It was a month since Ann Walker moved to Shibden Hall and accepted Anne Lister's proposal and became her wife. She can recall all the things that had passed between them, the roller coaster emotions, ups and downs and especially how she gathered the courage to be Miss Lister's wife.
She enjoyed residing at the shabby little Shidben as what Anne always described it that is why she is so eager to begin its renovation to make it more grander as what it appears on her wife's grand passion and blabbered it a lot. Miss Walker likes the ambiance and the screaming, squabbles of Marian and Anne Lister where she found it very amusing to see such sibling fights where in Crow Nest she is alone and no one to talk to and her new family is such a blessing for her.
It was half past 6 in the evening and the Lister family were eating dinner, mutton and steak with mashed potatoes as its side. Miss Walker who is almost done with her dinner grabbed her handkerchief and placed it on her lap she is looking from left to right if someone is watching her but it seems that everybody is busy attending and eating their set of meals she sneaked a piece of bread and hurriedly placed it on her handkerchief tied it and slid it on her pockets, without her knowing Anne is looking at her wife and wondered why she did that thing for almost a week.
Miss Lister was wondering why her wife always tends to sneak a piece of bread at dinner and the mistress of Shibden Hall pretended not to notice because she was observing Miss Walker's motives. Exactly at 9 pm, it is a habit for Miss Lister to begin her journal entry and she goes into her library and commence the writing and her wife knows that it is a private matter for Anne and her diary and it gives her a perfect timing to do her own business as well.
Anne decided to peek and followed her lovely wife to discover what she did with a piece of bread and what she did to them for Anne knew that Miss Walker had everything she needed at Shibden. So Miss Walker went to the west wing of the house closed to the dining area and Anne, who knows the whole floor plan of Shibden went her way to the access door that leads to Miss Walker's destination and as she arrived there she hide in plain sight on a big cabinet so her wife won't detect her.
It began what Anne Lister wanted to see, her wife opened the door holding something like a bunch of paper and materials she cannot recognize for her point of view is not that precise due to some cabinets that blocked her vision.
As Miss Walker opened the door and marched inside the room. Ann heard another footsteps aside from her wife, she tried to listen and it appeared it was like 4 sets of legs and Anne's eyebrow goes high. Miss Walker sat down and searched from her pocket the handkerchief with the bread and gave it to Argus. The Lister family's Scottish greyhound dog.
Ann Walker is feeding Argus with some bread to make him halt so she could sketch the large dog as she missed doing her favorite habit, to draw and pet a pooch.
Ann was surprised when Argus stood up and sniffed upon the floor as its ears and tail waggled that the scottish greyhound dog recognized a familiar scent. Miss Walker followed where Argus was going till it sat on a big cabinet and the dog barked playfully. Ann opened the door and revealed Anne Lister, her wife inside.
"Anne!" Miss Walker said in shock.
"my love" Miss Lister replied as she tried to shake off her shirt with dust.
"Are you sneaking on me Anne? I am sorry, I..I.. can expl- " Ann said with a shake on her voice.
Anne began to kiss her wife and hold her tight.
"I am just checking on you, what you do with that bread and at this time? It turned out you want to draw Argus." Anne said as she patted the dog's head.
"Yes, my love. I just missed my dog when I was a child and seeing Argus reminded me of him and I want to immortalize him through my drawings." Ann said softly looking into her wife's eyes.
Anne is like melting with adoration as she can see her wife's glowing and so pure and innocent and she kissed Miss Walker again and told her how much she loved her so much and so lucky to be in her life.
"Tell me next time so I know and I will help you make Argus halt and maybe you can paint me next to him or the three of us. I know, we must commission a painter to portray the two of us. Me and you, my beautiful wife." Anne explained as she caressed her wife's hands.
"And Argus too." Ann added
"Yes, Argus too. As what my wife wishes, so be it." Anne replied, kissing her wife's hand.