Chapter 19 - Still Hidden Feelings

Enlightened by the soft light of his bedside lamp, Gilbert had just drawn the curtain and was standing in front of the young redhead's bed.

She was always on her back, her eyes were closed, her breathing was as if held back, fearing to make the slightest movement.

The dark-haired boy wanted to make sure that she couldn't hear what he had just said, so he asked anyway with great hesitation.

"I... I'm sorry to come all the way out here to ask you, but... but did you hear me?"

Anne was really struggling, it was as if her body wanted to react, but her mind was preventing her from doing so.

Her hand, which was resting along her body, made a brief movement, she prayed deep inside herself that Gilbert had not seen her, but she had not heard him turn back to his bed.

She decided to slightly open her left eye to check if he was still close to her. And there she saw the young man's clenched hands, it tore her heart, he looked so nervous, but what could she say to him?

Then she had a wonderful idea, she prepared herself mentally to carry it out.

Suddenly the girl sat up and panting, the medical student who was still standing there was startled, he rushed up to her, he crouched down to her left, "Anne, are you all right?"

The redheaded girl was acting incredibly well, "I-I had a nightmare." she stammered with an anxious expression.

Gilbert took her hand firmly as if to reassure her, then he added a little confused, "You fall very quickly into a deep sleep... three minutes ago you were still talking to me, and you said you couldn't sleep..." He ended his sentence with a nervous laugh.

Then, Anne thought that her idea was not so good anymore, and that it would backfire, "Well, I... I think my imagination catches me very quickly once my eyes close." She was unsure if she was convincing.

The young man smiles at the explanation, "I didn't expect anything else from you, so... I'm going back to bed now."

He was about to get up, when the girl shook his hand a little harder as if to hold him back a little longer. Their eyes met, each looked deeply into the other's eyes, they didn't need to speak to understand each other, the space between their faces narrowed, their lips touched, and they began a tender kiss.

Once their lips parted, Gilbert smiled happily at her, "I think, I really should go back to the other side... My behaviour might bring me problems with some people. I'm not going to take any more advantage of your generosity, Miss."

The redhead laughed, "I feel like it worries you when it suits you, I didn't hear you say that this afternoon."

The young man straightened up, and stole a last kiss from her when she was not expecting it.

He winked at her before drawing the curtain, Anne was under his spell of his antics, she laughed.

Once in bed, Gilbert exclaimed in an amused tone, "That's the price you pay for keeping me waiting!"

At first the girl had fun with it, but then she wondered if he was talking about the last kiss he stole or something else. She thought it might have been an allusion to what he had said earlier, had he guessed that she had finally heard him? She had convinced herself it wasn't, so she could get some sleep for good.

Anne had woken up at dawn that morning, she didn't want Gilbert to have the slightest chance to make fun of the way she looked when she woke up. So on tiptoe, she headed to the bathroom to wash up.

The dark-haired boy was still sleeping peacefully, when he heard water running, his eyes opened timidly, he glanced out of the window, and the sun was not quite up.

He decided to get up, drew the curtain, and saw that the redhead was no longer in her bed. Then the door of the bathroom opened in front of him, and that's how he saw her, she looked as fresh as a daisy, her hair was still messy.

But then he looked at the half-laced white corset that the girl was wearing over a white strapless shirt.

"Uh... I-I sorry." He stuttered.

Anne turned scarlet red, she said the words at breakneck speed, "I thought you were still asleep! I was just... I'm sorry I woke you up!"

"But... but no! You don't have to apologize, I shouldn't have come to your side before you woke up." The young man didn't dare look her in the eye, he just stared at the wall.

A most serious look appeared on the girl's face, "You will not make sarcastic jokes, if I ask you one thing?"

Gilbert didn't immediately understand what the girl's problem was, but then he saw that the corset was half undone and the tie on the corset was half undone. Then, he walked towards her, he dared not look her in the eyes again before passing behind her.

She lifted her hair, which cascaded down to her waist. Once the dark-haired boy was facing her back, he took the laces of the corset in his hand and hesitated for a moment, "Shall I... tighten the ties? I...I don't really know how it works."

The girl felt like she was experiencing the most embarrassing moment of her life, even though other past examples might come back to her mind.

She took a deep breath, and nervously she said, "Usually, it's Diana who helps me, and I forgot that for the first time I will not have her assistance. I don't always wear them, I don't know why I... You probably shouldn't squeeze, do as you please!"

The medical student frowned, confused because he had just heard, he continued to lace the corset delicately, he could not help but look at the girl's bare shoulders, he could see the freckles that were so prominent on her porcelain skin. It was the first time that he had seen a woman's body so closely, and not just any body, the body of the young woman he had fallen in love with, and his cheeks tinged pink at the thought.

He ended his action by tying two pretty loops, then he stood still for a few seconds staring at the redhead's back.

Anne realised Gilbert had completed his task, "Thank you..." She babbled. She turned to him, and gave him a big smile that was not without a touch of nervousness, "I'll just keep getting ready then."

The young man's eyes were filled with a feeling that was no stranger to him. The first time he had felt it was that night at the ruins, when a girl with a fiery temper danced in front of the flames, her red hair in the wind. At that moment, he could only see her, he only desired her.

After a few moments of staring at her without saying anything, he just nodded his head and went back to the other side of the curtain.

A little later in the morning, the young couple was on their way to the train station, it was time to say goodbye, they had been able to have breakfast at the hotel a little earlier. Anne always had her bouquet of flowers with her, this time Gilbert had insisted on carrying her luggage as well as his own.

Anne's train was due to arrive first, it wasn't the first time she had said goodbye to the young man, but this time she knew she was going to see him again, the uncertainties she had experienced in the past were definitively buried. Only, the young redhead couldn't help but feel a little tight-hearted, that weekend had gone by so quickly, but it had given her a brief glimpse of a whole new kind of relationship.

Gilbert put the luggage ashore when he arrived on the dock, they stood face to face, he noticed that the redhead's face looked melancholy, "You know, I'm going to miss you terribly."

The young girl's expression suddenly became radiant, "Really...?"

"There's no opponent worthy of you... I mean in Toronto." He replied with a mischievous smile. Which made the girl laugh.

A moment later, we heard a train whistle and went back to the station, "I think that's my train already, so..." Commenting the red-headed girl.

"Don't write to me at the wrong address!"

"Write to me! Even if my letters get lost!"

They exclaimed in unison, then laughed as they realized it.

Anne was about to carry her luggage to leave, when Gilbert grabbed her hand and drew it to him for a tender embrace, he squeezed her tightly against him, his head buried in her red hair. The young girl did the same and stroked the charming brunette's back, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

The redhead lifted her head to his hazel eyes and then took his lips hostage, kissing him passionately.

In one of the carriages of the train, an elderly lady was challenged by the young couple's public display of affection on the wharf, she felt as if she was familiar with the red hair.

A few minutes after the end of their embrace, Anne had her luggage and bouquet in her hand and was heading towards her wagon. She mimed sending a kiss to her beloved, which made him smile, and he decided to imitate her.

He watched her sadly return to his train, when his gaze was drawn to an old woman in the same carriage who seemed to stare at him with an evil eye. He was confused at the moment, for he did not seem to know the lady.

Anne was at last in her carriage, she still had a slight smile on her lips, she was looking for a place to sit down, when she saw this lady with a pinched look on her face, she couldn't be mistaken, it was Miss Blackmore. Luckily she had not seen her, so the redhead turned her head and rushed to the other end of the railcar to settle down.

The girl's journey was going to be long, very long.