by K.N. Lee
Gradually, Anais excitement at seeing Aethelu dwindled and worry set in. Two days, she had said. Two days, and now it was seven days later
The week passed a lot more slowly that Anais had expected. Every so often, she was called to the surgery for various tests and procedures, not to mention the daily hormone shots. The rest of the time, she spent away from everyone in the library. Alex was also conspicuous by his absence. She knew he was in the house somewhere, as he was instrumental to the whole baby-making venture, but she never saw him. She assumed that the initial excitement he had shown had worn off and now fear was beginning to creep in. Perhaps someone had told him about the possibility of triplets and that had scared him off. She couldn’t blame him. Like she had done the week before, he took all his meals in his room and kept out of everybody’s way. Andrew told her that he had been helping him out in tracking down Jago. She suspected that Andrew had just given him a job to do to occupy him. Mind you, Andrew seemed to be spending all his time with Judith, so that he wasn’t really doing much to save the world himself. She noticed that Andrew had been spending all of his evenings with Judith now and had been for the last week. She’d totally forgotten to mention anything about Rafe to him, but it looked like someone had, either that or he’d come to the conclusion himself. Either way, he was now spending all day and all evening with Judith and it looked like Alex was left to do all the work. Anais figured that must be the reason she’d not seen him for a couple of days. He was picking up Andrew’s slack. At least, it wasn’t because he was feeling down and hiding in his room. She’d not seen Rafe for a couple of days either. She wondered if he was hiding in his room sulking over Judith.
All in all, everyone in the house was depressed. A mist had descended on the house which echoed the miserable weather outside. It snowed heavily each day which would have left them housebound, even if Aldrich hadn’t imposed it on them in the first place. Anais had not had the chance to use the tree to climb over the fence as she had done before. She would have liked to go out, but without Aethelu it didn’t appeal to her. Arcadia was going stir crazy, being cooped up in the house, and complained almost constantly about the weather. She spent even more time on the phone than she had before. Anais only saw Aldrich when she went to the surgery. He seemed to spend every waking moment in there. Only August and Baker seemed immune to everything going on around them. August didn’t care to hear about babies or the end of the world, which had been the main topics of conversation in the house. He’d once again been promoted to head chef whilst Winnie was helping Aldrich in the surgery. The snow seemed not to bother either him or Baker, and they’d spend most of the day either walking in the grounds or cooking. The only difference Anais could see that after dinner every night, he’d make his way back down to the Lodge via the tunnel, where previously he’d used the path.
Suddenly time, which had previously been dragging without Aethelu, sped up and the day arrived when she’d have the embryos inserted into her.
With some trepidation, she lay herself down on the bed in the surgery.
A couple of days previously, Aldrich, with help from Winnie, had extracted a number of eggs from her, which they had fertilised, thanks to Alex.
Aldrich told her that four viable embryos had been created and they were going to implant all of them for the best chance.
“No!” Anais looked at Winnie in shock. “You said three. Three is ridiculous as it is. I’m not carrying four babies.”
It was Aldrich that answered “We have to give it our best shot. This is a one-time opportunity. If this doesn’t work, that’s it. We run out of time and all is lost.”
I don’t care. This is my body. I promised you three and I won’t go back on that, but I will not carry any more.”
Aldrich began to speak, but Winnie cut him off. She put her hand on his arm.
“Just do three Aldrich. It will either work or it won’t. Look at what we are already putting the poor child through. She is suffering enough with what we are doing to her. Let us not make it any worse.”
“Ok,” Aldrich acquiesced “You are right. I am sorry Anais. It is your body and you have every right to make this decision. I will pick the three most viable embryos and destroy the last one.”
“Thank you. I have one more request before we go ahead.”
“Yes?”
“I want to go back to the Book Emporium and bring my own clothes and possessions back to the house if I am to live here.”
Aldrich looked like he was going to say no, but Winnie spoke before him “Of course. I will take you myself tomorrow. Aldrich, You can relax your ban of us leaving the house for a morning can’t you?”
She gave him a meaningful look.
“Yes, I suppose I can, just for the morning.” He didn’t look happy about the prospect.
“And can we keep the last embryo?” Anais added “Freeze it? I know it’s not needed, but I don’t like to think of you destroying a little baby.”
“It’s nothing more than a few cells,” Aldrich began, but he knew he was beaten before he even finished the sentence. “Ok, we will keep the final embryo.”
Hearing that, she lay down and let them begin.
Within fifteen minutes, the whole procedure was over. It was a lot quicker, and thankfully, a lot less painful than she’d expected.
Afterwards, she was surprised to feel nothing. She had thought she would feel some kind of emotion, anything at all, but she just felt numb.
It was something of an anti-climax. It’s not that she expected Angels to fly overhead serenading her with harps, but she had expected to somehow magically feel different.
Winnie told her to keep her feet up for a day or so and not do anything too strenuous. That would be easy. She’d not really felt up to doing anything since Aethelu left. She headed straight back to the library and sat in the exact spot she’d barely left in the previous week. Winnie followed her, with other ideas. Anais was quickly told to lie on the sofa, where she was brought a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.
Anais was grateful that Winnie cared about her, but she just wanted to be left alone. She accepted the chocolate graciously but was relieved when Winnie left.
Anais picked up the book she had been reading, but she couldn’t focus on the words. Her hand crept down to her belly. It felt the same as always, flat, nothing to show the little miracle that was going on inside her.
The library door opened and Anais whipped her hand away from her stomach. She expected to see Winnie back to fuss over her some more, so she was surprised to see Alex there. He came over to her and sat on the floor beside the sofa. He slowly picked up her hand.
“So, it’s done then?”
“Yep.”
“What now?”
“We just wait. There’s not a lot we can do except rest and cross our fingers. Aldrich said he’d do a pregnancy test in a few days.”
“A few days? Can’t he just do one now?”
“Apparently, it takes a few days to show a positive result.”
“Ah.”
They lapsed into silence. Eventually, Alex broke it.
“I’m really sorry.”
“What for?”
I should have been with you this week. I know how hard it’s been for you what with Aethelu gone and everything.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. It’s utterly crappy, actually. I’ve been hiding away from everyone in my room with no thought as to how you felt by all of this, and let’s be honest, my part was very small. It’s you who had to endure all the invasive procedures. I’m such a dolt.”
“Alex, it’s fine, really.” He looked at her with those beautiful eyes that reminded her of Aethelu. “I’m scared, too.”
He put his arms around her and held her whilst they both wept.
Minutes passed before they disentangled themselves from each other. Alex fished out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and handed it to her. It was embroidered with A.H. It was such an old-fashioned gestu
re, handing a handkerchief to a lady. She’d never seen anyone under the age of seventy carry a handkerchief before, but she reminded herself that he was over seventy. It made her smile.
“You know. I’ve been in this house nearly two months, and I still don’t know your surnames. What does the ‘H’ stand for?
“You never asked Aethelu?”
“Nope. I guess I never thought about it.”
“Hyde. It’s our real surname.”
“I keep forgetting that you all changed your names. What were you called originally?”
“Robin. Robin Hyde”
“Robin? That’s a beautiful name. It suits you.”
“Thanks. I’ve been Alexander for most of my life, now, though, Robin is long gone I’m afraid.”
“That’s a shame.” She smiled at him and then giggled.
“What?” Alex looked at her in confusion.
“I’ve just realised. Robin Hyde.”
“Yes?” Confusion still sounded in his voice.
“Are you sure you didn’t rob from the rich to give to the poor?”
“Ah, Robin Hood, Yes, I get it. No, I’ve not been stealing from the rich.” He smiled along with her.
“Been wearing green tights lately?” She laughed out loud. Alex joined in laughing with her.
It was such a release, laughing with Alex. The pressure she had been under for the last week finally diminished and she had to admit, she felt so much better because of it. Alex had a special way of making her feel better, lighter even. Eventually, the laughing came to an end.
“I thought you’d hate me,” he said what he’d been thinking all along.
“Why would I hate you? You are a victim of circumstance as much as I am. We are in this together.”
When he didn’t say anything she held out her hand to hold his.
“I don’t hate you.”
“I love you, Anais.”
“I know.”
She smiled sadly at the direction both their lives had taken and wished it could be different.
Seventeen
#The snow was beginning to let up the next day and now was falling in dribs and drabs, as if it wasn’t sure it could be bothered any more. She’d still not heard anything from Aethelu and was losing hope. When Alex had found out that Anais was planning to drive to York to pick up her things, he persuaded Winnie to let
him drive her instead.
After breakfast they both got into a new model Range Rover, which belonged to August. It had been parked at August’s cottage, and so, Anais had not seen it before.
The snow was thick, but was no match for the four-wheel drive. August had gritted the driveway once again, and the main roads had been cleared of snow. Few other drivers were attempting to drive in the snowy conditions, so they made good time. They sat in silence the whole journey, each in their own thoughts. Anais was taking in the beauty of the scenery. Everything they passed was white, heavy with snow. The only colour was the sky, which looked like it had been freshly painted with pinks and pale blues. Anais marvelled at the beauty of the world around her. She realised in all her time in England, she’d seen so very little of the country. She’d only seen York and the Manor’s grounds. She’d slept, thanks to the drugged milk on her way to the manor and had missed so much.
She decided that as soon as she could get out of the mess she was in, she would travel all around England, the country of her parents. She’d take Aethelu with her and together they’d see everything. She was already mentally planning her trip, when the car slowed, and she realised they were coming into the centre of York.
She looked at the castle walls as they went through an archway into the town and remembered her father and her walking the length of them the week she arrived.
She tried not to cry at the thought of it. Today was the day for picking up her things from the apartment above the shop and nothing else. She didn’t want to waste time on emotion.
When they got to the shop, Anais was surprised to see that the little sign above the shop door had been taken down.
Alex fished some keys out of his pocket and opened the shop door. The little bell to announce customers rang, although there was no one but them there to hear it.
Anais should have been prepared when she’d seen the missing shop sign, but she was still shocked to see the shelves empty and with a fine layer of dust covering them.
Half a dozen large boxes were stacked in a corner with ‘Books’ written on each in Winnie’s neat writing.
“I promised I’d take some of the books home, so I’ll load up the car whilst you’re upstairs packing.” Alex picked up the nearest box effortlessly and headed for the door. “Just don’t carry anything too heavy or Ma will kill me”
Anais made her way to the apartment up a little staircase at the back of the shop.
It felt strange to be back in her room. It took her back to a time where life was less complicated, but then it was also a time without Aethelu. It felt like a lifetime ago that she had last fallen asleep in this room, instead of the six weeks it actually had been.
She sat on the bed and looked around. Unlike the shop, it had been left exactly as she had left it all those weeks before. The book she had been reading was still on the bedside cabinet with the page she had just read folded down at the corner to mark where she was. The ornate wallpaper was the same as it had always been, so similar in style to some of the rooms of the manor. She should have made the connection straight away.
Her clothes were still hanging in the wardrobe and she wondered if she would even need them. Pretty soon she would be too big for them all. She pulled out a few pieces, ready to pack. She could wear them until they got too small and then again after the babies arrived. It was a strange thought. She supposed she’d have to go back into town at some point and buy a whole set of maternity clothes. It was a scary thought. Perhaps she’d leave that particular job to Arcadia, who would relish the chance of a clothes shopping trip and would undoubtedly do a much better job of it. To take her mind off it, she turned her attention back to the room and the job in hand.
She noticed her jewellery box sat, as it always had, on her dressing table. She went over to it and lifted the lid. Mostly, it was full of costume jewellery. Assorted earrings and necklaces all tangled together. She didn’t want to take most of it back with her, but there were a few items she wanted. A drawer in the bottom held her mother’s engagement ring and both parents’ wedding rings. She took them out and put them carefully in her purse. The other item she was looking for was buried in the tangle of beads and silver chains. She dug through the mess until she found what she was looking for--the star necklace. It took ten minutes to untangle it from the others, before she could get a closer look. When her parents died, the rings and this necklace were brought back to her by the policeman who told her of their deaths. It was the sight of the necklace that made her believe it. Her mother had worn it all the time and it was unique. At least Anais had thought it unique at the time, before she knew of thirteen other almost identical copies, exactly the same in all ways, but the jewel on the front
She’d worn it on a few occasions, but mostly, it had lived here in this jewellery box. Even though it reminded her of her mother, she didn’t like to wear it. It was clunky and oddly heavy.
Holding it in her hands, she looked at it more closely. It looked too new for its age. It still had straight lines and had not lost its sheen. She knew that her mother cleaned it regularly, which explained some of it. It held its star shape well with the elongated points held together by a cross bar. The black pearl still perfectly set in the centre. It was a lot thicker than any jewellery Anais would normally wear. She thought it unsightly.
Even now, knowing that it was part of her history, she wasn’t entirely enamoured with it. She shrugged and put it on anyway. It felt heavy around her neck. She took it back off and slipped it into her pocket.
She turned her attention to a small book at the side of the jewellery box. It was a pho
to book of her family.
The pages were folded and creased with being looked at so many times. She opened the book to a random page. Photos of her and her parents at the beach when she was about twelve years old filled the pages. In every shot, they were all smiling. Photos of her and Sarah surfing, of Alistair being buried in the sand, of them all eating ice cream. She noticed that Sarah was wearing the star necklace even then. She looked closely at one of the photos. It was a close up shot of her and her father. Her black hair was wet from swimming in the sea and curling up at all angles. Her father was smiling at the photographer, her mother. It was a rare photo of her father without his glasses. He rarely took them off, only for bathing and sleeping and, in this case, for swimming in the sea.
He looked so young. She’d never noticed before, to her he was just dad and she accepted him the way he was. He always dressed older and had an old fashioned manner about him which must have aged him. The glasses and the grey streaks which he dyed into his hair also did a good job of aging him. On the beach, without the glasses and the suits, he looked much younger than he was pretending to be. She compared it with a photo of her mother taken on the same day. Sarah would have been about thirty-four when it was taken. Still young looking, but laughter lines were starting to appear around the corners of her eyes. Her youthful looks were just starting to fade. She was still a great beauty and the lines only enhanced her appearance, but there was no denying she looked a lot older than her husband, a husband who was supposed to be ten years older than her.
