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Chapter 7

"Oh my god," Anna murmured under her breath, attempting to lock the door to her bedroom at Downton. Every time she'd pull against it, it would just open up again. Anger and fear of the possibility of anyone else finding out made her entire body shake. "Oh my god!" She yelled this time.

John came up behind her and took her hand from the door.

"It's alright," John attempted to soothe. But Anna turned on her heel to face him and shook her head.

"It's not alright!"

"Sybil won't tell anyone," John replied, sure he was right. Sybil was not the type to gossip about anyone.

"I know," Anna said, calming slightly. "But….you'll have to go, now. This door doesn't lock and we might not be as lucky next time."

"We could….."

"No!" Anna bit back. "You need to get dressed and go back downstairs before someone else finds out. What if Mary finds out? Oh my god!" Anna covered her face with her hands, embarrassed at the thought. What had they done?

"I'll go," John said, "But we literally had sex in the broom closet at the courthouse last week."

"That was different?"
"How so?"

"We hadn't been caught, yet."

John sighed, but nodded. Then he walked away to grab his clothes. Anna stood guard at the door and watched as he slid on his pants and top.

"Adjust your tie!" She impatiently whispered, "And fix your hair!"

John did as he was told, slightly frustrated. It was Anna who had invited him upstairs, not the other way around. And they were adults.

Once he was dressed, Anna peeked her head out of the door and checked down the hallway. She could still hear the guests downstairs and so it would be easy for John to sneak back in with the crowd.

"Go on," Anna whispered.

"We'll meet up after our court date on Monday?" John was hopeful. Anna twisted her lips, but nodded.

"Yes, of course, we'll meet up then. Now go."

John ducked out of the room and Anna quickly closed the door, resting her back against it. Again, her head fell into her hands. What an absolute mess this was! How much longer could the two of them keep this up before being caught by the wrong person?

Anna debated getting dressed and going back downstairs, but in the end, she decided just to lay down and try to go to sleep. She wasn't sure she could look John in the eye again tonight. Hopefully next week, things would go back to normal.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

It was past midnight, but the reception didn't seem to have an end in sight. Regularly, Mary would have been thrilled to stay up and sleep in all the next day. However, now pregnant, she found herself exhausted more often. She had to take a nap before the wedding so she could stay up this late.

"Do you want me to come up with you?" Matthew offered. Mary's head shook.

"No, you stay, have fun. I'll just be sleeping." Mary kissed Matthew's cheek and then quietly exited the reception. If she started telling people good night, she would be up for another hour or two.

Turning the corner toward the stairs, she found John coming down them. Her brows furrowed and she cocked her head to the side.

"Bates," she lowly said. She had been able to avoid him all evening. She still could not believe that her papa had insisted on inviting him to the wedding. "What were you doing upstairs?"

"I had to use the toilet," John answered, running his hands through his slightly askew hair.

"We have them down the hallway."

"It was full," John simply replied.

"Whatever," Mary muttered. She just sidestepped John and began her way up the stairs. However, before she made it up the first three, she turned back, slightly suspicious. And she noticed a kiss mark on his collar. Hadn't Jane left early?

The rooms upstairs and even the old servants' quarters were filled with guests overnight. He could have had a fling with any one of them.

Shaking her head, Mary decided she didn't care and went right up to bed.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Pulling her pants up over her hips, Anna slipped on her heels. She glanced over at the couch where John was still sitting, but putting on his own shoes. Their latest liaison had been mediocre at best. Anna hadn't been into it at all. And it wasn't John's fault, it was hers. It was like she had this fear bubbling in her stomach that they were going to be found out.

"That was…." John tried to start.

"We had an off day, is all," Anna tried to explain away. She didn't want this…whatever it was to be over. But being found by Sybil had really thrown a wet blanket over them.

"Right," John agreed. "We could try….."

"Not right now," Anna was quick to respond. "Maybe we need a good case. Today's was simple. Not much of a fight."

"Right," John stated again. "Anna….."

"We'll try again," Anna pushed out a smile and buttoned up her top. "Everyone has off days. It's really not that big of a deal."

John met her eyes and she inhaled sharply. They never had off days. This had been going on for nearly a year now and not once had they had an off day. They had always been extremely compatible when it came to sex. Anna did hope this wasn't the end of it all.

"Right," John said, once more.

Anna pursed her lips together and nodded.

"Right," she replied. "I…I ought to go. We'll…..I'll see you in court tomorrow?"

"Yes and we'll win."

Anna didn't even retort. She just grabbed her bag and left.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"You look like shit," Mary said, placing a coffee on Anna's desk. "Has something happened between you and the mystery man?"

"No," Anna quickly stated, gratefully taking the coffee into her hand. "Why would you ask that?"

"You're not as bubbly," Mary said. "Are you sick?"

"No," Anna kind of lied. She had been feeling a little ill lately, but the weather couldn't make up its mind. That always made her feel off. "And the mystery man and I are still having a blast." More lies. "I was up late last night working on this case."

"Yes, it's a tough one. An open relationship where the one woman ended up falling in love with the wife instead of the husband she had started dating, right?"
"Yes, that's the one. The husband is upset and we're representing the wife in the divorce. It's messy. I honestly don't know how this table discussion will go."

"You'll handle it. You always do."

"I surely hope so."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John was sitting across from her. They hadn't tried any meet ups since their disaster the previous week. After their two court hearings together, they had just shrugged at one another and gone on their ways. Anna felt oddly sad about it. It was almost like she missed John. She missed being with him. Thinking about that, Anna shifted uneasily within her chair. That couldn't be right. She was only missing the sex. They would find their rhythm again.

"My client deserves his house," John began. "He was the sole provider of the home. He will pay a small alimony while Mrs. Jones searches for a job. Once she finds a job, the alimony will stop."

The room remained quiet. Anna had her eyes on John's fingers. But she found that she wasn't thinking about what they could do to her, but instead how they had lingered on her cheek after she saw that file about Alex Green.

"Mrs. Smith, any rebuttal?" The judge asked at the end of the table. Anna blinked harshly and sat up straighter.

"Yes, sorry," she was quick to return to her files. Shuffling through them, she twisted her lips. "Um….Mrs. Jones was a stay at home mother for twelve years. She provided her children with the utmost care while Mr. Jones worked out of the country for months at a time. Her time should not be undervalued. Her job was also important. She will have main custody of their three children and so she should keep the house and Mr. Jones should pay a substantial alimony and child support."

"Mr. Jones will pay child support, but he will have his children forty percent of the time. He wants to keep the house."

Anna turned to her client. She sighed. It was her client who was leaving the husband and the two of them hadn't signed any sort of pre-nup agreement or come up with any agreement about their open marriage.

"He can have the house," Mrs. Jones whispered into Anna's ear. Normally, Anna would have shaken her head and fought harder. But she found that she had very little fight left in her right now.

"Alright, Mrs. Jones agrees to concede the house. Now, we should discuss alimony." At Anna's statement, John met her eyes, looking shocked. He had been expecting a fight. Anna could tell he was disappointed.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Are you alright?" John questioned Anna, as they stepped into the elevator alone.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You barely fought. That's not like you."

"I got my client what she wanted except the house. I think it went well," Anna answered.

"Do you want to go to the apartment?"

"Not today," Anna said, rubbing her hands together. "I'm tired."

"Anna…"

"Next time," Anna replied, before stepping off at the next floor and leaving a bewildered John behind.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

After two more days of Mary commenting on how horrible she looked, Anna decided that perhaps it was time to take a day off. She had been extremely tired lately. This entire thing with John had spun on its head and she found that she was so confused by what she was feeling.

Anna rested her head against her arms and closed her eyes. Her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Are you feeling any better?" Mary questioned her.

"Yes," Anna lied.

"Will you be back in tomorrow or should I ask another…."

"I'll be in." A timer in her kitchen dinged. "Look, Mary, I have to go, but I'll be back in tomorrow."

Before Mary could argue, Anna hung up her phone. Then she took in a deep breath and walked into her bathroom. Slowly lifting up the small stick, she felt her stomach drop in her chest.

There were two pink lines.

Dun...dun...dun...

To be continued...

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