Purcell's Pairings | ✔

XV

     JOHN HAD BEEN waiting impatiently for the two to return. Based on the scowl on his face, evidently, even from afar, Annalise knew he was not pleased. But for what reason? She nor Vinnie had done anything wrong. They hadn't seen him in quite some time, either. Perhaps he'd a bad meeting? Annalise felt her mood dim ever-so-slightly at the look of him, but the grin that stretched from ear-to-ear on Vinnie's face eased her nerves a bit. Vinnie didn't have to say anything, Annie knew she'd work her charm on the grim man.

     "Hello, dearest brother!" the woman chirped the moment they'd stepped out of the carriage. "How was your trip? I'd not one letter from you, so I presume it was just that good?"

     Annie bit her lip to hold back a smile at the sarcasm that dripped from Vinnie's tongue. John, on the other hand, was far from amused. His icy black eyes bore into Annie's own gaze, his lips pressed together so tightly, it looked as though he hadn't any. "Vinnie, I thought I had instructed you to keep Miss Purcell inside the cottage."

     Vinnie's lips pursed together and she quickly turned back towards Annalise. "Well, perhaps, but I hadn't listened-"

     "Evidently."

     "-No lady wishes to spend her time indoors," Vinnie continued on, almost as if John hadn't even cut her off. Annalise admired her attitude. "I'd taken her to the art festival. Needn't fret, brother, we had a grand time."

     "Seems it," came John's grunt of a response.  His eyes briefly flickered towards Vinnie, though the harsh expression didn't die down, not even for a second. "I'd like a word with Miss Purcell, if you don't mind, sister."

       Much to Annalise's surprise, Vinnie quickly curtsied and left, leaving no signs of hesitation. She supposed even the chilling tone of Mr. Arten got to his sister now and then. She felt her heart sink as Vinnie's figure disappeared inside the house. Gulping down what didn't wish to trickle down her throat, Annie nervously clasped her hands together and stared down at John's polished shoes. For a moment, he did not speak. Seconds felt like hours, as if the clock's hands had been lathered in molasses, and she didn't know what to do. 

     "You are a grand disappointment."

     Those five words, as simple as they were, were even chillier than the tone John used. They sent shivers racing down her spine, turning the bones into an icicle. Her cheeks flushed, though her face turned a shade whiter. Suddenly, it seemed as though she was floating, and yet, at the same time, her head began to feel like it weighed a hundred more pounds. Her corset was tight, tighter than it had ever been, and she struggled to breathe. Those five words were something she'd never wished to hear, not from John, not from anyone else. Disappointment was her enemy, her nightmare. And now it was living inside of her. She'd become her worst fear.

     "I have told you, you are to tend to the house duties," John continued slowly, his words coming out slowly as he perfectly pronounced each and every one of them, as if they were difficult to send from his throat, despite how clear they were. "You do not listen to my fool-hearted sister. You are to become my wife soon enough, and you do as I say." When Annie did not respond, her throat too tight to release anything more than a choked sob, he grabbed her wrist, then continued, "You listen to me, not her." Still, nothing came from her mouth, and John took that as, she knew what she was doing going forward. With a curt nod, John rose to his full height, keeping a tight grip on her sore wrist. Tugging it once, he started up towards the cottage, and Annalise had no choice but to scramble behind him. She wanted to cry out to him, tell him how much he was hurting her, but nothing would emerge from within the pit of her stomach. Her emotions were sealed tight inside, bouncing around one another like particles, impatiently waiting to transfer elsewhere. She felt like the cricket her younger brother had once caught, trapped in that flipped-over bowl, unable to breathe, to escape. It had died within days. Annalise wondered how long it would take before a part of her died, too.