Hidden in the Castle

Part 11

Chapter 10

Annabelle turned in her bed, sighing when her duvet tangled around her legs.  The night before, she hadn’t been able to sleep.  The words that she had spoken replayed in her mind, and Annabelle couldn’t help wondering if she had ruined a blooming relationship, or if she had just shown William who she truly was.  Was that who she was, though?  Was Annabelle the type of woman to stand up for herself, no matter who it was who dealt the insults? 

She shook her head as she kicked the cover away from her body.  It was already too hot in her chamber to begin with, but the added weight of the blanket had felt good the night before.  For an odd reason, it had brought her back to her childhood, where she would burrow under her blanket, thinking that it would protect her from all the dangers of the world.  She was naïve then.  Now, she knew that simply hiding could not save a person from dangers. 

Therefore, maybe she was the person she showed William the night before.  No, she was not that person yet, but Annabelle wanted nothing more to become that person.  Was it so wrong to want to change herself?  Was it wrong of her to dislike the weakness inside of her?  She did not know.

Ramsey would have been proud, Anna thought with a smile.  The man would have given her a half smile, told her that he could have done better, but he would have been proud.  Leaning up in her bed, Annabelle glanced towards the window.  It was still dark outside, most likely early in the morning.  Daylight would come soon, but she would not wake Ramsey until the light shone in the sky.  The man had done enough for her in the past day; she wouldn’t repay that generosity by disturbing him while he slept, but as soon as he woke, Annabelle was going to recount every detail of the night before.

He would tell her what he truly thought.  He would tell her if she were too harsh, or not harsh enough, because he was a true friend.  It was odd, even thinking the words, but she knew them to be true.  Ramsey, although odd at times, was an honest man.  Not once had he lied to Annabelle, not once had he pretended to be someone he was not.  Was it because he did not care what others thought of him?  Anna knew that is what he wanted the world to think, but she saw deeper.  The man had secrets, ones that made him who he was today. 

Would he ever tell her those secrets?  Would he ever trust her enough to divulge the hardships of his past?  More questions flew through her mind, and each question brought a small bit of restlessness until she could no longer lie in her bed.  It may have been too early for any other guests to be awake, but that did not mean that she had to stay in bed all day waiting for them to awake. 

Swinging her feet from her bed and onto the floor, Annabelle smoothed down her platted hair.  If her maid were here, Annabelle would have asked the woman to free her hair of its braid, to fix it as the woman had always done, but as it was, Annabelle would have to leave it be.  She would be back before her maid arrived, she assured herself.  She just simply needed to put on a gown, something she was sure would be easy.

After ten minutes of struggling, twisting, turning, and grunting, Annabelle finally had her gown in place.  She could have woken her maid, called for help, but the new Annabelle wouldn’t call for help at the simplest things.  She would be able to do things on her own.  Glancing down at the gown covering her, she winced.  Maybe she should let her maid help her dress, if only to save Annabelle from looking foolish.