Chapter Twenty-Three

For a Thursday, this was a very exciting day. Ruth had kept her excitement to herself all day at work. She had put her head down and done her work and focused as much as she could on her translations and research reports. At work, she wanted to make the day as ordinary as possible. Because that would make the evening all the more exciting.

She left right on time, flashing a smile to Harry through his office window. He gave her a knowing nod in return, his eyes sparkling happily. And with that, she had Tom rush her back to her house so she could get ready.

Tonight thankfully did not require the team of people to do her hair and makeup for a state dinner or royal event. But when Ruth had to do things herself, it did take a bit more effort. But she would just be going to Harry's house and spending the evening with the children and Malcolm, so it wasn't as though she needed a ballgown. No, tonight she would wear a simple navy blue dress, showing off just a bit of leg for Harry, and she would pull her hair back away from her face and she would do some very simple makeup just to mark the special occasion. And after all that, she gathered everything else she would need in a holdall and hurried back down the stairs.

"Harry doesn't know I'm spending the night yet," Ruth told Tom. She'd warned her bodyguard of her plan a week ago so that he would be able to make the necessary preparations. "Let me go in and talk to him and then I'm sure he'll have Malcolm arrange things with you."

"Yes, Miss Ruth," Tom replied stoically. Oh he was seething mad, Ruth knew, but there wasn't much he could do about it. She was free to make her own choices and it was his job to ensure her safety without hindering her life. And she did usually make it very easy for him. It wasn't as though she was going out to parties or traveling all around or staying out till the wee hours of morning. Ruth lived a very regular and boring sort of life outside of royal duties and Harry. And tonight was for Harry, and Tom would just have to figure it out.

When the car parked in front of the house, Ruth hurried up the drive, eager to begin the festivities. Before she reached the front door, it opened and Graham bounded out to give her a hug.

"Hi, Ruth!" he greeted excitedly.

She hugged him back happily. "Hello, Graham. How are things going?"

"Good," he told her, pulling back and leading her back into the house. "Catherine and I are helping Malcolm with the cooking. She's chopping veg now."

"And where's your dad?"

Graham smiled. "Waiting for you."

Ruth's heart fluttered a bit at that. Oh Harry did love her, and his children certainly knew it and sometimes she could not quite believe it herself.

As they went inside, Harry himself was indeed waiting in the foyer. "Your sister is whining about you abandoning her," he told his son. Graham ran off back to the kitchen. Harry then turned his attention to Ruth, smiling gently. "Hello," he said simply, leaning in to give her a soft kiss.

She smiled and hummed against his lips. "Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thank you. I'm glad you're here to celebrate with us." He noticed the holdall in her hand. "What's that for?"

"One of your presents," she explained. "I've got one for you to open with everyone and then I thought, if you'd like, I could spend the night." Her cheeks went warm as she blushed. Though after the things she and Harry had done already, there was no reason for a blush. Still, there it was anyway.

But Harry reacted just as she'd hoped he would. His whole face lit up. "Does that mean I can unwrap you later tonight?"

She laughed, "Yes, if you like. It's your birthday, after all. Quite a big one, in fact."

He shook his head. "I'd rather not focus on the fact that I am now forty years old and far too old to be sniffing around your skirts."

That phrasing made her scoff. "Sniffing around my skirts?"

"You know what I mean. You're young and lovely, and now I'm officially middle-aged."

"Oh hush," she said, putting a comforting hand on his chest. "I love you just as you are, and we are going to have fun on your birthday, no matter what your age is. Besides, I quite like it when you're up my skirt."

That earned a barking laugh from Harry as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her upstairs to put her things away. She told him that someone would need to talk to Tom, and, as she'd predicted, Harry said that Malcolm could take care of it.

While dinner was in the oven and after Tom had been dealt with to his satisfaction, Ruth gathered in the sitting room with Harry and Graham and Catherine and Malcolm. It was wonderful to be welcomed into this little family. Ruth had never experienced anything like this before. When she was a little girl, when her mother was alive, the three of them would have quiet evenings at home like this. And after they'd lost Mum, it had just been Ruth and Dad. The times she'd spent with her grandparents had been lovely, but again, the quiet times were just the three of them. It was so rare that she got to spend any time at all with her whole family outside of an official event. The idea of sitting on the sofa and opening birthday presents and having dinner all together was so very far from her own experiences. And Ruth loved it. She loved getting to be part of this with Harry and his children and his best friend. She felt that she fit here, somehow. Like she belonged. And that was certainly saying a lot. Ruth never really felt like she belonged anywhere. Being royal kept her apart from much of the real world, but she never felt at home in the royal world either.

Harry must have noticed that she was looking a bit pensive. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Alright?"

Ruth gave his hand a squeeze. "Perfect," she told him.

He smiled at that and kissed her cheek. Ruth saw that Catherine was watching, and that made her blush again. But thankfully Catherine seemed approving of her father's little gesture.

Harry opened all his presents and thanked everyone. Graham and Catherine had pooled their resources to get him a beautiful silk tie with blue and purple stripes. Malcolm gave Harry a bottle of his favorite scotch. Apparently that was a tradition between them, getting each other their favorite bottle for birthdays and Christmas and then drinking them together throughout the year. Ruth's gift to Harry was a first edition book on early military history, though she got the impression that he'd enjoy the gift of her spending the night much more. Really, they both would. Particularly because Harry's master suite was all the way across the house from the children's rooms.

Dinner was a lovely affair. The five of them all sat around the table, not unlike the first dinner Ruth had spent with them, and they all talked and laughed happily together. She delighted in getting to know the children better. Graham told them all about a project he was doing for school that he was quite interested in. Ruth had been struck at first by the boy's enthusiasm, but the more time she got to spend with him, the more she saw that he was absolutely brilliant. He had that enthusiasm for everything, it seemed, but particularly for learning. Harry had said Graham got top marks in everything from literature and history to maths and science. Catherine, meanwhile, was plenty clever as well, but was much more drawn to creative pursuits. Apparently her interest in film was starting to extend to wanting to make films herself. And even though it was Harry's birthday, she was still trying to ask him to get her a camera. They were terribly expensive and complicated, but it was not an entirely unreasonable request. Ruth made a mental note to talk to Harry about it later, to see if it would be too inappropriate for Ruth to get Catherine a camera.

"Graham, Catherine, time to clean up," Malcolm announced.

"Can we say bye to Ruth first?" Graham asked, hesitating before getting up to clear the dishes from dinner.

"Ruth's not leaving," Harry informed him. To Ruth's mind, he was far too smug about it.

"She's not?" Catherine asked curiously.

"No, she's staying the night," Harry explained.

Graham was very pleased at that, it seemed. Catherine gave a little smile. "The pipes rattle sometimes. They might wake you up," she said.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Ruth replied.

And that's all there was to it. Graham and Catherine both seemed to have no problem whatsoever with Ruth staying the night with their father. Ruth wondered if perhaps Harry had discussed the idea of proposing with them. This might be something of a trial run for that. So far it seemed to be going well. And Ruth was once more welcomed further into the family.