"There you two are."

Barbara silently cursed as Tommy's lips hurriedly retreated and his arms loosened. Leaning against him, when he moved she started to topple. Taking her hand, Tommy helped her off the vent.

"Volker. We thought we would watch the scenery before bed," Tommy told the smiling Berliner. They had met briefly at the party.

"Us too." Volker's wife Kati said as she cuddled into her husband's side. "It's beautiful."

"It is," Barbara agreed. It was only when she went to point out the wildlife that she realised she and Tommy were still holding hands. Rather than break that connection, she pointed with her left hand. "There's musk ox up on the ridge. They're huge."

Tommy squeezed her hand. Barbara was not sure of its meaning. She looked up. His expression was the one he sometimes had that always made her heart jump then explode in a liquid fire that left her breathless and exposed. She inhaled in a staccato shallow, almost desperate need for oxygen. He smiled. Barbara felt her legs and will begin to fail. If at that moment he had kissed her, she would happily have made love to him here on the deck in front of anybody who cared to watch. As if reading her thoughts, his grip tightened, and his gaze wandered down her body, pausing at her puffin.

"Oh, there they are!" Kati squealed. They all turned to watch the large animals with thick woolly brown manes staring back.

"Have you decided what you are going to do in Sisimiut tomorrow?" Volker asked.

"We will probably just look around town. And you?"

"We are hiking around the fjord. It's about ten miles. Quite rugged, I believe. You are welcome to join us."

"Tommy has a dodgy knee, unfortunately," Barbara lied so smoothly it surprised her.

"What a shame, you look so fit," Kati said, eyeing Tommy up and down. "Well, good night."

"Good night." They all exchanged pleasantries before the Germans left.

"You can release your vice now, Barbara."

She dropped his hand and frowned as he rubbed it. "Sorry."

He smiled. "Don't be. I rather like your possessiveness."

"I am supposed to be your girlfriend. It's natural to fend off advances from other women isn't it?"

"I'm not sure it was an advance, but yes, thank you. Now, we should go to bed."

They walked back to the cabin. Barbara wondered why he did not take her hand, but no one was around, and she had to remind herself that this was only an act. The beds had been turned down, and small chocolates had been placed on each pillow. "They do it well," she said.

"They do," he agreed.

"Do you want to shower?"

"You can shower first if you like. Can you change in there or do you want me to wait outside? It will look odd if we always leave the cabin when the other is dressing."

"No, stay. I can manage. And don't laugh at my pyjamas."

He raised one eyebrow but said nothing. Barbara quickly unpacked her bag and retreated to the bathroom. With an open shower bay surrounded only by a curtain, she could imagine Tommy in with her, scrubbing her back. She sighed. That kiss that brought out the feelings she had tried to suppress. At the end of this case, when he withdrew his pretend affections, the pain would be excruciating.

Tommy unpacked his bag. He had watched Barbara hastily shove her gear anywhere in her wardrobe. He took the time to fold and lay his out neatly in an order that made sense. He put underwear and socks in one drawer, shirts on hangers, and stacked his folded trousers neatly on the shelf. He had tried not to listen to the running water because when he did, he imagined how it ran over her body. It was going to be impossible to pretend he was in love with her without her realising it was true. Was she ready for that? Did she feel at least some of what he felt for her? Tommy had no idea. Barbara was a determined woman, and her responses might be what she thought her role was supposed to be. He sighed. She had not kissed him back, but they had not had time. He had caught her by surprise, but the brief kiss left him confused. He wanted to open the door, rush in and kiss her as the water ran over them and find out the truth. "Don't be a fool," he muttered to himself. Barbara would kill him.

He sat in the chair at the small desk and waited. Barbara emerged soon with wet hair that had been towelled but not combed. Then he noticed them and began to smile.

"Don't laugh. I warned you."

"Smiling is not laughing, Barbara. They're... unique."

"I brought them because they are warm."

"It's the colour alone doing that." Barbara was wearing fire-engine red fleecy pyjamas with an oversized picture of Grumpy the dwarf holding a pickaxe in a threatening gesture. "And they certainly send a message."

Barbara waved her hand dismissively. "No message. I didn't know anyone would see them. I suppose yours are silk with your initials monogrammed on the pocket."

"Actually, no. Mine are... makeshift."

"Makeshift?"

Tommy's face reddened. "I didn't pack any to save on space in my bag."

"So?" Barbara tried to control her face but judging by his face, she failed. "Bloody hell."

"Don't worry, a t-shirt and my trunks will suffice. I didn't know anyone would see mine either. Which bed to do you want?" Tommy said in a tone he hoped signalled a change of topic.

"Whichever one you're not in."

Tommy felt as if he had been slapped. "I see." He picked up his t-shirt and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door unnecessarily loudly.

Barbara wondered what had happened. One minute they were joking, the next... "Oh, you idiot," she mumbled. She walked to the door and knocked. The water was running.

"What?"

Barbara cracked open the door but did not open it. "I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I meant whichever one you didn't want. I'm not fussed. I didn't mean... well that I was trying to avoid you or something."

"What? I can't hear you."

She opened the door a bit more. "Then turn the water off."

"No. I'm in the middle of showering. I'm all soapy. You come in here and tell me."

Barbara stepped into the steamy bathroom. The mirror was foggy, and condensation had formed on every surface. Tommy's silhouette was visible through the thick cloth shower curtain. "I said I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I'm sorry. I realised it sounded rude."

"And insulting."

Barbara clenched her teeth. He was not going to make this easy. Staring at his naked shadow on the curtain did not help at all. It was distracting. "Unintentionally, yes."

"It's okay. I guess we had to get it over with."

"What?"

"Our first lover's tiff."

"What? Oh, ha bloody ha." Tommy laughed and opened the shower curtain enough for Barbara to see his cheeky grin and part of his chest. She closed her eyes. "I'll just wait outside."

"You don't have to. We should talk about contacting Hillier and what we do next."

"When you have clothes on. I can't focus in here. It's too... hot." She fled, annoyed to hear him laughing.

Barbara had combed her hair and was sitting up in her chosen bed by the time Tommy emerged. His t-shirt hung low enough to cover most but not all of his trunks. She willed herself not to look, under any circumstance.

"We can take the Sat phone into town and find somewhere quiet. On the map they gave us, there is a park around the lake."

"Okay good. We also need to find out more about this fjord where Schweindeiner boards. Is there anything in the travel notes?"

Barbara quickly read through the file about the stops while Tommy prepared his bed. "Says it is a fjord on Disko Island renowned for unexpected surprises such as whale sightings."

"Aren't all surprises unexpected by definition?"

"I didn't write it. I'm just reading it, Mr Grammar Police."

Tommy shrugged. "Sorry. Old habits. Does it say anything else?"

"Seems we visit there tomorrow night then leave in the morning, to visit Kee-ker-tar-sue-aq in the afternoon. That's on the same island."

"Qeqertarsuaq," Tommy gently corrected as he sat on her bed. "Okay, interesting. We need to see if anything is there. Then where?"

"A whole day here, I can't pronounce it." She stabbed at the map. "Says it is home to the biggest calving glacier. They think the iceberg that sank the Titanic calved from here."

"Interesting. Ilulissat. I have seen pictures. It should be spectacular."

"We're here to hunt a mass murderer, not take a holiday."

"Maybe we have to do the latter to achieve the former. Cheers up, Havers. It's not that bad."

"Sorry, I think I'm just tired."

Tommy nodded. "I'll pull the blinds. Do you want your mask?"

"Leave it on the table in case I need it. Thank you."

"My pleasure. Now sleep well."

Barbara nodded. Tommy moved slightly closer as if he was going to kiss her goodnight. Barbara pulled up the bedclothes and shuffled quickly under them. With a barely audible sigh, Tommy stood and took the two steps to his bed.

"Goodnight, Tommy."

"Goodnight, Barbara."

The next morning, they wolfed breakfast so they could be on deck when the ship docked at Sisimuit. The wide bay was bordered by a line of mountains on one side, capped with a line of snow. On the lower side coloured houses and blocks of flats dotted in amongst the grey rocks. "It's quite beautiful," Barbara said as she warmed her feet by stamping them on the deck.

"Stand there. Smile."

Barbara frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Taking your photo with the mountains and town behind you."

"Why?"

Tommy stepped closer. "People on holiday take photos of each other. I'm blending in."

"Oh. Good idea. Let me take you," she replied pulling out her phone.

"I've got longer arms." Tommy cuddled next to her and reached out to aim a selfie. "There. Smile."

"Whale on the port bow." The announcement over the public address system made Barbara jump. The sound of running footsteps on the decks amused her, but she and Tommy also turned to watch. People joined them at the rail and began pointing and yelling excitedly.

Tommy stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her with his phone camera pointing out in the general direction of the whale. When it breached, she heard his phone repeatedly snapping. The enormous humpback whale spun slightly revealing a spotty white belly before crashing back into the sea. Barbara shrieked with unexpected delight and leant back against Tommy. He kissed her on the head before taking another photo. The whale moved, and caught up in whale fever, they followed the others to the opposite side of the deck. The whale breached several times before flunking its tail in a playful wave and diving deep below the surface.

"That was special," Tommy said as he looked through his photos. "Here! I got a good one of his breach. And not a bad one of his tail."

The light was bright on the screen, so Barbara had to lean against him to see. "Yeah, that is a good one. How do you know it was a boy?"

She looked up to see him giving her a soft, sentimental look. "Barbara?"

"Yeah?"

"May I kiss you?"

"Because that's what lovers would do now?"

"No, because I..."

"Attention passengers," the announcement began, "we will shortly be docking in Sisimuit. Please make your way down to the Explorer Deck where we will commence disembarkation in fifteen minutes."

"Come on," Barbara said, "we should go ashore."