Page 7 of The Winter Bride

‘Wake up, sleepy head,’ he urged when the train chugged into the station. ‘We’re here.’

Outside, they hired a cab to take them to the hotel, which was a grand place overlooking the harbour. It was too dark to see much by that time, but Annie had no doubt it would be lovely in daylight. In their room, they found a bottle of champagne that Levi had ordered for them, and they were told that they would be served supper in their room shortly as it was too late to dine in the hotel dining room, but it seemed that Levi had thought of everything.

As Annie unpacked their bags a maid appeared with a trolley loaded with some thick broccoli and stilton soup, crusty bread, and a selection of dainty sandwiches, plus a large pot of tea and some pastries. Annie had eaten very little at the reception and suddenly realised how hungry she was. Monty was ravenous too, so they tucked in.

‘Do you think the maid will come back for the trolley tonight?’ Annie asked when they’d finished, hoping to delay the time when they would finally be alone and uninterrupted.

‘No, I’ll wheel it out onto the landing, and she can take it from there if she wishes.’

‘Oh, then how about we take a walk before we retire?’

Monty shook his head as he wheeled the trolley to the door. ‘To tell the truth I’m tired and ready for bed.’

‘Oh yes . . . yes of course. In that case I’ll go into the bathroom and get changed,’ she answered nervously.

Monty came to stand in front of her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. ‘There’s no need for you to do that, Annie,’ he told her softly. ‘You’re my wife now.’ He slowly began to undo the buttons on her dress. As it slid to the floor around her, he lifted the strap of her chemise and it soon joined the dress, leaving her standing before him naked. ‘You are so beautiful,’ he breathed. ‘And I promise you that I’ll be the best husband to you that I can possibly be. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this moment?’

Suddenly all Annie’s nerves fled and she knew she had done the right thing. Alex was her past, but Monty would be her future. He was so kind and gentle and as she put her arms about his neck and he lowered his lips to hers, she silently vowed that she would be a good wife to him too.

Chapter Four

‘I can’t believe this is our last day,’ Monty said sadly as they lay on the sand enjoying the sunshine the following Friday. ‘Back to reality tomorrow, eh?’

The week had passed peacefully. They had taken long walks, found tiny restaurants to dine in and enjoyed each other’s company.

Annie hitched herself up onto her elbow and grinned down at him. ‘Actually, I’m quite looking forward to going home. Don’t forget I’m opening my new shop on Monday. Not that it hasn’t been wonderful,’ she added hastily. ‘Come on, I fancy an ice cream.’

‘You always seem to be hungry. It must be the sea air,’ he chuckled as he rose and brushed the sand from his trousers before offering her his hand to help her to her feet.

The week had gone far better than Annie had dared hope, and she had enjoyed Monty’s lovemaking. Admittedly he didn’t set her pulse racing as Alex had, but he was a kind and considerate lover and if he had noticed on their wedding night that it wasn’t her first time, he hadn’t commented on it.

They strolled along the pier, and he bought her an ice cream, then they sat on a bench watching the ships on the estuary. ‘I know you said once that you’d like a family but how long do you want to wait?’

‘I suppose when they come along,’ Annie answered.

‘And how many children do you want?’

She smiled. ‘Oh, I think at least four, don’t you?’

She failed to see the look of concern that briefly flitted across his face. ‘Sounds wonderful,’ he said quietly, and they went on to speak of other things.

The following day, as they set off for home, Annie was excited at the prospect of opening her new shop.

‘Just don’t get upset if you don’t do a roaring trade straight away,’ Monty reminded her. ‘You’ll be catering for a particular clientele, and word will have to spread around.’

‘I know,’ she answered, although she hoped he was wrong.

They lapsed into silence, and Annie’s thoughts turned to what had been happening at home. She had left Susan, who was to be her assistant in the shop, to arrange the window displays on the new mannequins as she seemed to have a flair for that sort of thing. Having Susan there also meant that Annie had someone reliable to keep the shop open when she was off buying stock. Poor Susan had had a terrible time recently and she fervently hoped this job would help keep her mind off losing her daughter Constance, and the end of her relationship with Theo. At least Annie would be able to keep an eye on her during the day, and now she had moved into Annie’s old rooms next to Eve and Davey, they could watch out for her when she wasn’t at the shop.

She also wondered how Barney’s wedding to Mercy had gone. She wished she could have been there. Still, Levi and Peggy could give her all the details when she got back. She doubted either of his brothers would have made it – Charlie was living in London but had let them know he couldn’t attend because he was away on business, while Harry had stayed in France after the war.

They arrived back in Nuneaton mid-afternoon and hurried towards their new home above the shop in Bridge Street. But when they turned the corner and she caught sight of it, Annie gasped with dismay. Instead of the lovely window display she had hoped to see, the large window was completely boarded up.

‘On no, what do you think could have happened?’ she gasped.

Monty pursed his lips. ‘Looks to me like somebody’s put the window through. Come on, Susan will probably be there.’

‘But how much will that cost to replace?’ she said worriedly. She had spent most of her savings on stock and had very little left.