Bates awoke in his cold, clammy prison cell with a start. Despite the persistent chill his entire body was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Hot tears streamed down his grimy, unshaven face. He had been dragged out of what was already uneasy sleep by yet another nightmare. Night after miserable night he experienced the same awful dream.
His dream would begin innocuously enough. He was back at Downton with his beautiful Anna, the both of them going about their daily chores. Suddenly out of nowhere a black demon would enter the grand house, knock Bates down to the ground and steal his Anna away. But that's not where it finished. In his dream after the demon stole Anna, Bates then saw things from the demon's point of view. He whisked his stolen treasure away to a damp sea cave where he performed unspeakable violations on her person. Anna would cry out for Bates to save her the entire time as the demon had his wicked way with her. When the demon was satisfied he would then strangle what life was left in the ravaged woman. The image of the light and life going out of Anna's blue eyes haunted Bates every day. When things were finished the dream would always conclude with Bates as the demon hurling Anna's broken body into the crashing waves below the cave.
This was always where Bates awoke, the sound of the angry sea and Anna's screams still ringing in his ears. Mercifully the dream didn't occur every night, but it came often enough for Bates to loathe when the time came for him to fall asleep every night. Bates sat up in bed and took several deep breaths. It took some time before he calmed completely, tears still threatening to spill from his red, bloodshot eyes. His leg started to throb from the bitter cold in the cell. His cane had been taken and would not be given back unless he were set free. This seemed unlikely. Luckily his cell was close to where the prisoners took their meals and performed other duties, but the journey was always painful just the same. The courts had lessened his sentence from death to life imprisonment but the outlook was still grim. For a fleeting moment he felt selfish enough to long for death. Anything would be better than a lifetime in prison away from Anna. He knew however in his heart that his death would destroy Anna emotionally if she cared for him half as much as he cared for her. He'd never known such a deep abiding love for any other woman. Yes he loved his mother dearly but that was different. He had liked Vera very much when they had first met and had lusted after her until he bedded her. This illicit union had led to Vera claiming she was pregnant. Bates, ever the man of honor had stepped up to his mistake and married Vera. A mere three weeks later Vera claimed to have miscarried his child. He'd been heartbroken but she seemed not to care. Many years later Vera would tell Bates that she had never been pregnant, that she had only feigned pregnancy in order to trap him into a marriage. After that hurtful confession Bates saw Vera for what she truly was; a cold, selfish, calculating thief who would ruin anyone who stood between her and whatever trinket she longed for at any given time. She had no care for persons or property and she and Bates had been forced to quit many jobs and move to many different towns on account of her numerous thefts and other infractions. She was money-hungry like no other woman Bates had met. She'd even let strange men into their bed toward the end, charging them for her wares. That had been the final straw for Bates. He could look past her stealing and the fact that she seemed to get along with no one. But he would not stand by and be cuckolded by a whore. Yet even after all of their history together Bates had not been involved in her death. He also felt strongly that Vera had not committed suicide. She was nothing if not tenacious and would never have given up in her quest to ruin John's life.
But that was all done now. Vera was dead and Bates was in prison, convicted of murdering her. The only thing keeping him going was the vision of his Anna, marred as it had been by his recurring nightmare. He had a small photograph of her that he kept on him always. Whenever he was on the brink of giving in to his despair he would produce the image from the pocket where it stayed and gaze upon his beautiful Anna for what felt like forever. He had loved her almost immediately, and his feelings were cemented the night when her kindness had led her to bring him a tray in his room. He knew that she had heard him crying but she had been gracious enough not to mention it. That was the moment when Bates fell completely in love with Anna and for many long years after that moment he dreamt of nothing more than making her his wife. But there was still Vera, out there somewhere. They'd been estranged for years and Bates had never bothered about a divorce, thinking it was too far out of his reach. When his mother passed away his grief was cut through by a glimmer of hope. With the money she had left him he could try now for a divorce. Fate seemed to act almost immediately as Vera showed up the next day. He thought he had things sealed but of course she reneged and made him leave Downton. He hated himself for being such a coward and leaving Anna but he wouldn't have his employer's name dragged through the mud. The months that followed were hard but Bates found his way back to Downton and Anna, but somehow Vera found out where he was and came back with a vengeance; all her fury was made worse by Sir Richard's attempts to silence her. And then that day. Bates had gone to London in a last ditch attempt to reason with her. What he saw in her was a woman scrambling to get her way, she was bordering on mania and mumbling things about Sir Richard and how sorry he'd be. Then she unleashed all that fury on Bates hurling obscenities and anything she could get her hands on at John. He deflected her anger as best he could but she managed to clip him over his left eyebrow with her flailing fist. The surge of pain caused Bates to momentarily lose control. He grabbed her wrists and forced her to the ground and used his not inconsiderable weight to pin her until she calmed. Finally she stopped spitting and squirming. Bates had released her then, got up from the floor and walked out the door without a single look back. He heard nothing more from her as he walked down the street.
A few weeks later he and Anna were married. All the sorrow and anger he'd endured for years had been washed away as he bathed in the absolute love radiating from Anna as they said their vows. Their wedding night had been beautiful. Anna had surprised him with a guest room decked out in all the honeymoon gear, a gift from Lady Mary and a fellow maid. His Anna had been a bit shy and nervous at first, they were on unequal ground sexually. He'd been with a few women in his life, she'd only ever had a few chaste kisses from some of the boys she'd grown up with. Bates had made love to Anna with all the tenderness a man of his size could muster. She had whimpered in pain at first as he took her virginity but after a while she became more comfortable and proved herself an attentive and caring lover. Her kisses were deep and meaningful. When it was all over she had held him to her so tightly he could hear her heart beating inside her petite frame. The smell of her was something he would always remember, a mixture of her soap and the light sweat of their exertions. The image of her lying on the bed beneath him kept him warm at night, her golden hair fanned out on the pillow, her pale, creamy skin glowing from their love-making. He had never been happier than at that moment, and felt he never would be again.
Outside his cell window he could see the first rays of the sun making themselves known, fighting against the heavy grey clouds that had lingered for nearly a week. Perhaps it was an omen. Anna would be coming to see him today. He was nearly humming with excitement. He would shave and clean himself up for his beautiful wife, not wanting her to see the state he sunk into when she was gone. He pulled her picture out from his pocket and gave it a light kiss. They would not be permitted to touch during today's meeting. If he could just hold her small hand in his it would lift his spirits infinitely. But until then he had to make do with his memories of her until he saw his beautiful wife again. It would not come quickly enough.