Petals

fourteen

She couldn't bring herself to put 'sincerely' when her words were anything but, and she certainly could not write 'love' or 'yours.'

She did not call Jack to send the flowers, but, following Adrian's lead, sent them with a footman. Somehow, getting the boy to deliver them seemed too intimate.

There was no answer that day or the next. Annabelle buried her nose in a poorly written romance and cried silent rivers - whether over the woeful love of the couple in the book or her own muddled love life, even she wasn't sure at times. At last, two days after she had sent the anemone, a small bunch of burdock arrived.

'I refuse to be discouraged.'

Annabelle, her face just freshly washed, broke into inconsolable tears once more. Melanie sent the maid to stand outside the door and alert them if either one of their parents should come. The two sisters sat huddled on the bed until Annabelle's sobs at last subsided into an undignified chorus of sniffs and hiccups.

"Oh, dear, Anna," Melanie cooed. "What has happened now?"

In broken sentences, Annabelle explained about Adrian's last salute at the ball, her fear of having her hopes dashed, and the continuation of her and Adrian's correspondence. When she finished, Melanie sighed.

"Anna, you mustn't let your fears get in the way of your happiness," she told her sister softly.

Annabelle sniffed wetly. "What if that happened with James? What would you do?"

"I don't know. I don't think anyone can think of what they would do. They simply have to trust that their hearts won't lead them into that sort of thing."

Another sniff, followed by a hiccup. "I don't think I can trust my heart that much. It's done nothing but get me in trouble since I sent those bluebottles."

"What trouble?" Melanie countered.

"This - this - catastrophe with Adrian!" Annabelle burst and was reprimanded by another onslaught of hiccups.

"Oh dear." Melanie couldn't suppress a small giggle. "This isn't a catastrophe, love. It's simply...a blessing in disguise! Isn't that what our nanny always said such things were?"

"Our nanny, who now lives in the countryside and can no longer remember her name?" Annabelle asked rather scathingly.

"Well, she always did enjoy the country air, so perhaps that's her blessing. No doubt she would be chasing after another pair of daisy-eating monsters if she could remember her name," Melanie commented tartly.

They both looked at each other and grinned. The maid, tired of waiting, glanced around the door to see if Annabelle was still crying. She found the sisters clutching their stomachs as they laughed, tears of merriment running down their faces.

▫▪▫

Adrian stepped down from his carriage, worrying about how Annabelle had reacted to the burdock he had sent earlier that day. Under different circumstances, he would have allowed her time to reply before approaching her, but time was fast running out. He only had four days left.

He loped up the front stairs of the Athmore townhouse and rapped smartly on the door. To his surprise, Jack was the one who opened it. Or at least, that's what he thought at first. Then he realized that the back of Jack's shirt was held firmly in the grip of a stately butler.

"I didn't do it!" the boy yelled.

The butler ignored him, inclining his head to Adrian. "My lord?"

"Adrian!" Jack cried with relief. "Tell 'is wag t' let me go, will ye?"

Before Adrian could reply, a voice from the stairs cried out. "Jonty! You'll choke the poor boy!"