Chapter Seventeen-"Earning Her Spurs"
Ginny led the way down the steps from the house in Victoria to the pavement, Anne was behind her and Hermione followed last, after pulling the door shut. Hermione was nearly to the pavement when a whoosh of a black cab going past, caused Anne to fling back into her. It was probably a good thing the brunette was behind her and nearly caught her.
"I'm fine!" said Anne, straightening up.
"Well, surprise number one is out of the way," said Ginny drily.
They were all standing on the pavement now and every time a car or van went past, Anne flinched slightly, her hands in fists by her side, but within moments that reaction had subsided.
Hermione looked down the road and saw an available cab and stuck her hand out. She was aware that Anne was eyeing the taxi suspiciously, as it pulled up.
"Parliament Square," said Hermione, as Ginny opened the back door and got in, gesturing to Anne, then Hermione got in and closed the door. They thought this was the safest place for Anne to be in the middle with full round vision ahead and to the sides. They negotiated the seat belts.
"What's this?" Anne asked as it was fastened across her.
"It's the law, but for our own good too. It can save your life in an accident," said Hermione.
"Does that happen often?" asked Anne.
"I've never been in one," said Hermione, with Ginny agreeing. "But if we were, it stops you being thrown from the vehicle, within it or out of it."
"It goes that fast?" Anne queried.
"Probably not much in London, restricted to thirty or forty miles per hour, but out on other roads the law is seventy, but some people break it. A lot of cars can do a hundred miles an hour easily."
Anne was calculating it, while also trying to look at all the buildings and other traffic around them. "So you are saying that a...conveyance such as this, could travel fifty miles in one hour? The unit works literally how it appears, in these times?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "Although an actual journey of fifty miles might vary in time, depending on traffic and different speed limit zones."
The taxi turned right onto a broader road. "Do you know where we are, right here?" asked Anne.
"I think we've turned onto Victoria Street," said Hermione. "Keep an eye out as we'll be close to Westminster Abbey soon."
In a few minutes, with only a couple of stoppages, they came to a point where the Abbey appeared on their right.
"There you go," said Ginny. "Something you should recognize."
Anne leaned over Ginny slightly and looked at the magnificent old Abbey. "There she is," she said wistfully. Then she sat back slightly shocked.
"Anything wrong?" asked Ginny.
"The people," said Anne.
Once they had got nearer to the Abbey and towards Parliament Square, the throng of every day people and tourists were quite thickly spread.
"So many..."
In moments the cab stopped and they got out, and Hermione paid the driver.
Anne stood back and looked around, then she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "It doesn't smell like the middle of London. The Thames is just over there, I presume, but I can't really smell it."
"It's had a clean up since your day," said Hermione.
"Less turds floating in it," said Ginny.
"A lot less turds floating in it," agreed Hermione.
From a serious, contemplating expression, Anne gave a half smirk. "That would explain it."
They walked along the pavements and looking up, Anne got a proper look at Big Ben and it took her breath away, along with the architecture of the House of Parliament.
"Are you sure this was built in my near future?" asked Anne. "It looks far older...more..."
"Gothic," said Hermione. "It's supposed to." She tried to ignore the fact that this building would not be in Anne's future because she would already be gone. "It's Gothic Revival which the Victorians were obsessed with for a time."
"Five minutes to go," said Ginny, looking at the time on the clock face, then half chuckled. "You'll soon hear Big Ben."
They continued walking and just as they were thinking of crossing the road, Hermione held them back and the chimes began, deafeningly close above them. Anne initially put a hand to her ear, but had a smile on her face. "I've heard many cathedral bells in my time, and this is quite impressive."
Ginny raised an eyebrow as if to say: Only quite? Which made Hermione have to bite her lip not to laugh.
The three women stood at a crossing and the lights changed and they walked across, having to explain road crossings while they did so, followed by explaining the Boudicca statue, which had caught Anne's eye as they walked past on to Westminster Bridge. She was then overwhelmed by the size of the London Eye big wheel over at the Embankment, with all the pods. When told to look closer she could see all the people in the pods.
"Is that something we could do?" asked Anne.
"Of course," said Ginny. "It's perfectly safe, too."
"Not afraid of heights?" asked Hermione.
"My dear girl, I've climbed mountains!" said Anne, in a superior tone.
"Just checking," said Hermione, amused.
They paused on Westminster Bridge and Anne sniffed again. "It's a little stagnant, now we're over it."
"It has a dirty pond smell, of course," said Ginny. "It just doesn't spread the smell over the whole city any more, or rarely."
They dawdled for a few minutes at a souvenir stall, looking at postcards and other tourist things. Hermione had to tell Anne that she couldn't keep anything if they bought something, because she couldn't take it back with her. She was fine with it. "What would I do with these things, anyway?" she said, practically.
Then, her eyes alighted to some of the postcards, she turned one of the holders and studied one of the pictures. She had the forethought to keep her voice low as she asked. "Is this the current Queen?"
"Yeah," said Hermione.
"She looks quite old? White hair?"
"She was eighty-two this year," said Hermione. "She still does long walks and rides out on a horse most days too. If she lives as old as her mother she might have another twenty years."
They walked on, away from the bundle of people around the stall. "So there was a Queen that lived past a hundred years old?" Anne asked, thoughtfully.
"Her mother, also an Elizabeth, was Queen Consort to King George VI," explained Hermione. "He died relatively young in 1952, so the current queen has reigned for fifty-six years and counting."
"And there were two more Georges?" Anne stated.
"And two more Edwards in between, Edward VIII being a slightly useless individual, and that could be said years before his questionable taste in women and politics became an issue, and so the throne went to his brother, the current queen's late father, which worked out best for the country." explained Hermione, then she laughed. "Ginny, I think Edward VIII would qualify for your analysis of 'inadequate crapness'!" The redhead grinned, reminded of their conversation the day before about Edward the Confessor.
After a bit more walking and a wait, the three women found themselves slowing rising into the air in a pod on the London Eye. Hermione watched Anne out of the corner of her eye, Ginny doing the same to gauge how she was coping with everything, but they need not have worried as she was absorbing everything, no longer eyeing other people strangely and more interested in the landscape before her. She pointed to a strangely shaped building to the north east of their location.
"The Gherkin," said Hermione. "Because it looks like a gherkin."
"Peculiar," said Anne.
This was immediately forgotten when she finally looked upon a heavy 747 airplane in the sky. She reached for Hermione's hand.
"All right?" asked Hermione.
"Checking I'm actually awake," said Anne, pointing to the huge hulk of a plane slowly descending.
"Passenger plane, heading for Heathrow Airport, going by the direction," said Hermione.
"How? How does it stay in the air?"
"I've asked that myself, when stuck on one," said Ginny, shaking her head.
"She's not a good air traveller," said Hermione. "Which is very strange when you consider her career choice."
"Not the same thing at all!" said Ginny.
"Sadly, we can't get you on one," said Hermione. "It involves too much identification and security protocols."
"No matter," said Anne, not sounding too disappointed. "Can one feel ill, travelling on them?"
"Sometimes," said Ginny. "If you get turbulence in the air, the plane can jig about a bit and that can be hard on the stomach."
Anne sighed. "Just as well, then. I'm not always good on a boat. Best left alone." As she looked more to the sky, instead of just at the buildings, she spotted other planes and even a helicopter, which had to be explained.
"Actually, Leonardo da Vinci invented one. It was found in his drawings and papers in the late fifteenth century," said Hermione. "About four-hundred years ahead of his time."
"Next you'll be telling me you can fly to the moon," said Anne, laughing.
"People have walked on it, the first time in 1969," said Hermione, enjoying the brief twitch in Anne's face and the narrowing of her eyes, trying to gauge if she was being made fun of. "There's an international space station in orbit in space, which usually has people working on it. It can be seen some nights, though I can't remember in which direction or place in the sky."
After a few minutes of silence, as Anne was still processing the information, they went back to pointing out buildings and districts they could see. Canada Square tower at Canary Wharf impressed her, but saying it was quite short compared to other skyscrapers in the world made her go quiet, as she stared at the tall building with the light flashing on the roof. On reaching the ground again and exiting, Hermione insisted on Anne experiencing a warm doughnut freshly made.
"I don't normally eat between breakfast and tea, sometimes not until supper," said Anne, unable to not try the delicious smelling and tasting bready sugary cake in her hand, nearly too warm to touch.
"That's what you do wrong," said Hermione. "Think of your body as a furnace and boiler."
"Overheated, sooty and with a big belly?!" said Ginny.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Take no notice of Miss Comedy. To keep the boiler...your body...ready for action, it needs fuel in the furnace. Food is fuel. If you run low, you lose energy and splutter and gutter out. It can make you feel ill if you try to be active with an empty stomach."
"I never want food when I'm being active, climbing or walking," said Anne, sceptically.
"It's not about want. Your body needs the fuel. We're not talking about a three course meal, but just little snacks and often," explained Ginny in a more serious tone.
"She's right," said Hermione, nodding. "Keeping her body in top condition is part of her job."
"Helps keep everything in order," said Ginny, hinting at bowel movements, without saying it, but Anne didn't seem to take the meaning, or deliberately avoided it.
After a little more walking and taking in various views, sitting and people watching and talking about this and that, giving Anne a taste of coca-cola, they got a taxi back to the house in Victoria.
On arriving back Anne did ask for the bathroom, and Hermione explained the handle flushing and the other fixtures. Ginny and Hermione went to the living room and flicked on the TV.
After several minutes Ginny whispered. "Do you think she's all right?"
"I assume we'd have heard a lump if she'd fainted," replied Hermione. "Or a lump if she'd escaped through the window. Although..."
"What?"
Hermione whispered even quieter. "In her diaries, she's sometimes on 'the pot' a long time."
"Hopefully the junk food will help that," said Ginny, grinning.
Some time later Anne appeared and quietly made her way into the room and sat on the comfortable sofa.
"Find everything?" asked Hermione.
"Yes. I..,err...," Anne hesitated. "I admit, I sat there looking at the...bathroom."
"Really?" Ginny said surprised.
"I've only seen something close to that at a rather affluent friend of mine in Richmond, even then it wasn't as...grandly finished."
"This is a fairly rich house," said Ginny. "But about normal for most houses in the bathroom level."
"I also confess the...flush you called it...was surprisingly loud and fast."
"So much better than a chamber pot or a cesspit, or the old style water closets which were never efficient," said Hermione. "You have to admit?"
"I will admit it, then," said Anne, amused, but she was finding it hard to focus as the television had really caught her eye. "Another item of progress?"
"Depends what you call progress," said Hermione. "There can be utter crap on there sometimes, but we can see news from all over the world as it happens. We can watch sports live on the other side of the world. It makes the world much smaller."
"It's definitely good for news," said Ginny.
They currently had Sky News on. Anne had sat forward and was squinting her eyes to read the ticker tape headlines running at the bottom of the screen. The picture then changed for an advert break.
"It's advertising, to get people to buy the products," explained Hermione. An advert for a perfume came on, with all the artistic raunchiness usual for the product. "Ginny calls those ones 'adverts for cat wee'."
"Cat wee?" Anne asked, not able to look away from the screen, although looking like she half didn't want to look at it either.
"Urine. Ginny thinks most perfumes end up smelling like fermented cat urine."
"Is that sort of...thing, normal?" asked Anne.
"Perfume that smells like cat urine?"
"The lack of clothes and self control?"
"Oh. Yeah, that's fairly normal," said Ginny. "That one is quite tame, as it's day time still."
"They get worse?"
"The programmes and content can be more adult after 9pm."
After watching some more news and feeling amused by Anne's reaction to a detailed weather forecast with satellite images, it was early evening and Hermione asked. "Is there something you would like for dinner or supper?"
"I don't know. I was wondering if you would surprise me again."
"Neither Ginny nor I can cook very well ourselves..."
"No, cooking was never one of my skills," said Anne.
"But being here, we literally have the choice of anything. Take away brought back here would be best tonight. So, from fish and chips, to pizza, pasta, Chinese, curry, and anything in between," said Hermione.
"Which is less harsh on the stomach?" asked Anne.
"Probably fish and chips. It's fish in batter, fried, and chips are fried potatoes cut into sticks. But there's a choice of fish too; cod, haddock, plaice, skate...whatever you like?"
"What do you two normally have?"
"Cod," said Ginny.
"Then that's fine for me," said Anne.
"I'll go," said Ginny. "I'll go to our usual place."
Hermione went to the drawer that contained the travel cards and handed a credit card to Ginny, and kissed her on the cheek before the redhead left. She then moved to the kitchen area; the house had both a proper dining room and a luxurious lounge but she and Ginny preferred the less formal open area that encompassed all they needed from the house.
"Is that card you handed over, a form of money?" Anne asked, having watched the exchange closely.
"It's a credit card. So you have a unique number and a PIN code – a four-digit number – to identify it's the correct person using it, and anything you buy with it, goes on to that account and you then have to pay it. It's like a loan. If you don't pay in full at the end of the month you then have interest added on."
"So, err...forgive me for asking, but are you short of money?"
"What?" Hermione asked.
"If you're using a...form of loan, for food?"
"No. It's just easier to use than cash. And that particular card belongs to the owner of the house, he always leaves a couple here for guests to use and insists we use them...it's part of his way of doing things. Makes it look like he lives here more than he does, if you see what I mean?"
"For tax?" asked Anne.
"We assume so. Or he's just generous. He is generous, but I suppose he helps us and we're sort of helping him back."
"That card can be traced?"
"Yeah, to the exact time and place it was used. It logs on a computer."
"But if the card is his, won't people you try to pay know it isn't him using it?"
"We always have the PIN code. He's not very imaginative, he always picks the year we're in as the four-digit code."
"In some ways things are very different and yet they're still the same," said Anne thoughtfully, as Hermione got out placemats, coasters, put plates warming and got out cutlery. She brought herself back to the moment. "Anything I can help with?"
"Absolutely not," said Hermione, smiling. "You're our guest."
"To be honest I'm not very skilled domestically at all," said Anne. "That's what maids and footmen are for."
"Very few people have servants these days, except royalty and a few really rich people, with more money than they know what to do with. I've never been comfortable with the idea of servants."
Hermione asked what Anne wanted to drink, from beer to wine, and chose a white wine. Ginny wasn't that long and they were soon all sat around eating fish and chips.
"I do believe a friend of mine had something like this at Whitby not long ago...in my time," said Anne. "It looks like something she described."
"Even now, Whitby has a reputation as one of the best fish and chips places in the country," said Hermione. "Your friend might have had a pioneering first glimpse of it."
Later they had some hot chocolate and then Hermione helped Anne choose a nightshirt and made up some more clothes for her, for the next day. Briefly having to explain the electric lights and how to work them, actually enjoying the sense of wonder she was watching. She showed her the little ensuite bathroom attached to her room, which Anne was impressed with and at how fluffy the towels were.
When Anne came out of the bathroom in her nightshirt, looking suspiciously at the underwear she had taken off, but never remembered putting on, Hermione had to explain those also. She saw that Anne had everything she needed and was about to leave her, when Anne grasped her hand. "Talk with me a little while, if you're able to?"
Hermione smiled. "Of course."
Anne made herself comfortable sitting on the bed back against the headboard and patted the place beside her. When the brunette sat there, she held her hand again.
"I never thought I'd see you and Ginny ever again," she said. "Life can be full of surprises."
"We weren't sure, but it sort of became possible recently, so I thought I'd try, if we could...," Hermione said, trying not to say anything about the diaries, but feeling more under pressure by the next question.
"Where did you read about my travels, to know where I was? Is it in a book?"
"Not exactly," Hermione answered carefully. "A record of some papers were preserved in Halifax library archives. They're not available to everyone, but I was doing research in there a lot lately and came upon them."
"Research? On what?"
"For my job. Tracking down family lines and ancestry of potentially rogue witches and wizards."
"So you did change your job?"
"Yes. I do go to the school to give guest lectures and presentations every so often, but I'm no longer a full time professor."
"What is your profession title, now?"
"Nothing officially, but Ginny's brother calls me a 'special agent'," Hermione laughed softly. "I actually work alongside my sister-in-law Fleur, and he calls her that too."
"Fleur? Is she French?"
"Yes, but her English is so good you can hardly detect an accent."
"Eight years is a long time," Anne sighed. "But...but, I did find love, of a sort."
"Miss Walker?" Hermione asked as vaguely as she could.
"Yes."
"I told you you'd find someone."
"You also told me it might not be perfect. And it is far from perfect...so far from it that it became apparent not long after we...sealed our...companionship, about six years ago," Anne sighed again.
"You're still with her...," offered Hermione.
"Yes."
"There must be some affection, then. She's not left you either."
"She's spoken of it. I've suggested it. Might we not be better off as we were...apart?" Anne took a deep breath. "She'll go days without speaking to me, and days when she goes at me and gets worked up over the slightest little thing. Her temper is all wrong...so very...," Anne's breath caught as she fought a losing battle with tears. "And yet, she can be so good, so loving, so receptive. How will it all end? I know not."
Hermione wasn't sure how her comforting would be accepted after eight years, but gingerly put her arm around Anne, and not finding resistance, brought her closer.
"There is love there," said Hermione. "It's obvious there's love there, from you both. Sometimes the ones we love are also the ones we argue with most, or are even completely opposite to. There is no perfect relationship, no identical one either."
"When she is on a good day, she is very good. She's amazed me with how well she's travelled lately, despite how she was so reluctant at times before. I wish she was consistent...a consistent, constant companion."
There was so much Hermione knew and so much she knew that she couldn't say, her mind trying to conjure up a way to approach things.
"We've talked that we may part when we get back from this trip," said Anne, controlling her breathing, and wiping her cheeks.
"Don't rush anything," said Hermione. "Your Miss...Walker..."
"Ann."
"Your Ann, sounds like someone that we would diagnose as having depression and anxiety, in this time period," the brunette carefully ventured. "There are things that can be done, like medicines and tablets, but a lot can be done with changing thinking and using breathing exercises, and talking. Talking with her, not at her."
"And you think that's something I might be doing, talking at her?"
"I know enough to know that is something you do," said Hermione. She squeezed Anne's shoulder to soften her words. "You have survived as the person you are by striding forward and getting things done your way, regardless of the norms your society would try to impose on you. If you weren't that way, you would never be who you are, but it sometimes takes others a while to get used to, or they never really understand it. It doesn't mean they love you less, though. But to Ann, you might be as awkward to talk to as you find her, when she's not on a good day."
"Hmm," Anne sighed again and sat back up.
"Is that a 'hmm' of stupid modern woman doesn't have a clue what she's talking about? Or 'hmm' she may have a valid point?" asked Hermione trying to keep things light.
"A bit of both, but I'm leaning to the latter."
"I suppose it really comes down to thinking hard about whether, when you wake up in the morning...back there in your time...whether you would miss her if she wasn't there?" Hermione broached. "And more importantly, if she wasn't with you in three days time, or a week's time. Could you live without her, for good? Live without her being yours?"
"Hmm."
"I have reduced the great Anne Lister to monosyllabic grunts," Hermione joked.
"I don't always have words when in deep thought." Anne turned and looked at Hermione. "What you said about anxiety and depression; I seem to remember, is that not what you have?"
"Yes," replied the brunette, in almost a sigh. "I'm better than when you last saw me. I went back to all the things that helped me before and it isn't as bad now."
"Is it cured?"
"No. It can never be completely cured, but you learn to live with it, accept it and reduce the power it has over you," Hermione explained. "Talking to you helped me more than once, so I thank you for that." She hadn't told her just how important it was been to her and had decided to keep it light.
Anne held Hermione's hand and brought it to her lips to kiss the knuckles. Then leaned over and placed a gentle peck of a kiss on her lips. "I regret that I can give you no more than that courtesy," said Anne. "I'm joined with Ann, and promised to be with no other."
"I know. I don't expect it," said Hermione, knowing full well that, other than a little flirting, Anne had remained faithful to Ann for all the time they were together. She had many thoughts and still fantasized over Mariana Lawton, even while on their travels in 1840, but she never actually acted on those thoughts. And it was highly unlikely that Ann Walker was a Ginny, that would encourage anything, which still made Hermione shake her head bemused.
"I won't be hasty," said Anne, not appearing to suspect anything. "We'll see how things are when we get back to Shibden."
You won't get back to Shibden, alive, only in a box, thought Hermione, glumly. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't.
Anne flipped open her pocket watch. "I'd better let you get back to Ginny."
"You'll be all right? I'll stay if you want me to."
"I'll be fine. I'm quite tired, and I can do some thinking until I drift off."
"If you need anything give a shout or come find us...we're across the landing."
Anne nodded. "Goodnight...can I call you by your real name?"
"There isn't the danger now, but you must never write it down, still."
"Of course. Goodnight...Hermione."
"Night, Anne. See you tomorrow."
Hermione made her way back to hers and Ginny's room, closed the door behind her and slid under the sheets. Ginny had dozed off, but woke. "Talking, were you?" she asked with amusement.
"Yeah, just talking. She didn't mess around after marrying Ann Walker," Hermione said seriously, keeping her voice low. "She just wanted a friend to talk to, because she loves Ann, but finds her more than difficult. We knew she'd been wondering about splitting from her nearly as soon as they had sealed their partnership."
"What about Ann Walker finding her difficult? Does she think of that?"
"I tried to subtly suggest it," said Hermione. "They do love each other, as I can't see how two people so supposedly wrong would stick out six years together, eight years if you count their courtship."
"Anne's controlling the money..."
"Yes, but that's not legally binding, Ann passes along money to her, but they could never pass money control to Anne like a husband and wife thing back then. The only thing they could do was alter their wills. But Ann doesn't like how Anne Lister throws the money around. This travelling they're doing takes a huge chunk out of their funds." Hermione took a deep breath. "By the time Ann Walker dies she's hardly got anything left...to her name." Hermione felt so sad again and she failed this time to hold back and gulped.
"Hey, hey," said Ginny, feeling Hermione shudder with emotion and wrapped her arms around her.
"It's so silly and...I know...I know I'm beating myself with a stick I made, but...," she hitched her breath a few times before continuing. "It was all I could do not to cry when she spoke about getting back to Shibden...she gets back, but not alive..."
"I know, my love." Ginny held her wife and pressed kisses to her cheeks and neck. "It's okay. We knew these things. We knew things might be difficult."
"It's me," said Hermione a little while later, when she was breathing calmly again.
"What's you?"
"Death. I hate death."
"I'm sure none of us are fans of it, particularly."
"I'm scared of it. I shouldn't be but I am," Hermione took some extra breaths again, struggling. "I'm scared of dying and leaving you. I think that's part of my recent troubles. Surrounded by death and wills and wishes, it's hard not to think about it."
Ginny felt tears well in her own eyes. "We can't know what's going to happen, in our case. We can only reach it when and if we ever get to that horrible day. You have to know I don't want to leave you, ever, either."
"I don't know what I was thinking...I thought I was giving Anne something. All I'm doing is sending her back to her death...hardly eight weeks from the day we found her," Hermione paused before continuing. "It would be so easy to get her some medicine. Vaccinate her against typhoid and some of the other things that might have attacked her. Give her malaria tablets, and something that would help her fight most illnesses."
"We can't, you know we can't," said Ginny. "Besides, it might not work. What if she escapes disease only to die in a carriage accident from one of those scary mountain passes you spoke of from the diaries. Or rogue cossacks kill her? Or some other bandit? All that trouble and it still wouldn't work."
"It makes me feel sadistic and selfish."
"You're not. You genuinely wanted to see how she'd react to our time and as far as I can see she's enjoyed it so far. Let's take that. We gave her all these experiences that she never would have had. She got to see that life goes on, way beyond her own times, and that Shibden Hall still stands as does London and a multitude of the rapidly breeding population!"
Hermione gave a little laugh at that. "It's me, still, really. Trying to fix something."
"It might be sad to our minds," said Ginny. "But truly, nothing was broken in the first place. Anne's life is the way it is - the way it was - and it's her life."
XXXXXXXX
Next morning Ginny got up first, showered and went downstairs while Hermione took her shower.
"Oh," she nearly coughed out. Anne was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She turned round at the sound.
"Sorry."
"What about?" asked Ginny.
"I should have asked...to use this...equipment."
"No, you can do whatever you like here," said Ginny. "I'm kind of surprised how quickly you learned how to use it. My own mother can hardly turn the old TV set she has, on and off."
Anne smiled. "I usually learn things fairly quickly, even things that would appear completely foreign to me."
"Want a tea or coffee?" the redhead asked. "Or anything to...eat..." Ginny tailed off as Anne picked up a mug that had steam still rising from it.
"I like that kettle," said Anne. "Ingenious. I'm assuming it has an internal thermometer?"
"Err...not sure, I suppose it does."
"I don't think I'll ever get used to teabags, there's something so lacking and improper about it, but the novelty of them is amusing," Anne was rather enjoying the look of surprise on Ginny's face. "I'll eat something a little later."
"Right," Ginny said, then nearly shook her head. "Did you sleep all right?"
"Yes, once I was able to stop thinking. I was up much earlier than I would be, but I suppose I've had some kind of time disturbance, still living in the time I came from."
"I'm sure that can happen." Ginny went and got a glass of orange juice then returned to Anne.
"I did try a shower, so fast and refreshing. The controls so intuitive. I will say the water issue is a huge improvement on what I left at Shibden."
"As long as you found everything?"
"Enough towels for an army," said Anne, sipping her tea. "Huge and so soft too."
"Actually, the towels are pretty fantastic in this house," Ginny agreed, then gestured to the TV. "So, watch anything that interested you?"
"All of it interested me," said Anne. "Some things were rather shocking."
"It shouldn't be too bad, it's only morning TV." said Ginny.
"The clothing...or lack of, especially the women."
"Well, you must have seen some of that when we were out and about yesterday?"
"To be honest, I tried to block out a lot of things I saw in that regard," said Anne with her quirk of a smile. "This morning, however...talking animals and moving drawings...those I can't decide if I should be concerned about or entertained."
"The 'moving drawings' are cartoons. Aimed at children, but most people will watch them, for some light entertainment. And the talking animals...that would be something called 'special effects', all created on computers...machines...that then get placed into the film, so they look real. The technology gets better and better for that. Hermione would probably know a bit more than me..."
"About what?" said Hermione as she walked in.
"Special effects on movies and stuff," said Ginny, who then explained what they had been talking about.
"Yeah, they're getting so good with making things look real," said Hermione. "Although, I don't really know much more about it, only that I like some of the films using it."
They had breakfast together, with Anne trying a taste of a couple of different cereals but opting for toast.
"I know I can't go there," said Anne. "But do you have a...picture of Shibden as it looks now?"
"No," said Hermione, then thinking about it and deciding that a photo wouldn't do much harm. "I can show you one, give me moment."
Hermione got her laptop from her beaded bag, flipped it open and searched for Shibden photos, hoping that she could find an image that didn't have a related article about its most famous owner. She scanned through the images and found some on a site that was mapping the UK in photos using geographic Ordnance Survey points. She moved her chair closer to their guest, so the laptop was almost in front of Anne, and showed her the screen.
"Ah," said Anne, sounding as if her voice had caught in her throat a little. She actually reached out and touched the screen. "The tower got completed. Not bad...but it does look a little lopsided...perhaps I should have had one developed on the other end?"
"You can't," said Hermione immediately. Eight weeks left, but that's still time for her to send a letter with another order to her architect, she thought, cautiously. "It is how it is. You can't change anything."
"No...I know. Thinking out loud," said Anne, then pointed to a line under the photo. "What's that number mean?"
"It's a grid reference for the maps made by the Ordnance Survey, for all over the UK. The aim is to get every grid reference photographed, or certainly all the items of interest," said Hermione.
"Could I see a map of the area? I remember the ones you showed me back then, but a modern one?"
"Sure," said Hermione, as she opened Google Earth. "Do you want a plain map, or to see the actual area from the sky?"
"Both are interesting, but if I can see the actual terrain..."
"Here we go," said Hermione. She had brought up the area they had roughly seen on the old maps, and dragging her fingers on the touchpad she zoomed in slightly. Anne watching her every move and studying the pictures of the land she knew best as they appeared now.
"A lot more houses and much wider roads, and good lord...is that a railway track?" Anne asked, animated. "It's cut a scar through the land!"
"Yeah, looks like it. Well, we know so, because Ginny and I have been on it and arrived at Halifax station, back in 1943, but we've been there."
"There were rumblings of a line being built before we left Shibden...in our time," said Anne. "Perhaps it is the future."
"They're a lot faster than trains from your time, and no longer steam, but to be honest we have a lot less stations and lines than Britain did in say 1870."
"I move the map like this?" Anne asked as she waggled her thumb and finger in a pincer movement, hovering over the touchpad.
"Yeah," said Hermione. "To zoom in, or drag across to move around. Move and tap the arrow over an area if you want to see the name of something"
Anne scrolled right from Shibden and tapped on some of the markers to read the building names, seeming to get the idea of using the online map fairly quickly. "I don't see a big sign for either Cliffe Hill or Crow Nest. Not where they should be..."
"Err...," Hermione hesitated. "Well..."
"Oh," said Anne, nodding her head. "Gone?"
"The former has been sort of converted, as much as I know, and the latter kind of fell into decay over a number of years and was finally demolished."
Anne actually laughed, more a breathy silent kind, but she was beguiled all the same, then shook her head when she saw the confused looks from her two hosts. "Ann, she is always worrying and fussing about those places, making sure they are well kept and properly maintained. And it would seem all was for nought."
"You can't tell her that when you go back," said Ginny. "Seriously...please don't say anything."
The amusement faded. "Of course not," replied Anne. "I wouldn't do that to her, anyway. It would be cruel."
Ginny and Hermione were experiencing a collective 'phew!' moment and looked at each other with an expression of relief.
"And all these symbols and times down the side?" Anne asked, pointing to the screen again.
"That's if you want directions to get there," said Hermione, "It helps people plan their journey for time, driving there or whatever."
"Talking of time," said Ginny. "What would you like to do today?"
"I saw most of the buildings I'd ever need to see yesterday," said Anne. "Are there any innovations? Any place that would stretch my mind?"
"A museum?" said Hermione.
"That sounds promising," said Anne.
"What about things like history. Things that have been found on archaeological digs and some of the greatest finds in the past century or more?" the brunette offered.
"Now, that does sound very interesting," said their guest, her eyes brightening up.
"I know you'd probably prefer a medical museum, but the best places for that are harder to get into and sometimes restricted to students, whereas the British Museum is huge, and it can be walked through at leisure and it's free," said Hermione.
"Take me there, then. I went there a couple of times in the past, I'd like to see it in this time," said Anne, then she tilted her head on one side. "Could we use your underground trains to get there? It has intrigued me since you mentioned them."
"We can do, but it will be a bit more tricky...more intense," said Hermione.
"Tricky or difficult is not something that puts me off," said Anne, adamantly.
"You'll just have to watch what we do and follow what we do with ticket barriers and things," said Ginny.
A while later they crossed a road over to Victoria station. They had looked at the underground and knowing Anne was fine with walking, had decided to keep things simple and take the Victoria Line to Oxford Circus and walk from there, rather than change lines to get only a little closer. A taxi was always an option for a short ride.
The owner of the house in Victoria always had several Oyster cards in a drawer for people to use, and Hermione took three with them, so at least she didn't have to battle with a ticket machine.
Anne was looking around them, as they entered the busy main area of Victoria station, with the usual frequent updates on trains from the loud speakers, with the usual unintelligible muffled voice that barely made sense, and the multitude of flickering information boards.
They walked down a couple of flights of steps and approached the ticket barrier, with Hermione telling Anne to watch Ginny in front of her, and follow her, so she knew where to put her card, reclaim it and go through the barrier. The activity was accomplished with no issue, with all parties impressed.
Approaching an escalator, Hermione explained that the staircase moved and to follow Ginny and then she would follow Anne. The latter looked at the stream of people, and the moving staircase itself she eyed with great suspicion, but all the same, took in the detail of how people kind of walked onto it in a rhythm of sorts. Ginny stepped out onto to it and by instinct Anne followed, she wobbled slightly, as the step took form beneath her feet, but Hermione behind her put a hand to her side and steadied her.
With no real view to appreciate on the way down, Anne looked at the posters on the walls, but frowned as they all hung wonky from the gradient, and had to look away. Hermione leaned forward and said. "I forgot to say 'don't look at the posters' to try and balance. They make it worse. Anyway, we're nearly at the bottom, copy Ginny again, watch her feet."
Anne studied Ginny's feet and saw her step forward and onto the non-moving ground, but she herself was a little slow to react and kind of scuffed her feet on the stopping plate, Ginny grabbed her arm and made sure she was clear and stayed upright, but she looked back as Hermione got off, wondering how she got her timing wrong.
"You nearly got it right," said Hermione.
"I will next time," said Anne, confidently. "Now I know what it entails."
"And your verdict.?" asked Ginny.
"What? On the moving stairs? Fun, but a little unnerving."
The three women were on the northbound platform and only a few minutes had passed before the train arrived, the doors opening and Hermione, Ginny and Anne getting on and managing to find a free couple of seats, which Ginny insisted her wife and Anne take. "I rather like using my balance training when standing on these things," she said.
The train rattled and screeched its way along through the darkness, stopping at Green Park after a few minutes.
"What the devil is that 'Mind the gap' thing all about?" asked Anne.
"Making sure people step on and off the trains carefully," replied Hermione, as the train rattled into motion again.
"It's rather annoying!" said Anne.
"We'll be the next stop," said Ginny.
"Already?" Anne was surprised, and even more so when the lights on the platform for Oxford Circus came into view.
Having negotiated ticket barriers and steps and stairs again, they walked out into the sunshine and shade of Oxford Circus, straight into the bustle of one of the busiest areas of London.
"All right to walk, or take a taxi?" Hermione asked Anne.
"I'd like to walk," said Anne, looking at a map they passed on the wall. "I've been to this area before...back then, a few times, more towards Bond Street, there weren't many shops on Oxford Street then, certainly not like this."
The women then had a pleasant leisurely walk along Oxford Street, even going into a few shops for Anne to look at the types of things sold, from clothing to music, to eateries to department stores, all with the unending traffic of people on the pavements and the various sounds: taxis, buses and loud stereo music from some of the shops.
They stopped at a sportswear shop with various equipment on show, from tennis rackets to cricket bats, football boots to swimwear. There were current football shirts for most of the top Premier League teams and London based clubs. The double doors were wide open and they were about to have a look inside at the things nearest to the doors, when Ginny turned and saw someone she recognized walking up the pavement.
"Shit!" Ginny said, then talked out of the side of her mouth for Hermione. "Incoming at three o'clock!"
Hermione vaguely turned and nearly froze because there was Jane Howard walking towards them.
"Shit!" Hermione said under her breath. "Ginny, take Anne inside, so she's not face to face with her. She must not see Anne."
"Problem?" asked Anne, not turning around, as Ginny steered her into the sports shop.
"That girl we came to find last year. She's now approaching."
"She wasn't punished much if she's free less than a year later," said Anne, astonished.
"That bit doesn't matter, what does matter is that she knows you. She can't see you, because we would be...in deep shhh..." Ginny cut off as Jane started talking to Hermione behind them.
She got Anne to look at some shelves of football accessories, scarves, hats and pennants, so she was turned, with her back to where Hermione stood near the door. Ginny was hoping they would only be stuck a little while, but she heard her name spoken.
She quickly picked up a Tottenham Hotspur baseball cap, which had 'Spurs' on the front and the club badge of a cockerel, and rammed it on Anne's head and pulled the peak forwards. "I'm no great judge but yes, I think it does suit you," Ginny said a bit more loudly, then whispered. "Don't look round." The redhead walked over to Hermione and Jane.
"Hello, Ginny," Jane said. "I didn't expect to find you here." She lowered her voice. "No quidditch gear in this place?"
"Err, no," said Ginny, while thinking, bugger, bugger, bugger! She thought of something to add to it. "I like to see what other sports are doing with equipment and merchandise. I'm thinking of trying a few items."
"Makes sense," said Jane.
"What are you doing here?" asked Ginny, smiling and trying to make out she didn't have a care in the world.
"Oh, I'm supposed to be patrolling...sort of," said the younger woman.
"Anything in particular?" asked Hermione, then getting that cold feeling in her veins, the sort when trying to cover something up that hadn't yet been mentioned, but was biting away at her internal organs, making her feel even more guilty.
"Anything unusual, that kind of thing," said Jane. "It's mostly only training."
"We all have to start somewhere," said Hermione. "So is anyone close by keeping an eye on you?"
"Ron and Bill Weasley are in the area," Jane replied. "It's not just me doing this scouting work, a couple of others are around here too."
"The training time will fly by and you'll forget all the boring bits," said Hermione.
"I'd better let you go," said Jane. "I heard from Bill, that you're on holiday this week?"
"Yes. A few days of doing something normal, meeting up with old friends and relaxing," said Hermione.
"I'll let you get back to your shopping," said Jane. "Enjoy the rest of your week."
"You too...hope the training isn't too boring," said Ginny, while thinking, Go, go...piss off!
Jane turned and walked off along the pavement and Ginny and Hermione's shoulders visibly dropped with the tension they had been holding, and they walked over to Anne.
"Is it safe?" Anne whispered.
"For now. Although, I'm thinking...," said Hermione, eyeing Anne, tilting her head. "I think the hat should stay..."
"Might be wise," said Ginny, "All we need is Jane being too efficient."
"I've got to keep wearing this strange hat?" asked Anne.
"Oh, don't tell me you're an Arsenal fan?!" said Ginny, grinning. Then with confusion on Anne's face she explained. "You're wearing a hat supporting the football team Spurs and their big north London rival team is Arsenal. I mean it's okay if you want an Arsenal hat instead?"
"No, this will do," said Anne sighing. "It makes me look like a duck or kind some of wading bird."
"Baseball caps make everyone look like ducks," said Ginny.
Hermione looked around to check they weren't being watch by the wrong set of eyes and took the cap from Anne and went and paid for it, before removing the tag and placing it on Anne's head again. "It keeps the sun out of your eyes, at least."
"And that makes looking like a member of the avian family all worthwhile?!" said Anne, flatly.
"Was that sarcasm?" asked Hermione. "You've really been around us too long! Ginny's really rubbed off on you."
"I haven't been rubbing off on Anne or anyone else," said Ginny, with a dead straight face. She couldn't hold it though, and burst out laughing. Anne actually rolled her eyes, and shook her head, with an expression that spoke volumes.
"That was very vulgar," said Hermione, in agreement with the thought she knew must have gone through Anne's mind. "Honestly, I can't say anything some days, without little Miss Innuendo twisting it!" She shook her own head as if tut-tutting about her wife, which made Ginny chuckle under her breath.
With no further incident, but being carefully observant, they finally approached the British Museum; Anne stopped and soaked in the view of the front of the complex with its classical-looking portico. "It doesn't look much different to how I remember it, a bit of a different setting around it, though, and much bigger, somehow."
Several minutes later they were in a large foyer, with Hermione looking at a plan of the museum.
"What shall we see first?" asked Anne.
"Iron Age," said Hermione. "I think this will interest you."
"Iron Age?" wondered Ginny.
"Snettisham Hoard," the brunette replied.
"Oh! Yeah, that's pretty spectacular," the redhead nodded.
They made their way to the right area; despite the museum having a steady stream of people in and out, the area they were in wasn't too busy. Hermione spied the cases she wanted to start on and led them over.
The cases they stood in front of showed the most magnificent gold torcs, rings and other pieces, all delicately woven in solid gold. Anne was impressed and read the description cards.
"So these are real?" she asked, in a low voice. "They're not representations?"
"Completely real," answered Hermione. "The first lot was found in the 1940s by a farmer ploughing his fields in the Snettisham area of Norfolk, therefore making them Iceni in nature. They can date most of them, but they appear to be pre-Roman conquest, and before Boudicca set up her revolt."
"The working is magnificent," said Anne, studying the items as close as the glass would allow her, without actually pressing her nose to it. "I've seen some fine pieces recently in Russia, but nothing quite like this."
"It's been said that some of the beading work and twisting, can't be recreated by modern jewellers and goldsmiths," said Hermione. "Either it's the type of gold, or a technique that is specialist to the people that made them back then."
"The necklace that saved me, more than once," said Ginny, also in a low voice. "Was said to be connected to Boudicca. It didn't look like this, but was known as the necklace of Andrasta."
"Celtic goddess, reputedly," said Anne, a little condescendingly.
"Yes, her," said Ginny. "Whatever its true history, that necklace saved me. Obviously it didn't save Boudicca."
"Where do you keep it?" asked Anne.
"Somewhere safe, out of sight and out of mind," said Ginny, knowing it was in the concealed compartment of the desk in the study at Godric's Hollow.
"Well, someone acted almost like she was wearing it again last year," said Hermione, sarcastically.
"I didn't think to pack it," replied Ginny. "It's not like it was in the job description."
"When is anything we've ever done like that, in the job description?" Hermione echoed a conversation they had had in 1832 while looking at a body.
Ginny gave her a sickly sweet smile in return. "I'll remember next time, okay?"
Among the other exhibits, they showed Anne the Sutton Hoo items and spent a few hours wandering and looking at the cases, and loving to be so close to Egyptian sarcophagi that you could brush your hands over them. Some items Anne remembered seeing in her own time, like the Rosetta Stone, but it made it even more interesting to see again and to watch Anne viewing them. They had stopped for light refreshments and then looked at some more areas, before tiredly and reluctantly leaving. They took a taxi to Oxford Circus and the tube back to Victoria, with Anne managing much better with the escalator than before, not at all disconcerted by not being able to see the top until it was almost reached.
"I could get used to that," said Anne, smiling back at Hermione as the brunette stepped off.
The three women were a little tired when they arrived back, and after Hermione finally let Anne take off the Spurs cap, she then ordered some pizza and other bits and pieces for their main meal, and they talked over their day.
"Travel is so easy here," said Anne. "Of course, it takes some getting used to and I imagine if it's much busier than we had, on a hot day, it's probably unpleasant, but the speed and...everything makes sense, how it goes from one place to another almost as straight as those map lines on the train walls."
"It's not always very cheap, especially for longer distances, but I suppose it's efficient, when it works and when it hasn't got the frequent ridiculous reasons for delays," Hermione agreed.
"The cost of visiting Russia and going to the Caucasus would possibly shock you," said Anne, in a reflective mood. "When one has to pay not only for accommodation and mode of travel, but also for guides and helpers of one sort or another...well, I fear it is a once in a lifetime thing."
Later in the evening, after everyone had showered and were ready for their respective beds for the night, Hermione dropped in on Anne.
"Thank you for today," Anne said. "It was so nice to see everything, however strange some things were. Sometimes there's nothing better than having all the senses assaulted by new and odd things, even of the unpleasant sort. It's invigorating."
"Even the Spurs cap?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that was less than invigorating, but it had a purpose, so was easy to endure."
"We enjoyed today, too," said Hermione, looking a little down.
"And tomorrow is my last day here, I assume?"
"Did we mention it before?"
"You did say I was here for a day or two when you found me, and we've had two days here already, but your face tells me that you have something to say that you don't want to. Often it's when you can't say something," Anne explained.
"I didn't think I was that obvious."
"You're not, but you don't live to be me, with my life, without gauging people's expressions and body language. It doesn't mean I always get it right, but I get more right than wrong."
"Of course," nodded Hermione. "Yes, tomorrow is the last day. But we have a whole day, if there's anything you would like to see and do here?"
"This will sound...err...strange," began Anne. "Is there anywhere we could view those...airplanes...lifting from the ground and landing?"
"Seriously?" asked Hermione.
"I'm always serious."
"I mean, that's what you really want to do?"
"Well...yes...it looks almost magical...yet...you tell me those aren't magical?"
"No, just engineering and technology." Hermione paused. "I think we can go to Heathrow Airport and there are places to view from there."
"So, that would be possible?"
"Absolutely."
Anne patted the place next to her on the bed, the offer to which Hermione accepted.
"What would have happened had that girl seen and recognized me?"
"Here we would call it 'the shit hitting the fan'." Hermione laughed at Anne's quizzical expression. "We could have been in a lot of trouble, if she recognized you, and she was always diligent and observant despite her poor choices."
"So I'll have to wear the hat again tomorrow?"
"Not necessarily, but I'll pack it in case we need it."
Reaching for and holding Hermione's hand, Anne said, "Hermione, I never forgot about you, after you left all those years ago."
"I've never forgotten about you," the brunette replied. "You're not easy to forget, nor would I want to."
That made Anne laugh. "You're not the first to have said it."
"I may not be the last either."
"I want to ask you something," Anne said, her face serious again. "If you can't answer it for whatever reasons I will understand, but don't lie, just say you can't tell me."
Hermione nodded. "All right."
"Did you know about Ann Walker and that she and I would be together...in a deeper sense, before I told you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"A feeling that it wasn't surprising news. Like you knew, already."
"Yes. I knew."
"How?"
"That's a more difficult question. It's a scattering of papers and things that kind of point to that being the case. That she's often mentioned as a companion of yours...like...when laying the foundation stone of the casino. Knowing what I know, it had to be. I didn't want to say anything, and wasn't sure it was right to; not just from the time-travel stance, but also because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable either. I definitely didn't want to influence you in any way before you had even got together with her."
"Ah." Anne sighed. "Did you know that it would be difficult? Is that what you were trying to prepare me for?"
"I sort of guessed it would be difficult, but also that it would kind of work in some way too."
"That's a complicated assessment," Anne nodded. "But I think there is truth in it. I will see how things are when...when I, we, get back to Shibden. I won't be hasty over my decision about...her."
"I think you would really miss her if she wasn't there," said Hermione, delicately.
"It's the almost humourous situation of not wanting her when she is there, and missing her when she isn't."
"We all think like that, sometimes" admitted Hermione.
"Really? There are days when you don't want Ginny there?"
"Yes," said Hermione. "It doesn't usually last, and sometimes it's not even if we've had a disagreement or anything, I think it's a very human thing, to want solitude sometimes; a little area and slice of time to ourselves, completely by ourselves, listening only to our own heartbeat, pleasing only ourselves on our own course of action, even if it's just for a half an hour."
"I think that might describe me," said Anne. "I need space to think, to be with my own thoughts, even if they are not particularly productive thoughts."
"Tell Ann that," said Hermione. "Say you sometimes need time alone. She does too, from what you said about silences. If you tell her, then she might not get so moody about it and realize it's not just her that might have annoyed you, but that you just need a bit of space."
"You think Ann would understand that?"
"Well...I...err...don't know her," said Hermione, having to make sure she kept at a distance. "From what you told me, I'm sure if you explained it. There is another thing..."
"What?"
"She's probably scared of losing you." Hermione almost swore, because there was a double meaning there, and she most certainly didn't want to focus on the finality of loss by death.
"I haven't...had infidelities since I have been with her."
"No, that's not the point." Hermione brought her other hand round so she clasped Anne's in both of hers. "You are such an amazing woman. You're intelligent, witty, captivating. Everyone who meets you are transfixed, either by your personality, or countenance, or both. People don't forget you and probably clamour to get more time with you, flirt and so on. Ann might be afraid that someone will come along whom will take her place. I expect she's insecure, especially if she's suffered with anxiety and depression over the years."
"I suppose it could be something she might think." Anne looked Hermione straight in the eyes. "I will promise to talk with her more, when I go back."
"And remember that, despite what might be perceived as weakness in her emotional state, that she's still a very strong woman underneath. To commit to you and move in with you, knowing what others would think and say, that took courage. As much as she wants to be with you, she is probably not finding it easy to not be independent. You have to work together for each other."
"I thought that was what I was doing." Anne looked up to the ceiling. "There's no way she can cope with the entire running of her estate on her own."
"Maybe not," replied Hermione. "You need to discuss it more together, then she won't feel she's being...dictated to, but being consulted. Even if you do need to make the final decisions."
"So you think I need to be more cunning?"
"That's not a great word, but I suppose so. Perhaps more considerately delicate."
"Hmm. I will think on it." Anne paused a moment or two. "You think badly of me, how I'm treating her? Is that perhaps something you've also been hiding?"
"No, not about that," said Hermione. "To judge you by our modern ways is completely wrong. However, to judge you in comparison to the sort of man that would have been sniffing around her and her money in your time, then you have nothing to apologize for. You've treated her far better than most marriages with men of your class. I would say you've never hurt her and certainly not physically."
"Absolutely not," said Anne immediately. "I would never...hurt her. Not like that, it makes me feel ill to think someone would." She paused and looked piercingly at Hermione. "I know it isn't weakness, because of you. I saw how you coped with everything last time I saw you. Knowing what I know, I could never think of you as weak. It's a shame that Ann doesn't have your constitution. I suppose I find that hard. She has such a varied and inconsistent temper."
"If only love was easier," Hermione offered. "It's always difficult at some point, no matter the exact cause."
"Are you and Ginny truly all right?"
"Yes. I needed these few days away. I was getting a little down with my work," Hermione said before she thought about it, and nearly panicked hoping Anne wouldn't ask the wrong question.
"Too busy, or the content of the work?"
"Err...mostly the content," Hermione said, thinking of a way out with a little truth. "I've just spent way too long reading death certificates, burial registers. I've been surrounded by death. Not bad deaths, as deaths go, most just natural things, but it's dragged me down a little."
"Will you leave?"
"No. The project has nearly been completed and I'm down to part time hours. I get to assist in other departments too. It was just a long hard stretch to get the last bit done." Hermione stifled a yawn.
"You need to get to bed, get some sleep," said Anne. "We have a day tomorrow. Don't worry about getting up too early tomorrow. I'm feeling quite tired too from today. Unless we need to be up early for the Airport?"
"No, there are planes coming and going all day there."
Anne brought Hermione's hand to her lips and kissed it. "Thank you for talking with me. Now, go get some sleep. I promise not to be up later than nine tomorrow morning, a very normal time."
"You're all right?" asked Hermione.
"Yes. I'll probably think a bit more, then find sleep myself."
"Goodnight, Anne."
"Goodnight, Hermione. God bless."
A/N: Fish and chips shops were not founded in Whitby, but are thought to have first appeared in London and a bit later than 1840...but I wanted to play with it because personally speaking, I prefer Whitby to London for all things!
Making Anne Lister wear a Spurs cap is just a bit of comical torment. It could have been worse I could have made her wear an Arsenal one. :)