Page 27 of Trust in Truth
“Good. The woman clearly shares my fine taste for women, but I would hope that is where our similarities end.”
“You are taking this all very well, I’m not sure I would if someone had been trying it on with you.”
Anna twisted her lips. “Well, I trust you and I’m excited about our future together. What else matters?”
Katherine smiled and placed her hand on Anna’s. It was exactly what she needed to hear. “Open yours, be careful — they are fragile.”
Anna peeled the sides of her present down, revealing an old hardback set of Jane Austen books. She examined the top one and then turned the rest to look at the spines. Her jaw dropped as she looked to Katherine.
“I can’t accept these.”
“You can and you will. They aren’t first editions or anything. I thought they looked like a nice set from the early twentieth century. That time when all the best female authors were about.”
Anna lightly tweaked one of Katherine’s nipples, which had appeared over the duvet. “How dare you! There is no one better than Jane Austen.”
Katherine pulled the duvet around her with a grin. “Debatable, another time perhaps.”
“To be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything. Having a birthday just before Christmas is the worst. It was always one birthday and Christmas present.”
“Doesn’t that mean you get something bigger and better?”
“In your case you’ve spoilt me on both occasions.”
Katherine brushed a few strands of Anna’s long, brown hair behind her ear. “You deserve it. Why don’t you come back to bed?”
“Why don’t you get up?” Anna leapt back and yanked the duvet off Katherine. “On second thought, I don’t mind soggy sprouts.” Anna crawled back across the bed to Katherine’s naked body and kissed her soft belly.
“No, but I do.” Katherine pushed Anna back, causing her to flop onto her side of the bed. Virginia managed to vacate it in time and ran for the door.
“You tease,” Anna replied as Katherine clambered clear off the bed.
Katherine disappeared into the en-suite. “Yep, that’s me. I’ll be down in five.”
Anna had been right; she could indeed cook. The roast potatoes were perfection; the sprouts were a little overdone for Katherine’s liking, but Anna had managed to reheat the turkey without drying it out. Katherine thought it best not to dampen her achievements by mentioning she had forgotten to make some bread sauce.
After their late-lunch-cum-early-dinner, they cuddled up on the sofa, determined to watch a war film in honour of Harry. They settled instead for a television series set during the war and much more suited to their taste, especially as there was mention online of a lesbian character. They just had to hold out hope she would survive to the end of the series.
Katherine’s thoughts drifted to Anna and marriage. She now, more than ever, wanted to ask Anna, and she was determined not to mess it up again. It would need to be planned properly with minimal chance of interruption. She twisted her lips as a thought sprang into her mind. Perhaps a certain interruption would enhance a proposal, like some New Year’s fireworks. Katherine grinned to herself and kissed Anna’s head. Her chest tingled as she felt Anna’s arm tighten around her in response.
Chapter 13
New Year’s Eve came around far too soon for Anna’s liking. The first few days following Christmas they had taken some refreshing morning walks and after visiting Harry they curled up in front of the fire with Jane Austen and Radclyffe Hall.
The tranquillity of those days was soon a distant memory as the new year moved ever closer and the work-life balance shifted firmly back into the work camp. She had spent a few hours working early in the mornings when Katherine was still asleep, and the site visit by the caterers had required their attention for a few hours one afternoon.
Any distraction, be it work or play, was most welcome. Since she had had the idea of proposing at the New Year’s Eve event, her body had been freaking out with butterflies, sweats, and a racing pulse. It didn’t seem sure if it was excited or nervous. She almost reached for her pills at one point to settle herself, but her brain told her she was excited. It was annoying how her body always reacted in the same way to both emotions.
She had contemplated nipping off to a jeweller on one of her visits to Harry, but Katherine always came with her. In the end, she gave up the idea. She knew she would want to get a ring, too, so it would be better if they chose together, assuming Katherine said yes.
Visits to Harry came with the risk that he may mention Katherine’s proposal again, and in her presence. However, he was often dozing or too delirious to make much sense when he did speak, something Katherine had reassured her was normal in people fighting infections. As Harry’s condition improved, Anna had to catch him up with the situation and her plan whilst Katherine had nipped to the toilet. He could barely contain his smile when she returned. It took some quick improvisation on Anna’s part to convince Katherine that she had just told him a joke.
The sign company were due onsite early, so Anna had gone ahead to deal with them, leaving Katherine at home. She was relying on her to be in top form that evening, so she thought it best to let her get up at her own pace. It had been a shock to see Katherine in such a state of worry on Christmas Day. Her usually strong facade seemed to have fallen, and she felt she’d had a glimpse of what Katherine had been like after the accident and before Rebecca rebuilt her.
Anna didn’t like what she saw, it was scary. Katherine was her rock, she looked up to her as someone older, wiser, and solid. It was a strange realisation that everyone is just about holding things together in their own way and sometimes the mask slips.
She knew she was going to have to step up for Katherine, not be so complacent that she was okay. Part of her began to worry that perhaps it would be too much to propose. It wasn’t as if Katherine had asked her, what if she’d had second thoughts?
At least they were finally on the same page when it came to Margaret, although neither of them had any proof other than a weird feeling. She was like a dark cloud hanging over their heads. They hadn’t discussed it further since Christmas Day. Katherine said she would resolve it and she was in the best position to do so. She knew wading into the situation herself would only make it worse, and let Margaret know they were on to her.
