He slipped his hand around the back of Annabelle’s neck and he gently pressed his lips up against hers, showing her just how much he liked her without having to say it. Her mouth was soft, her body boiling hot next to his. The closer she moulded into him, the more right Floyd felt. His heart fluttered and his whole body vibrated with hundreds of emotions. That was the moment he knew that he was inlove.
He loved Lady Annabelle Hathaway, which could only lead to trouble. He knew that, yet he could notstop...
He had never found anyone so beautiful before, he had never been anything close to love, but in that moment with Annabelle kissing him back like she shared all the same feelings that he did, he felt like everything was right with the world. He was happier than he had everbeen.
Annabelle’s heart flew with joy as Floyd kissed her lovingly. She knew that they shared something special, she had sensed their chemistry from their very first conversation, now that feeling was all overher.
So, this is what being brave gets me, she thought happily to herself. I should do this moreoften.
As they pulled apart she gave him the most loving smile possible. She had come to Floyd desperately upset and scared about what was going to happen next, but now she felt certain that everything would be alright. She did not know how, but it hardly mattered. They could figure that outlater.
Unfortunately, the happiness had zapped from Floyd and all he had was worry. “What did we just do?” he gasped desperately. “We cannot do that, I am so sorry, Lady Hathaway, I should never... your reputation...” Not only was he going to lose his job, he would also wreck the life of the one person he felt anything for, all for one moment of madness. “I did not meanto...”
“Floyd, it is alright,” Annabelle tried to reassure him with a giggle. She linked her hands back through his and showed her happiness through her expression. “I know it is madness, but we will find a way, I can assureyou.”
“You are betrothed to someone, you have a Lord waiting to be with you. Someone much better suited to you thanme.”
Annabelle cupped his chin in her hand so his eyes fixed upon hers. She needed him to hear every word that she spoke. “Floyd Brewer, there is no one better suited to me than you are. You are the man I want to love for the rest of mylife.”
“Even though I ampoor?”
“It does not matter to me who you are. I loveyou.”
As Annabelle said those three powerful words, she realized just how true they were. Shedidlove Floyd, it was not just a crush anymore. She would not be willing to throw everything away for someone who she only had a small amount of feelings for. Now she just needed to work out how to make this love lastforever...
Josephine’s heart thumped painfully against her rib cage as she walked back into the house with her newfound knowledge racing around her brain. She had just followed her daughter and witnessed her kissing another man. The stable boy she assumed Otto was referring to when he told her that there was a man who wanted to ruin their daughter’sreputation.
There certainly was an attraction there, but it definitely was not one sided. From what Josephine had seen from her limited view position, Annabelle was the more aggressive one of the two. She really liked this boy, there was a genuine chemistry between them both, there was somethingreal.
Is this the only reason she does not want to marry Lord Ashdown?She thought to herself in a panicked state. She did not want to defend her daughter if the only reason she did not want to get married was because of a crush.No, it has to be more than that.To Josephine, it actually looked like love. Plus, even if she did not end up marrying the stable boy, Lord Ashdown was still utterly terrible news. She wanted more for Annabelle thanhim.
Seeing Annabelle with that boy certainly changed the plan, however. Josephine knew that whatever happened next, she absolutely had to find out the truth about her daughter and the stable boy. Maybe he would need to be included? Of course, there was no way she could make that sort of choice without knowing him herself. She could not trust a man with her child without at least knowing him a littlebit.
One thing was for certain, everything had suddenly become a lot more complicated, and it was already bad enoughbefore.
