"He had never before supposed that, could Wickham be prevailed on to marry his daughter, it would be done with so little inconvenience to himself, as by the present arrangement." - Pride and Prejudice, ch. 50
Pepper's going to need to see Liz's business plan. Her profit and loss sheets, her mission statement. For as tricky and underhanded as Liz has been in her pursuit of a slice of the Stark Industries pie, Pepper's glad that the young woman at least has sufficient budgeting and marketing acumen to have survived this long. Harley's clearly a walking testimonial to the strength of Liz's online presence. Pepper's not looking forward to working with her, but there are some aspects of Liz's company that will fall under her jurisdiction after Stark Industries gains ownership and assessing LATE (Liz Allan Technology Evolution), then adapting it to SI's standard operational procedures, will be so much simpler than establishing an entirely new business from the ground up.
Still, she would not say she's pleased. There are the lawyers to contact, the suspicions of illegal weapons distribution to deal with privately, out of court. If Pepper does her job well, Liz will come to them with a reputation as spotless and transparent as a pane of glass. And Pepper always does her job well. Until she receives the necessary company data and records from Liz, she can concentrate on press releases that handle both the announcement of the joint venture and the slant the media should take in regards to the circumstances under which Harley disappeared in the first place. She'll manage things to the best of her abilities, recognizing that the second they're handed over to Harley, her meticulously forecasted outcomes will turn unpredictable. (She'll have to keep an unobtrusive eye on her son.) It's what Stark men do―acknowledge her efforts and then wing it while Pepper smiles tensely in the background. The fact that Harley is following more closely in her husband's footsteps than either of them likely realizes is actually somewhat reassuring. Tony could always pull the rabbit from the hat when he had to, even if the rabbit was a rather startling speech and the hat was his ass.
In her work of this afternoon, Pepper doesn't contact her son. Not a text or a call. She's grateful that he's alright, of course, but she's furious that he would put her through that kind of worry when he's already vanished on her once. Harley was Snapped out of existence for five years. This disappearance didn't quite reach five days, but all of her old fear compressed itself into that short span. If she doesn't allow it to escape as frustration, she thinks she'd probably be useless with sorrow, and her family needs her. Even the shitheads. When she's not scheduling a press conference or setting up interviews that Harley will have to do within the next month, Pepper pushes herself through mile after mile on the stationary bike, trying to sweat out some of this anger.
All Tony's exercise happens in his fingers, tapping through real estate websites, dialing prospective agents, swiping through photos of staged commercial spaces and executive lofts with room for large home offices. Property hunting has been his passion for years, but he's never had a project as near to his heart as finding exactly the right spot to set his son up in business. He's so proud he could cry. And he probably will, when Harley gets home and Tony puts on his exoskeleton so he can look his son in the eye while he claps him on the shoulder and says, 'Well done. You messed up, but you brought it home. You're a chip off the old block.'
He wheels into the gym where Pepper's doing her cool down, cycling slowly then climbing off the bike to perform floor stretches. He's a little distracted by her long, toned legs in those incredibly form-fitting yoga pants. Clearing his throat, Tony remembers his purpose there, that he didn't stop by to seduce his wife. He clicks through the webpages using the tablet in his lap, glancing up to watch Pepper's gaze lift to where the same information is displayed on a holograph that takes up half the wall. Pleased, he begins presenting his top dozen real estate choices (not including the compound), scattered between here and Boston. Worryingly, his wife just says, "Uh huh," and rises to swipe a towel across the back of her neck, then temptingly low into the front of her shirt.
"If you want to take a look, by all means," Tony invites as she slings the towel over her shoulder and takes a long drink of water. "More choices won't hurt."
"And who's paying for this, Tony?" Pepper questions, dabbing at her mouth with the back of her hand.
"What do you mean? We are. That's our kid, Pep. We gotta help him find his feet."
"I don't think Harley really needs our help finding anything. He found his way to his first company acquisition. He found his way to Providence."
"Pep, come on. Be serious. Harley's part of this family, and this company. We're not going to just drop the kid on his ass."
"Part of this company? Tony, don't make me laugh." But she does laugh, high and airy and not at all content. "You know what a precarious spot he put us in these past few days. Harley has a lot to learn and he's never had the patience to learn it from me."
"But he will now," Tony protests, rolling up to his wife. "This is Harley's time, I can feel it. I say we help him make the most of this situation, sudden as it is."
"And I say we let our son have his first taste of real independence."
"If we leave him to flounder, that's when this becomes a farce," he warns. "We've made the announcements, arranged the interviews―alright, you have. This venture has Harley's name stamped on it, but it's got ours too. How's he going to feel when we leave him alone in this? How's that going to look?"
"You know, I hope Harley's asking himself those same questions. Too bad he didn't ask them sooner."
Now that Harley's screw-up is about to be resolved, Peter's reflecting on his final night in Vermont with mortification. Michelle approached him in the hotel parking lot and he told her everything. It wasn't the act of confiding in her that he regrets, but the content of what he confided. The publicity's under control, so if he hadn't said anything, there'd be no chance of her hearing the truth: that Peter's brother is a sucker and that, where Liz failed with Michelle, she succeeded with the Starks. Through his distress when he spilled everything, he could tell that the unpleasant update on her former friend upset her. Maybe she would've read somewhere that Stark Industries was acquiring Liz's tech company, but it would've been neat, unsensationalized, not manically reported to her personally by Peter. And there's that desperate text he sent her the other day. He brought up this awful part of Michelle's past the very last time he ever fucking saw her and then, on the sole occasion he's contacted her since, he mentioned that same person again. God! Idiot!
What he doesn't fear is that Michelle will say anything to anybody. Peter's probably hurt her plenty now, but he knows she's too cautious and discrete to spread the rumour of Harley's bone-headed getaway, even as a means of revenge against Peter for failing her again. He trusts her. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck to know that he gave the person who already thinks his family are a bunch of reckless morons who solve problems by throwing money at them more reason to believe that. Peter thinks the phrase 'Daddy's money' every so often and feels nauseous.
With Liz being brought into the Stark Industries fold, it goes from difficult to impossible to imagine Michelle wanting to associate herself with his family. Any connection to him is a connection to Liz. The universe is really mean sometimes, Peter thinks. Michelle already thinks the Starks misspend their money; he has to wonder what she thinks knowing that they're (Harley, at least) now spending it on the person who funneled money from her parents' bank accounts. That looks like a bad investment a mile away. Peter really needs to stop wondering what she thinks.
It's all just gone totally fucking wrong, hasn't it? He seriously thought, during those few precious days at her cottage, that Michelle still cared about him. It's hard to take comfort in that assumption now because Peter's embarrassment, remorse, and the hollow, never-to-be-fulfilled desire to make it all up to her somehow are in the way. He can't access that comfort anymore. Ridiculous as it is, Peter wishes she'd text him. Doesn't have to be about Harley. Doesn't really have to be about anything in particular. He wants the sensory experience of holding his phone in his hand, reading a text from her, and knowing that she thought of him. Even just once more.
He'd love another shot to say yes to her. Ideally, for Michelle to ask him out again. He turned her down two months ago―on fucking Valentine's Day. It was so easy. He's such a massive idiot. Well, here's her vindication for however he broke her heart or just embarrassed her with the forcefulness and self-assurance of his refusal. It's tough, recognizing that they might've sorta been perfect for each other. She's definitely perfect for him. Peter feels like he's learned a fair amount about himself in these past two months and one of the things is the kind of person who'd be good for him and who he could be good for in return, as he continues to get himself into fit mental shape. Michelle's unhurried observations, her thoughtfulness, her patience, her cultured, academic intellect... Yeah, his qualities don't line up with any of that very well, but that's why they'd work together, he thinks. His openness could've balanced her tendency towards quick judgement; her steadiness and artistic eye could've helped him be less impulsive, more focused. The better this fantasy of the two of them together gets in Peter's head, the more disappointing it is to face the reality of life without her. Instead of him and Michelle falling in love (or just going on a date), he gets to watch the business merger of Harley and Liz.
Happy calls Pepper again in the late afternoon.
The subject of the call is a matter they worried about when they first realized they would be coming to Liz Allan with a contract: her illegal weapons sideline. There didn't seem to be any way to bring up such a sticky topic without confrontation. Would Liz deny it? Would she use it as a bargaining tool, requesting more from the Starks in exchange for giving up such a lucrative segment of her business? Would she only sign the contract if they offered her a second, secret deal that allowed the continued creation and distribution of weaponry? Pepper and her brother agreed it could be a problem. Now, Happy tells her that Liz is prepared to walk away from any illegal operations. Just like that. It's a huge relief and suggests, to Pepper, that Liz appreciates the seriousness and opportunity of the deal they're making. Passion for the work is something Pepper can understand; passion for the thrill of doing business illegally... she's not sure what they could've done about that.
Happy informs her that Liz is still in touch with many of her contacts for her legal inventions, meaning she comes to them with a network stretching from Boston to Portland. Stark Industries' international reach and acclaim dwarf most other companies on the planet, but connections that span the country from the Pacific to the Atlantic are an impressive feat for a small business like Liz's nonetheless. Pepper appreciates this news for the patron base as well as for the likelihood that so many honest business contacts will encourage Liz to keep on the straight and narrow. She won't want to lose them on top of the criminal side of her trade that the lawyers are already at work to distance her from.
Because of her recent arrival in Boston, Happy tells Pepper that Liz intends to remain there and, with the stability of being attached to Stark Industries, consents to maintaining that city as her headquarters instead of uprooting herself and her business every few months. That's good. Close, but not too close. While Liz is in the process of shifting to being funded through entirely legal channels, she also plans to make herself available to the local colleges as a visiting presenter. There's enough buzz around her name and her work to translate into a short lecture series, providing her with some income and a chance to establish herself in Boston's tech community. Again, this is reassuring, that Harley's new associate is putting down roots. As harshly as Pepper spoke about her son to Tony earlier, she doesn't want to see him settle too far away. If Liz had decided to return to Oregon, for example, that would've been crushing. It catches Pepper by surprise when Happy says, right at the end of the call, that Harley can't wait to see her. She hangs up and tears up. That frustrating, reckless young man is also her firstborn, her little boy.
The rest of her family are just as relieved when she updates them about Liz relinquishing her illegal transactions and weapon construction. As she fills them in on the rest of Happy's phone call, only Tony looks disappointed―probably about Harley moving to Boston to oversee the only company in the new branch of Stark Industries. She sees her husband toying with his tablet and assumes he's eliminating all of the local real estate listings from his top picks for their son.
With their mom softened by the good news and Tony's moping, it's easy for Peter and Vision to persuade Pepper to offer Harley the financial support their dad lobbied for. They basically use his same argument without getting defensive or argumentative. Stressing that Liz's company needs to be welcomed and the merger given the same support as any other partnership Stark Industries has forged over the years, they get Pepper to agree to set aside a designated budget for office space, overhead, and other start-up costs. They emphasize that this step will help Harley become more independent. What would be the point in having him fail now? He must know he fucked up.
Peter doesn't feel uneasy until his mom's agreement extends to an offer of congratulating Harley and Liz with dinner tomorrow night. Here, at the compound. He knew he'd be seeing his brother again soon, probably tomorrow if they get the contract stuff wrapped up today, but he didn't figure on spending time with Liz. Shit.
They're coming. To Peter, it honestly doesn't feel dissimilar to a horror movie.
Happy drove back to the compound with the signed copies of the contract last night, depositing them with Pepper before sequestering himself with his wife and dog. This definitely hasn't been the holiday they planned on when they set out from Queens. Harley and Liz were apparently spending another night in Providence before Liz drove them back to Boston, dropped off her car, and became a passenger in Harley's for the ride Upstate. They're travelling unsupervised, but this time, the contract is the family's guarantee that Harley will be honouring the time they set for dinner, and that Liz won't be coaxing him into fleeing to some other location.
Prior to their arrival, Vision is particularly stressed. He can't desist in putting himself in Harley's place and imagining what might have happened if he'd run off with Wanda after the open house as a way to expedite Tony's plan of buying into her restaurant. Naturally, Vision would never have done such a thing, but it still chills him that Harley was capable of it. The thought never even occurred to him, no matter the inducements of being with Wanda and coming to an agreement that would both support her restaurant and diversify Stark Industries' holdings. To take that action without his family's knowledge or approval would be wrong. What Harley did threatened the integrity of their company during a time of transition and the reputation of every member of their family. Had they not found Harley as quickly as they did, there could've been shockwaves for their stockholders. Vision concludes that Harley's thoughtless actions are unjustifiable. Even for a woman like Wanda, Vision would never put the future of every other person who's dear to him in jeopardy.
Peter glances at him every so often and Vision, as distracted by inner turmoil as he is, decides to focus on setting his brother at ease. He phases to appear human. There. Now he looks prepared to face Harley and Liz's arrival.
Tony's beaming from the first glimpse of the car Harley borrowed on one of the compound's security monitors; Pepper's calm but unsmiling; Peter and Vision are anxious, though only one of them looks it; Morgan can hardly stand still while she waits to be reunited with her favourite brother; Nebula's quiet, alert, ready, should the request be spoken to take retribution against Harley and/or Liz for the trouble they caused her adoptive family's company. The Starks are good people and she considers Harley a disgrace for disrespecting them in this way. The boy is fortunate to have only known gentle parenting and should not take it for granted. (Nebula would never harm Harley, simply intimidate him into better behaviour. She'll wait for now, not wanting to upset Morgan.)
Peter half-expects his brother's voice to boom out in triumph, but after crossing the threshold, Harley ducks his head into the room where they're waiting for him and says, "Miss me?" in his regular tone. Tony, supported by his exoskeleton, strides to his son and Peter watches unhappily (not jealously, just disappointedly) as he welcomes Harley back with a, "Well done." Well done? Well fucking done? What the hell is their dad talking about? Harley fucked up bad. Probably brought the car back with an empty tank on top of everything else. He's just not… considerate, Peter thinks, standing there tensely as Liz follows Harley into the room. He rolls his eyes when Tony shakes her hand. Jeeze.
Watching his mom greet the two of them is more satisfying. Normally, Pepper's big on putting people at ease, being an attentive host to balance Tony's typically moody hosting style, if he doesn't shirk his hosting responsibilities entirely. Right now, she barely says hello to them. As Liz glances around, Peter sees his mom's face mirror his own irritation; Liz has been here before, so what the hell is she looking at? Getting ideas for how she might like to furnish the new place she can afford with the money she convinced Harley to fork over? It's hard for Peter to look right at her and really confront that this is the woman who played with his feelings over the winter, who stole from Michelle and was ok with having Monica put her career at risk to get Liz access to military tech. His eyes are unclouded now and the site of her glancing calmly around their home makes him so uncomfortable that he wants to run away. Meanwhile, the fact that Harley seems exactly the same as he's ever been makes Peter feel so mixed up inside. How can these two self-centered assholes act like this is a normal visit? Everyone was so stressed while Harley was missing! Pepper's in the middle of heading off any legal problems Liz would've faced over her weapons distribution! How can they possibly not realize the mess they made?
Happy and May are smart to hide out from this, sticking to the room they always stay in when they're at the compound. The rest of them have to endure Harley's individual greetings. After their parents, he goes to Morgan, who tells him off so aggressively that Peter's eyebrows zoom up towards his hairline. But then their sister throws her arms around her brother and the next thing Peter knows, she's being piggybacked over to an irate-looking Nebula (that's another person on his side, Peter thinks with annoyed satisfaction). What a little traitor Morgan is. She stares straight at Peter while Harley tries to coax a friendly reception out of Nebula that is clearly not going to happen. When Harley gets to him, he smacks Peter's upper arm and says, "Hey, Pete, long time no see." He chuckles while Peter sighs.
His new business associate is Liz as Peter's ever known her. She's sweet, confident while remaining soft-spoken, and apparently not at all embarrassed to be here at the compound. If the circumstances were different, he's sure that his family would like Liz very much, would greet her and behave towards her the way they used to when she came over to hang out with him and have dinner back in January. Her smile is still inviting and her intelligent opinions are still well-articulated. I know what you did to Michelle, to her parents' legacy, Peter wants to say. But now he's going to have to let his irritation go, hush the inner voice that complains that this is not right, like he thought he did when she left Albany. It's really over this time. There's nothing to be done but watch her enter his home as a member of Stark Industries and lean lightly into his brother's side when Harley puts a hand on her back. They're pretty cute together, unfortunately, and not at all ashamed.
Dinner's catered in and Peter knows it's his aunt's doing; both of his parents have been distracted in different ways, so May quickly and inconspicuously stepped in to arrange this. So Liz is back at their table. Somehow, it works out that she's sitting right next to Peter and she keeps trying to make casual conversation, her gentle voice very much in contrast to Harley and Tony's excited chatter at the end of the table. Peter does his best with Liz, but when she starts talking about her memories of being here, he squeezes his fork until he puts a little bend in it. Does she seriously consider that a kosher topic of discussion? She used to come here because he invited her! She'd look at the workshops with amazement and he'd look at her, curious about the feeling of her mouth against his. Peter can't walk through those memories as easily as they walked through the compound together. Not with the knowledge that Liz was manipulating his affections then, not with the stark truth of her being with his brother now. Everything is gross and weird and Peter only eats as much as he does because he's genuinely starving after spending three hours sweating through his trepidations in the gym this afternoon.
"So," Harley says as they're all making an attempt at dessert, "the Prodigal Son returns and brings Stark Industries' salvation with him!"
Peter coughs and Vision pats him gently on the back. He nods to his brother in appreciation, not willing to turn his head in the other direction to see what Liz thinks of this statement; it names her the salvation of their family's company and Harley the Prodigal Son. Peter's not sure which one of those labels is more wrong. Ok, maybe they are glad to have his brother home and maybe acquiring LATE will assist in fleshing out SI's holdings, but it's not like that's the whole story! They wouldn't have to be so grateful for Harley's safe return if he hadn't fucked off without so much as a text in the first place, and it's not like Liz's business is unambiguously a gift. Peter's mom has already put a ton of effort in to ensure Liz's work is entirely legitimate going forward. He got a peek at some of the documents when he was in her office that morning, trying to help out, and saw careful stipulations about what Liz will and will not be expected to design, what is and is not defined as a weapon as opposed to a tool, how and how not to obtain the parts she may need, specifying trusted channels and eschewing black market alien tech. LATE is a Trojan horse and even after the lawyers turn it inside out to make sure there aren't any further surprises, they're still going to metaphorically power-wash the inside to blast off any trace of treachery.
Pepper's giving Harley a look that's usually just for their dad. It's not a good look. Peter attempts to get his brother's attention by letting his fork clatter against his plate―he'll mouth at him to shut the fuck up or flash him warning eyes or something―but Harley ignores him.
"I'm doing interviews, right?" Harley asks their mom, oblivious to her expression. "Happy said you were setting up interviews for me. Who with? Anyone cool? Popular Science would be fun. What about GQ? Huh, Liz?" He winks at his new... business partner? Lover? Girlfriend?
GQ, Peter repeats inside his head. Fucking delusional. The instant people start to shift in their chairs like they might be moving to the living room soon, he shoves back from the table and heads straight outside. It's dark already. Are Liz and Harley staying here overnight? They must be. He must have driven her to her place in Boston before coming home so she could pack some stuff. Peter breathes hard and deep in the thoroughly chilly air of mid-April. He paces, hands on hips. He's startled to notice that one of the thoughts flying past in his brain is a wish that Michelle were here. No, he doesn't really want that (he does). She deserves to have her life remain Liz-free, living in peace at her cottage all the way up in Vermont. Maybe it's more that he wishes he were there. Yeah, that's it. If only he deserved to be.
When he starts bouncing to stay warm, Peter admits to himself that needs to be mature and go back inside. Sure enough, everyone's settled in the living room, minus Morgan. He assumes she's bored of her brother talking about business and focusing more on Liz than her. Plus, she's gotten used to the dog and probably went to hang out with him until someone tells her it's time for bed.
"I couldn't have done better," Harley's bragging as Peter comes in and flings himself onto a loveseat next to a watchful Nebula. (He reminds himself that it's not him who's pissed her off, so there's no reason to be nervous.) "She was literally my dream person to work with."
Literally his dream. He talks about Liz without talking directly to Liz and Peter wonders if that annoys her. It's possible that she feels the starry look on his face is compensation.
"Seriously," he goes on, "it's all happening in Boston. We should've already had headquarters there. That city is the future, that's where all the great ideas are coming out of. I say we round up the rest of these neophytes―" Harley gestures to his three present siblings―"drive 'em out to Boston, and find everybody their perfect business partner. We should've all gone together in the first place. How come we didn't do that?"
"We should've," Tony agrees, likely knowing he's preventing his wife from giving a far more sensible answer that he doesn't want to hear. He fiddles, gaze darting occasionally to his son. "You staying out there then, kid? You know we've got about a hundred spare rooms here, right? Any one of 'em could be converted into an office."
"Don't worry about me," Harley says. Peter's frustrated that he misses the point―their dad's not worried, he's sad that Harley's leaving home. "I'll find a place out there. Probably near Liz. It'll be awesome. I feel like I've hardly seen any of Boston yet." Yeah, Peter thinks, wonder why that is. "And you guys can come visit."
"Yes," their dad says emphatically. "Family vacation."
"If anybody wants to stay longer to learn the business under my wing, I'd be happy to have them. We can start working on finding them business partners to keep expanding SI."
He looks at Peter with what appears to be expectation.
"I'm good," Peter says flatly.
"You sure?"
"Yep."
Eventually, the evening ends, night comes, and the next morning Harley and Liz sit down for breakfast like they're going to be a permanent fixture, here and together. They shared Harley's room last night, Peter knows. It turns out that they aren't leaving again right away like they thought. His brother spends some time with their dad looking at real estate. He wants to get a new place quick, within the week if they can manage it (with their money, they can), and move out to continue living this glorious, independent life he sees himself as just embarking upon. Harley drops more than one hint about moving in with Liz. Oh, he couches it different ways―it would be temporary until he gets his own place, or they could get a bigger apartment, a house even, and have separate bedrooms (everything on his face says he hates his own plan)―but he's really not as subtle as he probably thinks he is. It's clear that Harley is gone over Liz. His feelings have been developing for at least a year, Peter guesses, from curiosity, when he heard about her tech, to interest, when he started really reading up on her, to affection, when they met in Albany, to... who knows? Love? Possibly love, now that they're actually together and Harley has very, very, very obviously shared some intimate experiences with her while they were hiding out in Providence.
It makes sense to Peter. Harley's had time. Liz, who hasn't spent months obsessing over Harley on social media (though, theoretically, she could've if she wanted to, since he's the son of a prominent figure and therefore in the public eye), has not had time to reach that point. Peter doesn't know if she will. What he assumes, right now, is that she is absolutely not into Harley the way he's into her. Money and opportunity are enough to tie them together at the moment. It feels possible that the two of them could genuinely and non-insanely (Harley) fall for each other given a little time. Like Peter thought before, they really are a lot alike and when they aren't being destructive assholes they might even make a good team, with all that combined ambition, Liz's sweetness, Harley's refusal to hear the word 'no.'
He doesn't have to wonder if Harley wants to talk about his new relationship because, that afternoon, his brother finds him quickly closing a webpage (art studio tours shouldn't mean anything to Harley, but Peter feels caught doing something forbidden) in his room and just starts talking. Of course, he makes himself good and comfortable on Peter's bed first, punching and rearranging his pillows as Peter stares at him, unimpressed, from his desk.
"What do you want to hear about first?" Harley asks, as if Peter fucking dragged him here, desperate for details. "Me and Liz or me, Liz, and the contract?"
"How 'bout neither?"
"Not an option, dipshit," his brother informs him with a grin.
So he starts in on all of it. Meeting up with Liz at the bar that night, going over their plan, taking off in her car like Bonnie and Clyde. Thankfully, he omits gory play-by-plays of their first kiss and whatever went down between them when they pulled off at a rest stop and Liz climbed across the gear shift into Harley's lap. Peter can guess. Harley vents his annoyance over the length and complexity of the contract, then skips back to Happy's arrival, their mom's weary anger and scorching disappointment. Peter's feeling some of those things himself and getting so caught up in his own emotions over this story that he almost misses it when Harley mentions an extremely unexpected detail. Peter can't have heard him correctly.
"Wait," he instructs his brother. "Wait, wait, shut up, go back. Who showed up with Happy?"
"Shit, Peter, pay attention. You think I like repeating this story over and over?"
Yeah, he does think that. He thinks Harley's been recounting it to all of them, one at a time, as the single greatest (most moronic) adventure of his life. He thinks Harley's living for the attention, even if it takes on the colour of notoriety under certain light. But that doesn't matter right now.
"Just..." Peter pleads, "...what was the name?"
Harley gives him an odd look.
"Michelle Jones. You know, she used to live up the road at the Park. Man, you've got a short memory. Did you forget about her already?"
Author's Note:
Peter will hear more about Michelle's role in the Harley situation in the next chapter, then he has an awful lot of speculating to do on what her being involved might mean!
To be continued...