“I love you,” she whispered to him. “Happy Christmas.”
“Happy Christmas,” he whispered back and then sped down the hall to his room and disappeared. She softly closed the door, wondering what would happen and if he really meant it. If he did, she had never been happier in her life. She was still smiling when she went to bed and burrowed under the covers. In his room, Anthony was standing at the window, looking at the snow on the ground, and thinking of his mother, hoping he would be luckier than his father had been. But with Annie, for the first time in his life, he thought he had a chance. He had opened his heart to her, and all he could do now was pray that he was right. She was the first woman he had trusted in his entire life. It was even more important than loving her.
Chapter 16
Everything about Christmas changed from the moment Anthony told Annie he loved her. It was the most beautiful Christmas of her life. They met at breakfast the next day, and all appeared to be normal. They sat next to each other and held conversations with the other people at the table as though nothing had changed. But their entire universe had altered overnight. Annie felt as though she was floating.
She called Jonathan and the twins to wish them a Happy Christmas.
Anthony snuck into her room that afternoon to kiss her, and again when she was changing for dinner. He could hardly keep his hands off her. She didn’t want to do anything foolish, and he wanted to be responsible. After dinner on Christmas night, he stayed with her for hours and they talked about the future. It sounded magical to her. He lay on her bed and held her and they kissed endlessly, but they didn’t make love. That was new for him. Any woman who hadn’t slept with him before, he had lost interest in immediately. With Annie, it was all different, and he didn’t want to do anything to hurt her or put her at risk.
They managed to avoid the scrutiny of the entire group by being discreet and appearing casual with each other. And no one suspected anything by the time they all disbanded on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas. The queen had to get back to Buckingham Palace, Victoria was going skiing with friends in Saint Moritz, and Cortina after that. Anthony’s father had business to attend to. The young princes had to go back to school, and the prince consort was going hunting in Spain with the king. They all had their roles to play and their lives to pursue. He hated to let Annie go back alone on the train for the long trip back to Newmarket, but it was how she had come, and he had to drive his car back from Sandringham. He couldn’t leave it there. His father had come in his own car, so he couldn’t drive Anthony’s back for him. And he was stopping to see people on the way back so couldn’t offer Annie a ride.
The head steward put Annie on the train, and she felt as though she were in a dream all the way back to Newmarket, and in a cab back to the stables. It had been the most magical Christmas of her life. Anthony couldn’t even call her at the stables, without everyone knowing. Instead he showed up three days later for the weekend. His father was away, and he had dinner at the pub with Annie, and the next day they rode out together on a trail that was muddy but not icy, and they were cautious so the horses didn’t fall. He smiled at her as the horses walked along side by side.
“When are you coming to London?” he asked her.
“I have three days off in two weeks. I could come then.”
“It’s going to be so hard having you here,” he said, impatient to spend time with her. “I’ll get you a room at the Ritz,” he said and she nodded. He came to her room that night, when the other trainers were out for dinner, and they lay on her bed for a while.
“How would I get that pill you mentioned?” she asked him shyly and he smiled. He didn’t think she was ready and he was surprised. “I don’t think I trust us,” she said wisely.
“I’ll take care of it,” he promised. “I have an American friend who can mail them to me. They’re easier to get there.” He didn’t want to make any mistakes either and spoil everything. She was too important to him.
He left the trainers’ quarters before the others got back, and stayed in his father’s house. She visited him there the next day, but they were circumspect, with a great deal of kissing and touching and fondling, but nothing more dangerous than that.
He hated to leave her on Sunday night, but she promised to come to London in two weeks on her time off. He wrote her short funny letters which made her laugh, and told her how much he loved her. She got a steady stream of mail from him, and had to force herself to concentrate on her work. And at the end of two weeks, she took the train to London, he met her at the station, and drove her to the Ritz. He hadn’t intended to stay with her, or he would have taken her to his apartment. But in the end, he couldn’t leave her, and she didn’t want him to. He had come prepared just in case. He didn’t want to risk an accident the first time.