Purcell's Pairings | ✔

XXI

     WEEKS WENT ON, and eventually, the threats went away. They died off slowly, jumping from five to six messages a week to about four, and in time, they stopped altogether. At first, Annalise had been convinced that they had stopped because the Purcells moved back home, but that wasn't the case. It seemed like John Arten's angry obsession died off. She'd never felt so relieved.

     Going home was one of the best things that could ever happen to her. She'd ridden in a carriage with Maisie and Esther, and as per usual, Maisie had a lot to say. And for once, it didn't bother Annalise. In fact, she was engulfed in Maisie's excited chatter, hooking onto every little bit of juicy gossip her younger sister had to say. That girl knew everything, it was a bit extreme. Annie did not even know where she had the time to go out and gather such information; some of the things spoken aloud seemed a bit personal. Maisie had always had a way with words, though, and if anyone could get anything out of a person, no matter how reserved they were, it would be Maisie Purcell. The last conversation they'd had together (or, more like, the last bit of time Maisie had to splurge on her words) consisted of the youngest of the three complaining about how mister William Earlston hadn't yet proposed to her.

     "Maisie," Esther had laughed. "You have all the time in the world."

     Unfortunately for them all, they knew that was a bit of a stretch. Men, especially those of wealth, could take as much time as they wished to do as they pleased before finding a wife, but if a woman wasn't in a stable relationship by the time she was twenty-five, she was undesirable. Annie was slowly inching up to the deadline. The Purcells would grab the first available man and toss him her way before she reached those numbers, though. At that point, it wouldn't even matter who it was that was marrying her. That also meant she wouldn't have the ability to turn him down; her family would never in a million years let that slip. She was fearful they'd drag John back into the picture, if she was being honest. She felt like there had been a load taken off of her shoulders when he fled, and it lightened even more when he halted his messages.

     Annalise hadn't said anything after that, not until that night at dinner, when they had their first meal together in over a month. It was a joy. Her father tried to bring up business talk, as per usual, but the women of the family managed to cut it out. The younger children, who Annalise soon learned had travelled with their parents when the sickness came around, did not sit at their direct table and therefore couldn't shut him down, but Beth and her three daughters were successful enough. Annalise at least was able to leave the main dining room before any bank-related talk brewed into the air.

     Now, she lay in bed, silent, staring blindly up at the cream-coloured ceiling of her bedroom. She would never admit it aloud, but she was truly beginning to miss the Bellegardes. Annie adored her immediate family, that went without a doubt, but the atmosphere was different. Here, things were stricter, more business-like, formal. The Bellegardes were so laid-back; even their house was more open and homey than the Purcell's, which was surprising, since Annalise had lived in her home since birth. She supposed the colours, patterns, and layout had something to do with it, but she was beginning to feel homesick. She was homesick in her own home. 

     She did not long for the Arten cottage, not in the slightest. Though she was the slightest bit disappointed that Vinnie hadn't written back to her, that woman was about the only thing she missed from that family. The small, butterfly of hope that fluttered inside her stomach was doing its very best to persuade her that this was only because Annalise hadn't informed the woman that she'd transferred back home, she knew the reason for a lack of response on Vinnie's end was more than that. John Arten knew about their travels, after all. It was very, very unlikely that Vinnie hadn't been informed.