Chapter Twenty-One

 

The cottage had lost most of the aroma of smoke the day after Annabel had attempted to cook. During the night, a storm rolled in and rain now beat against the panes.

“We are nearly out of firewood,” Edward said.

Annabel turned from the window to find Edward standing in the middle of the room in his shirtsleeves, an axe propped upon his shoulder. Never had she found him more appealing. “I should be gone no longer than a couple of hours,” he continued. “Three at the most. When I return, will you have a plate of bread and cheese waiting for me?”

“I could attempt to cook something,” she said hopefully, but when Edward raised an eyebrow, she laughed. “Oh, very well. I will have the food ready for you.” An idea came to her and she walked up to him, rose onto the tips of her toes, and kissed his cheek.

He grimaced. “What was that for?”

“It is a proper way to bid someone farewell,” she said with a small smile. “At least, I used to watch my aunt do the same for my uncle.” Her cheeks ignited, and panic welled inside her. “I did not mean to imply that you are my husband, of course.” Blasted tongue!

Edward chuckled. “You have a strength inside you that you do not realize. However, you must be bold in your decisions, sure in them. Stop doubting the choices you make. For example, if you wish to kiss my cheek again, then you may. Do not do it with doubt in your heart but rather with firm determination.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Do you say this in order to gain another kiss?” she asked, giving him her most innocent look.

What she expected was laughter or teasing, but to her surprise, he shook his head, his dark curls bouncing. “I do not. I tell you this so you may be the woman you truly are, not the one you believe yourself to be.”

His words perplexed her as she followed him to the door. The moment the door opened, stinging rain pelted them.

“It is cold out there,” she said. “Unusual for this time of year.”

Edward turned. “It is, but not unheard of. Now, I will not return to an empty house, will I?”

She smiled. “No. I will remain here.”

“Good. Then I shall return soon.”

For a moment, she imagined him a brave knight, the axe he carried a weapon. A fierce wild beast roamed the countryside and it was he who would defeat whatever threat he encountered.

“Best the beast,” she whispered as he disappeared around the side of the cottage. “You can defeat anything.”

Sighing, she closed the door and went to the table beneath the window in the sitting room. As she took a seat in one of the chairs, she considered his words concerning her strength. He had been right, for like the kiss she had given him, she had doubted her own actions. In fact, the more she thought of it, the more she understood what he had said.

The truth was, Annabel had spent her entire life attempting to appease her parents. She had never felt the need to do so with her aunt or cousins, but it was her parents from whom she wanted affirmation. Did not all children wish the same?

However, even as she thought these things, she decided it was time to change her ways. Not only would she call upon her strength in times of trouble, but she would do so in every choice she made. The decision to remain here rather than attempt an escape had been made without doubt. Surely if she could remain with the man who had kidnapped her, perhaps other decisions in life would come easier.

Feeling not only happy, but also confident, Annabel walked to the tiny kitchen and took out a bottle of wine. She poured herself a glass and took a sip, enjoying the fruity flavor. Sighing, her thoughts returned to Edward. What would happen to her once the ransom was paid? What would happen to them? Their relationship, if one was to call it that, would end, and rightly so. Yet, the thought of that did not sit well with her.

Be he Don Ricardo Sánchez Ramírez or Lord Edward Wolcott, Annabel was unconcerned. What concerned her were her feelings toward the man who resided in her heart. Was what she felt admiration? Affection? Or could it be that she had found the man to whom she would gift her heart? The man she would come to love?

***

Edward hoisted the axe above his head and brought it down with a loud smack on the fallen tree he had encountered in his search for proper firewood. He had been forced to walk past the creek to a small outcropping of trees in order to find something worthy, and now that he had chopped the log into smaller sections, he was worried about carrying such a load back to the cottage in the downpour.

When he had left the house, a man across the road was stabling two work horses, and Edward considered hiring the animals to transport the logs back to the cottage. He could chop and stack the wood outside the house, which would be easier all the way around. However, he had no desire to speak to those who resided in the surrounding cottages and therefore pushed the idea from his thoughts.

Rain continued to fall from the gray clouds, and although it was now only a steady mist, he was completely soaked and his shirt stuck to his body. He should have worn a coat, but he had chopped enough wood to know that he would have taken it off midway through his work, so why bother wearing it in the first place?

“The things you do for a pound,” he mumbled. The words did not sit well with him. He thought of Annabel’s willingness to help, and how that willingness had nearly burned down the cottage. The kiss she gave him had raised feelings buried for years, and for a moment, he had considered what it would be like to be married to the woman.

“You thought the same of Mary,” he said as he brought the axe down once more, pushing all his frustration into that strike.

‘But she is not Mary,’ a tiny voice inside argued.

Anger burned in him, and he added it to his work. Splinters flew and the axe head became lodged in the wood. Grunting, he wiggled the handle and freed the axe once more.

Annabel may not be Mary, but it made for a good excuse for what he had done. Had he not told the woman that she possessed a strength that needed to be used? Yet, what of his? Should he not accept that same advice for himself?

He returned to his work as his mind attempted to solve the riddle in which he found himself. There was no doubt that he had strong feelings for Annabel, and he had to admit that they appeared when he first encountered her at the party given by Lord Thrup. What began as admiration had quickly turned to fondness fueled by the guilt that plagued him for his part in this fiasco.

The question that remained was, what would he do now? Did he return her to her aunt and not collect a reward? If he did that, he would be back to having nothing. Yet, if she remained with him as planned, part of the deal had been that he would end her life. Either way, he would lose her, but at least the former kept her alive.

‘She is not yours to protect.’

The axe came down again.

‘No matter how much you care for her, she can never be yours.”

That realization was a hard nut to break. Even if she were safe, even if Annabel wished it, Lady Lambert would never allow him to see Annabel again. Could he blame her? Not at all. If the same had happened to a daughter of his, he would never allow the man who took her anywhere near her. In fact, he would kill the man without a second thought. He shivered, not only from the cold but from that fact.

He paused to wipe his brow, the cold rain cooling his heated skin. The truth of the matter was, once Annabel was returned to Scarlett Hall, this notion of fondness would disappear and he would be free once again. She would realize what a failure he was and reason would set in.

His anger returned. A failure he was and would remain. He put all that ire into the next hour of work. He would collect the ransom and return her to Scarlett Hall with a warning about her safety.

‘Adam will be quite unhappy that Annabel is left alive. ‘

Let him be! Edward thought. He would take his payment and begin investing, changing his name in order to keep the man from finding him once again. As long as he kept his hands clean, he could go unnoticed anywhere.

Then, perhaps one day, that good man Annabel adamantly believed resided inside him would emerge. The only problem was, would Edward recognize him?