Cicero was still on form but Anne was close to collapse when she reached the Galloway estate. It was about six, seven o´clock in the evening. Anne knew better than to bother with the main entrance. She hammered on the door of the servant´s quarters in the back of the building. The cook opened. "Yes?" She gave Anne a look of disgust, until she recognized her as a woman. "You poor dear. Are you alright?" Anne was ready to weep with relieve to see a kind face. "Miss Galloway. Is she in? Please, I need to see her." "And who shall I tell her has come to see her?" The woman ushered her in and offered a place at the kitchen table. She must imagine some sort of intrigue behind it. Servants always enjoyed the entertainment unruly gentlewomen provided. "Anne McGregor. Please, it´s urgent." "Easy, dear. Here." The woman handed her a cup of water and vanished upstairs. Anne silently sipped the water, watched only by a skinny scullery maid with eyes as wide as saucers. A couple of minutes later, Rose entered. She dismissed the scullery maid with a single gesture and looked at Anne with a strange mix of emotions. "What happened to you?" Anne was too overcome to answer. She hid her face in her hands and fought back her tears. "I came straight from Royston. Templars abducted Father James and tortured him for information. I was too late to save him. Before he died, he said your name. They may know about you. You are in danger." Anne rambled on, but caught herself when she saw that Rose didn´t look worried, but rather hurt and annoyed. "I know." she said. "They came for us in the crypt. We escaped through a hidden tunnel and fought them off." "Why on earth did you go there?" Anne´s voice became loud and shrill, her Scottish accent so pronounced that Rose could hardly understand her. "I sent Omar a message that the church was compromised." Rose swallowed hard. Now she seemed to realize the danger she had been in. "He didn´t get any note. We were worried about you. Didn´t know where you were, when you´d be back, if you´d be back…" "Fuck." A sob escaped Anne. The bloody kid must have taken the money and tossed the note away. She should have returned for Omar and taken him with her to Royston. Anne covered her face again. "Okay… I… I need to go. Omar…" "Yes." Rose spat out. "Run to him." Anne looked at her. "Are you alright? Have I done something to offend you? You aren´t mad at me because I rushed off yesterday?" Rose bit her lip and looked down, purposefully not meeting Anne´s eyes. "I am not mad. But… Have you any idea, how lucky you are? Every woman in the world would give her right hand to be you." Anne laughed maniacally. "Lucky? I saw a good man die today. Hell, I would almost have been killed myself. Please tell me why on earth you think I am the lucky one!" Rose shook her head. "Go find Omar." was all she said. Anne took a deep breath to calm herself. "I am sorry, I… That was your first fight today, wasn´t it? Trust me, I know. That changes you. You will feel better after a good night´s sleep. We will contact you tomorrow. I am sure you were good. You have it in you." When Rose looked at her, the malice had gone from her face. Now there was only sadness. "You are a good woman, Anne McGregor." Anne smiled. "So are you. You will be fine."
Anne heard Omar´s voice through the open door of Newton´s drawing room. "We can deal with Chaloner later, if it really was him. But we needto find Annie now. God knows what has happened to her!" "Mr. Khaled, I understand…" Newton began, but Omar cut him off with uncharacteristic harshness. "No, Mr. Newton, you don´t. We have to…" Anne decided to intervene. She pushed the door open completely. "I am fine." Omar rushed towards her. "What… where…. What…" He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Don´t ever do that again." Anne laid her head on his shoulder and allowed herself to relax. "You really didn´t get my note, did you? I sent a lad from the stable behind the church, but he must have thrown it away." Now that she was back safely and Omar was fine, the hardships of the day caught up with her. Omar gently pushed her into a sofa before she could collapse. Newton handed her a glass of brandy. "What the hell has happened to you?" Anne drowned the glass in one go. "Father James. They took him, tortured him and killed him. I was too late." The tears began to flow freely. Omar sat down next to her, wrapped his arms around her again and stroked her hair, like he had done in the first weeks of her training. "It´s okay. You are safe. Everything´s fine." he murmured. The mere sound of his voice calmed her nerves. Omar turned to Newton. "Could you… leave us for a bit? Maybe go to bed? You had a long day as well." Newton shot Omar a look Anne couldn´t interpret, wished them good night and retired. Omar´s arms were still around her. "God, Annie." he murmured. "I thought I´d lost you." Anne pressed herself closer to him. "You will never lose me. In this life or the next." "In this life or the next." Omar repeated with a fond smile. He felt Anne shiver. "Are you cold?" He stood up to pour her a cup of tea and placed a blanket over her shoulders. Anne would have preferred his arms around her. "I came to see Rose on my way back to warn her. The Templars know of her. But of course you know that already. Is she alright? She seemed… rattled." "Afraid? Hurt? Mad?" Omar asked, suddenly uncomfortable. Anne tried to remember. "Hurt, I believe. At first I thought she was angry with me. But I think she just was… you remember how I was after my first fight." Omar shook his head. "No, that wasn´t it. She… Maybe we should talk about that when you are rested." "Talk about what?" Anne was alarmed at his turn of phrase. "Omar, tell me. Has something…" She took a deep breath and dared to ask the question. "Has something happened between the two of you?" Omar gave a small, desperate laugh. "Sorry, Annie. I am afraid I complicated everything. Rose… indicated a certain interest I me. I refused." Anne stared at him. She could hardly believe her ears. "You refused?" she repeated in disbelief. "I…was under the impression that you cared for her." "Annie…" Omar sighed. "I was planning to have that conversation when things are a bit more quiet, but… I am sorry, I don´t quite know how to begin." Omar wasn´t a man of many words, but he was usually never lost for them. This would be interesting. "Annie, I refused her because I love another. I know this must be a bit sudden, but I have been thinking about this for quite some time now. I… Do you think you could ever see me as something else than a friend and a comrade?" That was the last thing Anne expected. Instead of an answer, she started to cry again. Omar drew back instantly. "No, please don´t… I will never say another word about it." Anne made a sound between a laugh and a sob. "Oh God, Omar." She pulled him close again and cried into his chest. A very confused Omar wrapped his arms around her and waited until she was ready to speak again. She wiped her eyes. "When we tell that to our kids, can we leave this part out? Doesn´t really make for a good story." "Our kids?" Omar repeated. "Does that mean, you… you care for me?" "That means I love you." There was so much more she wanted to say, but when Omar kissed her she forgot everything. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Anne had come home. The kiss became more passionate. "Why haven´t we done this earlier?" Anne asked breathlessly. Omar chuckled. "We have quite a bit of catching up to do." Anne kissed him again, took his hand and led him to his bedroom.
Afterwards, they lay curled up in bed together. "Wow." Anne gave a content sigh. "I didn´t know it could be like this." Omar kissed her hair. "I take it I did not disappoint?" Anne smiled. "No, my love. You did not." "Say it again." Omar pulled her closer. Anne raised her head and looked at him. "My love." The corners of Omar´s mouth turned up into a very kissable smile. "My Annie." By now, it was about ten o clock at night; the candle on the nightstand was the only light. Not enough to properly admire Omar´s slim, wiry body. Anne shook her head smiling. She couldn´t believe it had taken her this long to understand her own heart. "How long have you… loved me?" Anne asked. She felt a bit shy about it. Was that the right way to have this conversation? Omar´s silence lasted too long for her taste. "I am not sure." he finally said. "I was certain of it when you left for Istanbul and I started to worry. Not just that you´d get hurt, but that you´d fall for somebody else. But I suspect that I have loved you for years. And you?" He placed a quick kiss on her shoulder. Anne laughed softly. "What a pair we make." When she considered her answer, she became serious again. That was bound to be awkward. "I didn´t fully understand it before yesterday. When Rose asked me if I was in love with you." Omar tensed, just as Anne had feared. She knew him well. There was a part of Omar – however small – that loved Rose. He had grown up loving her. It was in his bones. "It´s okay." Anne tried to sound reassuring. "I get it." Why did she have to bring up Rose now? Omar shook his head. "I was a boy. A lot has changed. Yes, I have thought of Rose now and then. But being apart from you was… I never want to feel that again, Annie." Anne wrapped her arms around him. Now, Omar´s head rested on her chest. "Your heart skipped a beat." he murmured. Anne chuckled. "My heart is not accustomed to that sort of activity." Outside the door, they could hear the sound of soft footsteps, then a door being opened and shut, followed by the murmur of two men. Anne listened intently. "What is Mr. Newton doing up now?" "Of course, you don´t know." Omar filled her in about Mr. Newton´s and his adventure in Bristol. On their mission to find the next counterfeiter, they stumbled over something that brought Newton more joy: his old associate Nicolas Fatio de Duillier had been taken prisoner by the very people they were hunting. The deep affection between Newton and the dashing Belgian had been palpable. "They are reconnecting, I imagine." Omar commented with a soft smile. Eventually, Omar and Anne fell asleep in each other´s arms, not suspecting that all hell would break loose in a couple of hours.