A/N: We never got to see Bates' reaction to Anna in her beautiful dress before they began filming the dinner scene near the end of the movie and I wasn't too pleased, so I thought that I would try and fix that a little! This is just a fluffy little piece with absolutely no plot and I really hope you like it! There will be more one-shots based on the movie to come, so keep an eye out for those! Happy reading.
Holding the skirt of her dress as she made her way down the hall, Anna beamed.
In all her life, she had never been as excited as she was at this moment.
She was going to be in a film.
An actual film that actual people were going to pay to go to the cinema and watch.
Of course, she was only an extra, she had no dialogue, was only on screen for minutes at the most and no-one would know her from Eve or even remember her face by the time the credits rolled, but she was so cock-a-hoop that she didn't care one bit.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, one that she had never imagined would come her way.
She was a labourer's daughter and had grown up in the smallest village, living hand-to-mouth and having to squeeze onto a tiny bed with her sister. She had been raised not to expect much from life – to expect to work hard until her own children came along and then spend her days caring for them and her husband – and so being told she was going to be in a film was truly something. Alice and their mother would never believe her were she to tell them about all this, she was certain of that. To be honest, there had once been a time when she wouldn't have believed it because she had been under the impression that things like this never happened to girls like her. Miss Dalgleish and her incredible story had changed her mind though.
Anyone could be or do anything they wanted should they want it and work hard enough.
No matter where they came from.
Knowing she was running a little behind, she patted her wig down and sped up slightly before rounding the corner only to go crashing into her husband. They chuckled as he took her by the arms, helping to steady her a little, but when she took a step back from him to admire his costume her breath caught in her throat. Not only was it a miracle in itself that he agreed to be an extra and they managed to get him to wear a costume, but he looked absolutely gorgeous. His hair was all sleeked back and, for a moment, when she had walked into him she had mistaken him for a member of the family and wanted the ground to swallow her up. He looked the part, he truly did, but there was no doubt in her mind he thought he looked daft.
"In all my life, I have never felt anywhere near as ridiculous as I do right now."
See? She knew her husband.
"Really? I think these costumes are lovely." She reached up to play with his bow tie.
"Oh, sure, easy for you to say when you look like you're about to head out to be photographed for Vogue magazine's next cover," He rolled his eyes, taking a step closer to her and taking her waist in his hands. "I am constantly amazed by you, I mean that, and I am the luckiest man alive to have such a beautiful woman to call my wife. I mean, look at you right now."
Her cheeks burned as she dropped his gaze for a long second. "I feel a bit of a fraud," She laughed. "Dressed up like this."
She felt him brush her wig from her face and tuck a strand behind her ear before she glanced at him again, her heart racing at the love she saw in his eyes. "Do you remember, all those years ago, on that little road to the flower show when you told me you loved me?" He asked, his voice no higher than a whisper as he risked pulling her closer to him so they were nearly chest-to-chest. "You said a lady would never say something like that, but it was okay for you to say so because you weren't one. I told you that you were to me and, standing, here, I see I was right. You are a lady, my darling, a real and lovely one."
Tears brimmed in her eyes as she stared at him. "How could you do this to me when we're about to go on camera?"
He chuckled, leaning in to kiss her forehead and revelling in her tearful sigh. "My serious actress."
"I honestly can't believe Guy Dexter made you jealous," She shook her head when he pulled back, a tear rolling down her cheek which he quickly caught and brushed away. "You are all I want. No other man could make me feel the way you do."
"And what way is that?" He inquired.
"Beautiful, special, as though I'm truly worth something," She breathed, wrapping her arms around him. "The list is endless, honestly."
"You are all those things," He touched his forehead to hers. "What I wouldn't give to kiss you right now."
"Well, what's stopping you?" She smirked, grazing his nose with her own.
"Wait for it," He pointed down the hall before they heard a door open and he stepped away from her. "That."
They turned in place in time to watch Mr. Barber make his way down the hall to them and the director gave them a smile. "Let's get this show on the road!" He clapped his hands together, strolling past them both and making his way to the stairs.
Neither of them could help but chuckle as he all but ran down them.
"Come on, m'lady," John took his wife's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Time to show the world what a star you are…"
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! (Big thanks to my friend Emma for giving me the idea to link back to Anna and Bates talking about her not being a Lady in series 1.) I hope you enjoyed and would love to hear what you thought with a review x
