As she made her way to Kensington Palace after dropping off her purchases, Hannah wondered about Don and Eleanor. She didn't quite know what to do about it, or even if it was any of her business. Robin had been moody lately, and Hannah had been too wrapped up in her own life to know what was going on in Robin's. And Colby hadn't wanted to interfere.
Hannah frowned at the ticket prices when she did the conversion to US dollars in her head. It was easy to forget that the numbers didn't represent the same amount of money that she was used to. She was going to have to plan her outings more carefully and decide which she'd have to do without. London was turning out to be more expensive than she'd anticipated. But it amused her to find out that the student and senior discount tickets were called concessions, and wondered how many fellow Americans tried to buy concession tickets thinking they were for food and drink.
Only fourteen of Princess Diana's dresses were on display, but they were beautiful. Hannah only recognized one, the dark blue off-the-shoulders dress that Princess Diana had worn to the White House. The Princess of Wales had thrilled everyone by dancing with John Travolta that night. Only two other dresses stood out in particular. One was an ivory silk crepe sheath with pink sequins. It had a long sleeve on the right, and was strapless on the left. Gold thread was woven through the silk in a rose pattern. An English rose adorned with roses. The most regal was probably an embroidered pink satin. The bodice of the dress, and the bodice of the bolero jacket were embroidered, and the detail was just absolutely stunning. Hannah spent a lot of time studying it.
She also spent some time in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection, even though she was already getting tired. Hannah amused herself with the differences in court fashions from the early 19th century to the present.
After resting on a bench for few minutes, she managed to walk home without too much trouble. Tired but happy, she relaxed by starting on some jewelry that she'd sketched on the Salisbury trip. Before long, all that existed for Hannah was the gold, silver, and copper wire in her hands and the designs in her mind's eye.
Colby heard the snip of the wire cutters followed by the pounding of a mallet when he let himself in later that evening. He grinned to himself, wondering if she was making the jewelry so she could wear it to the formal. No better way to drum up business than showing off a beautiful piece up close and personal. A tender smile formed and stayed on his lips as he leaned against the doorway to the kitchen area. He watched in fascination as Hannah's fingers deftly twisted and wove the different wires together, amazed at how the flattened parts of each wire lined up exactly where she wanted them. The design was an abstract one. It was Salisbury Cathedral, and yet, it was not. Finally, she was done with the necklace and laid it with the earrings that had already been completed. "Hannah," he said softly, so as not to startle her.
She turned with a smile, "I didn't hear you come in. How long have you been standing there?"
"Just a little while. I like watching you. What you've created from those wires is amazing. Are you going to wear it on Friday?"
Laughing now, she asked, "Am I that obvious?"
He grinned, "Well, I didn't think you'd brought much in the way of jewelry. And it's an opportunity a businesswoman like you wouldn't pass up."
"I bought a dress," she giggled, then tried to suppress it.
Colby looked quizzically at her, "Okay. I expected that."
"I bought you something to go with the dress," she said solemnly, eyes alight with laughter as she showed him the vest set.
He laughed, "So I'm to be one of your accessories?"
She burst into laughter at that observation. "Yes, I suppose you could look at it that way. Where are you getting the tux?"
"Jensen says the Embassy has some for visiting staff. I thought I'd just rent one. We can do that on our way to dinner or something. Anything in particular you want to do tonight? We're on our own. Don decided to hang out with Jensen and Braden."
Hannah looked at him and wondered if Don was trying to give them time alone or just trying to avoid any discussion about Eleanor. "We could take the Underground to Westminster and just walk around there. Even if it's too late to get into the Abbey, we can look at Big Ben and walk along the river a little, look at the statue of Boadicea and Cleopatra's Needle. Take a river cruise maybe."
-----
It had been too late to get into Westminster Abbey, they would have to do that on the weekend, but they spent a pleasant few hours walking around, gawking at the sights along the way. Hannah loved the architecture of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. They took a bus to Trafalgar Square to look at Nelson's Column and the two lions. She knew Colby could have just run over there, he was just making sure she didn't tax the strength of her legs. He made her laugh, climbing up on one of the lions, and she made sure she got a good picture of it. Her lion on a lion.
They stopped at a pub on their way back to the Underground station, and tried the fish and chips, which they both enjoyed. But Hannah pushed aside the mushy peas that she'd decided to try. Colby had ordered the English peas which turned out to be regular garden peas, and been happy with it. But the mushy peas were a different thing altogether, not garden peas smashed up, as she'd thought. She wasn't going to order that again. It didn't seem to faze Colby though. He ate those too. Hannah laughed at that, something about having been in the army, she supposed.
Hannah leaned contentedly against Colby's chest as they strolled from the Underground to their flat. She loved these quiet evenings together, the light conversation, the gentle caresses, the cuddling and snuggling, all a rare treat, because of the demands of his job as an agent. It was something she treasured greatly.
They took a long shower together, gently touching, caressing and stroking each other. Tenderly and slowly, they explored every inch of each other's bodies, with their fingers, their tongues and their lips.
Colby wrapped Hannah in a bath sheet and carried her to the bed. He kissed her tenderly, gently teasing her lips with his, her tongue with his. Her soft guttural moans, as he nibbled and licked her neck, thrilled him. The way she clutched at him and arched against him, as he sucked on her nipples, excited him. Her soft gentle hands, that almost instinctively caressed his arms and his back as he nipped at her tender skin, aroused him.
He entered her, slow and deep, gently teasing, yet sweetly loving. He took pleasure in her pleasure, and did what he could to show her how much he loved her. Then the rhythm of his need took over, as he brought them both up and over. He heard her sigh softly as she draped bonelessly over him. And they drifted off to sleep.