Let's go round again?
Chapter Fifteen
Ruth watched as Harry worked the room. He's good at this she thought. The consummate master in fact and as he charmed and won over her work colleagues the lines between reality and fiction began to blur in a most beguiling way.
For his part Harry was becoming re-acquainted with the man he'd glimpsed in the back of the cab on his way here. Of course it helped that he was playing a part but as Ruth introduced him to more and more people he relaxed into his assigned role. He seduced, he entertained and at some point he'd laughed at himself in a entirely unconscious fashion as he'd pulled off his tie commenting about being overdressed; pouting at Ruth as he'd passed her the tie telling her she could keep it safe for him;smiling softly at her as she put it in her handbag and she was positive that she was not the only female in the group who had watched closely as he undid the top two buttons of his shirt.
Keeping her close by his side, holding her hand, sometimes pulling her into him so that no one, especially Gary would be in any doubt that they were a couple was so natural to him. He wasn't quite sure what was going on but he was still sharp enough to realise that since the last time he and Ruth had been together she'd been having problems with The Bloody American and that Ruth had used him as a blind to divert the man and his obviously unwanted attentions. For his part he was completely happy to be used in any way that Ruth saw fit, any thing that allowed him to touch her, to flirt with her, to hold her close was fine with him.
For her part ruth seemed happy to stay beside him and once just once he took the chance to plant a tender kiss on her brow. He'd done it entirely without thinking about it; he'd done it because it had been the natural thing to do. A gentle display of affection between two people who genuinely cared about each other. Ruth had not pulled away from him, in fact she'd smiled and squeezed him arm in a show of approval that had sent warmth coursing through his entire body. Maybe the dark side of him nagged away telling him that she was merely playing her part in the charade she'd cast them in and that when this brief interlude came to an end they would be back to the way they had been when Ruth had left his house. He was not at all sure if they had a future together even as friends; so if tonight and the physical contact and playful banter they were exchanging as pretend couple was all he was to be allowed he was going to exploit and enjoy every single moment of it.
Ruth left him briefly to speak to Seb and another group of sponsors feeling confident that Harry was fully in charge of the situation and after she'd exchanged greetings and promised to be in touch about various matters she'd gravitated towards the ladies loo. She was washing her hands when one of the girls from her department joined her at the sinks
"Where did you find him Ruth?" she gushed "He's charming and such a lot of fun. He's just been making us all laugh with stories about his run in with a rickshaw. You're a dark horse Ruth Evershed!"
Ruth was searching for the words to reply to Mandy's questions when Julie from finance emerged from the end cubicle looking like a fashion plate from the latest addition of Vogue. Any words that she'd been formulating died in her throat and she found herself shrinking inside herself. Ruth had always been uneasy in the company of women like Julie; tall, blonde and oh so self assured. Women like Julie were a complete anathema to her. She would never, ever understand their seemingly never ending quest for self gratification.
Julie ignored them both as she silently washed and dried her hands before she began to re-fresh her make up. Pausing as she raised her mascara brush she said
"Yes, he is rather delicious isn't he? Older than I usually go for but there's something about him and live dangerously that's what I say."
Obviously not expecting a reply she turned to face Ruth ignoring Mandy completely
"Have you known him long Ruth? Fancy a bit of friendly competition? Just for fun of course, if you can't have fun with men what are they good for eh? You can have him back when I've done with him and I promise they'll hardy be a mark on him!"
She giggled to herself before she added in a stage whisper
"Well not where you can see them anyway".
Ruth had really disliked Julie from the moment they'd been introduced but had never been able to pinpoint the exact reason but now it hit her like a ton of bricks! The reason she disliked her so much was because she reminded her of the Garvik woman. There was no physical resemblance between the two women, no it was all about the way they held themselves, about their air of entitlement, the aura of confidence and knowing that they spun around themselves. And once she'd realised that fact Ruth knew why she had never warmed to the woman and all her blandishments and attempts to start a friendship.
Julie watched as Ruth struggled to come up with an answer and secretly hugged herself. At last she thought, at last I've managed to pierce the armour of Ruth Evershed. It had rankled from the start that she'd been
unable to make Ruth dance to her tune, not that she was remotely interested in Ruth or wanted a genuine friendship with her, no what she wanted was to be able to use Ruth just as she did everybody else. Julie liked manipulating people especially men, she liked to play with them and their feelings to use them for pleasure and as a means to advance her career but her ego was such that she needed to control the women as well. She needed to be top dog in all her "relationships" but hard as she'd tried she'd been unable to pull Ruth into her thrall and that fact had begun to eat away at her and her self admiration but this evening as she'd watched Ruth with the man she'd introduced to the crowd as her "friend" she glimpsed a chance to make Ruth Evershed squirm.
Leaving Ruth standing by the sink she swept out of the cloakroom in a cloud of expensive perfume. Ruth made no attempt to follow her. Sometime during the exchange Mandy had melted away no doubt seeking the safety of the crowd outside. Nobody wanted to be with Julie when she was in full flow.
As she washed her hands again Ruth thought about Julie's words. What did she feel? Amusement annoyance, suspicion, definite distrust and what was that small niggling thing at the back of her mind? Surely it couldn't be the green eyed monster. That would be absurd, her feelings towards Harry Pearce once loving and at times destructive had moved on long ago hadn't they? She no longer woke in the night stumbling from dreams of Harry, Harry as her friend, her lover, her partner. Dreams that left her frustrated, baffled and defeated. But if she had moved on as she kept telling herself why had she answered his plea for help? Why was she enjoying his company so much? Why had she used him to deflect the attentions of Gary; confident in the knowledge that he would immediately understand the need for him to step into the role she'd entrusted to him.
As she stared at the woman reflected in the mirror she searched for any sign of the naïve young woman who had joined Section D with such high hopes, such enthusiasm. She had been so hopeful, so sure that they, she could make a difference but over time she had come to understand the cost of making a difference and a big part of her had been battered, bruised and finally buried six foot deep in an unmarked grave. Was there any hope she wondered of ever finding that version of herself again.
Even as these many thoughts raced around her mind Julie's words still rankled with her. Who did the bloody woman think she was? What right did she think she had to even consider having fun with Harry. And what exactly had she meant when she said that?
She was totally bemused by the whole situation. On the one hand she was frightened of the intimacy that she knew Harry yearned for but on the other she'd enjoyed this evening. Enjoyed being part of a "couple" enjoyed the physical contact. But surely it was much too late for them to put the past behind them to forgive (she would never be able to forget) and try again.