was her problem to deal with. “It does not matter, I just want you to haveit.”
“But why?” Annabelle still could not wrap her head around the idea. “To dowhat?”
“To get away, of course.” Josephine gave Annabelle the most reassuring smile that she could manage. “To escape before you have to marry that awful Watson. I do not want you with him, I want to give you a start. This money will not last you forever, but it will help.” She nodded at Annabelle, forcing her daughter to reach forward to tentatively grab the money from her. “But I think that you shall have to take Floyd with you, because he has seen more of the world. He knows how to find a job and keep himself going. You have not seen that side of the world yet, but if you do not wish to marryhimthen you shall have to. I am sure you will find a way to be very happy with Floydtoo.”
“You think... I should leave with him? You believe that we should run awaytogether?”
“That is what you want, is itnot?”
“It is, but it is only a dream. It cannot really happen.” Annabelle was utterly terrified of getting her hopes up just for it all to come to nothing. “I cannot actually leave. I dream all the time about leaving home before Father forces me to marry Lord Ashdown, but I will not leave if it is going to affectyou.”
“Annabelle, I have risked everything for you to be happy. I want you to have a lovely life and you will not with that horrible man. Just because he is a Lord does not make him right for you. I know that this is scary and I am aware that your sheltered life shall make it hard, but Floyd will help you. He is one and twenty years of age and I am certain that he will look afteryou.”
“I know,but...”
“But nothing. If this is what you want, then this is what you should do.” Josephine grinned brightly at her beloved daughter. “Plus, you have always been the adventurous type, have you not? Will this not be like an adventure? Yes, you will have to do some very different things, I do not think it will be easy working and living alone, but I am sure that you are strong enough to surviveanything.”
Annabelle’s heart darted all over her body, she did not know whether she should be afraid or overjoyed. This was all that she had been dreaming about for weeks, but now that the possibility was real, she felt a little overwhelmed by it all. Then again, there was no longer any excuse, was there? There were no more things to hold them back. She now had the money to at least get started with her new life, her mother had given her permission which meant she did not have to worry about disappointing her family. Or at least not all ofthem...
“What about Father?” she asked curiously. “He will not like this. He will not like what it does to the familyreputation.”
“You leave your father to me. He is my problem, not yours. I listened to him when it came to Beatrice’s future, it is time for him to listen to me when it comes to yours.” Seeing the distress in her daughter’s eyes, Josephine felt compelled to continue. “You do not need to worry, the Hathaway family will survive this. I am sure that once your father comes to terms with the idea, he will find a way to spin it to his advantage anyway, you know what he islike.”
“Do you think he will tell people that I have died?” Annabelle knew what Otto was like, he would probably prefer people to assume that she was dead than anything else. An icy hollow sensation filled up her chest as she considered the idea of never being able to return. “Or that I am in a mentalinstitution?”
“He will not tell anyone anything of the sort, I will make sure of it,” Josephine reassured Annabelle. “That is not something that you need to worry about anyway. You need to focus on getting away before you are forced into that dreadful wedding dressagain.”
Annabelle rolled the money up tightly between her finger tips and she pulled her mother into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Mother, you have no idea what this means to me. Finally, I have a choice and it feelswonderful.”
Elated tears rolled down Annabelle’s cheeks, a sense of freedom filled her up. She still did not know exactly what she intended to do, she wanted to think it through until she was absolutely certain first – this was the one area of her life where being impulsive would not be beneficial – but it felt incredible to finally have a wayout.
“I am just glad to help you, that is all,” Josephine answered with a thick, emotional voice. “All I have ever wanted is for my girls to be happy. I know this will make you happier than Lord Ashdown ever can.” She pulled back to stare at her daughter, hoping that it would not be for the very last time. “Of course, I do not want you to go, I shall miss you terribly, but if you do I think it is best for you to leave sooner rather than later. Do not let plans get too far. The more of the wedding that is planned, the angrier your father willbe.”
“Is this a goodbye?” Annabelle answeredquietly.
“Not forever,” Josephine replied while rubbing Annabelle’s arm gently. “But maybe for now. You are an adult now, Annabelle, it is time for you to claim your own life. Just... give me a nod if you need me to sort out a carriage for you. That will be the hardest part, so I will sort that out for you. If you wantit.”
It was the first time that anyone had ever described Annabelle as an adult and it felt amazing. Finally, someone could see how strong and grown up she was. That sensation filled Annabelle up and made her feel like maybe she could dothis.
“Thank you, Mother,” she said with a nod. “I cannot wait to finally start living. And now I can, thanks toyou.”
Josephine had never felt prouder; this was exactly what she wanted to achieve when she set out to help Annabelle. Seeing that light in her eyes, knowing that she had assisted her in escaping something that had the potential to turn out terribly, it felt lovely. Of course, there would be a lot of challenging things to come next, but it was all worth it so her daughter could behappy.
Now all she had to hope was that everything worked out just as it was supposedto.
