'We have a car Ruth and I'm sure there must be shops that won't require us to go into to a large town,' had been Harry's response to her asking, 'why hadn't he brought more clothes with him,' rather than him tell her that Adam had packed what he thought he would need because he had been throwing up at the time. That she had been smiling suggested that she liked him in what were indisputably casuals, but that he would run out of items that went under said casuals despite her having a washing machine.

A subject which has been indirectly resurrected when they are walking along the towpath as she had planned to do in the direction of the church, in as much as they are going to cook tonight's dinner together, which suggests that they have somehow managed to throw off the shackles which had prevented anything other than a conversation with smouldering looks and unfinished sentences.

Including the not so small matter that as there is only one bedroom in the cottage which meant Harry would have had to sleep on the sofa, which had been an offer with very little enthusiasm on his part and on Ruth's with determination as much as Ruth was determined about anything that they should share the bed. Highlighted even further now they have reached the point where the canal changes direction and in all senses of the word are alone, apart from a pair of swans who are gliding around together. Something which causes Harry not for the first time to weigh up his priorities and come down firmly on the side of spending the rest of his life with Ruth. A desire that comes with a question when they reach the path that takes them away from the canal in the direction of the church. Where every gravestone is in some way a tribute to a family member who was killed in one or other of the two world wars and Ruth says, 'I first came to France on a school trip and fell in love with the way of life and I've always wanted to come back.'

Does she mean permanently? She certainly seems settled in the cottage and her choice to rent it with an open-ended contract seems to suggest that she does which means what in terms of their relationship? Not now he tells himself, despite the thought of not having her in his home and his bed or in this case hers is best kept for another day, so settles on, 'it's getting a bit chilly so I think we ought to head back.'

The unanswered question though stays with him way beyond him helping her off with her coat by which time the light is fading so to distract himself he puts himself in Ruth's shoes as the one who has been exiled and how he would have felt and reacted. Angry that he hadn't seen it coming but above all lonely which brings him to the conclusion as to why Ruth has set herself a routine to fill her days. It's a coping mechanism that he can and wants to contribute to or break depending how things progress, so without making it obvious when she heads into the kitchen to make them a pot of tea he adds a couple of logs to the fire

The domesticity that he has been is craving in the form of this extraordinary woman, who had he known is also struggling to keep to said routine and more so in the confines of the cottage where every move Harry makes and now that the curtains have been drawn is causing her to wonder if they could just skip dinner and go to bed. Harry the ultimate gentleman who is going to stay for as long as she wants him to and has always turned up when she had needed him. The night when Gary Hicks had broken into her house and when Maudsley had jumped in front of the train, when she could just easily have called Adam. No, she thinks to herself it has always been Harry who has been willing to wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe.

.

Now with the tea in front of them, 'I thought you might like a change of scenery tomorrow. Perhaps we could drive along the coast and get the shopping we need. Then walk along the seafront before having lunch somewhere what do you think?' he asks her.

'Yes, that sounds lovely,' she says, breathing normally at the thought of something as ordinary as a day out. A thought that remains during what is left of the evening which includes preparing and eating dinner before doing the washing up together. All of which feels as though they have been doing this for ever, such is the ease into which they are cohabiting under one roof. Only for it to be brought to a head when Harry who by now is running on empty due to lack of sleep, not only to yawns but looks to her for confirmation that they are going to share the bed. An unspoken question which causes her to blush like a bonfire despite her efforts to stay calm. Something which of course doesn't go unnoticed by Harry who doesn't feel tired anymore.

.

'How was he when you left him,' Malcolm asks Adam who having had to wait an age at the tunnel before getting a slot on the train, had gone home to unpack have a shower and something to eat before driving to Thames House and parking Harry's car in a secure space reserved for guests. That he would rather have stayed at home had been overtaken by his need to do what he is paid to do, so having made himself a cup of coffee has gone to see the one person he can trust not to repeat anything he says. That and he also knows the strong bond that Harry and Malcolm have and by extension Ruth means he can be honest.

'Panicking as he has been the entire time we've been away, but hopefully by now with the best part of the day gone they'll be - well you know.'

'The fact that he hasn't called me since since yesterday evening would suggest so Adam, because as we both know there are enough lonely people in the world without them being added to the list and neither of us want them to end up in the state that Martin is, which according to Ros is completely broken.

'Problems?'

Only in as much that despite our best efforts we still have no idea where Mace is.'

'And everything else?'

'Jo has stepped into Ruth's shoes as best she can but we could probably do with another analyst to speed things up. Zaf is on top of what have been only minor threats and Ros has succeeded in running the ship to the extent that the Home Secretary is leaving us to get on with it. Although I am pleased to see you back because having had a route around into the goings on during JIC meetings and specifically the date in question, the minutes clearly state that Mace left the meeting before it finished. Which based purely on instinct and what Martin told us, has led me to believe that there may be other yet to be unexplained civilian deaths with Mace's grubby paw prints on them going back years. So with your permission I would like to keep digging to ensure that when we do find him, and I know it's not like me to seek revenge, but I'd like to think that you and Ros get to question him before we hand him over to whoever makes the final decision as to what to do with him.'

'That I can promise you Malcolm and yes do whatever it takes to prove your theory. But not until you go home and get a good night's sleep because you looked whacked.'