Lady of the Ravendale

I was shocked when I heard the news from Mary. I didn’t know James will come here.

To be fair he did mention that he will try to get a Ravendalian visa approved.

My husbands were also looked confused, but they were calm.

I stood up and followed Mary.

Did Ashley and Robin also come?

At the entrance, I saw James, Ashley, and Robin waiting for me. James and Robin looked shocked by the Ravendale. While Ashley was just happy to see me.

As soon as she saw me she ran towards me and hugged and I hugged her back. James and Robin saw me when Ashley ran towards me.

“I don’t believe, that you grew up in here.” Ashley said and I laughed.

“So your name is Annabelle instead of Anna?” Robin asked.

“Yes, my name was a mouthful and people kept associating me with the scary doll, so I shortened it, but yes my real name is Annabelle” I explained.

“Oh, yes. We found out that you are quite famous here.” Ashley told me.

“Oh?”

“Yes, when the border control guy didn’t find you in the database using your alias. He was nice enough to search up a person who used your alias. He was surprised that we were your friends in Etria. He told us a lot about you based on the newspapers.” James explained.

“Yeah, I didn’t plan to be famous but here I am.” I tried to joke. Ashley looked at me with fear and hesitation and said.

“Um, Anna?” she pointed finger on my husbands in their jaguar form. My husbands followed, they decided to follow me a little later.

“Oh, they are my husbands. They are currently in their cat form, but they will change in human form soon.” My husbands purred in response and surrounded me like house cats touching my dress with their tails.

Their face was priceless. Nonetheless, I need to help them settle in Mountainville for a week.

I gave them empty rooms in the resort and gave a little tour of the resort.

Later that day, I offered my friends to play croquet with me. My husbands decided not to join. I respected their decision, because they knew, that they would be making my friends uncomfortable.

I thought them the rules of the games did a few practice rounds and then we started playing in competitive mode.

“Whew, I still have it in me.” I told them.

I remember my mother forced me to learn those things, so I would able to entertain guest when I will inherit the position. Or I would appear intellectual if I would manage to get into the aristocratic circle.

“Annabelle, who is this girl waiting behind the bushes?” Robin asked.

“Oh, that is Elizabeth my step-daughter.” I told them then I turned to a place where Elizabeth was hiding.

“Elizabeth, come here. If you want to be next to me or ask me, you shouldn’t hide, I wouldn’t mind.” I gently told Elizabeth.

Elizabeth came to me and said

“Alright, mother.”

I smiled and patted her head.

Elizabeth called me a mother. It’s was hard to hide my happy expression, but I didn’t think it’s the right moment to share my excitement.

“Do you want to watch your mother playing croquet?” I asked Elizabeth and she nodded. I put on her on the couch so she can watch me comfortably.

Elizabeth sits down on the couch obediently.

“Your daughter so cute!” Ashley awed. Elizabeth’s blue eyes and blond hair made her look like an angel.

“I know, I bet her fathers will come here too.” I said.

We continued playing.

I was right.

Soon my husbands came to join our company. They didn’t want to play, they felt Elizabeth might be uncomfortable sitting in the room with other strangers.

They made sure that Elizabeth was more comfortable in a company.

For James, it’s was the first time seeing my husbands in their human form. His mood worsened, when he found out that my husbands are incredibly handsome that made James look average.

Ashley and Robin glanced at my husbands and thought it’s will be hard for James to compete against them.

“It’s your turn! If you hit through the last hoop you will win.” Robin informed me.

“I don’t think so, the ball is on a bad angle.” I hesitated.

“Darling, if you want I can help you win.” Nathaniel told me.

“Alright. Let see what you can do.” I wanted to give Nathaniel a mallet, but he stood behind me and used my hand to position my self correctly and used his strength to hit the ball.

Nathaniel wanted to secretly demonstrate their closeness to James. He also wanted to see how would James react.

James knew that Nathaniel wanted to provoke him. He couldn’t do anything, because he didn’t want to be killed by them.

The ball made it through the hoop.

I won.

“I won!” I exclaimed.

“That is not fair, you are an experienced player, plus your husband helped you. ” Ashley whined.

“Oh? Do you want to go for another round?” I asked Ashley.

“Bring it on!”

We started gathering balls and Alexander went up to me.

“Could you look after Elizabeth? We will be back in a few minutes.” Alexander asked.

“Alright.”

Little did I know that my husbands sneakily managed to distract me, while Nathaniel asked James for the talk.

I had to look after Elizabeth, so I couldn’t leave her alone with my friends they can make her anxious. I couldn’t bring Elizabeth with me since I didn’t want to drag her into drama.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel and Alexander took James somewhere where they could talk to him privately.

“So why do you want to talk to me privately?” James asked.

“You know.” Nathaniel told him calmly.

“You didn’t think that our penthouse would have cameras installed, did you?” Alexander asked.

James ’s face got pale.

“What do you want from me?” James asked them.

“Hmm, we are thinking about what kind of person you are. We want to know why Annabelle likes you.” Nathaniel said.

“We also thinking about what do to do with you? Kill you, or maybe accept as potential Annabelle’s concubine.” Alexander added.

“What do you think?” Alexander asked him.

They wouldn’t be werecats if they didn’t know how to toy with people in cat manner.

“Potential concubine. Will you even agree with Annabelle’s decision if she decides to take me as a concubine?” James asked them.

“We wouldn’t mind. But let us warn you, that the life of concubine is not great even if we live harmoniously together.” Nathaniel said.

“If you enter our household, you will have second place in Annabelle’s heart and we will be always in the first place because of our financial advantage.”

“She would prefer taking her first husbands or other husbands who have noble blood, she could not take you to events, because she wouldn’t want to offend the organizers.”

“You might receive the title of a husband if you manage to impregnate Annabelle with a girl, but then again your child wouldn’t have a good financial backing as our children would do.”

“It’s will affect your child’s education, social life, and marriage. While our children will get the best tutors, get into best academies, will have fiances that everybody will be envious.” Alexander explained.

“Of course as husbands in the same household we could help you but you can offer only one type of trade. ” Nathaniel told James.

“What trade?” James asked Nathaniel, but James wished we didn’ asked him. Nathaniel smirked and answered.

“Sexual, of course.”

James shocked hearing the sentence, but James sighed.

He liked Annabelle from the first time they met. Did he love enough to make huge sacrifices? If he was obsessed with her, then he might try.

“Then, I will leave from Annabelle’s life peacefully.” James finally decided.

“Good.”

James walked back to the croquet field. He saw Annabelle is running up to him.

“James, did my husbands did anything to you?” Annabelle asked.

“Don’t worry the didn’t do anything to me. We just talked.” James answered.

“About what?”

“Listen, Annabelle. You love your husbands do you?” James asked. Annabelle looked at the ground feeling guilty.

“I’m sorry.” Annabelle said.

“I’m sorry I led you on. I didn’t think that I c-.” James interrupted her.

“It’s alright, I don’t blame you.” James hugged Annabelle for last time. Annabelle hugged him back.

On the next day, James decided to leave Ravendale, while Ashley and Robin decided to stay for a few days.