CHAPTER 66: MARRIED LOVE

Late morning, the next day

Thomas Barrow's Pantry

Bates sat patiently while Thomas paced and scolded him about his bookkeeping. "You're still using your notes and doing everything by rote, John. You're not trying to understand the relationship among the pieces. You don't give a damn!"

"Not about keeping the books."

Thomas perched on the edge of his desk. "It's not about keeping the books, John. We'll hire a bookkeeper when we have our own hotel."

"Then what does it matter if I understand or not?" Bates asked calmly.

"It matters because our bookkeeper could be emptying our pockets, and you wouldn't be any the wiser!"

"Oh."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Oh, I don't like keeping the books."

Thomas held up his hands in surrender. "You win." He retreated to his chair behind the desk. "You'll have to trust Anna and me to guard against pilfering. Does that make you happy?"

"Very."

Thomas returned the books to their cabinet. He picked up a pencil and tapped it a bit. "You and Anna certainly were lovey-dovey last night. You hardly noticed I was there."

Bates frowned. "We didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome, Pooh."

Thomas shrugged. "You didn't. What happened?"

"Thomas! I'm not going to share our love life with you!"

"I would never ask you to do that," Thomas murmured. He flipped open his notebook and searched for his notes on the eclipse dance.

"I'm sorry, Pooh. I didn't mean to bark at you."

Thomas shrugged again. "I only wondered ... you've been married for eight years, and you were acting as though you were newlyweds."

Bates chuckled. "To be honest, it was that book of yours."

"Married Love? You're joking."

"I'm serious, Pooh." Bates leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Some of the descriptions in that book hit a bit too close to home. I began to wonder if I were one of those husbands who assumed his wife was content with our ... intimate life simply because she hadn't complained. I had never discussed the subject with Anna. It would have seemed vulgar to me."

"Until yesterday?"

"Until yesterday." Bates pulled out his mints and popped a candy into his mouth. "Anna and I are forced to be abstinent right now because the baby is due in a few weeks. I thought perhaps discussing my concerns from the book could offer us another way to stay connected. Still, Anna's terribly traditional, and I didn't know how she'd react to that sort of discussion."

"You certainly seemed connected when I showed up."

"She surprised me. Once she understood what I was asking, she was touched that I was willing to be embarrassed for her sake. She became ... well, I could see that it meant a great deal to her. More than I would have expected."

Thomas listened attentively. "I want my marriage to be like yours, John."

"Well, it won't be, Pooh. Every man and woman is different, and every marriage is different. But if you're going to do this thing, then I hope you and Minnie will be as happy as Anna and I are. And I hope Minnie can keep books."

"How droll, John."

"I thought so."

"John ...?"

"Yes."

"The night you were married, how was it for Anna?"

"What?"

"I mean ... was she frightened? Did it hurt her?"

Bates sighed. "Little brother, two days ago I would have said no. Now I realize that Anna probably kept her true feelings to herself. It's terrible to think that I may have been a brute that first night. No wonder Anna says men are cavemen."

"I'm not going to be a caveman, John."