Page 12 of Trust in Truth
Harry coughed; Anna waited patiently until he had finished.
“Has she? She kept that quiet.” Anna glanced at Katherine and received a wink in return. “Thanks, I’m sure I’ll love it. We’re just coming up to Bath, so I thought I’d check in with you and see how you’re doing.”
Harry coughed again; Anna’s eyes shot to Katherine. She took the hint and waited for him to stop coughing.
“Harry, it’s Katherine. How long have you been coughing?”
“Only since this morning, doc. I’m all right.”
Katherine twisted her lip. “Have you any other symptoms? High temperature—”
“No, as I keep telling Lucy, I’m fine. She’s been fussing at me all morning. I just want to watch the television in peace.”
“Well, she is your carer, Harry; she’s meant to check in on you. You’ve got my number. It’s your speed dial number two, remember. Call me if anything changes or you feel worse, okay? Promise me.”
Harry coughed. “All right, doc, I will. Now you two go and enjoy yourselves.”
“We’ll ring you tomorrow, Dad, and check on you.”
“All right, love, speak then. Don’t let me get in the way of your birthday plans.”
“You won’t, Dad. Now rest up.” Anna pressed the end-call button on her phone and tried her best not to worry. “Do you think he’s all right?”
“It’s hard to tell without examining him; he sounded chipper. A lot of the time this doctoring is about waiting for symptoms to arise to narrow down a diagnosis. It’s likely an upper respiratory infection.”
Anna wrinkled her face.
“A cold,” Katherine replied more plainly.
As Katherine didn’t appear overly concerned, Anna put her worries to the back of her mind and gazed out of the window. The countryside had finally given way to beautiful Bath Stone Georgian buildings. “Where to first?” Anna asked, excited to get the weekend started.
“I thought we’d have lunch and head over to the Jane Austen Centre, then nose round the Christmas market after.”
Anna’s hand stretched out to find Katherine’s across the armrest. “Sounds perfect.”
The Jane Austen Centre, which turned out to be more of a museum, was just what she had expected, a perfect place for the Jane Austen fanatic. Although more into twentieth-century women writers than nineteenth, Katherine still seemed to appreciate the displays. They both particularly enjoyed looking at the costumes on display, however, they resisted the urge to get dressed up and have their photograph taken; it was far too cold to be removing any layers.
“How does one reach a lady wearing all these clothes, it must take a full ten minutes to extract her from them. How does that work when in the throes of passion?” Katherine asked, puzzled.
“Is this why you prefer twentieth-century literature? The clothing is more convenient for your sexual fantasies.”
Katherine nudged at Anna with a smirk. “How rude.”
There was no such excuse when it came to trying on a bonnet. Although Katherine protested that it would mess up her hair, she relented when Anna reminded her it was her birthday the following day. With the obligatory selfies taken next to the waxwork of Jane Austen, they moved on to the Christmas market just as the sun was setting.
The city was bustling with people. The bright Christmas lights strung across the streets illuminated the Georgian buildings. A low drone of voices gave way to the echoes of brass bands playing and choirs singing carols as they neared the market. Stilt walkers were doing their best to walk on the cobbled streets and living statues were avoiding the gaze of small children as they pulled faces at them to distract them.
Anna inhaled the scent of chestnuts as they passed a roaster. They made their way through the overcrowded streets, peering over shoulders to make out what was being sold on each stall. Anna was pleased to be able to pick up a couple of extra small gifts for Christmas. She usually just bought Harry a bottle of whisky, but knowing Katherine wanted to make a big deal of their first Christmas as a family, a few extra presents would go down well. She wasn’t sure if they allowed alcohol at Baycroft; Harry would no doubt disobey the rule anyway.
Katherine disappeared momentarily putting Anna into a mild panic in the packed market. She shortly reappeared by her side and presented her with a heart shaped lebkuchen. They devoured it between them and washed it down with mulled wine as they watched glass Christmas baubles being blown. Katherine insisted on buying them a set to remember their trip.
After their fun filled and exhausting afternoon, they finally booked themselves in at the hotel. Katherine gave her name at reception and stated that she’d booked a double room. Anna warmed herself by a grand open fire and hoped the staff wouldn’t blink an eye that two women were sharing a double. The receptionist handed Katherine a key card with a big smile. They thanked the woman and the porter who had appeared from out of nowhere to scoop up their bags.
They followed him to their room on the top floor. Katherine had already prepared Anna that it wasn’t what she had hoped for. She had tried to book a suite, however, with such a last-minute booking, she was grateful to get any room in any hotel. She hadn’t realised Bath was such a popular pre-Christmas destination because of the markets.
The view over the city centre was a beautiful one, with an outlook onto the nearby Bath Abbey and Roman Baths. The room was a good size with all the necessities, including, most importantly, good-quality biscuits and fresh milk in the mini fridge. Katherine was already tucking into the biscuits.
Anna crossed her arms. “I hope you’re not eating all the best ones.”
