"Good morning, James!" Freddy greets him with his usual enthusiasm, grinning as he walks into the dining room. "I trust you slept well, caught up on some sleep after your busy few weeks?"
"Sure did, sir, slept like a log." He sits down in the chair Freddy waves him towards, reaching for the coffee that seems to appear in front of him as if by magic. He can't imagine he'll ever get used to this, the way Harry grew up, staff on hand, food on tap, and it only makes him admire her more for carving out her own path in the world.
"Harriet too, I presume?" Freddy watches as he picks up his coffee and takes a satisfying slug as he thinks about his reply.
"Yeah, I think she needed it. She's going to sleep a bit longer, says she woke up with a headache so she's going to try to sleep it off, maybe take a bath and try to shake it off." He hopes he sounds more casual, much less rehearsed than he feels. "Might be a good chance for us to have a chat, some fresh air, maybe?"
"Jolly good plan, James." Freddy grins and beckons to whichever staff member is hovering in the doorway. "First things first though, breakfast!"
If he thought dinner last night was substantial, he had totally forgotten about the breakfasts at Winfield Hall, and he sits back in his chair wondering how on earth Harry, and her father, both stay so trim living somewhere like this.
"I told Harry I'd take her some tea." He watches as Freddy gestures for someone to bring it, standing up to stretch a little while he waits for it.
"Jolly good, tea will do her the world of good, I'm sure." Freddy pats him on the back as a tray is set down on the table. "How about I meet you back down here in fifteen minutes and we go out for that stroll?"
"Sounds great to me." He smiles, picks up the tray, and heads out towards the stairs.
He edges into the bedroom as quietly as he can in case she's sleeping, so he's pleasantly surprised to see her sitting on the bed, a book in her lap and a biscuit in her hand. She looks brighter, much less pale than earlier, and she smiles as she sees him walk in.
"You ordered tea, miss?" He walks over to her side of the bed and sets the tray down on the table beside her.
"Delivered right to my bed...quite the service." She crooks a finger at him and he leans down to kiss her. "How was breakfast? I'm guessing my father has spent the last half an hour feeding you like you haven't eaten in weeks?"
"Pretty much." He grins and sits down on the bed next to her. "Feeling any better?"
"A little, yes, it's been a whole…" She glances at the time before looking back at him. "Eight minutes since I've had to run to the bathroom."
"I told Freddy you woke up with a headache so you were going to sleep a bit longer, maybe take a bath." He smiles at her as she takes a bit of her biscuit and reaches for her tea. "Take your time, honey, we're going out for a walk, I'll make it stretch."
"Oh, you won't have to, my father can walk for miles." She smiles softly at him, and he's relieved that she seems okay despite the sickness having kicked in again.
"Terrified yet?" He points at the book in her lap, surprised when she laughs in response.
"Somehow not as badly as I feared, although maybe I just haven't reached the really scary parts yet." She pauses to take a sip of tea and he smiles as he watches her, the faint pink in her cheeks that wasn't there earlier, the brightness in her eyes that signifies a good night's sleep. "I had something of an epiphany, I think, while I was sitting on the bathroom floor."
"As good a place as any for it, I guess." He shifts closer to her and stretches his legs out in front of him. "Go ahead, hit me with it. Your epiphany."
"Perhaps epiphany is giving my thoughts a little more credit than they deserve." She looks slightly sheepish, and he doesn't care if it's the smallest epiphany ever, he wants to hear it. "I just suddenly realised that we are probably going to be okay at this, Dempsey. Good, even. We might even be good at it."
"You think so?" He grins at her because he's been saying that since day one, since the minute they found out she was pregnant, and he knew she'd come to this realisation eventually, but that it had to be in her own sweet time.
"Yes, I do." She nods, looking thoroughly satisfied with her epiphany before she turns her attention back to the half-eaten ginger biscuit in her hand and takes another bite.
"You must be at what...ten, maybe eleven minutes since you last needed a bathroom run. I think you've got this one beaten this morning, princess." He smiles again and glances at his watch. "I should go, I don't want Freddy coming after me with a shotgun if I'm not downstairs ready to head out."
"He wouldn't dare. But yes, go." She rests her hand briefly on his cheek, rubs her thumb softly across his skin. "I think I'll soak in the bath for a while."
Turns out she's right, of course, about Freddy and his walking, he seems happy to walk for miles, two of the dogs running ahead of them. He marvels again that this is the life he ended up in, about as far away from what he ever imagined when the NYPD packed him off to London with barely any notice. This is his chance to talk to Freddy, to tell him what he's sure is obvious already, that he loves Harry more than he can describe and that he has to marry her, it's that simple.
"So, there was something I wanted to talk to you about...while Harry's not around." He knows he's an idiot for feeling nervous, he knows too that it's a sign of how important this is to him, how much she means to him. "I'm not really sure what I'm meant to do, or what the rules are, I guess, or the...you know, how these things are done."
"Well, spit it out, James, I'm an old man, remember." He's seen photos of her mother, and everyone is right about how much she looks like her, but when Harry grins, she's all Freddy.
"I want to marry her." He decides to get right to the point. He knows what he wants and he suddenly realises he wants Freddy's approval more than anything. "I have a ring, I've had it for a while and I want to ask her, but then I thought that I should talk to you first, you know, to check that-"
"I hope you don't think you need to ask permission, dear boy!" Freddy laughs and he takes that as a good sign. "Harriet is very much her own woman, as you well know, and she will do whatever she bloody well wants regardless of what I think. Having said that, if permission were mine to grant, I certainly wouldn't hesitate, James."
"You wouldn't?" He knows Freddy likes him, it's mutual, but he did wonder whether, when it came to something this big, he might start to question him and whether he really is the right one for his daughter.
"Absolutely not. She adores you, and I know you feel the same way about her. You make her happier than I've ever seen her, and frankly, there isn't anything else that matters." Freddy grins, a wide and genuinely pleased smile, which fills him with relief. "I highly doubt it will come as a surprise to her."
"No, we've talked about it, she knows I want to marry her, but I want to ask her properly, you know." He smiles back at Freddy, glad he brought the ring with him, tempted to run back to the house and do it right now. "What I do know is that she says she doesn't want a big wedding, she says-"
"She says she had all that last time and look how well that went?" Freddy nods, and there's a slight frown on his face.
"Yeah, exactly. She says it's the marriage that matters, not the wedding." He'd give her the world's biggest wedding if it was what she wanted, but he's secretly glad she wants something small and simple, just for them.
"She's quite right, of course." The frown lifts from Freddy's face and the smile starts to reappear. "And you? You don't have a peculiar craving for a ridiculously extravagant occasion? I don't need to try and pull some strings for Westminster Abbey?"
"I just want to marry her, I don't care where." He grins as he thinks about being married to her, just that, being her husband.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it. Delighted, actually, I had a feeling that very first time you were here, that darned business with the jade. I hadn't seen Harry spar with anyone the way she does with you, and it brings her to life. She's never been brighter since she's had you challenging her, James." Freddy stops walking and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Now, would I be right in thinking the two of you might want to be married quite soon?"
"I'd marry her tomorrow, I really would." He'd stand up with her in the dining room here and marry her an hour from now, if it would make her happy.
"Would I also be correct in thinking Harriet is going to want to wear something rather beautiful?" He's not sure where Freddy is going but he nods in agreement. "Then you probably should get a move on, James."
"What do you mean?" He's lost now, and his frown probably gives that away.
"If I know my daughter, she's probably not going to want to wait until people can speculate that there's only one reason she's getting married." Freddy grins and he realises, with a slightly sinking feeling, that not only is their secret out but Harry isn't even here to watch its escape.
"I, uh..." He's lost for words, a rarity that Harry would no doubt comment on if she wasn't currently upstairs working her way through a packet of ginger biscuits. "How did you know?"
"I may not be the detective in the family but I do know my daughter. She is, without exception, always the most sparkling light in any room yet she was asleep on the sofa by eight last night, and then this morning she's hiding away with a headache when she would normally be eyeing the croissants like a lion stalking its prey. When you arrived yesterday she clung onto me like she hadn't seen me in forever, and then insisted it was imperative that I stay around for a few more years yet. The two of you were also perhaps a little too keen to let me know how busy you've been at work of late too, to explain away Harry's uncharacteristic sleepiness. I may be old, James, but I'm no fool." Freddy nudges him and his grin gets wider. "She looks happy, and radiant, and it's the exact same look that I remember her mother having when Harriet herself was on the way. I feel rather like Poirot after all that!"
"We weren't keeping it from you for any other reason than it's early, and we only found out a few days ago ourselves. It's been, uh, a lot for her to take in." He smiles, thinking about her initial reaction to the news, and how much calmer she is about it now. "I'm pretty sure she would have ended up telling you this weekend anyway, we talked about it before we left yesterday."
"She's alright with it all now though? She seems happier than ever, James, I must say." Freddy grins again.
"Yeah, you know Harry, she likes to be in charge of stuff, she likes to plan, and I think this threw her for a bit of a loop." He grins too, at his own understatement as he recalls her initial panic at the news. "She's good now though, she's excited, I think."
"And you?" Freddy pauses, looking closely at him. "How are you feeling about it? It's a big change, my boy, I can tell you that much."
"Oh I'm sure we're not going to know what hit us, sir." He knows it's going to turn their lives upside down, but he's hopeful it's going to be in all the best ways. "You know, I never...well, I never thought about this kind of stuff at all...settling down, having kids, all of that. I thought just being a cop was all I needed, and then...well, then I met Harry and boom, I guess."
"Now, I know she's my daughter so that does make me rather biased, but she's very special, James, and I'm delighted she's finally found the right man, the one who knows that, and one who is every bit as wonderful." Freddy rests a hand on his shoulder and for a moment he doesn't think he can speak, he's overcome by the sincerity in Freddy's words and how welcome he has made him from the very first time he met him, even more so as time has gone on. "I'm bloody delighted we're going to have you in the family, my boy, I really am."
They head back to the house under dark clouds starting to threaten rain, even though the morning is still warm. He knew Freddy wouldn't have any objections to him wanting to marry Harry, but there's still something about having heard his enthusiasm that makes him feel invigorated, makes him want to start sprinting for the ring hidden away in his bag right now. He wants nothing more than to see it on her finger, to know even though they've talked about it, especially since finding out about the baby, that it's official.
"Go and see if Harry is feeling up to something to eat, James, or at least some more tea." Freddy claps him on the back as they walk back inside, smiling at him. "Doesn't look like much of an afternoon for the outdoors, I don't think. Now, I know you're quite sure about committing to my daughter, but have you fully accepted that you're also taking on the British weather?"
"A man's got to do what a man's got to do, sir." He smiles and watches Freddy as he heads towards the kitchen. Starting up the stairs to find Harry, he's sure of one thing he has to do, and he's made his decision; he's going to do it now.