“Oh, Watson, you are amusing!” Otto boomed, full of mirth as Lord Ashdown did what he could to charm Annabelle’s parents. “You do make me laugh. He is so funny, Annabelle, you are lucky to hold the interest of such a funny fellow.”

Otto honestly could not see that there was anything to worry about when it came to Watson. If he had not heard the rumours about the young Lord, then the gossip clearly was not reputation damaging. He prided himself on being a very astute man, and because of that he did not think that Josephine’s words were worth paying any attention to. He truly believed that his wife would soon owe him an apology when things worked exactly as he planned in his mind.

Lord Ashdown had the right name, a suitable wealth, and a very nice personality. What more could Annabelle want? Soon his daughter would understand that Otto always knew best too. As soon as time passed and the wedding was as successful as Beatrice’s then everyone would see. He could be patient when it came to being proven right.

Otto did not fear that Lord Ashdown would cause a rift between him and his daughter, or in his marriage either. In his opinion, he did not always have to agree with his wife. They could have a debate, differ in opinions, and still respect one another wholly. Otto knew many husbands who had absolutely no respect for their significant others. They ensured their wives gave birth to their offspring, then they set about ignoring them and chose to spend time with street girls instead. He saw it all the time, and he always felt safe in the knowledge that at least his marriage had never become that. Otto prided himself on the success that he’d made of himself and his life. He held no fear that Watson would get in the way of that.

“Hmmm.” When Annabelle did not give much of a response, Otto felt annoyed at her. It was actually his daughter who was being rude and acting like she was not marriage material, not this Lord. He narrowed his eyes angrily at Annabelle, but she simply flickered her gaze downwards, not caving to the silent pressure he was giving her.

Josephine was certainly right about one thing; his two daughters were very different people. Beatrice did as she was told without any complaint, she might not have agreed with his decision to marry her to Abraham, but she never complained once. Annabelle was never going to be that way, her free spirit and determination would always win out. Luckily for her, it did not seem to put Watson off. He had not made any comments that he wished Annabelle should change.

Otto, however, was starting to think that there were a lot of things that his daughter needed to work on.

Annabelle did not see the point in being polite to a man that she had no intention of marrying, however many glares her father gave her. After what had happened the last time her betrothed was in the house, she knew that she would not allow it to happen no matter what. She had not quite worked out how to ensure that yet, but there was still time.

She still clutched onto the idea that her father might eventually see what this horrible man was like.

“You know, maybe it would be nice for you two to spend some time together getting to know each other alone.” Otto needed to find a way to build a connection between these two if he did not want Annabelle to cause him any trouble. “Maybe you should go for a walk in the gardens.”

Unbridled terror spiked within Annabelle, why was her father so determined to force this upon her? She could not go outside with Lord Ashdown, not while Floyd was working. She could not allow her two terrible issues to meet, that would make them that much more challenging to deal with.

Everything was challenging enough as it was.

She could not imagine how awful it would be for Floyd to see her with Lord Ashdown, and she also was not sure that she could hide her attraction to the stable boy in front of the Lord. Much as she did not want to marry Watson, she also did not want to give him any reason to ruin her. She still had enough respect for her father to not allow that to happen.

“No,” she jumped in a little too loudly before she could catch hold of herself. A pink blush tinged her cheeks as everyone twisted to look at her in shock. Even for Annabelle, it was unlike her to have such a loud outburst in front of other people. Otto could feel his blood starting to boil while his daughter stumbled over her next words. “Erm, I mean... I do not think that we need to walk outside. We can simply walk through the house, can we not? Maybe... maybe it would be nice to show Lord Ashdown where we live.”

“Oh yes, I would like to see the rooms you grew up in.”

As Watson sent her a suggestive grin, Annabelle felt the heat consume her entire body. Did he honestly think that she would let him anywhere near her bedroom?

Unfortunately, no one else seemed to pick up on his undertone. Annabelle felt gobsmacked that no one else could see it.

“I suppose it is rather cloudy,” her father agreed coldly. He was not happy about being disobeyed, but he did not want to make more of a scene. “Maybe you should stay inside to avoid any potential rain.” He stood up and gave Annabelle a tight-lipped smile. He wanted to look happy, but he also needed her to heed the warning there. "Come on, Josephine, let us leave the young ones to it."

Annabelle spotted a split second of hesitation on her mother's face, which gave her a little spike of hope. Maybe her mother had finally seen what Annabelle already knew and she was now on her side about everything. If she could just get one parent on board, even if it was not the one who made all the important decisions, then maybe everything would be alright.

Annabelle vowed to herself that she would at least try and speak with her mother again before the day was out. Everyone knew that Josephine was the only one who could ever turn Otto around.

“So, where is it you would like to take me?” Watson asked, keeping the charm rolling until her parents were fully out of earshot. “You have such a lovely home, I would like to see all of it.”

Annabelle rolled her eyes. She did not feel the same obligation to be nice. “Do not bother keeping up the act, no one is listening to you now.”

Watson’s face fell. For a second Annabelle could see that he did not like her sarcastic tone. Probably because it stripped him of his power. If Annabelle did not care enough to be upset by his words, then what did he really have? She actually enjoyed the idea that she could derail him, if only for a moment.

But he very rapidly regained himself, much to her disgust. “That is wonderful news, I have been waiting to speak to you again without anyone listening to us. I thought it was fun last time, and I believe you did too.”

Annabelle’s nose screwed up in disgust. “You might as well leave now, Lord Ashdown. I do not have anything to say to you. What you think is fun is not to me. I would much prefer you to leave.”

Watson reached out and he ran his fingers down Annabelle’s hand. The sensation caused her to flinch and snatch herself backwards. She refused to give him any control over her a second time. He shocked her before, she would not allow that to happen again. “Oh, but your father will be so disappointed. You do not want to be a disappointment to him and the rest of your family, do you?”

“I already am.” Annabelle kept an air of nonchalance as she spoke. “So, I hardly believe it matters. The way you spoke to me the last time you were here was utterly unacceptable, and not the way my future husband will talk to me.”

Watson laughed nastily at that remark. “Oh, Annabelle, it is you who is the funny one. The way you speak as if you have any control over your own destiny is wonderful. Especially when it has already been decided.”

Annabelle gripped onto her skirts as her head throbbed under the awful weight of that statement. She did not like the way they affected her at all, it was almost as if Watson had tied a noose around her neck with his words, and he was choking the life out of her.

“You act like your father will actually listen to your wishes, but he has already promised you to me. He has already said that I can have your hand in marriage. We are in the process of discussing your dowry.”

No, no, no. Annabelle’s head spun, she felt like she might fall if she was not careful. She thought that she still had time, she did not realize that it was already too late.

“You are lying,” she spat out desperately. “He has told me that he wants us to spend time together to see if we are suitable. He would tell me if an arrangement had already been made.”

Watson leaned across and patted Annabelle on the head as if she was a child. “You poor, sweet, naïve girl.” He shook his head from side to side as he pitied her. "Why would I tell lies about this? You can see with your own eyes how much your father likes me. In his opinion, there is no better match for you. He will never be able to find a man he wants for you as much as he does me."

“That is because he does not see the truth of you,” Annabelle exploded angrily. “He does not see how truly awful you are.”

Watson was not offended by that remark, he found it very amusing. He did not care what Annabelle thought about him, she did not need to like him at all. His time in business had made him see things in a very ruthless, cutthroat way. He was not too keen on the Lady anyway, she seemed a bit too troublesome for his liking, but she was a good investment. She came from a good family, with a well-known name, and would also have a large dowry. Maybe it would have been better for him to get the older sister because her eventual inheritance would have been larger, but Abraham got in there first.

Still, Annabelle was good enough, and her father really did think he was the best for her. He had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Marriage for Watson would simply be another business arrangement, just like the things he did on a day to day basis. He already had a preferred whore that he might decide to keep as his mistress once the wedding was done anyway. He liked Kitty so much better than the others because she was wild, willing to indulge him in any way that he wanted, and she was pretty too. Not beautiful and graceful like the Lady he was expected to marry, but those looks were only beneficial for producing him an heir. He needed the excitement of a mistress to keep him going.

“Your father sees what he wants to see,” Watson shrugged with a smirk. “Maybe he does not care for the truth because it really does not matter to him what our marriage will be like.”

Annabelle did not answer that because she feared it was partly the truth. In recent times especially, it seemed that her father was not at all interested in what she wanted for herself.

“Just go, Lord Ashdown,” she said scathingly instead. “I have nothing more to say to you, so like I have already said, I would prefer it if you leave.”

Then she walked out of the room and left him in there, holding her head high as she took some of the control with her. He would be forced to leave eventually if she refused to go back, and there was nothing in the world that could persuade her to speak with Watson again. It did not even matter what her father said, Annabelle had made up her mind and she needed to stick by that decision.

Anyway, Annabelle had someone else that she needed to speak to, and it was a conversation that would not wait.

“Mother?” Annabelle said quietly as she finally found the person that she was looking for, sitting on the edge of her bed with an almost unreadable expression on her face. “Can I speak to you?”

Josephine slid her eyes shut before she answered. She had been trying to avoid any alone time with her daughter recently because she could not face this conversation, but of course, as stubborn as always, Annabelle had found her. She did not want to be reminded that she was a failure, but that fact was not going anywhere however hard she tried to ignore it.

“Yes, come in. Take a seat,” she replied wearily.

“Mother, please, you have to help me,” the words spilled out of Annabelle’s mouth like a tsunami as she went to sit with Josephine. “I cannot marry Lord Ashdown, I really cannot. I know I should do what father wants, but I do not believe that this is right for me. He is horrible when you and father are not around, he truly is brutish. Edmund was right about him. I need to put a stop to this.”

“You cannot,” Josephine replied quietly. “Your father has decided.” She had tried to think about it from every angle, but she could not see an escape. Josephine was not totally ready to give up yet, but she did not want Annabelle to get her hopes up in case there was not anything that she could do. “It has been decided.”

“But mother, you can help me. You can make him change his mind. I need you.”

There were those words again, Annabelle needed Josephine. Tears balled up behind her eyes as her failure was thrown in her face once more. She could not admit the truth to Annabelle, she could not tell her that she had already tried and failed. It was too embarrassing for words.

Maybe she would tell her once she had worked out a proper solution, but for now she needed to simply shut this conversation down. “I cannot make your father change his mind. I am sorry, Annabelle.”

Annabelle knotted her eyebrows together and she crossed her arms defensively across her chest. “Cannot, or will not?” She was not ready to accept defeat just yet.

Josephine knew that she was going to have to play the bad person for a moment to make her daughter accept her fate. She did not want to push Annabelle further away than she had already, but she could not see what choice she had.

“It makes no difference. The end result is still the same. Your father wishes you to marry Lord Ashdown, there is nothing I can do about it.”

Annabelle was left speechless, she could not believe what her mother was saying to her. “I will never expect you to be on my side ever again,” she snapped as she turned to leave. “Thank you very much, Mother.”