“Maybe you are right.” Floyd nodded, acting serious. “Maybe he would have called me crazy. Maybe that is because I am. But I have done this forlove.”
“It will all work out, wewillbe alright,” Annabelle insisted happily. “We can leave today, I know that you will feel better once we are far away from London. We will head out and search for jobs.” She realized now that she needed to be more open minded when it came to considering just what Floyd needed to be happy too. “I do not mind what job I have as long as we can stay together and you can still work with horses. And we will aim towards your riding school too, I really want you to have that. We can do it for your father.” An idea burst into her brain like a sudden bolt of lightning. “If your father has died, then should you not have an inheritance, being the onlychild...”
“I do not think so,” Floyd interjected coldly before Annabelle could go too crazy with that idea. “He would have rather it gone to the poor than me. “And even so I should not want anything fromhim.”
Annabelle gulped, accepting Floyd’s decision readily. It was up to him what he wanted to do with his family’s money. She did not have to agree with it, just as he might not have agreed with her. “That is fine, we shall find a way to make it work on ourown.”
“Thank you.” Working towards something positive helped Floyd relax, knowing that Annabelle accepted him for the truth of who he really was made him feel even better. He barely told anyone because what had happened with his father had scarred him. He did not even want to remember it anymore, it was as if it had happened in another life entirely. He always needed something to look for in the distance, and in the immediate future a steady income was the most important thing of all. “I think that will bebest.”
Annabelle watched as the weight lifted from Floyd’s shoulders, which made her feel much better about herself. She would have been happy to remain hidden out in this nice place for a while longer, she felt comfortable in the bed and breakfast, but maybe Floyd was right. Maybe it was best to take action before the money ran out. The pile was shrinking quicker than she expected itto.
While he sat about packing up his things and undoubtedly thinking about what the couple would do next, Annabelle’s thoughts drifted back to her home. She was trying her hardest not to worry too much about her mother and father, but whenever she let her mind wander that was exactly where she endedup.
She could not stop herself from thinking about her father yelling when he discovered what her mother had done to help her. He would be very angry and hurt, and even though Josephine had told her that she could calm him down, Annabelle was not certain she could. This would be the worst thing that any of them had ever done to him. Of course, if he had listened to her in the first place about Lord Ashdown then none of this would have happened... but it was unlikely that he would see it in thatway.
She also imagined her sister’s hurt face when she learned that Annabelle had run without even speaking to her first. Beatrice would be upset that Annabelle had not been honest, even if they were never close. After all, she had told her about the baby first. She pictured Catherine struggling to keep Annabelle’s secret locked away inside of her when everything got crazy around her. Maybe she should not have told her best friend anything, people would assume that she would tell Catherine the truth and there was a chance that the pressure might get too much for her... especially if she told Edith and Harriett. Annabelle’s other friends were even worse at keepingsecrets.
Still, there was not much point in worrying about things that she could not control. Annabelle had made her decision now, she simply needed to stick withit.
“We should head further down towards Cornwall,” Floyd told Annabelle, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil. “There are lots of large country estates along the way. Someone is bound to want tohire.”
“Is that really the best way?” Annabelle questioned him doubtfully. “You think we should knock on doors and see? Is there any chance we will get lucky thatway?”
“It is the best way for us to also keep our identities hidden,” Floyd confirmed. “We do not want to draw any attention to ourselves. It is a way a lot of people find work. It might not be the most efficient, but it is the easiest forus.”
“Shall we continue with the story that we told the staff here? Do we let people believe that we are a marriedcouple?”
“It is not too far from the truth,” Floyd reassured her, just like he did the first time they were forced to be dishonest. “Well, we will be married one day, it just makes sense for us to be travelling together if that is the case. We will probably need to use some of your mother’s money to buy some more suitable clothes to keep the lie more realistic, but I believe it will workagain.”
“Yes.” Annabelle glanced down at her lilac coloured skirts regretfully. If she needed to slip into this role, then she would have to. She had given herself no choice in the matter. “I think that you are right. I should get some clothes that make me look lower class. After all, that is what I amnow.”
She still was not sure if she had come to terms with that yet, she still could not quite drop the ‘Lady’ title in her mind, but that would have to come soon enough. Soon she would be working in someone’s home, she would blend into the background, she would be treated with contempt and rapid dismissal once her work was done, just like the staff she had dealt with her entire life. Even she was guilty of not being as respectful as she should have been and it was time to be on the other side ofthat.
“But you are with me.” Floyd did not want Annabelle to feel bad, not now the steps had been taken. He expected moments of self-doubt to creep in, with the massive step they had taken there was no way she could be utterly emotionless, but it was his job to take care of her. He took that very seriously. “And I will take care of you. I will not let youdown.”
“Thank you, Floyd Brewer.” Annabelle smiled through her fears and confusion. “I love you very much. I do not know what I would do without you. I am so glad that you decided to come withme.”
“I love you too, Annabelle Hathaway and despite everything, I am glad I came too. I just cannot wait until we have all our dreams cometrue.”
“Me too,” she replied with a smile. “I just know that everything will turn out well in theend.”
