23
Julia smiled as she pressed the cameras shutter release button one more time. "That is probably the shot of the day!" she declared as the Fallow deer buck which had stood obligingly still took fright at something and bounded back into the shelter of the trees.
Johnny grinned, even if he did say so himself, bringing Julia to Richmond Park had been a stroke of genius. Well, alright it had been a fluke, when he'd suggested she might want to bring a camera, he had in mind the simple sort of point and shoot camera that most tourists carried, small enough to be slipped into a pocket, not the metal case with the deep foam lining, into which several cut-outs had been made, housing two cameras, that even Johnny recognised as being top of the range, almost professional quality, as well as a selection of lenses, what looked like a skeleton rifle butt, and a telescopic support stand, which Julia called a monopod.
When they arrived at the park, Julia had opened the case and after a squint at the sky had fitted the second longest lens to one of the cameras, as well as the rifle butt and the monopod. Now that she was suitably armed, she gave the okay for Johnny to cruise the park looking for deer.
To her surprise, she found there were two species of the animal in the park, Red Deer, and Fallow Deer, and was immediately full of questions, which stretched Johnny's somewhat sketchy knowledge to the limit. He was able to tell her that there were about seven hundred deer in the park, that the Red Deer held the equivalent eco-niche as the North American Elk and like that animal was solid coloured, and the males, stags or harts, had spiked antlers. The smaller Fallow Deer had white-spotted chestnut coats and the bucks had palmate, or flat antlers, "a bit like a moose, but much, much smaller." Then he grinned wickedly, "But that's typical of you Yanks isn't it, everything has got to be bigger!"
Julia's head whipped around so she could look him in the eye, as she grinned in her turn, "Not just bigger, soldier, but better too!"
Johnny was taken aback by Julia's riposte, and was left speechless for the moment, his mouth slightly open as he searched for a suitable reply. Julia took in his expression and laughed, "Did you want to play some more?" she enquired with a deceptively innocent smile.
Johnny wasn't about to get stung again quite so soon, and shook his head, "No, no thank you. I'll be good," he said with a rueful grin.
"I thought you might," Julia murmured as she turned her attention back to deer and camera.
By the time they both felt the pangs of hunger, Johnny reckoned that Julia had reloaded her camera with film three times. "How many shots have you taken today, then?" he asked as she broke down her rig.
"That's four rolls of film, at thirty-six exposures nominally but I can generally get thirty-seven, so just about one hundred and fifty…"
Johnny whistled softly, "That's likely to cost you a small fortune to get developed!"
Julia shook her head, "No, it won't. When I get the film processed, I'll just get a contact print and decide from that how many shots I'll get enlarged, probably no more than three frames per roll of film," she explained.
Johnny formulated his next question very carefully, he knew next to nothing about photography, and it was pretty apparent that not only did Julia have an extensive knowledge, but she was also very enthusiastic about the subject. "Uh... You... umm... haven't considered switching to digital photography, then?"
"Oh yes, the other camera is a digital camera, but I haven't had it very long, and I'm still getting used to it. So for something like today, where the light was just about perfect for a longer lens, and I'm never going to get the deer to adopt the same poses again, I'd rather stick with a film camera, and know that I will have a better chance of getting it right!"
Johnny nodded, it made sense, if the conditions were unlikely to be repeated, then sticking with equipment and a method over which you had comfortable mastery made more sense than playing around with something new. And talking of which... "Here we are, this is the place I was looking for… The New Inn." He looked at Julia's doubtful expression and grinned, "I know it doesn't look much, but the food here is pretty damn good!"
Julia's expression cleared as if by magic, "Oh, well, if you're recommending the food it must be good!" she said playfully.
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Johnny and Julia had lingered over their meal, their conversation interrupted by bites of their food, and gentle smiles exchanged between them. As a result, it was after dusk when Johnny braked to a halt outside the house that Julia shared.
Julia sighed, unbuckled her seatbelt, and stretched, "That was a great day, Johnny, thank you so, so much. I don't think I've ever even heard of Richmond Park, and it's so close… Incredible to think that almost in the heart of London you've got wild animals roaming around…"
Johnny smiled, delighted to see and hear Julia's unaffected pleasure, "Well, I enjoyed watching you enjoy it!" And then unseen in the dark, his eyes took on mischievous gleam, "on a scale of one to ten of your favourite things to photograph, where do animals come?"
"H'mm... that depends on the cuteness factor… right at the top of the list are babies, followed by kittens and puppies, then other animals. The cuter, the better."
"Oh, so... you wouldn't be happy taking photographs of, say, lions, tigers, rhinos, hippos, giraffes and other exotic beasties?"
Julia sighed wistfully, "If they were in their natural habitat, and not behind zoo bars I'd jump at the chance, but there is no way I could ever afford to go on a photographic safari."
"No, I suppose not," Johnny sympathised, "it would bankrupt me too. Still… We might find something worth taking a frame or two of tomorrow, have you got any more film?"
Julia frowned at him suspiciously, "I've got a cool-box half full of film, but, you're up to something aren't you?"
"What, me?" Johnny replied with a guileless expression on his face.
"Yes, you!" Julia said in mock accusation.
"The only thing I'm up to, is this!" Johnny leaned over and with a gentle finger he raised Julia's face towards his, and captured her lips in a firm and loving kiss, which apart from its own benefits, had the added advantage, from Johnny's point of view, of silencing Julia's interrogation.
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Harm smiled as he took the slip road onto the M40 motorway, Gill had chatted happily about the evening, the play, the unexpected nature of the production, and the players. In reply to Harm's comment that he hadn't recognised any of them she had allowed herself a chuckle that verged on a full-blown laugh.
"How many times have you been to the theatre, since you landed in the UK?" she asked.
"That was the first time," Harm said.
"And from what you've said in the past, you don't have much time for television, do you?"
Harm shook his head, "No not much, most of it seems to be designed to kill off brain cells one by one."
"Well then, if you don't watch British TV, and you don't go to British theatres, and you've never said anything about going to the cinema here, how on earth would you expect to recognise British actors?"
"Good point, counsellor," he teased gently, "and from that, am I to assume that you did recognise the players?"
"Not all of them, well at least, not all by name. I vaguely recognised the girl who was playing Hero, she was a child actress, on TV, a few years ago in some sort of costume drama. Oh, and the chap who played Dogberry, is quite a well-known face; he played a rough, tough Roman soldier in a TV miniseries a couple of years back. And of course, Benedick and Beatrice are very well known, from TV and film, as is the actor who played Leonato; some years back he played the lead male role in a long-running TV sitcom. I could, if I wanted to, tell you about the other actors. But I think I'll just give you the programme, and let you research them. and I warn you, there will be a quiz next week!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Harm had grinned in reply.
But that had been while Harm had been threading the Mondeo through what seemed to him to be the labyrinth that was Stratford's idea of a road system, and then once clear of the town, on the two-lane black-top leading to the motorway, and by the time he'd reached the interchange, Gill's head had slumped back against the headrest, and a swift glance out of the corner of his eye had shown her eyes were closed and she was breathing gently.
Harm reached out, and switched off the car radio, which he had tuned to a BBC station, one that mixed older music with interviews with guest artists, and regular news and traffic updates.
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It was just over the hour after joining the motorway that Harm eased the Mondeo to a halt in the Premier Inn car park just up the road from RAF Northolt. Gill, who had dozed peacefully, lulled by the quiet engine note opened her eyes as Harm turned the key in the ignition, killing the motor.
Gill blinked, and smiled sleepily at Harm, but only then realised where she was "Oh, God! I'm so sorry Harm! I must seem like the most ungrateful witch in the world. You've looked after me so well, all day, all evening, and I really, really enjoyed the play, and then to pay you back, I fall asleep the second we hit the road!"
Even in the artificial glow of the car park lights Harm could see the blood rush to Gill's cheeks. He smiled easily, "Don't worry about it, not even for one second. It's actually quite flattering that you felt so safe and secure with me, that you allowed yourself to drop off like that."
Gill shook her head and gave an embarrassed little laugh, "But it's so bad mannered of me, Mummy would read me the riot act, if she found out, and Granny would probably send me supperless to bed for a week at least. And Daddy would probably use me as an object lesson in next Sunday's sermon!"
Harm shook his head slightly, "Really, Gill, I am not at all offended. As I said I feel quite flattered. But I'll make you a deal, similar to our last one…"
"And what was that? Remind me," Gill said cautiously.
"Simple, if you don't tell your family, then I won't!" Harm said triumphantly.
This time Gill's laughter was open and honest, "I've heard about you tricky lawyers, but this time, you've got a deal! And to seal it," Gill unfastened her seat belt and leaned across to kiss Harm.
There was something slightly different about the quality of this kiss that set it apart from the other kisses they had shared, and praying he hadn't misread the signs, Harm gently probed Gill's lips with his tongue.
Gill immediately broke the kiss and pulled back, only a matter of an inch or two, and before Harm could give voice to the apology on the tip of his tongue, she said "Only if you mean it, Harm."
Harm looked at her seriously, "I mean it," he said simply and quietly.
Gill nodded and leaned in again, and this time there was no hesitation, and no room for doubt, as her lips opened under his.
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Jen would have had her world-view seriously dislocated if she had been privileged enough to see, or hear Harm as he showered the following morning. Convinced as she was that he was not a morning person, and this was not a snap judgement, but a verdict reached after ten months of sharing guardianship of Mattie, in the two apartments a couple of blocks north of Union Station in DC, she would have been severely discombobulated.
This morning however, Harm had bounded out of bed, into his running kit, and had hit the airfield perimeter track, and according to his watch knocked nearly two minutes off his previous best time. But even that evidence of his improving physical fitness didn't explain the cheerful tenor that filled the steamy bathroom as he showered and sang away the evidence of his exertions.
He emerged showered and shaved from the bathroom and threw open the doors of his bedroom closet, or wardrobe as he had learned they were called in Britain, and as he contemplated its contents, his smile, fuelled by memories of yesterday evening, slowly faded. His first choice in paying what was, after all a ceremonial visit, would be to wear a suit. But he had a feeling that a suit would be overkill. The problem was that he didn't have much choice between his suits, and the jeans and T-shirts that he wore for lounging about the house or quick trips to the store. Eventually, and not without some misgivings, he settled for a light blue denim cotton shirt, and a pair of tan chinos, last year's birthday present from Mattie, and which he rarely wore as their colour was too close for his liking to his uniform peanut butters.
The question of some sort of jacket was slightly more problematical, in an ideal world a dark, but lightweight jacket would have been his first choice, but his only dark jackets, lightweight or otherwise, were his uniform dress blues. So it was with an element of doubt in his mind that he selected a single breasted, two button jacket in unbleached linen, shrugging into it he checked his reflection in the three-quarter length mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door and with another shrug, this time of resignation, he slipped the jacket off and laid it across his forearm, transferring his wallet and a clean handkerchief to its pockets before he headed for the stairs and the kitchen.
Even in the short a few minutes it took to brew a half pot of coffee and slipped two slices of bread into the toaster, the smile was back on his face as he once again recalled last night's very tender goodnight from Gill.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Johnny was also awake early, and was just about as cheerful as Harm. Although in his case his pleasure was the result of a mixture of memories from yesterday and anticipation of the surprise that he had just arranged for Julia's benefit, and which he hoped she would enjoy. As far as he was concerned, there were better ways to spend the day, but if his plan brought pleasure to Julia, then he was more than just content to make sure that she enjoyed the day.
So, having consumed an early and hearty breakfast, washed down with about a pint of coffee, Johnny brought his Astra to a stop at the kerbside outside Julia's house, and started to climb out of the driver's seat in order to summon Julia. However, he aborted that idea, as before he was even half out of his seat, Julia, her camera case in hand and clad in jeans and a lavender button down shirt stepped through the door, and started down the path towards the roadside.
Julia opened the passenger side door, and reaching over the seats placed her camera case on the rear seat, before leaving further in to greet Johnny with an enthusiastic good morning kiss.
"Okay….Not that I'm complaining, but that was quite a performance for a good morning, how are you, sort of kiss."
Julia giggled and surreptitiously jerked a thumb back towards the direction of the house, "Well, apart from the fact that it's lovely to see you again so soon, and," she cast a highly appreciative eye at the way Johnny's white T-shirt moulded itself to his chest and stomach muscles, "that you will persist in looking almost good enough to eat, it's also a way of reminding Patty, who's very probably hiding behind the drapes, that you're spoken for!"
"Spoken for, hey? I kind of like the sound of that," Johnny grinned.
Julia blushed slightly, she hadn't meant to sound quite so possessive, but on reflection, she, like Johnny, kinda liked the idea of them both being spoken for.
To cover her slightly heightened colour, she slipped into the passenger seat and made a great pretence of fastening her seatbelt. "So, where are we off to today?"
"You know that photographic safari that neither of us can afford?"
"Yes?" Julia replied and questioned in the one word.
"Well, that's where we're going!" Johnny said triumphantly.
"But... How... I mean... what, where... and... Oh, I don't think I know what I mean..." Julia confessed with a chuckle.
"Longleat Safari Park," Johnny explained, "it's about half an hour the other side of Larkhill, where the firepower demo was, remember?"
"So… about two hours, then?" Julia asked, a smile just twitching the corners of her mouth.
"About that," Johnny agreed as he engaged first gear and let the Astra pull away from the kerbside.
Julia giggled, she couldn't resist it, "Or about three hours, if we have to stop to let you get some breakfast…"
"Not today, Julia Martinez, I was up betimes, and breakfasted in solitary splendour! Not a single officer in view to spoil me appetite!"
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
it was just twenty past eleven when Gill stepped out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby, where Harm had been idly browsing through one of the Sunday papers, while keeping an eye on the elevator at the same time. As soon as he caught sight of Gill, he tossed the paper onto the coffee table in front of him and jumped to his feet, crossing the lobby in half a dozen swift strides, to reach out and take both her hands in his while greeting her with a soft kiss.
"And a very good morning to you too!" Gill smiled.
"Well, I... um... I always sort of thought... That... umm... actions speak louder than words... I suppose," Harm mumbled, aware that the tips, at least, of his ears were beginning to glow crimson.
Gill smiled up at him "Oh, they do, they do indeed, and I've always reckoned that you were a man of action! But, you know, words do have a place in the scheme of things!"
Harm felt his heart give a little lurch, as he wondered if this was Gill's tactful way of saying they should have one of 'those' conversations, but he smiled as he agreed "Yes, yes they do. For instance the kiss may have said 'good morning', but it doesn't tell you that I think you look fantastic this morning!"
Gill laughed lightly, "Escape and evasion? Do they teach that during pilot training? But, merci du compliment, M'sieur!" And truthfully she was pleased with the compliment. Unknown to Harm, the blue, daisy print, cap-sleeved and a square necked summer dress she wore was brand-new, and this was the first time she had worn it in public, and more especially for him.
Harm smiled in reply to Gill's laughter, "Not escape and evasion, but more a case of being rendered speechless by you."
Gill laughed again, "Flatterer!" She accused while she tucked her hand into his arm as he walked out through the hotel doors "and one of these days, flattery might just get you somewhere, but I most strongly advise you not to try it with Granny!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," Harm averred, "from what you told me about her, I'm terrified already!"
"Fibber, I strongly doubt whether you've ever been terrified of anybody in your whole life!" Gill smiled as he opened the Mondeo's door for her.
Harm just smiled in return as he waited for her to settle in the passenger seat before he closed the door and hurried around the front of the vehicle to the driver's side. 'Oh Gill, you have no idea!' he thought.
However, he was able to return a smiling reply to Gill's "So, where are we off to?"
"I thought we could go back to that pub at Sandford, so you can tell me more about the ducks and geese! And, like you said, it's only about twenty miles from your folks' place."
Gill nodded, "Makes sense," she agreed "it's virtually en route, you know how to get there, and… You seem to enjoy the food and the shandy." She finished with a grin.
Harm grinned and acknowledged her sally with a fencer's, "Touché!" But under his relaxed façade his mind was racing. Last night, Gill had asked if he if he meant what the deeper kiss implied. Yes, he did mean it, he'd been attracted to the younger Englishwoman almost before he first set eyes on her, he had fought against that attraction, and lost. Now he was beginning to hope cautiously that he hadn't entirely missed his chance at life. But as always, there were complications. There was his history with Mac, whatever it had been, might have been, might have possibly become, and its abrupt termination, just when he had finally been able to open up to her and lay his heart at her feet. Then, there was Mattie. She had been one of Mac's most devoted advocates, repeatedly urging Harm to let down his walls, and let her in. The trouble was that even as he had started to demolish his walls Mac drew back. He could somewhat sympathise with her self-doubt after her medical condition had been diagnosed, but then at Christmas after she lost the argument with the tree, it had appeared for a short while that she was finally going to close the gap only to once more at the last moment withdraw. Then there had come… he still wasn't quite sure what to call it… the Vukovic episode? And she had appeared so wrapped up in the younger man, that it seemed she barely listened to Harm when he'd tried to call her about Mattie's terrible accident.
Then all the confusion, the doubts and the misunderstandings had appeared to melt away in the aftermath of their new orders. He had at last broken through his final defensive line and said those three little words that Mac had apparently been so desperate to hear for so long, only to have them thrown back in his face. That had not only devastated him but also deeply affected Mattie, he could only hope now, in the light of her words on the Roberts' porch that she was willing for him to invite another woman into his life. If not, then life was going to be a little trickier than usual for a while, even by his standards. But he was not about to allow the teenager, no matter how much he loved her, to dictate when and whether he had an adult relationship
Now he was sitting in a car with that woman en route to a landmark in their relationship, to meet her family, hard on the heels of the hint she had dropped at the hotel, that in the light of the small but significant step they had taken in their physical relationship, it was time for one of 'those' talks. The walls he had been at such pains to tear down for Mac's sake, had rebuilt themselves, and the thought of opening up to that extent again, making himself that vulnerable again, terrified him.
Gill and sat back and relaxed against the squabs content to stay silent while Harm wound his way through Ickenham and onto the A40, but now that they were moving along the open road she looked across at Harm and saw that his face was set in a, to her, unfamiliar mask of concentration.
Misunderstanding his concern, Gill said tentatively, "Harm… If you don't want to visit the family, I understand, and I can make a call and just say something's come up and we can't make it today…"
Harm glanced at her in honest surprise, "No, no it.. it's nothing like that. I'll admit it was a bit of a shock when you mentioned it, but now I am... well, I'm actually looking forward to it!"
"Are you sure?" Gill asked, "because when I called and spoke to Mummy she was quite looking forward to meeting you too!"
Harm flashed her one of his one hundred megawatt smiles, and Gill once again felt her insides melting as he asked, "And this is a good thing, why?"
Although perhaps not quite the answer for which Gill had hoped, in some strange way it did reassure her, "Because in the days when I used to bring boyfriends home, back in my salad days, when I was at university, Mummy's invariable reaction was along the lines of 'Oh, dear. Must you bring this wretched young man home with you?' And then at the earliest possibility after the visit, she'd say something along the lines of 'are you bringing him home again?', with the strongest possible suggestion in her tone of voice that she wouldn't be too pleased to see whoever it was, ever again."
"Wow, I know you said your mom was a benevolent tyrant, but if I had known that, I think I've taken out for the high mountains and the tall timber!" Harm grinned in reply.
Gill felt a surge of relief that Harm had emerged from the depths of his introspection, and smiled sweetly, "Oh I don't think you've got anything to fear on that front, after all, Mummy is hardly likely to describe you as wretched".
Harm almost smiled in agreement and then his brain caught up with his ears, "Ouch!" He said, still wearing his grin, "but not at all as young, huh?"
Gill put on the most innocent face she could muster, and looked straight ahead through the windscreen, "I never said that," she replied innocently.
Harm shot her a wryly amused, sideways look, "No, you didn't. And I noticed just how very carefully you didn't say that!"
Gill let her shoulders slump exaggeratedly, "You got me," she confessed.
Harm decided that it was time for a little payback, "Yes, I did," he asserted, but then in a much more tender voice he added, "But you got me, too."
Gill gasped in surprise, and almost gave herself whip lash as she turned her head to face him. She saw on his face the most tender expression she had yet seen, and not a single element of teasing or mockery. Almost stunned into silence, she managed a smile that she hoped was equally as tender, and relaxed back into her seat, but reached over and dropped her right hand on his left knee.
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Lunch had been a leisurely affair, preceded and followed by a stroll from the car park along the riverbank, but this time with their arms looped around each other's waist. The food had been as good as it had been on their previous visit, and Harm had remembered when ordering their shandies to make Gill's a half pint.
Harm had made an effort not to allow himself to become distracted by the ramifications of his current situation, and had managed to keep the conversation light and inconsequential, Gill had responded in a like manner, and as a result the afternoon had passed pleasantly enough, but Harm had resolved that the time for 'that' conversation was fast approaching, and Gill despite her outward cheerfulness seemed to sense that Harm had something on his mind, but like Harm she was determined not to let any further worries or concerns intrude on a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon, as a result they returned to the car in a tranquil mood.
The journey from the car park to the village of Dinton, where Gill's father was the Church of England, to Harm that meant Episcopalian, Vicar took just under thirty minutes, thanks in no small measure to Gill's familiarity with the roads and her ability to navigate, allowing the driver enough time to react to her instructions. Such ability had not always been present in Harm's past experience, and as he decelerated in preparation for another right hand turn across the oncoming traffic, he asked "Have you ever done any rallying?"
"No, why?" Gill asked.
"There's not many who give navigational instructions in time for the driver to react, without having to overreact."
Gill shrugged, "it's just common sense," she said, "Now careful, crossroads ahead, you need to turn right, and then pull over and stop in about fifty metres."
Harm did as instructed, pulling in behind a small, white, Volvo. Gill pointed to the right, to where a breast high stone wall sat about twenty yards back from the roadside, pierced by a lych-gate, and behind which sat a mellow, almost honey-coloured square towered church.
"Daddy's place of business," Gill smiled, "The parish church of Saints Peter and Paul at Dinton." And although there was a hint of mocking irreverence in her voice, much more apparent were the overtones of pride and affection.
Harm nodded, "it looks wonderful, I'd love to be able to look around at some stage."
Gill looked at him, to try to ascertain whether he meant what he said, or if he was just being polite. She decided after a few seconds study that he meant his words. "Well, if you don't mind staying for a couple of hours, Daddy will be opening up the church again at about eighteen-thirty hours for Evensong, and I know he'd be only too pleased to show you around. But, if you are ready, Saint George?"
"Saint George?" Harm queried.
"Of course," Gill giggled, "after all, you're about to meet the Dragons!"
"Damn, now you have got me shaking in my boots!" Harm complained as he opened Gill's door
"Oh, yes, of course I do, dear" Gill quipped as she extended a hand for Harm to help her out to the car.
"This way," Gill nodded towards the flagstone path that led to the lych-gate, "Good afternoon, Mrs Summers!" she called to an elderly lady who had come to the door of her cottage in front of which Harm had parked the Mondeo. The old lady smiled benevolently, nodded and raised a hand in greeting.
"Quick!" Gill hissed urgently and grabbed Harm's elbow, almost pushing him in the direction of the church, "If she catches us it'll take half an hour for us to work our way clear!"
"That bad?" Harm asked in some alarm.
"You wouldn't believe it," Gill replied as she opened the gate leading into the churchyard. "This way," she urged as she nodded in the direction of another gateway set in the left hand wall.
That gate opened almost at her touch, and Harm found himself in a well-maintained garden, the lawn neatly manicured, and serving as a background to four or five flower beds ablaze with summer flowers, while the northern wall of the garden supported a trellis up which climbed, in a medley of colours, several varieties of flowering vine.
However, Harm only had time to gain a fleeting impression, as Gill turned him towards the flagstone patio in front of a pair of open French Windows. The patio was furnished with a pair of rustic benches flanking the French Windows, and a less intimidating picnic table and four brightly coloured, folding, wooden framed, canvas deck chair. Two of the deck chairs were occupied by an elderly gentleman, somewhere between Chaplain Turner and Admiral Chegwidden in age, dressed in dark slacks, a grey shirt with a clerical collar, and a slightly younger woman in a floral print summer dress, who stood as she saw them enter the garden.
A third chair, a folding, canvas elbow chair was the seat of a distinguished looking elderly, grey-haired lady, who was evidently the source of the DNA which had granted those same, large, brown eyes to Gill. Elderly she might be, her face covered with a network of fine lines, bearing testimony to her years. But there was nothing old in her expression, in her eyes or in her voice, as she lifted her head. "Gill! You've kept us waiting on enough, the tea's going cold! Now, is this the young man you've trotted out in the hope of gaining our approval?"
Harm winced at the acerbic tone in the old lady's voice, but Gill nearly broke into a laugh, and bent to bestow a gentle kiss on the old lady's cheek "Granny, you are a wicked old woman. Stop trying to scare him off, you keep moaning at me that I'm turning out an old maid, but you've frightened off every eligible bachelor for fifty miles around! And as for the tea going cold…" Gill cast a shrewd look at the tray sitting on the table, "the teapot hasn't got its cosy on, so don't even try to pretend that the brew has been mashed – I'll bet the kettle hasn't even been put on to boil yet!"
"No respect for the elderly, that's the trouble with youth today, and where did you pick up that horrible expression!"
"Now, Granny, why would you want me to respect you, when you've got my love? And as for that quote horrible expression unquote, if you mean about the brew being mashed…"
"Yes! That's the one! I'll wager you got it from that scapegrace brother of yours!"
"Absolutely correct, Granny, but he got it from you!"
"That's enough, Gill," the Reverend Shephard instructed his wayward daughter in mock reproof as he pulled himself out of his deckchair. "Please show a little respect to your grandmother, otherwise I'll have a whole week of having my mistakes in bringing you up trotted out!" But even as he spoke he dropped a broad wink to both his mother and his daughter.
"And you must be Captain Rabb?" Gill's father turned his attention to Harm.
"Yes, Sir," Harm replied, adding the honorific automatically.
"There, Gill," the Reverend said to his broadly grinning daughter, "that's how to show proper respect!"
"Yes, Daddy," his entirely unrepentant and unabashed daughter replied.
Pretending for the moment to ignore Gill's reply, the Reverend turned back to Harm, "It's a long time, since anybody called me 'Sir', and I've probably forgotten how to respond to it, so you'd best call me Jack, the same as everyone else does. And this is my wife, Alice, and, you've probably deduced that the head of the family, sitting over there is my mother."
Harm gulped, feeling slightly overwhelmed by his surroundings, and, on the part of Gill's father, his immediate acceptance. However, there was a calculating, measuring expression in Alice Shephard's eyes, and he had already, albeit indirectly, experienced the acerbic tongue of Gill's grandmother. Nevertheless he smiled, and grasped the hand the Reverend and extended towards him, "Gill has told me quite a bit about her family, and I am very happy to make your acquaintance."
The Reverend grinned, and cocked a knowing eye at Harm under a quizzical eyebrow, "No, are you? Well, we'll see!".
Harm relaxed he detected that underlying the Reverend's words was the sense that he was being gently teased, and that for some reason the Reverend Shephard was inclined to like him on sight.
His thoughts were disturbed, as Gill's grandmother raised her voice. "It's no use him standing all the way over there like a lamp post. Bring him to me girl, so I can get a proper look at him!" she directed her granddaughter.
Gill held out her hand to Harm as he stepped forward, "Granny, I'd like you to meet my friend, Captain Harmon Rabb. Harm, may introduce you to my grandmother, Anne Shephard."
Harm stepped forward, "Gill has told me a lot about you, ma'am, and I am very pleased to meet you."
Anne Shephard stared at him shrewdly, "Well, he's tall enough, he's polite enough, but he's old for a Captain – come up through the ranks, did he?"