Chapter Three
“It's you...”
He was lounging casually in a chair on the other side of the room, engulfed by the shadows and looking just as smug as she remembered him. When she met his gaze he smiled at her, tapping the bottom of one boot against the floor to conform his presence. “Surprised to see me are you? I imagined you would be.” He spoke to her while carefully lifting himself out of his seat. Something about his tone seemed rehearsed, as if he had been playing over what he planned on saying to her dozens of times before she entered the room. The fact that he had the leisure to do so without being noticed or overheard disturbed Annette in ways she could not describe. Out of the corner of her eye she observed him quietly, unable to bring herself to speak. He was much taller than she remembered him being. Or perhaps it was the pitifully small room that was just creating an illusion. Though it had been years since she had looked upon him so clearly he was unchanged by the ravages of time. Clad in black he seemed to blend far too easily with the shadows, leaving adequate moments where she felt as if he were more phantom than man.
Annette found herself trembling with fear as she watched him through the mirror. Being in his presence made her heart race wildly. Lord Derrick; the menace who had made her life a living hell in the past, was close enough to reach out and touch her. Behaving as if they were frequent acquaintances he traveled slowly around the room, putting out some of the candles with the tips of his fingers and disturbing her by displaying very little reaction. It ought to have been painful, and yet he seemed so unscathed. “I have been snubbed by women before." He exclaimed as he performed the task. "I have been insulted and offended just like any other man of my status.” He paused, turning to look over at her while she continued to stare into the mirror. “But such open defiance of my wishes, by a commoner, that is something I have never seen before...”
“Why are you here?” Annette whispered as her eyes clouded with moisture. She clung to the jacket like it were a life preserver. It had been years since she'd been in a room by herself with a man like Lord Derrick. His open invasion of her most intimate space made her insides violently churn in a way that made her feel like she was going to be sick. Memories of him calling her 'portly' during their first meeting still haunted the dark regions of her mind. “There has to be a reason. Someone like you doesn't wait around in old theatre rooms unless it's because of something important.”
“I came to speak with you of course.” He replied, glancing over at her with a smile playing in his features. Lord Derrick had never been cheerful in all the time Annette worked at blackthorn manner. She had no recollections of him expressing amusement, or even joy for that matter. The other maids used to tell her it was in his nature to be cold. Every time she saw him he was all stony faced and rigid. Like a marble statue perched in someones hallway. Seeing him this way made her nervous, especially when he stood between her and the only possible exit. “Surely you expected a confrontation after returning so many of the things that I gave to you?” He inquired with a shrug of his shoulders. “Actions that bold seldom go unnoticed. I wanted to see whether or not you had gone mad over the past few years. After all you were denying the admiration of a Lord...”
“I did not want them. ” Annette said as she studied his fluid movements. He did not just walk along the floorboards, he whisked across them like a ghost, only ever making a sound when he wanted to and scarcely paying attention to her obvious anxiety. “I mean... I was very grateful for the return of my lost shawl Sir, but everything else that you tried to give me I found rather unsettling. The more you continued to send them the more inappropriate they seemed. Many of them reminded me of trinkets that one might send to a loved one. Which led me to believe that you were teasing me. Or playing a game.” She sighed feeling as if her tongue was slowly tying itself into a knot. “Erm, what I mean is that....Well surely a great man such as yourself would have better things to spend his wealth on other than frivolous gifts for a [i]fat[/i] little maid?”
“A maid?” He paused, letting some of the wax from a burning candle drip into the palm of his hand. “Ahhhh yes you were a maid once weren't you? Years ago, back when I first encountered you in Blackthorn. Yes you were quite unsightly back then. ” He said with just a slight pause. “But you were not a maid when I sent you those gifts. You were a dancer, just as you are now. And from what I can tell you are not so portly anymore. ” He proclaimed this quite loudly, staring at her briefly as he peeled the dried wax from his skin. “Your body has become slender over the years. No doubt from all the dancing that you now have to endure. It suits you.”
“Forgive me for saying this my Lord but when I left your manor it wasn't exactly in the lightest of circumstances. I had myself convinced that you...despised me.” Annette proclaimed with a lump in the back of her throat. Hesitantly she set her coat down into the table, mindful not to place it too close to any stray candles that were still scattered across it. “Surely you must understand at least some of my confusion. You loathed me before! You were undeniably cruel! ”
“Indeed. I can still remember the day that you left Blackthorn. You ran away after I implied that you were worthless and never came back, not even to collect your final pay. I could not fathom how anyone would have wanted to leave so badly that they would walk through the mud and battle such harsh winds. You even lost an article of clothing in your desperation to get out.” He paused, turning his head towards her. His expression was not as pleasant as it had initially been. The more the conversation lingered on the colder it became. The fleeting moment of humour that she had witnessed early was gone. “To be frank I really didn't plan on ever interacting with the likes of you again. After you left you were as quickly forgotten as an old shoe. When I first heard of you working at a theatre I assumed that you would be scrubbing the stage, not performing on it.”
“If that is truly how you feel then why do you still persist in giving me tokens Sir?” She asked him, hugging her arms across her chest to comfort the fact that the room was cold, dark, and nowhere near her liking. The smoke from the candles he'd extinguished made her eyes water and when she took a deep breath in she smell something sweet wafting through the air.
“Don't be naive now Annette.” He chuckled softly while peering in her direction. “I know everything there is to know about your life and what you have been doing these past three years. With the right connections one can find out anything about a girl like you. I know that you have been confronted by many suitors before. I am not the only man who has made strong intentions of wooing you.” As he said this she saw him smirk, running one hand across the surface of her vanity as if inspecting it for flaws. “Of course the thing that separates me from all of those other men is will power and determination. ”
Annette felt as if she were going to faint at that moment. The delicate hairs on the back of her neck tingled as she stepped back from the man who had invaded her dressing room. “Woo?! Me?! B-B-But my Lord, I am just a lowly commoner! You said so yourself when I was still working in Blackthorn manor! The day that I left you told me that you would not pursue a woman who was beneath you in status. Surely you remember this?” She stumbled clumsily over her own words, alarmed and desperately searching for a 'proper' excuse. She could not believe what was happening to her. It felt too much like a nightmare. There was a moment when she even tried to pinch herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Was it the weight she had lost now after years of dancing? She was much more slender since her departure from Blackthorn but Annette had never considered this to be a dramatic change.
Lord Derrick merely snickered at her obvious distress, feeding off of her misery without a hint of remorse. “Poor little Annette. How little you seem to know about the world around you.” He chided, aggravating her with his blatantly patronizing tone. “A dancer does not have any genuine 'status' in society. The world of arts and performance is isolated from the rest of human life. You and other dancers alike yourself are neither common nor elite. You are of another world entirely. ” He paused, turning around to face her when he had run out of candles to extinguish on that side of the room. “I suppose that your separation from your previous life in such a short amount of time has me intrigued as well. In only three years you've climbed up from a raggedy little maid to a well-known performer. The world knows who you are now. As do I.”
“But...I never wanted to be known” Annette sighed while scuffing her feet against the floor. She wanted to appear confident in the face of this threat, but every time he looked at her and their eyes met she found herself feeling utterly helpless. This couldn't be happening, she told herself. It was just another one of his cruel tricks. Any minute now he would burst into a fit of laughter and make a snide comment about how pathetic she was for believing him and it would cut through her like a razor blade. Lifting her chin she resolved herself to beat him before he could get to the punchline. “I am sorry my Lord.” She began with a firm shake of her head. “But I am not interested in being courted by any of my admirers. Now if you would please leave I would like to extinguish the rest of these candles and go home now.” To reassure herself that she wasn't simply chattering mindlessly Annette stalked across the room towards the door, intending on holding it open in some dramatic gesture for him to leave. When her hand reached for the brass knob he reacted suddenly, seizing hold of her wrist and violently yanking her towards the centre of the room. “What are you doing?!” Annette scarcely had time to scream and stood helplessly in the very centre of her dressing room, her arms pinned tightly against her chest.
“As I have said before Annette-” He began while pacing quietly around her. “I do not consider myself to be like any of your other so-called “admirers”. One of the grandest feats of my character is that I am determined and relentless when I truly want something. Once I have decided that it should be mine nothing will keep me from it, and I will stop at nothing until I have obtained it for my own.” There was something about the way that he stared at her that made her feel like she was shrinking. The intensity of his gaze was just too much for her to handle. It was so intense, so filled with anger and hostility. It was unbelievable that he was talking about something that others might have considered romantic.
Pale in the face, Annette nodded her head quietly in acknowledgment. “And what you want right now...is me.” She said, completing his sentence with a dreadful sensation looming over her thoughts.
Lord Derrick chuckled softly at the sound of her words, reaching out and cupping the bottom of her chin with one hand. Surprisingly he was delicate with her, although his fingers were bony and cool to the touch. “What a clever little girl you have become Annette. Clearly your mind has sharpened since your left my household. Perhaps all you needed was a little time...” He ignored the feeble whimpering sounds that she made when he tilted her face to one side, studying her carefully as if inspecting her for some sort of flaw. She felt like a cow being poked and prodded by a butcher; quietly enduring misery while very much aware of the terrible intentions of the one who was examining her. “Your features have matured a great deal as well. And your skin is fashionably pale, but not so much that you appear sickly.” He added, smiling as his vision trialed slowly down the rest of her body. “For the sake of his disappointment I certainly do hope that you do not already have a lover bidding for your affections.”
“A lover?!” Annette felt her face go pink with embarrassment as she wriggled free from his grip. “You must be mad! How can you ask me such a thing? Even when I was just a child my mother taught me that such idle things are inappropriate for a young woman. It would ruin my prospects for marriage and distract me with needless drama. I couldn't stand to disappoint her.”
“Then you have never been courted before then?”
“No!” She frowned, embarrassed by how he openly questioned her about the most personal regions of her life. “I could never bring myself to do such a thing. I didn't even have a childhood sweetheart when I was younger. My life has always been separated from, scandalous behaviour. ”
“Hmmmm, odd." He retorted with a slight frown. "I had heard many rumors that you were rewarding your admirers with your body. I suppose it's a shame for your other suitors then.” He replied quickly to her statement, smiling as if he had always known that was what she would say. “They do not know of how you taste or what your body feels like and they will never know it now.” His expression became slightly more calculating as he continued to pace softly around her. “And what a fortunate opportunity that I have now. I must confess, I had always assumed your body was already tarnished long before you came to work in my household. A sweet faced girl like you could fall prey to any number of loathsome characters quite easily. And without your mother to protect you...” He paused, clasping his hands firmly behind his back and Annette felt intense heat rise to her cheeks. The intimate aspects of her life had always given her anxiety. Though well beyond the marrying age she had never felt any interest in seeking out a husband. “None the less I am certain that you will look quite splendid.”
“Splendid?" She chirped like a startled bird, carefully watching his every movement out of fear that he might try something terrible. "Splendid doing what?!"
He went eerily silent upon hearing her and stopped pacing around the room long enough to shoot a cunning smirk in her direction. “Moaning helplessly beneath me of course. ”
The words left an echo in the room that disturbed her in ways she could barely comprehend. He looked at her without flinching, unashamed by the brashness of his own words. He must have known that he had said something inappropriate. He smiled in a way that suggested he was delighted by himself, or perhaps by the shyness that she displayed when she realized the true extent of his words. Wide eyed with terror she stumbled a few paces back, searching frantically for a path she could use to escape through the door on the opposite side of the room. With her arms still tightly pressed against her chest she wept silently for a moment, shaking her head when her mind began to wander towards a series of violent images of what he meant. “You must be out of your mind!” She proclaimed when her chest no longer felt tight and the ability to speak was not as painful. Annette was flawed in this way. Although significantly older than most of the other dancers in the troupe she was easily the most naive when it came to pleasure and intimacy. All that she really knew was that 'proper' women did not do such things until they were married. Her Aunt had never taught her otherwise the entire time she had lived under the woman's care though there was the occasional moments when she would ask Annette about her relationship with a few of her admirers. Crossing her arms over her chest she shook her head firmly in defiance, aware of the situation now and completely revolted by it. “I would never do something like that. Not with you, or any other man. The only women who use their bodies are ones of ill repute!”
“Yes, I imagined that you would say something like that.” He droned boredly while lifting one hand in front of his face. While she trembled violently with anger and disgust he casually examined his fingernails, seemingly unphased by the vulgarity of his own words. “It is certainly frowned upon for a lady to indulge of romances when she is not married. But of course those rules are typically applied to the women of the elite who are expected to be proper because their regal blood permits it. You are not an elite.” Annette flinched, ashamed for some reason as she watched him slowly lift one of the candles up to his face and extinguish the flame with one gentle gust of air.
“But this is not a matter of having a 'romance' is it?” She murmured softly while watching smoke waft into the darkened air. “Men like you...they don't want anything to do with women like me. I've seen it by watching the other girls that work here; when you find someone you like you shower her with gifts and she becomes your temporary whore. Then when you get bored you discard of her like a tarnished rag and move on to the next unsuspecting soul. There's nothing romantic about that...” Her words were soft and wispy as she observed him drifting across the room, putting out more candles as he went.
“The way you talk makes me think you have been listening just a little too carefully to the other girls that you dance with. What a shame. ” He snickered, suddenly amused by their conversation. “I could spend quite some time describing how wrong you are but it appears to be getting late and I doubt that either of us have the energy to endure such a traumatic occurrence. I will say that I have every intention of having you though.”
“You're wasting your time then.” Annette frowned, unable to mask the annoyance that was now slowly rising inside of her. Listening to him speak was starting to wear down. Like having someone file your fingernails down to stubs only to keep on going until they had scraped off skin, blood and bone. It didn't help matters that he distinctly reminded her of a very spoiled child and every time he looked smugly in her direction she had the overwhelming urge to slap him. “I thought your might have realized it the first time I sent back a gift of yours but it appears that you didn't; I'm not interested in being courted by you. Not for innocent purposes and certainly not so you can satisfy some twisted carnal desire. If you really want the 'company' of a woman then all I can suggest is seeking out the nearest brothel. You won't get that sort of vulgar behaviour out of me.”
He was laughing long before she had even finished. “Oh Annette. Sweet, naive, little Annette...” Shaking his head gently he extinguished one last candle before turning around to face her. “Have you forgotten everything that I said to you three years ago? I find it strange that you were somehow able to retain some memory of the insults I conjured up but failed to recall the important conversation that we had it regards to my...privileges.” There was a knot in the back of her throat now. There were a million things she wanted to shout back in response to him but she found that the words simply could not be formed. She remembered that little conversation he spoke of. Far too vividly in fact. And seeing him grin sheepishly at her while she gasped quietly in horror made her feel as if the walls were suddenly starting to close in on her. The room was getting smaller. Either that or Lord Derrick was getting taller. Either way she did not like it and firmly stepped back when he made an attempt to approach her. “You know Annette, if I truly wanted to I could have you right now.” He snickered, clasping his hands behind his back casually as he paced in circles around her. “I could throw you down onto this very floor and violate you right now in front of this little audience of candles and nobody would come to your rescue.”
“That's not true! It can't be true!!” Annette exclaimed through trembling lips. Her eyes followed him carefully, mindful of every single move that he made now that he was so close. “I'm not working for you anymore and we aren't in Blackthorn. We have no relationship and I am not some random prostitute that you plucked off the street. Nobody will stand by and allow such a thing to happen. If I scream someone will come! They will have you arrested and thrown into jail!”
He shook his head. “Wrong again again I'm afraid, for you see Annette there is one thing you are forgetting: I'm a Lord.” When he said this he laughed, placing a finger to his lips as if it were some sort of secretive game they were playing. “There isn't a Judge or jury alive that would convict me for a crime against a lowly commoner. Even if you fought tooth and nail you would still loose. Worse yet; I could come back and ravish you again. That is the perk of being so wealthy you see. You can buy your way out of rules that commoners such as yourself cannot afford to get away with.” There were tears forming in her eyes again. She tried blinking them away so he wouldn't see but it did her no good. Even if he had seen them he probably did not care. Lord Derrick did not concern himself with the feelings of others. He had already made this painfully clear to her.
Desperate she reached blindly behind her, feeling her hands brush against the barren wall until finally clasping hold of a metal candle holder. Defiantly she held it out in front of her, swinging it a few times when he made an abrupt step towards her. “I won't let you get away with this!” She fumed, praying that the darkness hid how violently her hands had begun to shake. “People will find out about it the moment it happens and you'll be labeled as the disgusting monster that you are!”
“Now, now. Refusal will not do you any good Annette.” He replied smugly to her weeping, indifferent to the fear that she had obviously displayed. “On the contrary it will only make your situation more dire than it already is. Besides, you don't have much of a choice in the matter. The only kin you have left to lay claim to you and your so called 'reputation' is your Aunt, and she has given her full consent to let me take you.”
“No! It can't be!” Her resolve weakened and the candle holder fell from her hands, clanging loudly when it struck the floor. “That's a lie. She would never allow something like that to happen to me. I'm like a daughter to her!” Annette whispered, shaking her head feebly as he began to laugh at her once more. “It's nothing more than a filthy lie. You made it up!”
“Yes, you are right. Your Aunt does love you. She loves you very much in fact.” He agreed with a gentle nod of his head. “But she is also a woman of realistic views and knows that it is only a matter of time before your fame starts to fade away. The admiration will cease when your wrinkles show and no man will want to have you. Exploiting you now while you are still young is the only rational thing to do. Of course she understands that a large part of this involves the use of your body...” Annette felt tears stream down her face as she listened to him. The way that he spoke so lightly about the subject proved to be the most horrifying aspect of the conversation. It disturbed her even more than the subtle threats he had put out about raping her (not that she still didn't consider that a possibility). Annette was not a fool when it came to lust and how it lived inside of people. She knew of the intentions of some of the men who admired her in the past. She knew the meaning of their gifts and what aspect of her that they want. But she also knew better than to behave in a way that would risk her future. When she first became a young woman her mother had taken her aside time and time again and warned her never to give her body away. “I did it once and believe me it will only cause you grief.” she had told her. “Women like us are no good once we have sold ourselves. The world looks at us differently and we will never be able to outrun the secrets and the lies that are prominent in such a life. Never give yourself away. Never!” Her words echoed in Annette's mind right now, haunting her with the distinct reminder of what was right and what was wrong. Though her mother had never said anything else about the subject Annette had always known that her warning stemmed from experience.
“Please my Lord, I beg you, I cannot do this....” She whispered as she glanced uneasily in his direction, trembling anxiously in spite of her resolution to sound much firmer. Every time he looked over at her Annette would feel her resolve break in half like a fragile piece of glass. She was helpless in the face of something so terrifying. No one had ever warned her of the true extent of Lord Derricks power. If she had known she would have run all the way to another country instead of cowering at her Aunts doorstep. Crying bitterly she pinned her hands to her chest, whimpering softly as she begged him; “Please! My chastity is the only virtue that I have left!! Without it I don't know what I would do!”
“Still sentimental towards meaningless things I see?” Lord Derrick answered her, kicking the candle holder she had brandished at him with one foot as he lunged towards her. It rolled off somewhere into a corner but she didn't have time to focus on it. She was distracted by the lack of space between their bodies now. He was close. So close that she could study the detailing of his clothing and smell the intense scent of smoke that wafted off of him. It was enough to make her feel like passing out, and she would have if he hadn't taken hold of her suddenly. Smiling down at her he traced the side of his thumb across her bottom lip, outlining the rosy skin as if he were examining a fine piece of art; a statue perhaps, and not just a girl. “Mmmm your skin is soft.” He remarked with hint of a smile forming in the corners of his mouth. “I wonder if that mouth of yours tastes differently with all those sweet words coming out of it all the time. Shall we see?...”
“No!” Annette squeaked, struggling to speak with the palms of his hands pressing against her cheeks. “I-I-I can't.” Her hands reached up, tugging at the sleeve of his jacket but it was no use. His lips found their way to hers, drawing her forcefully into a kiss. Annette squirmed uncomfortably, ashamed and humiliated by the knowledge that this was in fact her first kiss. She had never imagined what it would be like. The touch of a man had never captured her interest the way it seemed to do in the minds of other girls her age. She never understood what it was meant to feel like, or what she should have expected. What she did know that this was not the way she had intended for it to happen. Lord Derrick was not the man she wanted to be the one to touch her first. Knowing that he had stolen was something that made Annette cringe with disgust.
He was nothing that she wanted. This was not the sweet and gentle youth she might have been hoping to exchange her first affections with. Everything he did to her was rough and brutish. Her skin burned when he seized both of her wrists, squeezing them tightly so that she was unable to break free. When she inhaled she found herself disgusted to learn that his breath smelled strongly of wine. She hated it; every single moment but though she struggled and writhed the whole time she could not break free from her attacker. Lord Derrick groaned fiercely when he touched her, pushing Annette backwards until her back slammed against the wall. Eyes wide and unable to suppress her alarm she felt as his tongue ran across the outside of her teeth, trying to coax her into parting them. Her arms flailed through the air, desperately struggling against his advances. His teeth grazed against her lower lip, chewing on it playfully until she felt a sharp sting of pain surge through it. She tried to scream but it was too much. The moment her teeth parted he had plunged his tongue between them, invading the unfamiliar territory of her mouth and causing Annette to cringe. She could not breath. Worse of all that loathsome 'appendage' was now squirming around inside of her mouth like an eel and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her fists were useless. They thumped against his chest furiously but never seemed to inflict any damage.
“Mmm you taste sweet. Very sweet my dear.” He purred when their lips had at last parted . “Warm and soft. Just like I imagined you would...” Annette scarcely listened. She was busy struggling to catch her breath after nearly being suffocated by the man who was currently holding her. Everything ached. Her lips were bruised and sore. She could feel her wrists burning still even though he had released them. But she did not have time to mope about the discomfort. No sooner that she had recovered that she felt his hands traveling down her body. They started at her neck, sliding down the front of her chest and all the way to the curve of her hips. He smiled knowingly, burying his fingers into the skirt of her dress and pulling it up just a few inches to reveal a tiny glimpse of her feet. She squirmed violently, struggling against the invasive touch until she finally broke free, causing her to tumble violently to the floor.
“I am very aware that my nature is frequently twisted or laced with cruelty Annette. Though you may not believe it I am fully aware of the damage that my character inflicts on the people around me. I am not a very forgiving man when it comes to the pursuit of women. Or kind for that matter.” He spoke loudly, casting a shadow over her tiny form. “But I always get what I want, and you are not in any position to deny me. If you had even an ounce of common sense left in that brain of yours Annette, you would consent to my wishes. It would spare you a large amount of grief.”
“I already told you my answer; no!” Her voice was fragile as she gazed at the floor underneath her. Both her knees and elbows ached from the impact of her fall. He ignored her pain and the way that she struggled to get back up afterwards. “Not not. Not tomorrow. Not in a million years!” The tears that fell from her eyes seemed practically invisible as he stepped past her, sauntering across the room again in some restless stance. "I won't ever do anything like that with you."
“Hmmm... You seem flustered and upset. I think this might be the first time a woman has ever wept at the idea of being bedded by me.” He pondered for a moment, glancing at her as she clung to the edge of her vanity, her coat long forgotten in a crumpled heap on the floor between them. “Perhaps if you visited my estate it might help persuade you. Blackthorn has always been a rather comforting place. Even the most stubborn ladies have been soothed by dwelling inside of it for a few days. After all; it was constructed to be a place of serenity and beauty. I should know. My grandfather was the one who made it.”
“No thank you.” She replied firmly as her knuckles slowly began to turn white. “To me Blackthorn manner has nothing but bad memories. Besides I have work to do here in the theatre. I cannot just leave in such short notice.”
“I'm sure there are dozens of other dancers eager to step up and take your place while you are absent. And I am quite certain your dance instructors and this theatres stuffy old directors would forgive you...if you have been asked to do a private performance for their Lord. Yes, that idea would work quite handsomely.” He decided after furrowing his expression into one of deep contemplation. “It's settled then. I want you to come to see me at my manor tomorrow. Your company will surely bring a breath of fresh air to that currently dusty old structure. Since your departure it seems like the maids have gotten much older and more sullen looking.
Annette gasped as she lightly dusted her hands across the front of her dress. She said no of course. It seemed like the only thing she could say to him with her nerves crumbling away into dust. But even the firmness and resolve of 'no' was futile against the wishes of a Lord. He exited the room so quietly that she did not even notice that he was gone until she looked up and saw that the room was vacant. Gathering her coat up off the floor she too exited from the wretched place but not before blowing the remaining candles out.
Her Aunt was a force to be reckoned with when Annette came to her in tears later that evening. Lord Derrick had departed from the theatre without another word but he made a point of 'escorting' her out into the front lobby where multiple people were around to witness the dramatic scene. Pressing his hand against the small of her back he smiled mischievously at her; fully aware of the jealous stares being directed towards them. There were not many left in the theatre at this hour. But those who remained caught whiff of the Lords presence rather quickly. The ones who were still young and full of spirit were remarkably bitter as they looked out from behind statues and shadowy corners to see that Annette was there with him. “Tomorrow night then my dear?” He said to her, flashing her that cunning smile that made the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. “Don't be late. I do not enjoy being kept waiting.”
The older woman did not comfort Annette when she broke down. She scolded the girl for her so called “melodramatics”, pursing her lips as they headed back home. It was completely dark by then and Annette was tired and worn out both by a hard days work and the stress of her current situation with Lord Derrick. As they walked together down the empty street she explained what had happened to the other woman, even the obscene details that made her cheeks burn furiously when she said them out loud. “Lord Derrick wants me to come to Blackthorn tomorrow. ” She exclaimed as they stepped through the front door. “I told him 'no' but he would not listen. I tried my best but it just seems like he cannot be reasoned with. I don't know what to do!”
“You don't?” The older woman surprised her by scoffing loudly as she removed her coat and tossed it onto a worn hook on the wall beside her. “I would think that even a girl like you would understand the role that is expected of you in this kind of situation. You must obey him Annette. ”
“But I can't!” She cried, pacing behind the woman as they moved across the wooden floor. It was dark in the house. She could barely see a few inches in front of her until her Aunt lit the oil lamp that she kept inside the kitchen. When a golden light engulfed them Annette calmed her nerves and began to speak once more. “Please help me. I do not know how to make him stop and I fear that he will harm me if I try to confront him myself. Perhaps if you talked to him for me. You are very good at reasoning with people. ”
“Have you completely lost your mind? Lord Derrick is one of the most powerful men in the city Annette! He cannot be reasoned with.” Her Aunt had cried as they stood together in her cluttered little kitchen discussing the matter. “Besides it is much too late. I have already spoken with him. He promises to compensate me and the theater itself for your absence. I am struggling just to survive and there are far too many expenses for the directors and managers to keep up with. When he came to me asking for permission to formally court you I didn't have any choice. He could destroy me! He could completely wreck the entire theater. I could not live with myself if that happened. And besides, he promised me that he would take good care of you-
“But I don't want to be his whore!” The young girl wept loudly as she pinned her arms tightly against her chest. “Don't you see it? He's doing all of this because he wants to have me as a lover. He plans to use me. Please don't make me go there tomorrow. ”
“I cannot do anything to help you Annette! I tried to change his mind. I honestly did. I talked to him for well over two hours but he would not hear any of my excuses or negotiations. I even suggested other girls that worked there but he would hear none of it. He had made up his mind about wanting you. When Lord Derrick wants something he always gets it. Don't you understand how the world works? Surely by now you should have learned to comprehend where you stand? You and I are not part of the same world. We are beneath men like him and must do anything that we are asked of by them because of it. That's how things work. There's nothing I can do about it.”
