A/N: So I wanted to contribute to Valentine's Day in fic form but didn't have anything planned until a small inkling of an idea a couple of days ago. It's probably not the best thing I've written but it's fluffy and a tiny bit racy, so good enough, I guess. Not really much plot to this, it's set after S5. I should say thanks to Kristen APA for helping me out with a couple of little details :)
I don't own Downton Abbey, else this kind of stuff would just be commonplace in every episode.
The Best Laid Plans
John tried valiantly not to let his disappointment show as Anna spoke in a soft hush in the corridor. It was most certainly not her fault, but the further she explained the greater the heavy feeling sank in his stomach. Judging by the look in her eyes his wife was just as dejected, and that stung his heart more than anything.
"And she has to have the dress by tonight? It can't possibly wait until another day?"
Anna shook her head with a small, almost inaudible sigh, as though she was conscious of being caught criticising her mistress by doing so too blatantly.
"Mr Talbot is arriving later on, so I'm afraid not." She tipped her head, a drift of a smile lighting her face suddenly and thoroughly capturing John's attention. "I suppose it's quite apt really, even if it is all rather sudden."
John let his gaze linger upon her features, noticing that she had looked particularly beautiful these past weeks, before diverting it to the floor, unable to express his true feelings about the highly inconvenient situation lest he should mistakenly cause Anna to be upset. She'd had quite enough of that, after all. In the next second her small fingers curled around his hand, issuing a tender touch that did not fail to buoy him.
"You can still enjoy your afternoon off," she exclaimed, rubbing her thumb in circles against the curve of his palm.
"Without you?" John replied forlornly. "I'd find it impossible."
She tutted, though the smile had remained, now larger than before.
"Mr Bates, let's not be ungrateful." He had to smirk at her tone, rather enjoying it when she told him off for his bursts of impudence in the way that only she could. "I'll want to know what the tea is like for the next time we visit, so you'll have to sample everything and tell me what's best."
He'd come across the new tea room while on an errand for his Lordship in Ripon just a couple of weeks ago. The pretty decoration and the flowers in the window had caught his eye and he knew that Anna would love the place just as much. It would be a perfect, peaceful setting for them to have some much needed time to themselves. He made a point of returning on the way back, popping in to the neat little shop and enquiring whether it was possible to book a table in advance. They'd already realised that their scheduled half-day off together fell on Valentine's Day and shared excited exchanges about the pleasant coincidence. John had felt as though he had been walking on the top of the world when he had emerged with the reservation, which would give them enough time to head back to the cottage before journeying to enjoy a few hours there together, away from their obligations. If the evening was fine they would even be able go for a little stroll as dusk was descending – he could already relish the sensation of Anna's arm looped into the crook of his, pressing against his side as she mused happily, the joyful beam that came from her his greatest treasure.
Now, as was so often the case, it seemed life had other plans which well and truly put paid to his.
As mournful as he was, the smile that erupted was unstoppable when his wife reached up on her tiptoes to place a kiss upon his cheek, his hands steadying themselves against her sides.
"I'll hurry things along as best I can," she promised. "We can still make the day special."
John looked lovingly upon her as she left him with the imprint of her lips tingling against his skin, departing for the afternoon.
Every second he spent with her was more special than could ever be imagined.
The dress arrived in tact at Downton some hours later, as did Anna and Lady Mary. Being new, it had taken Anna some time to get to grips with its hooks and fastens, plus she needed to be extra careful not to accidently snag the satin or pull off a stray bead, of which there were many. At least a bit of time was saved not having to style Lady Mary's hair to the same extent as she would before it had been bobbed, but it seemed that her mistress was having trouble deciding which adornment she wanted fixing to her style, clearly wanting to look her best for the special guest.
If they would have had the afternoon off as planned, Anna wouldn't have minded that the dinner had been scheduled later. As it was she was quite worn-out before the evening had got very late, her feet dragging beneath her and her eyes fighting to stay open. She arrived in the servants' hall expecting to find John already waiting in his seat for her – men were much less fuss to dress than women, or so she always imagined and had learnt from what John had told her of the process and showed her in their morning preparations at the cottage. Instead she got the tale from Mrs Hughes about how his Lordship's dinner shirts had somehow been starched past the point of immediate redemption, and it had been quite the quest to find one that would prove passable. Success had been sought before the entirety of the house had been turned over, but the episode had put a further delay on proceedings. Anna sunk almost boneless into the chair, sipping the near-hot tea to replenish her and bide the time.
Her husband bundled into the doorway, the click of his cane preventing her chin from dropping to her chest. She smiled perfectly naturally towards him, noticing he appeared a touch dishevelled and finding him all the more devastatingly handsome for it.
"I'm sorry," he uttered delicately, going towards her with her coat already in his firm grasp.
"None of that," Anna replied, taking the hand he offered out to her and staring up towards him, feeling her fatigue fading away the longer she looked into the warm hazel wells of his eyes. She turned so he could place the coat over her shoulders, suppressing a gasp as his fingers briefly brushed the nape of her neck. "Let's go home."
There was a renewed fire within his irises, changing their colours delightfully as she faced him once more.
"That sounds perfect," he whispered before dotting a line of kisses from her ear to just shy of her neck, taking advantage of the emptiness of the hall aside from the two of them but thankful they wouldn't be staying any later.
The irises lay on the kitchen table, with brown paper still wrapped around their stems. Anna breathed deeper, the sweet but not overpowering scent invading her senses. Inching towards the tabletop she reached out her fingers to touch the delicate lilac petals of the flowers.
"The bus ran late, so I didn't have time to put them out properly," John muttered apologetically, an achingly soft look in his eyes that sought her and bathed her in affection, even when he was standing at the other side of the kitchen.
"John, they're beautiful," she held them carefully, bringing them closer still. "We can use your mother's vase."
He smiled brilliantly towards her, the crinkles she loved so well appearing at the corners of his eyes to show the true extent of his joy. For now she filled a jug with water, letting out giggles when he brought an arm around her waist, leaving soft warm kisses either side of her neck.
They pottered around the small space just big enough to comfortably fit them both, preparing a simple supper of bread and some slices of meat accompanied with a pot of tea, not quite as exotic as the kinds they might have tried at their outing that hadn't happened. It was devoured quickly by lamplight rather than candlelight, with the smiles and looks passed between them quite enough to sweeten the meal as it was. Slipping her feet from where they had nestled in his lap after he had issued a final rub to the soles of her stockings, John stood to retrieve his other small token from the cupboard.
"I don't think we'll get through it all tonight, but given your appetite," he teased gently, watching Anna's eyes widen at the sight of the chocolate fudge cake.
"Cheeky beggar," she laughed, her face radiant. "Just a tiny slice."
John cut a sliver as requested, taking an even smaller portion for himself. Both plates were clean in no time at all, with their cups also drained dry as, gradually and all too quickly, the lamps burned to their lowest.
John went slowly up the stairs, his knee seized up a little from the inevitable chill of February. With his cane reliably held in one hand, the smoothly bound volume was in the other. He didn't want to keep Anna from bed, seeing how weary she was, so he had bid her to go and warm the covers while he took care of everything downstairs. The nightly routine of locking and shutting everything off was so ingrained that it took no longer than five minutes, a little more at most. Tonight he had an added task, perusing the bookshelf that was fit to bursting for something suitable. He dithered between novel or poetry for a while, wondering what would be more favourable. Deciding that Anna likely wouldn't have the attention span for too long an excerpt on this night, he settled on the book of sonnets that he had bought for her the Valentine's Day just before they were wed. A little obvious, perhaps, but they had never tired, just as much as his passion and deep love for his wife could never be altered – except only to grow deeper still.
His steps were softer still as he lightly pushed the open door wider. As he had expected Anna was curled up beneath the covers, her hair flowing in waves upon the pillow, just the same as any angel or goddess would have appeared.
"What a day it's been," he said lowly, an edge of seductiveness already coating his voice.
What he hadn't quite expected as he got closer was to find her with the lids of her eyes closed, her mouth only very slightly open and soft snores escaping her.
John smiled, regarding Anna for a while in the still of the night. Making as little noise as he was able, he placed the book down upon the bedside table and drew the blanket snugly over her body. Her hand wavered lightly upon the pillow as he pressed a kiss upon her forehead.
"Sleep well and sweet dreams, my love," he uttered, stroking her hair gently before he got himself ready to take his place beside her and join her in dreaming.
Anna felt considerably rested as she made her way to Lady Mary's room. She couldn't even recall her head touching the pillow last night, so exhausted had she been. Putting the flowers into the vase and at the centrepiece of their sitting room before they had left she felt a pang of guilt that John had gone to so much trouble to make her happy, yet she hadn't even been able to stay awake for more than an hour after they'd got back. She knew that if she mentioned it he would never dare to admit, but it still bothered her. Sometimes they were too much of the same mind, especially when it came to wanting to do all they could for the other.
She smiled and made conversation as she dressed her mistress, all the while wondering what she might be able to do to make things up to her husband. A new book, perhaps – there were a few he had his eye on, although where they would be put she didn't quite know as their shelf was close to collapsing. Tickets for a picture show or something of the sort, she had enough money saved by for a treat such as that.
"Anna?"
Hearing her name shook her from her daydreams.
"Excuse me, m'lady. Will that be all?"
"Well, not quite," Lady Mary replied, smiling as she turned around in her seat at the mirror. "Last night went well. Mr Talbot says he intends to stop by for tea before he travels back."
"I'm glad to hear it, m'lady," Anna said faithfully, not quite sure why she should be told this, even if she was her lady's closest confidante.
The twinkle remained at the corner of Lady Mary's lips. "He also said he would like to accompany me for the afternoon. Not very far, perhaps just to the village. He hasn't visited before."
"And would you like me to prepare another outfit?"
Mary shook her head lightly. "That won't be necessary. I thought it would be a nice opportunity for you to take the afternoon off too, given that I rather spoiled it for you yesterday."
"That's very kind, m'lady," Anna smiled in gratitude. "I shall enjoy the time."
"I believe you will," Mary quipped, "given that Bates will be accompanying you."
Before Anna could enquire, her mistress explained.
"It turns out one of the hall boys was quite clumsy and interfered with the laundry, causing that small disaster last night. I had a word with Carson and suggested that it was only fair that the time needed to do it all over should be recouped. He seemed to be in a rather generous mood, to my surprise."
Anna smiled to herself, having a fair idea of the reason why.
"So in short, you have the rest of the morning and afternoon to yourselves."
"Thank you very much, m'lady." She had the urge to run from the room like a woman possessed on the instant, eager to seek out John to tell him of the very pleasant surprise. Instead she remained relatively composed, folding away the nightclothes. "I hope you have an agreeable afternoon with Mr Talbot."
"Well, we shall see," her mistress replied rather more reservedly, the course of recent history taking its toll. "But if I were you, I wouldn't waste a second longer standing here."
Anna laughed at that, saying a cheerful farewell to her lady before scampering away as quickly as her feet would carry her.
The afternoon sun spilled through their window, the crispness of the air outside giving the light a misty, magical quality as it floated inward, inching up the bedsheets to land shimmering upon their bare skin. Anna's hand was pressed against John's chest, her fingertips brushing against the textures of his smooth skin and coarse thatch of hair. His arm was draped around her waist, his hand reaching up to tickle lightly against the curve of her hip and up to her side. Anna squirmed, letting out breathless laughs that quickly turned into sighs when he took to dipping his head to her neck, teasing his mouth over her collarbone.
"John," she moaned, threading her fingers into his thick hair as his hand ran over her back.
"Yes, my darling?" he muffled against her skin, lavishing kisses upon her, very pleased with the sounds that were coming from her lips.
Her hands pushed him away lightly, her eyes opening so that she could take in every inch of his face. Their clothes could be viewed scattered over the floor in a rather artful arrangement, the passion getting the better of them as well as the unexpected time away from their duties. They had pondered various ideas of what they might occupy themselves with, but all sense was lost for good when they had stepped inside the cottage, John sliding his hands against her hips and rasping in her ear.
She lay there, looking at her husband with the covers barely draped over his form, and she could have melted with how happy she was.
"This was all very lovely," she didn't pause to giggle at the lascivious smirk that crossed his lips, "but we should get up soon. We can't very well stay here all afternoon."
"Who says so?" John replied, shifting himself closer to her. "Whenever we make plans, they seem to go awry."
Anna smiled, letting her head nestle against his shoulder as he lay upon his back. He reached to entwine their hands, and neither of them failed to be astounded about how perfectly their fingers fit in the spaces of the other.
"I'm rather glad that they did this time," she said, cuddling into him. "As much as I like taking tea, I dare say it's not as half as nice as this."
"You minx, Anna Bates," he growled, nipping at her earlobe before kissing her tenderly. "But I quite agree."
They lay together for some time, blissful in their prolonged afterglow, as content and comfortable as it was possible to be, the furthest they moved simply to meet each other's lips once more. Valentine's Day may have passed without much fanfare, but it didn't fail to pass either of them by that any and every day was filled with so much love when they could spend them so close together. And that was how it would be for the rest of their days, thankfully said after all that had been prevailed over.
All that lay ahead was love, wrapping them up and lasting longer than the rest of the time.
After a while, Anna sat up, making to emerge from their cocoon. She didn't bother to put on her robe.
"Where are you going?" John enquired gruffly, rolling onto his side and admiring how the sun framed her in light.
She leaned over, kissing her husband soundly, trailing her fingers against his jaw and giving a smile that captured his heart completely for the countless time since they'd met.
"There's still some chocolate cake for afternoon tea," she answered, leading him to follow her down to the kitchen without a second thought.