Ruth had stayed away. It hurt him. He wanted to look for her, he wanted to try and explain and yet that was the last thing he wanted to do.

So was this what Harry had meant about her not going to Cyprus. She still didn't understand. All she knew was that she was being irrational. She hadn't thought about it before but now she realised what she had believed, what she had wanted to believe, the fantasy that had just been proved rather spectacularly wrong.

She had sailed away from him and he had clearly loved her.

She had returned and she thought that he still felt the same, he still had said nothing but in every word and deed it seemed evident.

The story in her head was complete. She had gone and he had waited. She had been with George but he had remained loyal, resolute, restrained, waiting, still waiting, waiting for her.

What a fool she was. Chaste he was not. Clearly. And more to the point where was this woman now, where the mother of his son, where the woman who had replaced her.

Harry was back on the phone trying to contact the nanny who had failed to show up this morning. The agency were none the wiser. They promised that they would have someone there tomorrow and in the meantime they would send a whole new raft of applications and CVs for him to look through.

That really didn't help in the here and now however.

Both were lost in their thoughts when, with a crash, a jar of pens and a dead cup of coffee hit the floor in Harry's office. James looked surprised and slightly shocked. Harry groaned, exasperated, that life could suddenly have become this complicated.

"Sorry. Didn't mean it." Said the little boy and Harry smiled.

"It's okay, it was just an accident, wasn't it."

"Yes, just an accident."

Harry bent and started picking pens up. Ruth came in with a damp cloth and mopped the dregs of the coffee.

"Make it tidy," said James.

"Yes, let's make it clean and tidy," she smiled, "There we go that's better, isn't it?"

"Much better," he nodded sagely, his blond curls nodding with him.

"Ruth," Harry said, but she was already out of the door.

Dimitri looked up and saw Harry's bent finger summoning him.

"Yes, Harry."

"Take over," said Harry and he too was out of the door, leaving James and Dimitri to regard each other warily.

Ruth was in the kitchen rinsing the cloth.

"Ruth, I need to talk to you."

"What is there to talk about?"

" I need to explain."

"There's nothing to explain, Harry."

"But, I think there is."

"What you mean like explaining how you could propose to someone without mentioning that you were already with someone and had a son with them. That kind of explain?"

"Ruth, it's not like that, please."

"You're a dark horse Harry, I don't really know why I'm surprised."

She walked out of the kitchen but as she passed him he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"I'm not with anyone else, I never was."

"Oh, an immaculate conception, how original" she tore her hand from his grip and left.

He wondered if the day could get any worse and then he walked back into his office.

James and Dimitri were both on the floor playing soldiers, it was difficult to tell which of the two had the most camouflage marks drawn on their face. Harry grabbed the pen from Dimitri's hand as he stood up.

"Ooh, look, James, daddy's back" he said and headed for the door.

Harry ran his hand through his hair wearlily.

"Dimitri," he waved the pen at him, "it's a permanent marker."

"Shit," said Dimitri vigorously rubbing at his face.

"Shit," repeated James.

Harry gave up.