Soul Snatcher Read Online Free Page B

and Annie
soundlessly sighed in relief as they narrowly escaped reprimand for
interacting with the guest.
    “Rosemary, Annie.” Miss
Danes turned and looked at them from her seat. They held their
breath in alarm. “Mr. Brighton and I will be fine from here. You
may leave now and start to prepare dinner.”
    Not being able to help
herself, Annie took a quick glance back at Eli before she left the
room. As she did she thought she caught a wink on her way out,
which made her heart skip a beat nervously.
    “How do you know that
man?” Rosemary asked as they made their way back to clean the
kitchen and start Miss Danes’ dinner.
    “He is the man from the
markets,” she answered a little astonished at the
coincidence.
    “Well he seems to have
some interest in you.” There was almost excitement in Rosemary’s
voice.
    “Do not be so silly,” she
said trying to discourage Rosemary’s enthusiasm. “I will most
likely not see him again.” But Annie didn’t realise just how wrong
she would be.

CHAPTER 2

    Annie had been sent to the
markets late the next day on the whim of one of Miss Danes’ moods.
She wanted Annie to fetch a brooch she had ordered a few weeks ago
and apparently, ‘it just couldn’t wait’. Miss Danes didn’t seem to
think of others when it came to something she wanted and all else
had to be dropped at her request. As always, Annie thought on the
bright side of life, thankful that at least she could keep her hair
out for the rest of the day.
    So off Annie went, dressed
in a sandy coloured, short sleeved dress for the trip. Micah was
again her companion for the trip but he had to mind the horse
at the town gates so it wasn’t stolen. Because it was late
afternoon not many people were around and an unattended horse would
be too good an opportunity for a thief to pass up. He didn’t want
Annie to go into the markets alone but there seemed to be no other
choice. It would be safer in a crowd for her rather than at the
gates, or so they thought. She couldn’t understand why he was being
so overprotective, she had been going into the markets by herself
for years.
    The markets were the same
as they always were, loud and not without drama. The afternoon was
warm and inviting and the town seemed to be thriving off it. Annie
looked around and thought that there seemed to be more and more
buildings every time she went there and they were all getting
taller and taller. She was just glad that the manor was set a good
distance away from the crowded cities. She hated the washed out,
grey look that came from the material used to build, what looked to
be, every building in the town. It was all too gloomy for her. The
only colour she could find amongst the grey was seen through the
windows peering into the stores, and that depended on the style of
the store. Some were just as dreary as the buildings
themselves.
    Annie finally made it
through the crowd and entered the store she had been searching for,
the little bell at the door gently announced her presence. She
stood and waited patiently as the clerk served another customer
before her. The small store only had a few displays and was a
little dusty but the stock was neat and tidy. A simple general
store, selling different types of knickknacks that might be
appealing to all different types of people.
    When it was her turn she
stepped up to the glass counter, which stored trinkets of many
sorts beneath, and presented her paper coupon. The clerk was a
short, elderly man with half glasses and grey hair and seemed to be
struggling to read the paper. Eventually he managed it then walked
to the back of the store, out of sight. He wasn’t overly friendly
but he hadn’t been rude either, she couldn’t really tell what type
of person he was because he hadn’t even spoken to her. After a
while of searching the clerk returned empty handed. Annie looked at
him confused.
    “Sorry Miss, this item was
delayed. It will be another week,” he explained respectfully.
Holding