Page 37 of Lost in Love
Chapter 10
Katherine swept up the vibrating phone from the kitchen island and cleaned under it. She tapped the answer button with her left thumb and tucked the phone between her left shoulder and ear.
“So, how did sleeping on it go?” Rebecca asked instantly.
“I took a sleeping tablet.”
“Oh, that bad.”
“I just go round in circles, Becks.”
“Have you seen her today?”
“No, but I should. Clear the air and all that.”
There was a pause on the line.
“Why do you need to clear the air? What exactly happened?”
Katherine stopped cleaning and moved the phone to her right ear.
“As I was leaving, we hugged, and then I…” She wandered over to the patio doors.
“You didn’t kiss her?” Rebecca asked, a little too much excitement in her tone.
“No, I couldn’t bring myself to.”
“Oh.” Rebecca paused. “I think that’s probably worse than kissing her, isn’t it?”
Katherine laughed. “It certainly feels that way.”
“You should definitely address that; she’s probably wondering what’s wrong with her.”
“I’ll try and catch her between tours this afternoon.”
“You do that. Catch me up later, we’re being called back in for the verdict,” Rebecca replied, distracted.
“Good luck.” Katherine hung up and held her phone to her chest. Rebecca was right: leaving Anna hanging had been unforgivable, but she had explained her situation, so surely she would understand her hesitation.
She counted the hours down until Anna would finish her first afternoon tour and likely be on a break. When the time came, Katherine walked across the drive only to notice that the abbey car park was a lot emptier than normal. Where there would normally be twenty cars, there were two.
“Hi, Carrie, I was hoping to catch Anna,” she shouted over to Carrie who was just leaving the visitor centre.
Carrie approached her.
“The site has been closed; they sent her home early whilst they decide her fate.” Carrie grimaced.
“What do you mean?” Katherine shook her head in bewilderment. “She’s not responsible for the break-in surely?”
Carrie pointed to the gates. “She didn’t lock them properly. A couple of kids got in with a car and tore the grounds up. It’s a bit of a mess back there. Needs a bit of landscaping.”
“Are the trustees still here?”
“Yes, Margaret is inside. If you catch up to Anna, try and persuade her to come to the quiz at the pub tonight. She seems to listen to you. I think she could do with a bit of downtime; she was more than a little stressed earlier.”
Katherine nodded and walked to the visitor centre. She knew exactly what she needed to do.
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