“I don’t think he’ll be able to put it behind him. He’s a complete mess at the moment,” Diana admitted, grabbing the phone. She put a call straight through to Joel, who she knew would still be awake.

Joel was pacing back and forth around his hotel suite. “I hate bloody waiting,” He muttered to himself. “Just get the damn thing over and done with. Celebrate me or crucify me, just get it over with.” Slumping forward, Joel poured himself a stiff brandy and watched as the snow fell to the ground. The phone rang and Joel nearly jumped through the roof.

“Hello?” Joel slurred after his standard two glasses of nerve calming bourbon.

“Joel? Is that you?” Diana questioned. She had known Joel since he first became James’s coach, many years ago. Now the two families were attached not only through swimming but they had become the very best of friends.

“Diana. What can I do for you?” Joel looked at his watch; it was much later than he had thought.

“Just wanted to give you the heads up that James and Anna have had a huge fight. It has threatened to end everything. We need your help to fix this before he swims tomorrow morning.” Diana had already formulated a plan, now she just needed Joel’s assistance to pull it off.

“Say no more. What do you need me to do?”

Diana explained the plan step by step before getting Joel’s word that he would make sure James was where he needed to be, when he needed to be. Diana thanked Joel for his help and hung up.

***

Anna

Anna had already begun packing. She’d already placed calls to the airline and taken the only available seat tomorrow afternoon on a flight to London. She’d then stay overnight in London before boarding a direct flight back to Sydney. Although she was almost blinded by tears, she was determined. If James didn’t want her here, then she wouldn’t be. As efficiently as possible she stuffed clothes back into her suitcase, collected her bathroom belongings, leaving out only what she would need in the morning. After running around madly for nearly an hour, an exhausted Anna fell into bed, wrapping her body around the pillow.

***

James

James couldn’t sleep that night either. His guilt was all consuming. James knew he had to be in the pool by six but at four in the morning he was still staring aimlessly at the ceiling. He couldn’t figure out why he had run out on Anna. She was trying to do something special for him, she looked absolutely edible, and he had left her walking the streets of Manchester in the snow. Alone.

James was furious with himself for not talking to Anna when he was at Chesterfield Castle. What had she been thinking to go walking the streets alone? Why hadn’t she gone straight back to the hotel? Why hadn’t he taken her back? He was the one who was supposed to keep her safe and instead he’d left her alone in the middle of a deserted park in the middle of the night. But the one question that threatened to burn a hole right through him was what would happen next? Nobody knew the answer. And sadly nobody could help him figure it out. That was something that he and Anna would have to face on their own.

***

Anna

Anna rose early that morning, determined to cram as much as she could into the little time she had left. She showered quickly and emerged wearing a pair of faded jeans and a baggy cream turtleneck jumper. Her hair was gathered under a black beret, which allowed a mass of long brown curls to flow down her back. It was a relatively simple outfit, but when combined with a discreet amount of natural coloured makeup she looked understated but classy. Her first stop would be to the brook at the bottom of the gardens. In the few short hours Anna had been in England it had already wormed its way into her broken heart.

It was still dark outside as she slipped quietly down the stairs and out the front door. The gardens were still coated by a dusting of fine white snow. A heavy fog lingered in the air, making everything feel sad and haunted. At the bottom of the garden Anna sat down on a cold, snow covered rock and watched with fascination as the water trickled down, passing over the mossy rocks. There was no sign of life. The birds had left the trees and the huge green frog was long gone. A deathly silence hung heavily in the air. After half an hour or so, when the damp had seeped through her jeans Anna left paradise and headed back towards the castle.

***

James

James was in the pool early. He dived in and started lapping at five that morning. He was confident that he could win his races but it was the sitting in his room, not doing anything that was driving him crazy. Sitting alone in silence, revisiting that stupid fight with Anna, James had to do something physical to distract himself. Now as he lapped up and down, he realised it wasn’t working. Anna invaded his thoughts no matter where he went or what he was doing.

Ian wandered down a little after six. With a combination of awe and envy in his eyes, Ian watched as James pushed harder and faster than ever. With a little over five hours before he went head to head with the world’s best, he looked like he was doing his best to tire himself out now. As James approached the end of the lane, Ian tapped him on the shoulder. “Mate, what are you doing? Take it easy. The races aren’t until later.” Ian laughed, trying to make James smile. It was obvious to anyone that something was wrong. Really wrong.

“I’m good. I just thought I could do with the extra training.” James’s attempt to lie was a pathetic one and he knew it.

“Are you fucking serious? In all your races you are at least one second ahead of everyone and in one race you are five seconds clear. You don’t need the extra training. What you do need to do is apologise to that fiancée of yours before it’s too late.” Ian smirked cheekily.

“You know?” James asked. Ian just nodded and handed James a towel. James was already running across the pool deck when he turned and called out his thanks.

When he reached his hotel room, Joel was already sitting on his bed waiting. With a smile bigger than the cat that ate the canary, Joel couldn’t stifle a laugh as James ran straight past him and dived head first into the shower. Joel continued to chuckle as James broke yet another world record for the fastest man ever to shower and dress. When he emerged barely moments later he had only four hours before his races started, yet for some reason this didn’t seem important anymore. Nothing was as important as finding Anna. Within minutes he had jumped in a taxi and raced across town towards Anna.

James sprang from the car and took the stairs two at a time. He met his mother on the landing about halfway up. James nearly knocked her off her feet as he came rushing around the corner.

“James! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Diana asked, attempting to avert her son’s attention.

“Mum, where is she?” James pleaded.

“James, come sit down and I’ll order you a coffee,” Diana begged.

“Mum!” James shouted. “Which one is Anna’s room? Please,” he begged, dragging his hands through his hair.

“It was room twenty-six.”

“What the hell do you mean it ‘was’? Where is she? What the fuck is going on?” James boomed, his voice a mixture of rage and fear. He was running out of time and now his own mother was playing tricks on him.

“James, sweetheart. Anna left early this morning. She has checked out. Without a word, she’s gone. Your father has been out looking for her all morning but we have no idea even where to start.” Diana watched her son closely. His eyes filled with tears as the realisation set in. James’s heart broke as he sunk to his knees.

It took him a few minutes to pull himself together before he ran back down the stairs and out the door. James didn’t know where to start looking for her, but he knew that she would head for home. And James knew he had to stop her before she got that far. He caught a taxi back to the restaurant where they had dined last night. From there he planned to retrace the exact steps that she had led him down last night. Maybe she had gone there? But what if she wasn’t? Where else could she be? He reached the restaurant and there was no sign of her. James recognised the face of the waitress who had been flirting with him and with a fake smile he turned and walked inside. He begged her for help. She finally gave in and told him that Anna had walked past only half an hour ago. Finally, he had something he could work with. It mightn’t be much but right now he was clinging to straws and that would have to be enough.