The Felon

Chapter 8 - Welcome

" Congratulations, Annelyn. Now , we have had housing arrangements made for you and Mr Hughes. You will be staying with me and the rest of the private investigators. James will be staying at the Somerset Inn, until we find other arrangements. For your safety, please don't tell anyone about this. Especially young James. " requested William. Annie nodded "Yes, of course. What about Lavender, my dog?" ." Ahh, yes the Border Collie. She has done much investigating, in fact, she lead us to a rather helpful sheet of paper where your carriage was found.She will be coming with you, naturally . " answered William. Annie grinned, and ran upstairs. She came down with Lavender and her trunk, slipped out the door and onto an elegant black horse. " This is your horse. His name, well ,you decide. You can use him whenever you want, and he'll come in handy for chasing criminals. " said William Jones with a laugh. Annelyn watched as a sobbing James was driven away in a carriage. Poor James, she thought.  Then, with a nudge, Annelyn was riding down the road as the sun set.

"Nice!" Exclaimed Annie as the pack of horses came to a stop outside a pretty house.She dismounted her horse, and followed everybody else into a stable. Annelyn lead the silky black horse into a stall , and then excitedly ran into the house. " Your room is that way." Stated Mr Jones, gesturing to a door . Annie strode in, discovering two beds. The one closest to the fireplace was empty, but the on the other a girl about Annelyn's age was sitting. "Sorry, this is my room." Stated Annie. The girl rolled eyes "I'm your roommate ,Rosie Flynn. You must be Annelyn Smith. Will has been going on about you , I expected you'd be a little 'stuck-up'.". "Excuse me? I am not stuck up!" Replied Annie, steam practically coming out of her ears.

"You heard me... Self-obsessed, stuck up!"
" I am not!"
" Oh, look at me! I'm Annelyn , and I'm horrible !"
"Grow up, please!"
"Oh,are you going to cry now ?"
"Please, stop it !"

Tears came to Annie's eyes ,and she felt a little lump in her throat. Annie placed her trunk at the foot of the bed, and sat down. " Stop, please. I'm sorry, really." Apologised Annelyn. "Of course you are. Look, let's just steer clear of each other. I'll move into the spare room, and little Annie will have her own room." snapped Rosie. Annelyn burst into tears at being called 'little Annie', it reminded her of Theodorus . "Stop , stop ,stop!" Shrieked Annie, still struggling to believe that her parents were missing. Rosie rolled her eyes and strolled out into the kitchen. "Oi, William!" Yelled Rosie." Mm ...?" Replied William. " Can I have the spare room? Please, Will!" Asked Rosie.

"Why? It's massive , Rosie!"
"Yes , that isn't the issue."
"Then what is?"
"You know what it is!"
"No, I really don't . "
" That stupid Smith girl is the problem! I want the spare room!"
"Look...."
"No! I want the spare room."
"Well, you can have it. At least until the new boy joins."
"Another new person! Can we afford it?"
"I'm sure we can Rosie.Now get your things and leave poor Annie to settle in. "

Rose laughed, and Annelyn could practically imagine her rolling her eyes. Rosie trotted in, hands on hips.  "Farewell, Annie." Rose picked up her things and smirked. Annelyn smirked right back as Rosie walked out and set all of her things out . Annie then lay on her bed, exhausted after the past few days.

"DINNER!" Cried William. Annie rolled out of bed, feeling well rested. She gave a yawn, then strolled out into the kitchen. "Take a seat, take a seat." Said William with a smile.Annie sat down at the only seat available, between Rosie and boy a little older than herself.  "Oh, why how nice to see you too!" Snapped Rosie. "Oh... Uh... Evening." Replied Annie. The boy next to Annelyn gave Rosie a glare and said to Annelyn "Don't worry , she always does that. I'm Jeremy , you are...?".

"Oh I'm Annelyn, Annelyn Smith."
"Nice to meet you."
"Yeah... Same. I mean... of course... No sorry, I..."
"Hahaha ! So, I hear you were quite the detective in London."
"Oh, no ... Hardly."
" In my opinion, discovering that a mass murderer lived a few doors away is a quite an achievement ! "
"Hahahaha, well, perhaps that was worth some praise."
"Correct, now... I've heard a little bit about your current case. In fact ,I'll be working on it with you."
"Oh, delightful!So, any ideas for investigation tomorrow?"
"Well, we could always have a look in that house. You know, the one Mr Ruft was last seen in."

Annelyn and Jeremy continued to chat at the dinner table, and Annelyn grew happier and happier.