Page 25 of Trust in Truth
Anna’s eyebrows shot up, and she lightly pushed Katherine’s chin up to make eye contact. “No, of course not. I forgot to charge it last night, and then I was reading at the hospital; it probably killed my battery.” Anna reached into her pocket and extracted her phone. The black screen told them she was right. She wiped away the tears from under Katherine’s eyes. “Sorry, I should have checked it. I assumed you’d be too busy with lunch and Becks to be thinking about me. I’m sorry if I worried you, and I’m sorry about the whole Margaret situation. I don’t know what I was thinking. I trust you completely. It was stupid of me to be jealous.”
“I’m sorry, too, for not telling you the whole story about Harry. I didn’t want to ruin your birthday before it had begun.”
“I shouldn’t have said what I did about him not being your dad. I know you love him, too, and not having one of your own, you probably see him as a dad. It was mean of me.”
Katherine nodded through her tears. “I do love him, and I feel terrible that I didn’t turn the car around as soon as we heard him cough. I can’t imagine him not being in our lives, Anna.”
“I know, and hindsight is a wonderful thing. Please don’t beat yourself up about it.” Anna looked around the kitchen. “Wait. Where is Becks?”
“She rang after you left to say she was ill.”
“You’ve been alone all morning?” Her face crumpled. “Oh, Kat. You should have messaged me straight away. I would have come back sooner.”
Katherine knew it was time to fess up “Well, I haven’t been alone the whole time. Margaret popped in briefly.” Katherine looked up at Anna to gauge her reaction.
Anna took a step back and then walked over to the kitchen sink. “What did she want?”
Katherine took a tissue and wiped her face. “She overheard that you would be with Harry for the morning. She brought me a gift, a necklace.”
Katherine watched Anna as she washed her hands in the large butler sink in silence. Unsure whether she should continue or not, she was relieved when Anna finally broke the silence.
“Go, on.”
“She freaked me out a little if I’m honest. I think you may have been right about her having a thing for me. I tried to refuse it, then she insisted on putting it on me — things got a little creepy. At one point I think she was hoping I’d show her the view from our bedroom. I ushered her out after that.”
Anna dried her hands on a tea towel and returned to Katherine’s side.
“Wow, that does indeed sound a little creepy.”
Katherine wiped her eyes again. “I’m going to deal with it, both her and the necklace. I promise you. I just need to be careful how. I have another little mystery to solve too.”
“Are you going to elaborate?”
“I promise I will tell you once I solved it. You need to focus on Harry. Trust me, I’ve got this. Okay?”
Katherine knew if she revealed anything about the ring going missing it would spoil her proposal. She was relieved when she felt Anna take her hand and squeeze it.
“Okay. I trust you.” Anna flashed her a reassuring smile and then lifted the champagne bottle to examine it. “I think I better finish this; I’ll get a glass.”
Relief swept through her with Anna’s words of trust, if somewhat momentarily, something still niggled her. Katherine wasn’t exactly convinced she had ‘got it’. Anna may be on to something about Margaret’s feelings for her, could she also be on to something regarding the General Medical Council? Margaret would certainly have a motive and it had worked in her favour by splitting them up, albeit briefly. At the time she had only met Margaret a handful of times. Would that have been enough for Margaret to have developed feelings for her and plot to destroy her relationship with Anna?
What lengths would the woman go to now, considering they were in a serious relationship right under her nose? Was she capable of taking the ring from her drawer? Its disappearance almost put a spanner in her engagement plans and gave Margaret more time to work on Katherine. Thinking back to when she had made enquiries on the phone to the jewellers and then purchased it, Margaret had entered their office moments after. She had also mentioned to the jeweller the date she needed it by. Margaret could have been eavesdropping nearby and then put two-and-two together.
She felt sick to think of all the times she believed Margaret was being friendly when instead she may have been trying to coerce her into something. All the while Anna was watching and perhaps thinking she was complicit. She would need to concoct a plan, one that would allow Margaret to admit her guilt freely. Margaret was not the kind of woman you wanted to back into a corner.
Another wave of emotion swept over her as Anna returned to her side with a glass. She felt foolish. Foolish for being taken in by Margaret and foolish for not trusting Anna’s instincts. Those same instincts appeared to tell Anna that Katherine needed a hug at that point. She collapsed into her open arms as her eyes yielded yet more tears.
“Don’t cry, everything is okay. I’m here.”
Katherine composed herself and pulled away. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“You’ve let your thoughts run away with you and your disappointment overwhelm you, that’s all. You need to relax.” Anna looked around the kitchen. “Shall we eat later? I’m only hungry for one thing right now.” She placed her hands on either side of Katherine’s face and gently wiped the moisture from under her eyes. She placed a soft kiss on each cheek and then a firm kiss on Katherine’s waiting lips.
Katherine felt herself weaken at Anna’s touch and was grateful she was still sitting on the stool. Her legs widened and her dress rode up as Anna pushed herself into her, bringing their bodies together as close as she could. It left an open invitation which Anna took as her roaming hands worked their way up Katherine’s thighs as if drawn to the warmth of a fire.
Katherine writhed and leaned back as Anna’s fingers found their destination. She arched her body back as Anna’s lips found her neck and kissed it.
“Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?” Anna whispered in her ear.
