Overtired after a day that had seen him pushing himself almost to the limit, Harry couldn't sleep. At one, he'd turned over for the umpteenth time on what was an unfamiliar mattress, at two he'd beaten the pillows to a pulp and at four he finally admitted defeat and climbed out of bed. Running on empty and consumed with thoughts of Ruth, he drew back the curtains and gazed far into the distance. Christ he was tired. He also knew that he looked dreadful and new clothes or not, he wouldn't be able to disguise the evidence of his extradition.
Ruth hadn't slept well either, battling with her inner self in a desperate attempt cope with the fact that Christmas was fast approaching and to put thoughts of Harry to one side. It was an indulgence that she couldn't allow, at least not until the end of the day. Had she known that he was almost within touching distance and worrying about something so ridiculous as to make it laughable, she'd have thrown caution to the wind and gone to find him. For the sake of the concert and of the children and her so far intact reputation, it was as well that she hadn't.
At seven, by which time Harry had showered, got dressed and was drinking his third cup of coffee of the morning, Ruth was already at the church waiting for the choir and the children to arrive. Providing the dress rehearsal went well, Rose had insisted that she and Ruth spend the afternoon in Stornoway, because she needed some help in choosing a new dress for the Christmas Eve party. That again Ruth thought, she was running out of excuses not to go.
'These are lovely, well done,' she told the older children, as she thumbed through a couple of the homemade programmes that they'd spent hours each evening designing.
'O little town of Bethlehem' will be sung by the Church Choir as the children walk down the aisle, it told the congregation, 'It Came upon the Midnight Clear', which just happened to be Ruth's favourite carol where the audience were invited to join in, followed by 'Away in a Manger' which would be sung by the children of the village school, and then finally 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing', were the musical contributions to the Nativity, after which the children invited the audience to join them in a singing some Christmas music.
Giggling and remarks that were neither appropriate in a church, or giving Ruth any chance of getting the rehearsal underway, ended up with the children being split into two gender groups to get into their costumes and the decision that they should take them home and arrive already dressed for the evening's performance.
With the parents who were members of the choir acting as their audience, Rory and Maisie walked hand in hand towards Bethlehem, he dressed as a lamb and she as an angel. By the time that the choir headed into the final verse with the descant ringing out, Ruth had just about succeeded in getting the children into their places.
James as the narrator caused Ruth's concerns to lessen, as with a clarity that belied his young age he started to speak. Wearing his school uniform which his proud Mum had pressed until there were military looking creases in his trousers, he stood tall and confident beside the tree, on the makeshift box that Ron had rigged up for him. As the star or to be precise a single disguised light bulb rose in the east, the Shepherds followed by the Wise Men presented their gifts to the new born baby and his proud parents. The sheep behaved themselves and the angels spread their newly tinselled wings. So far so good it seemed.
From Ruth's point of view it was the music that she had put her heart and soul into and as she assembled her flock in front of her around the manger, she crossed her fingers. She'd listened to each and every one of them singing alone over the past few days and she'd chosen Aidan to sing the opening verse as a solo. It had been a difficult decision she'd told those of them that were disappointed, but in reality it had been simple. He was already a member of the choir and had the purest treble voice that she'd heard in years.
'Right remember what I told you,' she whispered to her charges as they started to sing, 'keep your eyes on me right until the end.'
From the youngest to the eldest they held her gaze, throughout what was a flawless performance. Ruth breathed a sigh of relief. If it went as well later it would be the high point of the evening and she could hardly wish for more.
You can smile now,' she told them, when the serious side of the concert came to an end and the small audience dutifully applauded. It was fun time, and until the evening Ruth's job had been done. With what the vicar now knew would be a full house that would be encouraged to sing till the rafters rang, he took charge as they practised Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells and finally we wish you a Merry Christmas.
'That was excellent, well done everybody,' Michael told the chattering and adrenalin fuelled bunch, that were donning their coats and watching as the lights on the tree were being tested.
'Six o'clock, not a minute later,' was greeted by a 'yes Miss Barnes,' as the children disappeared. Five precious hours of quiet lay ahead of her and she intended to enjoy it.
Ruth had only once before visited Stornoway which was soon after she'd arrived. She'd been on the hunt for bookshops and to buy the warm jumpers and trousers that she now permanently lived in. Today though as Rose's guest she discovered that there was far more to it than she'd imagined, including several decent restaurants, one of which she and Rose were sitting in and enjoying their lunch. For Ruth who rarely went out and certainly hadn't been to a restaurant since 'the best night of her life ' as she remembered it, it felt ridiculously decadent, especially when Rose insisted that she needed a good meal inside her to fortify her for the evening and that the meal was on her.
Changing the subject, Rose veered away from talking about the upcoming concert and took Ruth by surprise.
'It isn't as easy as it seems being a vicar's wife,' she told her, going on to explain that people expected her to be able to wave a magic wand and solve everything. 'That should be Michael's job not mine, but with a Parish that spreads over so many miles, he's rarely at home and you'd be surprised how many people take that as a personal affront.'
Ruth still had no idea as to where this was leading, until Rose moved on to the real subject that she wanted to talk to Ruth about, maintaining stability at a school where teacher after teacher left and that they desperately wanted Ruth to stay on.
'You sing and you play the piano and teaching music to young children doesn't require you to be qualified,' she went on to explain, 'and during term time, they second teachers from the mainland to teach the other subjects, so please say you'll think about it?'
In a life that didn't involve Harry any more, Ruth had existed on a one day at a time basis and had never considered anything beyond Christmas. But Rose was persuasive and when she told her that there had been far too many times over the last few years that the school had nearly been forced to close and that the impact on small children travelling as far as Stornoway each day would be devastating, she started to think.
'We also need a school secretary and you're such a good organiser,' was something else that Rose had got in mind, as she piled on the pressure by telling Ruth how much the children loved her.
She wasn't the writer that she claimed to be, her Home Office salary would eventually disappear and her savings wouldn't last forever. She did need a job and she did enjoy working with the children, so she told Rose that she'd think about it and give her an answer in the New Year.
Buying a new dress for tonight's event and then something to wear the following evening at the party wasn't exclusive to Rose so it seemed, as Ruth found herself being bullied into sorting through an assortment of dresses that were at prices less than half she would have paid in London. She'd brought so little with her and up until now she'd given little thought as to what she was going to wear. Perhaps Rose did have a point so why not she thought, she'd be standing at the front with the entire congregation watching her and it had been ages since she'd bought anything new.
'Perfect,' her enthusiastic new best friend told her, as Ruth paid for a figure hugging red dress and a new pair of shoes, before being dragged into a hairdressers where Rose had pre - paid for two appointments.
Arriving home with just enough time to make a sandwich and a cup of tea before she jumped into the bath and then got dressed, Ruth conceded that she'd enjoyed her day with Rose, she felt better and that they should do it more often. Ignore the demons she told herself, she just needed to get through the evening.
Harry had inevitably arrived at the terminal hours earlier than he needed to. It was throughout the long and lonely nights when the doubts set in, but in the cold light of day he felt better. Breakfast first he told himself and then ring Catherine as he'd promised. Spotting what looked to be a reasonable place to eat that wasn't heaving with families and their children who were heading for warmer climes, he ordered himself a full English breakfast.
Catherine was right he'd never been a quitter. For better or worse he needed to see Ruth and to tell her that moving on for him meant spending the rest of their lives together. She'd also been right insisting that he bought himself some new clothes and grateful that in addition to his new black trousers and dark red sweater that he was wearing, she'd also persuaded him to buy a different winter coat, that in Catherine's words, didn't suggest that he was a member of the Mafia. It really was bloody freezing and he still didn't feel a hundred percent.
'I'm not going to discuss work other than to tell you that Dolby's enjoying a holiday with the cousins,' Callum who had answered the phone told him, 'you're on holiday remember and we don't expect to see you back any time soon.'
'I'm fine sweetheart and yes I am feeding myself properly,' he told his still concerned daughter, telling her that he had to go because his breakfast was just about to arrive, wondering if a plate that consisted of a fry up counted as properly. He was quite sure that Ruth would tell him that it didn't.
Once he'd finished his breakfast and read his paper the morning had dragged by. He'd passed the time between walking circuits of the concourse, drinking cups of coffee and as a consequence made several trips to the loo. With less than an hour to go before he was due to board, a voice over the loud speaker caused the background noise to evaporate and for Harry's heart to stop beating.
'Ladies and Gentlemen, please may I have your attention. We regret to inform you that with the onset of bad weather, some internal flights are being delayed or in some cases will be cancelled. Passengers are asked to go to the information area, to enquire if their flight is likely to be affected.'
As he dragged himself to his feet the room spun round in front of him and he was sure that he was going to be sick. Grappling into thin air for something to hold onto with his mind still whirring, he tried to gain his balance. Surely this couldn't be happening, not again, it was just so bloody unfair?
'Don't worry mate, they always say that,' said an encouraging voice in his ear as a pair of strong arms enveloped him, helping him to sit back down as a cup of tea was placed in his hand. 'The wife and I are frequent flyers out of here and unless you going skiing which I'm guessing you're not, then you'll get to where you're going.'
Harry opened his eyes to find himself sitting next to what in any other situation he would have described as 'the last person on earth' that he would have wanted to be rubbing his back. A woman, who had he been more up to date with real life and the younger generation in particular, with what he perceived to be a bolt through her nose was holding his hand. Her husband who he presumed to be the owner of the strong arms that had stopped him falling was equally adorned.
He concluded that as he was in an airport miles from home where nobody knew who his was that he was reasonably safe, and that in the absence of anyone else who seemed to know what was happening, he should count himself lucky. Taking a sip of his tea he listened as his newly found acquaintances explained to him that this time of year when the weather changed so quickly, most of flights ended up being delayed and a bumpy ride. Unless he was going to Inverness or for a winter holiday in the Cairngorms, then he shouldn't worry.'
'You sit there and chat to the wife mate,' the unsuspecting Gary told the head of the Security Services Counter Terrorism, as he headed towards the long queue at the information desk in search of news about their flight and Harry's.
Bumpy had been an understatement in the extreme, as the small plane carrying less than twenty passengers had been buffeted by gale force winds as it crossed the small divide between the mainland and Stornoway. Walking the short distance across the tarmac to the small airport terminal in the biting cold wind and with sleet in the air, resulted in Harry controlling his desire to just jump into his hire car and drive south and instead head into the rest room to settle his still heaving stomach. He hadn't eaten since breakfast time which was part of the problem, so once he'd tidied himself up he grabbed a quick sandwich and a coffee. Ruth didn't know that he was coming so he could hardly expect her to feed him, besides which another half an hour would give him time to calm down and control his now desperate need to hold her. Should he kiss her straight away or should he take his time? Was he being presumptuous as she'd once joked, that they'd be able pick up where they'd left off and that she'd want to sleep with him? Too many questions and so few answers and standing there worrying about it wasn't solving anything.
Taking a deep breath, he sorted out his luggage and headed back out into the cold to pick up his hire car. He thanked God that Tariq had hired him a Range Rover and that he didn't have to get to grips with something new on what he'd been led would be inhospitable roads.
'Watch out for the sheep,' had been Malcolm's parting shot.
The main road was virtually empty so he made good time and it wasn't until he turned onto the side road and drove over what was described as The Crags, that he fully appreciated how bleak the landscape was. It forced him to pull into the side and to try and get his bearings. The large island in the distance he knew had to be Skye, but apart from that there was nothing but a great vastness of ocean in every direction, other than what were obviously houses, visible only because of a scattering of twinkling lights. Only another mile to go the satnav told him, he was so close now, he could feel his heart rate thundering. Arriving in the heart of the village his journey came to a screeching halt outside the church. Harry was confronted by what he presumed to be the entire population who were heading to some sort of event or concert. Sheep and Angels and all manner of other small children were being shepherded from cars. Christ he really didn't need this. Edging his way through the assembling throng, he finally manged to take the turn to what he knew would be Ruth's cottage, only to be forced to one side by someone driving in the opposite direction.
Parking spaces around the church were at a premium, so Aidan's parents who had kindly offered to give Ruth a lift arrived in plenty of time. Apart from Ruth's car, the postman and visitors to the Mc Kays who were an elderly couple who never went out so consequently had everything delivered, nothing went up and down that lane especially at night. It was a close shave and whoever the idiot was that was driving far too quickly ought to have known better, according to Aidan's irate Dad.
Ruth had arranged with Michael that she and the children should wait in the vestry until the church door had been closed after the last of the congregation had arrived. They'd then walk quietly across the back of the church in readiness for the service to begin. At six pm, in a church that was filling up until it would be standing room only, she had no idea that the man who had been to hell and back to reach this moment, was frantically trying to decide what to do next. Her car was parked outside her house, there was smoke coming from the chimney and a light had been left on.