Momentarily speechless, Harry quickly assessed the situation in front of him, opened his front door and helped Ruth inside.
'Christ, you look cold.' hadn't quite cut it where Ruth was concerned. Her teeth had stopped chattering but she was now in pain as her various extremities began to thaw and she wondered if she was dripping onto his floor. Harry divested her of her coat, rubbed her frozen hands and feet and was currently in the kitchen making tea while she cuddled up with a hot water bottle and Scarlet on his sofa. It put a whole new slant on breaking the ice as the usually reticent Harry, had without any thought at all been very hands on. She'd never pictured him owning a hot water bottle either but he'd produced one in a flash.
He meanwhile was trying to fathom out why on earth she had come to see him and if it wasn't to deliver more bad news whether he could persuade her to stay for dinner. Having not eaten the previous evening he was starving although it would have to be a takeaway, he had nothing in his fridge.
Now in the sitting room, he passed her a mug of tea and then lent forward to tickle Scarlet behind the ear. For a moment she closed her eyes and wondered if she was about to get the same treatment, but when she opened them again Harry was back in his armchair and drinking his tea.
'Are you feeling warmer?' He asked, which he knew was a stupid question because of course she was. He just didn't want to delve into the realms of uncertainty that would arise if he were to ask her why she was here. She had looked so pale when he had found her whereas now that the colour had started to return to her cheeks and cuddled up next to Scarlet, she looked lovely and more relaxed than she had been for days. He on the other hand was far from relaxed.
'Are you hungry?' he tried, 'I'm afraid I've got nothing in, but we could share a takeaway if you like.'
'Yes Harry,' she said finally, although he had no idea as to which of his questions she was saying yes, he just hoped that it was both, and more importantly the latter.
Getting up from his chair, he beetled back into the kitchen in search of some menus. He normally rang his preferred restaurant and they delivered his usual, but he had no idea as what Ruth ate, so came back with a selection. He just prayed she wouldn't ask him to choose.
In the end, they settled on a Thai and managed to agree as to what they both wanted. It would be delivered in half an hour, which gave him ample time to go up and change and then lay the table in the kitchen. Whether or not he should open a bottle of wine was the next question on his mind, but he had half an hour to spare before he needed to ask that one.
With Harry now out of the way, Ruth was taking in her surroundings which were almost minimalist and so unlike the chaos of her own house. She knew that Harry spent little time at home, so perhaps that was why everything was so tidy. It's functional, she thought to herself as she imagined him sitting here alone either reading or listening to music. It was crazy to have known someone for so long and know nothing about their life away from work. Had she said yes to him, she might well have been living here all the time which had her wondering about the rest of the house and the room that he was now in, probably getting undressed.
Lost in her thoughts, the man in question popped his head round the door and announced that dinner was served.
With their meal in front of them, they were sitting either side of a dining table for the first time since their one and only dinner date all those years ago. Harry had poured her a second glass of wine and she was certainly feeling warmer if not totally relaxed. Harry had been gentle, sweet even without the awkwardness that they usually had when their conversations veered away from anything other than work. Her decision to tell him that in part she had changed her mind had seemed so easy when she had left Thames House, but she was beginning to have doubts and perhaps she had misread the signs. If he had accepted her refusal, perhaps he really did want to move on. He had after all handed in his resignation which would mean that there could be little or possibly no further contact between them.
Dragged from her thoughts by Harry offering to fill her glass again, she nodded aimlessly as she felt for a second time that she was about to cry.
'Let's take this next door,' said Harry indicating at what was left in the second bottle of wine.
The conversation or at least his side of it which had been going round and round in his head ever since he had been standing by the river seemed more appropriate now. The fact that she had turned up at his house in what was appalling weather, was he hoped a positive not negative sign. Besides which, the snow was still falling heavily and there was every chance that she would have to stay the night. Best not think about that right now he thought or he would forget what he needed to say.
The sitting room was warm, cosy and so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The usual traffic that would have passed at that time of night was at a standstill such was the depth of the snow as a few brave souls trudged home with the prospect of a weekend indoors. Had either he or Ruth planned this scenario, then it would quite likely have been the one that they now found themselves in. As it was, Mother Nature had stepped in and for better or worse there was nowhere for either of them to go.
Whether she minded or not and taking a deep breath, Harry rejected his armchair, now occupied by Scarlet and sat down on the sofa next to Ruth.
'Shush,' he said in almost a whisper as he put his finger to her lips. 'Just hear me out and then whatever it is I'll accept your decision.'
Believing that this was make or break as far as he and Ruth were concerned and crippled with guilt about the pain and suffering that he had inflicted on this gentle soul, he took both her hands in his and started to speak.