Well here is the answer as to whether or not Harry pushed Dempsey away!
I hope that you enjoy, and as always any comments are very much appreciated.
Part 7.
Dempsey woke to the cheerful, yet soft sound of bird song, and the even softer sensation and slightly perfumed scent of bedsheets. Harry's bedsheets to be exact, and more importantly Harry's bed, where they had made love into the early hours of the morning.
Dempsey couldn't help the huge grin which spread across his entire face at the recollection of last night, and the knowledge that his wildest dreams and fantasies finally had come true.
James and Harry!
Who would have thought it?
Certainly not him, in fact he had been sorely tempted to place a wager on the SI10 book against it, only he wasn't allowed to bet on himself, and his apparent inability to thaw the iceberg that was Harriet Makepeace.
And boy had the Ice Queen thawed! Harry had been everything he had hoped for and more.
Robert Makepeace was clearly a man who didn't know what the hell he was talking about, and he certainly hadn't got a clue as to how to press Harry's buttons, of which James had discovered there were many.
Keen for a repeat performance of those early mornings events Dempsey rolled over to his right, expecting to come into contact with Harry's warm sleeping body, only to find much to his disappointment that the bed was empty. Thinking that Harry had perhaps gotten up to use the bathroom, he allowed his hand to drift over to the space that she had vacated, only to find that cotton sheets were cold to his touch, the realisation causing the smile on Dempsey's face to quickly disappear.
He couldn't help but immediately fear that Harry had experienced second thoughts, and was now regretting what had developed between them last night and early that morning, until a spark of hope entered his mind and Dempsey reasoned that maybe his partner was downstairs preparing breakfast, or possibly taking one of her extraordinarily long baths. But then Harry tended to favour a shower in the mornings didn't she?
"Harry?" Dempsey called out, as he swung his legs out of bed and pulled on his jockey shorts.
"Princess, it's getting kinda lonely up here without ya?" Dempsey called out once more as he walked across the upstairs landing, and checked the bathroom, only to find it empty. Although judging by the water droplets on the glass walls of the shower cubicle and slightly damp towel which hung neatly on the rail, the room had been recently used.
When there was still no response, Dempsey descended the staircase and quickly checked the living room, before moving on to the kitchen, both which were empty.
"Damn!" Dempsey cursed as he ran both hands through his unkempt hair and concluded that this wasn't looking good.
He should have never taken things that far last night, Dempsey's inner dialogue reprimanded him.
Harry wasn't the type of woman who went to bed with someone on a first date, and he knew that 'Damn he knew that!'
He had completely ignored the warning bells which had started to ring in the back of his mind, telling him to back off when things had begun to progress after their initial kisses. But instead his need for that total connection and contact with Harry had over-ruled any common sense, as had his partner's reactions when his first tentative touches were rewarded by the arching of her body beneath and against his own, not to mention the soft moans of appreciation and desire from the back of her throat.
Harry had been vulnerable and upset, not to mention more than a little tipsy, it had been wrong to take of advantage of the situation, and now he was going to pay for it!
Makepeace was going to freeze him out….Correction she was already freezing him out!
Clearly the reality of their actions earlier that morning had upset Harry to such an extent that she felt the need to flee her own home just to avoid him. Anything would be better than this…a slap even…..but to just get up and leave?
Where the hell had she gone?
It was probably for the best if he just got up and left, Dempsey decided. That was after all what Makepeace was probably hoping for wasn't it? That he would be gone by the time that she returned from wherever she had run off to at the crack of dawn?
Dempsey wondered back into the hallway, raking the fingers of his right hand through his hair in despair, wondering how he would ever put this right, when his eyes came to rest on the small occasional table would stood near the foot of the stairs, and more importantly Harry's car keys.
She couldn't have gone far without those could she? Dempsey reasoned, before deducing that she had perhaps used her spare set. The thought that maybe Harry hadn't even taken her car made him cross over to the sash window next to the front door and peer out over the driveway, where he spotted the car parked in exactly the same position as the previous evening when they had returned home by taxi.
Frowning in confusion Dempsey turned away from the window, and headed back through the ground floor of Harry's home, and in to the room which would normally function as a dining room, but which instead housed his partner's huge collection of books, a piano and a large mahogany table and chairs that which were rarely used.
Reaching into a draw which Dempsey knew contained a set of keys, he inserted the correct key into the flimsy lock of the French windows, shaking in head with disbelief that Harry still hadn't heeded his warning and done something about her security, or rather lack of it.
It was a long shot he knew, especially as the doors were locked, but the only place left that Dempsey could think to look was the small back garden where they had occasionally sat out drinking wine on some of the infrequent warm and sunny London evenings.
The chill of the morning air instantly hit him, as barefoot he stepped out onto the small paved patio area, before crossing over to the grass, and wishing that he had put on something more than his underwear.
Why he was even out here completing a small circuit of the gardens perimeter, Dempsey didn't even question. He just knew that he wanted to find Harry, although where exactly he didn't know. Did he honestly expect to discover his partner hiding behind a bush, or perhaps in the small shed at the bottom of the garden? Nevertheless he checked, only to come up blank, before despondently wondering back into the house, taking a shower and then getting dressed.
Dempsey was just making his way down the stairs, still undecided if he should wait it out until Harry returned, or return home, and give his partner some space when the shrill sound of the doorbell rang, and then instantly rang out again after barely a moment's hesitation.
"Alright hold your horses, I'm a comin'." Dempsey called out whilst speculating if it was perhaps Harry and she had forgotten her key.
"Ah James…this is a surprise, is Harry in?" Lord Winfield enquired with a smile, suddenly feeling less anxious now that he knew that his daughter was not alone.
"I'm afraid not Sir…..You wanna come in?" James asked, immediately noticing the old man's slightly agitated manner.
"Why has something happened?...Is Harriet alright…only Lady Wytham telephoned first thing this morning to inform me of that rather unfortunate incident in the restaurant yesterday evening with that dreadful fellow Makepeace. Naturally I thought that I had better drive straight up to make sure that Harriet is alright." Freddy conveyed with obvious concern as he entered the house and Dempsey closed the front door behind him.
"She is alright isn't she?" Lord Winfield pressed for an answer.
"Yeah…well as I far as I can tell." Denpsey replied, as he wasn't sure what else he could say without causing the old man to worry.
"What do you mean as far as you can tell? Either Harriet is or she isn't. Which is it James?" Freddy demanded, as he was astute enough to realise that something wasn't quite right.
"Well I guess that ya could say that Harry was pretty upset when we got back last night, but then after a while she seemed to cheer up, and then we went to bed…..separately…I slept on the sofa…and…"
"Did you indeed?" Freddy remarked as he took in Dempsey's slightly unsettled state, and glanced over to the sofa, which showed no signs of having been slept on.
"Well anyways when I woke up this mornin' Harry was gone." Dempsey sheepishly admitted, as judging by the look on the old man's face he didn't believe that his daughter's partner had slept on the sofa, yet Dempsey had no intention of admitting the truth.
"Gone?...Gone where?" Freddy asked in concern.
"I…..well I'm afraid I have no idea Sir, I jus' know that the house was empty when I woke up." Dempsey guiltily confessed as both men walked through into the living room, and Lord Winfield took a seat in one of the armchairs.
"And when was that exactly, just now?" Freddy enquired, as he began to wonder if the American was in the habit of being so economical with the truth.
"Yeah….well about half an hour before you turned up." Denpsey confirmed, growing more nervous with each passing second, as judging by the serious expression on Lord Winfield's face and his direct line of questioning he seemed to suspect that something was amiss.
"Mmmm….well it is rather late….I expect that Harriet is out running, she probably wanted to clear her head after last night's debacle and undoubtedly didn't wish to disturb you." Freddy concluded with a large sigh as the frown of worry which was etched across his brow remained.
"It ain't that late." Dempsey remarked as he glanced at his watch and was surprised to discover that it was already after ten.
"Maybe not for you James, however we Winfield's have always been early risers, so I daresay Harry will be home soon. I'll wait if you don't mind? Harriet and I need to have a serious chat about what to do about that lying good for nothing scoundrel….although…."
"You mean Robert her ex?" James clarified, wondering what exactly Lord Winfield planned to do.
"Yes….although technically speaking Robert Makepeace is not Harriet's ex-husband, even though I wished to heaven that he was…I only wish I had had the forethought to ensure that the restraining order against him had not expired…I should have known that a despicable creature like that wouldn't stay away for long!"
"Restraining order?" Dempsey questioned in surprise, momentarily pausing in his pacing of the living room floor, as it was certainly news to him.
"Yes it was necessary after Harriet finally came to her senses and left the louse….the delusional fellow got it into his nonsensical head that with continuous harassment Harriet would forgive him, and when Harry didn't I'm afraid to say that things began to turn a rather unpleasant…..Do you believe that Robert may have known that you were going to be in attendance at that particular restaurant yesterday evening?" Lord Winfield asked, as he feared that now the restraining order was no longer in place, there would be nothing to stop Robert hounding his daughter.
"No…not even Harry knew that we were eating at Le Gauroche." Dempsey confirmed, praying that last night had just been an unfortunate coincidence and nothing more sinister.
"I see." Lord Winfield replied as his mind whirred with a list of possibilities.
"So when you say that things got nasty…..what type o' stuff are we talkin' about here?" Dempsey asked.
"Anonymous telephone calls, slashed tires, turning up unannounced at all hours of the day and night, abusive language…I'm sure you know the kind of thing. Harriet god bless her soul, seemed to take most of it in her stride, until she received a dismembered rat through the letter box…Of course she would never admit it, but I knew that she was beginning to become somewhat over wrought by the whole situation, so I arranged for a restraining order to be put in place, after which to my understanding the coward hasn't been anywhere near Harriet since…until of course yesterday evening, which I can only hope was a one off occurrence….especially as it has taken Harry so long to recover and regain most of her self-confidence….I'm afraid that man has an awful lot to answer for as far as my daughter is concerned." Lord Winfield confided, as he thought back to the dark weeks and months following on from the breakdown of Harry's marriage, and the shell of a daughter that had been left behind.
"Well don't ya worry Sir, cos I ain't gonna let that bastard anywhere near Harry again." Dempsey vowed with a thunderous expression.
"That's good to hear James, I knew that I could rely on you!" The old man announced as he stood up from the armchair and clapped the American on the back in a gesture of camaraderie.
"Now how about you fix us both a drink? A nice glass of whisky I think. I'm sure that Harriet must have some knocking about the place somewhere, and I daresay that you know your way around far better than I?" Freddy suggested with a conspiratorial wink and smile.
"Er…..yeah sure…..why not?" James agreed as he walked over to the cabinet where he knew that Harry kept two cut glass decanters of spirits and poured them both a glass.
"Now, now James there's no need to be so frugal, especially as Harry very rarely drinks the stuff herself…..and I certainly have no intention of telling if you don't!" Lord Winfield jovially declared as retrieved the decanter and generously topped up their glasses, just as the front door slammed shut.
"Whoops!" Lord Winfield exclaimed before downing most of his glass in one, as he knew how much his daughter disapproved of what she considered to be unreasonably large measures, especially before lunch.
