The Other Side of Anne (9 page)

“
Nothing important. She appears at silly times. Yesterday she asked if I had a good day.”

“
What did you tell her?”

“I usually
ignore her.”

“What happens when you do
reply?”

“
She wants to have a conversation. She gets chatty and asks too many questions.”

Take his hand. Hold his
hand.
Anne closed her hand over Avery’s, slowly, tentatively, and he gulped in a breath. But did not attempt to draw away. “I cannot blame Mandy,” Anne said. “I would like to ask you many questions, Sir Franklin.”

This elicited
a strained smile from Avery. “Anytime. So, will you let me wait with you tomorrow to see if you get a nosebleed?”

“I will.”

“Good. Well, uh, we better get back to bed. Unless you want to ask me one of these questions?”

Was Avery’s tone hopeful?
I wish you could stay. Or that I had the courage to make such a request of you.
“Good night,” Anne said. “The questions can wait.”

After Avery left,
Anne clutched her pillow over her face. Her body and heart burned with tears.
Time for me!
THE LUV TOY called from the drawer, and Anne got the thing out. She kissed it several times. Pretended Avery was the one she was kissing.

“You are ridiculous,” Anne said. “
I barely know him. We just met.”

Come on,
THE LUV TOY said, and Anne gave in to it.

In the morning, Avery brushed his teeth and replayed Anne’s hand on his. Her touch had been exactly what he needed at the moment, although he hated to admit it. The touch of a woman who was intelligent, beautiful and vulnerable. The touch of a woman Avery felt an affinity with.
Down, boy. Keep an emotional distance.

Kinky,
Mandy said as Avery gargled on mouthwash.
Kink-eeee.

“
Ah, shit. Go away.”

Anne Boleyn’s here.
You know what that means?

“
No.”

Means you could get me.
Go back in time and get me.

“What?
No.”

You know you want to.

“Doesn’t matter,” Avery said through clenched teeth. “The time machines aren’t working.”

They will one day.

Avery pictured Mandy, her blond hair, her brown eyes, the wide smile in her obituary picture.

Think about it,
Mandy said.
Please.

**

It snowed that morning, and schools, including Quentin University, canceled classes. The snow fell and fell, with forecasts calling for one to two feet by five p.m. When Avery peeked through the windows at noon, Nate and the Pegasus car were leaving.

“
Huh. Nate just drove away,” Avery said.
And I bet this is when an emergency happens.
He imagined blood pouring from Anne’s nose. These country roads would be impassable with snow.

“No one replace
d him?” Anne asked. She sat in the living-room chair.

“
No. Maybe you should call Benjamin.” Avery flexed his fists because of what he was about to say. “Do you think someone should stay in the house with us until the weather gets better?”

Anne’s eyes went wide, and passion reddened her cheeks. She leaped from the chair, truly leaped. She jabbed her pointer finger in the air. “
Benjamin drugs me, do you know that? He drugs me to put me to sleep and inserts me in all sorts of machines for tests. No one from Pegasus will stay here!”

“Even if it puts your health at risk? And your life?”

Anne sat back in the chair. “I am fine,” she insisted.

“What about t
he nosebleeds?”

“I am fine.”

Avery inclined his head in a show of respect for the former queen. “You experienced two nosebleeds at the exact same times. Now, if something happens to you and I can’t do anything about it because of the weather, your blood will be on my hands.”

“Pegasus can do nothing except creep around. They are bumblers. They fumble in the dark. They know nothing.”

“They probably know more than they let on.”

Additional
fury smeared Anne’s cheeks, and Avery switched tactics. “I get where you’re coming from,” he said. “These people did shitty things to you. I wouldn’t want them here either. Thing is, I’ve already lost my wife. I don’t need you haunting me either. I would appreciate you calling Benjamin. Do it for me.”

Alarm rippled across Anne’s face.
“Avery!” She jumped from the chair. “Your nose.” She grabbed tissues from the side table.

“It’s okay,” Avery said after the bleed stopped. “I get nosebleeds, especially in winter. Doesn’t mean anything.”
Or does it?

“I am sorry.” Anne sounded on the verge of tears
. “I am so sorry. I apologize deeply. I took you to 1536 without thinking through possible consequences.”

Avery shook off the apology. “It’s a regular
nosebleed. Don’t worry about me.” What else could he say?
You might have killed me? Yeah, this nosebleed could be a regular one, or it might signal something much worse.

Anne’s mouth thinned with displeasure
. “I will call Benjamin.”

**

Ten minutes later, Avery flopped onto the couch with Anne. “What should we do while we wait?” he asked. It turned out that before Anne could call, Benjamin called Avery and wanted to send someone to stay in the house with them. Avery had tussled a bit to put up a show. At least he did not have to divulge the nosebleeds. Bottom line: Nate, driving a snow removal truck, would arrive at the front door in about an hour.

Earlier, Avery had rummaged through the
board games to find something he could play with Anne. So many board and card games, so little use. Monopoly, Yahtzee, Skip Bo, Phase 10, Sequence, Uno, Hollywood Squares, Upwords, Monopoly, Clue, Racko and Loaded Questions.

Avery wanted no
part of board and card games. He kept replaying the nosebleed. What if his life was slipping like sand through his fingers, and he did nothing about it? He tried thinking about Mandy—her ghost of a smile every time she beat him at poker. Her tongue with his. He imagined his tongue with Anne’s, and his body reacted. A good fuck was what he needed. A good, uncomplicated fuck. Oh well. Wouldn’t happen with Anne.

**

Nate wore a heavy gray coat, blue jeans and a sweater. He brought a briefcase and a traveling bag. “Ma’am,” he said to Anne. “Dr. Franklin,” he directed to Avery.

Anne mustered a tight smile.
Seeing Nate in anything but the Pegasus uniform was unsettling.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Anne’s head hurt. She
felt like an imbecile. She had worried about her own health, her own safety, the past few days. She had not considered that Avery could be in danger as well. With Avery being Time Traveler Zero, Anne really had no business taking him to 1536. She had made a grave, rash decision in the movie theater.
What if it cost Avery and Anne their lives?

Nate shrugged out of his coat
and draped it over a chair. “Looks like a bad one, huh?”

“Yes,” Avery said.

“I’ll get out of your way. I brought a bunch of novels, a bunch of other stuff to keep me busy. I have an iPad. Just tell me where to set up.”

“You can use my office. It has a comfortable
chair.” Avery showed Nate to his office and brought him a Coke can.

“Well,” Avery said when
he returned to the living room. “So far, not bad.”

“If
Pegasus has not planted bugs or cameras yet, Nate will while he is here,” Anne pointed out.

Avery frowned. “Well. Ah.”

“You did not realize that?”

T
he beginnings of a smile tipped Avery’s lips. “I’m not as smart as I look.”

**

At several points during the afternoon, Avery was tempted to call Benjamin and ask if he’d experienced nosebleeds. Or if Avery’s parents had. They traveled to 1901 Victorian London. Time travel
must
have some physical after-effects. At some point, probably better sooner rather than later, Benjamin needed to know about the nosebleeds.

“Do you know about my parents’ honeymoon in London?” Avery asked Anne during dinner. Nate was eating
by himself in the office.

“Your mother told me a little about it.”

“What did she say? Did she mention if she or my dad got nosebleeds?”

“
She did not mention it, Sir Franklin.” Anne sighed and finished her corn. “The snow is pretty, is it not?”

“
Yes, it is.”

Anne gazed outside at the falling snow. “Beautiful,” she murmured. “Simply beautiful.”

The alarm went off at two-fifteen a.m., and Avery padded into the hallway. Light spilled from under Anne’s door, and Avery glanced toward the darkened living room. Faint snores emanated from Nate on the couch.

Anne
let Avery in before he could knock. She wore blue sweat pants and a white T-shirt. Avery’s cock pulsed to life, and he swallowed.
Down, boy. Don’t embarrass me. You’re here to help Anne, not to stick your dick inside her.

Focus,
Avery.
He noticed that Anne had smartly arranged tissues and cleaning supplies on the dresser. Definitely prepared. Except for one thing.

“Maybe not the best shirt,”
Avery said.

“Hmm?” Anne looked down, and
Avery was tempted to flick her chin again. “Oh. White. Yes. Excellent point.” She reached into a drawer and drew out a black shirt.

Avery
turned so Anne could change. He bet she had nice breasts. Kissable, supple breasts, breasts to—
Stop.

“I am finished,” Anne said.

Avery moved his gaze to Anne. “That shirt still looks great on you.” Her shirt read:
I keep it REAL.
They had bought it for five dollars at Wal-Mart the other day.

“My favorite is the zombie
one,” Anne said.

“Can’t beat zombies,
” Avery agreed. He sat on the bed. “Have you been to sleep?”

“No. I have been thinking.”

“About what?”

“About the nosebleeds. I never thought...” Anne stopped. Started again. “I never meant to put you in danger.”

“You probably didn’t. I really do get nosebleeds once in a while. This one was bad timing. A coincidence.”

Anne’s expression was uncertain. “I performed a rash act, and I am very sorry for it.”

“Let’s not kill ourselves worrying over it. There are more fun ways to die.”

A pensive smi
le. “Very well.”

If anyone knew about mistakes and regret,
Avery did. The morning Mandy died, they’d fought. She accused him of being too caught up in his research. He let her leave without telling her he loved her.

“Hey.”
Avery reached out and caught Anne’s hand in his. “You won’t get a nosebleed. You will be fine. We both will.”

Anne dropped her gaze. Lifted it, and
Avery swore he saw longing in her eyes. He had never wanted to kiss her more.
I’ll do it if she doesn’t get a nosebleed. A light, celebratory kiss.

Anne licked her lips
, and they waited. Two twenty-eight. Two twenty-nine. Two-thirty. Anne stuffed a tissue up her nostril and tucked a paper towel into her shirt. Two thirty-one. Thirty-two. Thirty-three.

No nosebleed.

Anne smiled, a little smile that grew bigger as the clock hit two thirty-four. She kept the tissue and towel where they were. At two-forty, nothing had happened, and Anne removed the objects.

“Whew,” she said. She mopped pretend sweat from her forehead and grinned widely. The theatrical gesture
s were
peculiar coming from her usually formal self. She was cute as hell. A million needle-thoughts lived inside Avery, jabbing at him, shrieking to be freed.
I would like very much to kiss you, Anne Boleyn.

Anne’s gaze clung to his. The room had turned suffocating, the air a thick
electric blanket.

“Congratulations, Ann
e,” Avery said. “No nosebleed.”

“I ask you this not to be forward but in case my days are almost complete.
Will you kiss me?”

Avery
blinked. “Uh, well.”
Be careful. This is how Anne did it. This is how she seduced Henry, how she played with him for seven-so years.

“
Kiss me,” Anne said, and her eyes glimmered.

Avery
swallowed.

“All I want is a kiss,” Anne whispered. “A little kiss. I do not ask for the Holy Grail.”

Henry. How quickly, how completely, how crazily he fell head over heels in love with you. What if it happens with me?

Avery did not let h
imself think any more. He touched his lips to Anne’s like a whisper, a quick whisper. Like a dream. Her mouth was soft and tasted of mouthwash. He tried to deepen the kiss, but Anne drew back.

“Thank you,”
she said briskly. “A fitting kiss to die on.”

Avery searched her dark eyes.
The kiss had not been fitting. It had barely begun. Why had she ended it?

“Good night,” Anne said.

“Okay,” Avery said, willing his confusion away. “Okay, then. Good night, Anne.”

**

In bed after Avery left, Anne bit back tears. Avery’s kiss had roused incredible emotion and desire within her—fear too. She thought about Henry Percy, the first man she was engaged to. That dreadful Cardinal Wolsey had interfered, tattled to Henry Percy’s father, and both men had forbidden the couple to marry. And why? Because Anne was not prestigious enough. Because her family was not prestigious enough.

Anne’
s hatred for Cardinal Wolsey would never go away. It might ebb and flow sometimes, like ocean waves, but that corrupt man represented everything wrong about the Catholic church. Many history books acknowledged his flaws, but at the same time, they painted him as a great man who tried to bring peace to Europe and end wars, as a man who did the best he could serving the greedy and egoistical Henry VIII.

Anne did not care. Cardinal Wolsey had poked his hypocritical nose in matters that did not concern him. After they were forced to
break up, Percy returned home a deeply broken man. He married someone he did not want to.

Henry Percy had loved Anne deeply. She had loved him deeply too
. Had they married, Anne would have been happy. Very happy. It was ironic that his staying loyal to Anne to the end helped doom her. According to the history books, Henry VIII, when he was sniffing out annulment options from Anne, wanted Percy to testify that her marriage to the king was void because of a pre-contract between Percy and Anne. Percy refused because he thought Anne would want him to. He said they never were engaged.

Anne clutched one of her pillows to her chest. Her body had scared her, had terrified her, only a few
moments ago. She lusted so badly, so deeply, for Avery Franklin. Not just lust. Her feelings ran more profoundly than lust, and that was why she must remain cautious. People had meddled in her affairs her entire life, and who was to stop Avery if he got a mind to intrude? If, one day, he rubbed the sand from his eyes and realized:
Holy freaking cow, I have Anne Boleyn. Holy freaking cow!
Why did Avery treat her like a normal person? Why had Anne asked him to kiss her?

**

In the morning, Nate got busy with the snowplow truck. “Looks good,” he said afterward. “I got the streets all around done, and the interstate is clear. I’ll be going. Thank you for your generosity and hospitality, Dr. Franklin.”

“What’s the other guard’s name?”
Avery asked.

“
Ted. He’ll arrive soon.”

AnneA

After Nate left, Anne prepared a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. She and Avery ate in silence.

“
You have been quiet,” Anne said near the end.

Avery pictured
Mandy, his lovely, beautiful wife. What would she make of Anne? He sighed and stirred cooling soup. “Here’s the thing. I’m—”

“
I shall find an apartment and move out,” Anne said before Avery could continue.

Avery
pushed his soup bowl aside. “What? No.”

“
I apologize for making you uncomfortable. Like I said, I shall move out. I hope this disallays your fears.”

“Allays,”
Avery mumbled. “No prefix -dis.”

“
I see. Allays.”

Avery felt like the cold
from outside had seeped into his pores. He could not let Anne leave. “Look, I was going to say that we should have a conversation about what’s going on between us. Or what
might
be going on.”

Anne managed a smile
but also looked like she had been smacked in the face. “I will move out. Good afternoon.” She headed down the hall.

“Shit,” Avery said. “
Shit, shit.”

**

Avery knocked on Anne’s door, and she answered a moment later, her head held up, her expression haughty. She was every bit a queen, and her jeans and zombie
BRAAAAAINS!
T-shirt did not dilute the effect. “Yes, Sir Franklin?”

“May I come in for a moment?”

“Very well.”

Avery
stepped in, leaving the door half open. He shouldn’t sit on the bed; that might seem overly familiar. So, fine, he would stay put near the dresser drawers. Thing was, words suddenly escaped him. He had no idea what to do. What to say.

Anne rescued him
from having to talk. “I did a terrible thing. I know it. I played with a married man for years. I seduced him at last and got pregnant with his child. I caused irreparable grief to Catherine’s heart. But you must understand I did not want to. My father made me. I hate reading the books and watching the movies and the television shows. They portray me to be a harlot and a schemer. I am not.” Anne bit her lip. “That is not entirely true. I got caught up in my father’s plots. How could I not? I had to survive somehow. I had to make my days mean something.”

“
I am not accusing you of anything.” Avery made sure to keep his tones soothing.

“If I was the Anne Boleyn the media makes me out to be, I would have seduced Benjamin and Charles.”

“The media gets a shit ton wrong. Look, Anne, I have feelings for you. You have them for me too.”

“All the more reason for me to move out.”

Maybe Avery shouldn’t argue with Anne’s logic. She seemed nowhere near emotionally ready for an entanglement. His own life would be easier that way too. He could continue living without attachments.

“Perhaps I will look for an apartment near
your university so you can see for yourself once in a while that I am fine,” Anne said.

“Sure.”

“I should experience living alone. I have been dependent on others all my life. No more. I look forward to obtaining a new residence and being independent.”

“Do you really?”

Anne smiled. “I do.”

**

In the evening, Anne took a shower. She rubbed Oil of Olay anti-aging cream onto her face. Her hands came away bloody, and fresh dread knotted her stomach. The nosebleeds were back. Like it or not, she would have to call Benjamin and confess.