Guest asked for 'what we didn't see in the painting of the cottage'. I apologise, I realise I went of on a bit of a tangent, but I hope it is enjoyable nonetheless. Please review with more thoughts and ideas!
"I might ask Mrs Hughes, she usually knows what's going on," Mr Bates decided, going to paint another stroke on the wall. Not concentrating properly, he flicked the paintbrush down, flecks of paint landing on his face.
"Which is more than you do," Anna giggled, looking at him in amusement as he wiped his face, a wide smile of mirth gracing it as he looked back, raising his eyebrows in mock agreement.
"You're right though," she said resignedly, "She is the one to go to if you want to know something. She pretty much has the house wired, she just doesn't shout about it."
He nodded in knowing agreement, and they both resumed their tasks. Her sideways glances at him, already frequent due to the unharnessed nature of his thick hair which she knew to be very soft and the truthfully weakening image of him as her husband, decorating their home with casual clothes, turned into outright staring as she attempted to ascertain the reason for the clearly mischievous smile that had found its way onto his face.
"What is it?" she said finally, knowing he knew he was taunting her.
He laughed and shook his head.
"Nothing, you just reminded me..." He paused his words and movements, and shook his head again as he resumed, glancing at her only briefly as he continued to paint. "Never mind."
He had hoped that would be the end of it, as he was slightly reluctant to discuss this, but he knew her, and if he was honest he wanted to share this with her. Not that he could refuse anything even if he didn't want to share it; she was standing in an apron, decorating their home, with her hair casually pulled back in a manner which quite frankly asked to be released.
"What?" She sounded lightly admonishing now, and had abandoned her task completely, coming slightly closer to him. He shook his head again, not even sparing her a look, merely to see what her reaction would be; his playfulness rewarded him when she removed the paintbrush from his grip, sliding her fingers over his as she did so, and setting it standing in the paint beside them and forcing him to look at her with a gentle guiding hand to the side of his face.
"Tell me," She spoke with authority, but with that rare and beautiful quality that made him want to do what she said regardless, just to please her. He was pretty sure at that moment she could have told him to jump and he would have simply enquired as to the height she wanted.
"Alright," he conceded with ease. Her hand fell from his face and his skin immediately felt a little cold without her hand, but she used it to take his other hand and look up at him expectantly.
"It's just what you said, about Mrs Hughes knowing everything that goes on," he paused, unsure of his words, and she raised her eyebrows slightly in anticipation and encouragement.
"Well, this was years ago, before the war, before the flower show and everything, only a few months or so into my job. It was about the time people stopped judging me on the whole, with obvious exceptions, and I had really felt at home for the first time in years. And well...I had you."
She frowned slightly. "But you didn't see me as anything, and you didn't know my feelings, well at least not the extent of them, why was I significant then?"
Mr Bates smiled with incredulity, and didn't refrain from satisfying his sudden need to kiss her soundly.
"What was that for?" she laughed, confusedly happy.
"You really had no idea did you?" He took her hands again and led her to sit on the new sofa with him.
"What I was talking about, it was the time I realised I fell in love with you." She went to speak again, but seemed to think better of it, and waited for elaboration.
"It was Mrs Hughes, would you believe.
You see, for a good few weeks at least I had had to acknowledge my attraction to you; before then, I had tried to deny it or ignore it until I saw you again. I first realised I was doing this the days following my dismissal that never was. I don't know if you will remember, but you-"
"-brought you a tray. I was very sad you were going, I didn't really understand why yet," she finished, a hint even now of slight shyness in her tone.
"Yes, well, that was what started it properly I suppose. Well as I was saying, I knew I was attracted to you, but I thought it was me being a silly man in the face of a beautiful woman, that it would fade as I came to know you properly as a colleague, a superior technically," he paused, and say with no small sense of pride the slight blush at his words, "but of course the more I spoke to you, the more I wanted to be around you all the time. The foolish man I am, I pushed it aside and tried to hide it from you. I didn't believe anyone else would be paying enough attention to notice."
"Mrs Hughes did?"
He nodded.
"You and me had just been talking and laughing, I forget why, and I suppose I was in too good a mood to be as guarded as I tried to be. Well, you walked away and I looked after you, smiling quite ridiculously I think, and Mrs Hughes walked up to me, patted me on the shoulder and I don't think I will ever forget this, said: 'She's a fickle mistress.' I was confused thinking she meant you, so she said. 'No, not Anna, Mr Bates, love." And with that and a knowing smile she walked off. From then on, she made little pointed asides to me, I think she was trying to get me to share. But from that day on I knew I loved you, and that before then, I had not really known what that was."
Should I have ended there? I could have gone on forever, but I could write a bit more to it if you lovely people so wished. Reviews please :)