They had been in Paris for almost a week when George started thinking that there was something strange about Annabel. She had forever been a ball and party person but when the banker threw a ball she declared herself down with a headache and didn't show up. That was the first time that George had ever known her to miss a ball. He was puzzled by that but he was even more puzzled when he went back up to his rooms to get something and thought he saw her slipping into her own room. If she had such a headache that she would miss her passion, dancing, he couldn't imagine her going around for anything else.
George didn't mean to watch Annabel with greater attention then he had before, he tried to tell himself that she was just a fool who he would be foolish to care about but he couldn't really convince himself. It might have been his imagination but she seemed to be paying more attention to him as well and Alexander, as clueless as he normally was noticed and started teasing George about wanting to court Annabel. George knew it was a joke now but if he were to honestly show an interest in Annabel Alexander would be forced to shut him down instantly, and would in all likelihood cease their friendship. It was alright for George and Alexander to be good friends but when it came to courtship George was still expected to know his place.
It was several days of awkward staring later that Annabel and George finally had a moment where there was no one else around. Normally Annabel's chaperon would have never allowed it but she was taking her daily nap and in any case George had been established as a trusted family friend who would not compromise the virtue of the young lady of the house. So it was that they happened to both be walking in the garden at the same time and bumped into one another. Well at the time George supposed it to be a coincidence but later he would suspect that Annabel orchestrated their chance meeting to clear the air. There was no one else around, the day being so unbearably hot that the rest of the house had melted on the parlor furniture, and so for the first time George met Annabel outside of a society setting.
“So you did see me the night of the ball?” was the first thing that Annabel said. George was taken aback, they hadn't even exchanged greetings yet and society did not look for bluntness in a well bred young lady. She was also looking right at him, with no lowered eyes and her voice had come on strong. It certainly wasn't how she had acted around him before.
“I think I might have seen you go into your room but I did not question you for I know a woman must have her secrets,” George said delicately. He didn't want to put her in an awkward situation and didn't want to be put in a situation where he would feel it was his duty to have a word with Alexander. He wished Annabel would simply not say anything else so they could both walk away with clear conscience.
“You think I was having an affair don't you?” asked Annabel and George turned slightly pink. If she went and told Alexander that he had made even the suggestion then Alexander would probably call him out and be in his rights too. To his amazement Annabel burst into laughter.
“Did something I say amuse you?” George finally asked, when Annabel had been laughing far longer then he felt was needed.
“I'm sorry. Here I've been worrying about what you were thinking and why you payed so much attention to me after the night of the ball when I knew you had glimpsed me and this whole time you thought I was being a foolish girl playing with her lover. If that were all I would have simply made an excuse about going to the lavatory or needing my sewing scissors, had that occurred to you? And here this whole time I thought you were smart, honestly I am disappointed in you.”
To be continued...
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