Despite the fact that locating Holly Cottage when all the houses look much the same, in that they have high hedges at the front shielding all but the roof tops from being overlooked, which has required Harry and Ruth to drive down what is known locally as the catch not only once but twice, designed they are sure to prevent outsiders from parking anywhere other than in the centre of the village where the shops are, Harry manages without venting his frustration or revealing what else he has been thinking, up to and beyond the moment when they are rescued by a very nice couple with dog and without him needing to lie by saying they were visiting his cousin, who are more than happy to give them directions. Because not only is he determined to make the most of this opportunity and not balls it up, Ros's words not his but since Ruth suggested that they have a conversation where they don't talk in riddles, means that with three whole days when they can be themselves, not only does he want to prove to Ruth that there is a way to regain what had been torn away from them but that he understands it has to be at a pace which suits her.
Thoughts which mean that when Malcolm opens his door having not known not what to expect he is pleasantly surprised when Ruth gives him a hug and Harry shakes his hand along with a broad smile that had been missing during the entire time that she had been away and as a consequence, had it been anyone other than him having spent more evenings with Harry that had been wise, based on the amount of alcohol they had consumed during that time would have considered if perhaps Harry had taken something that comes under the heading of banned substances.
That he himself had walked into the village earlier in the day and bought a cake from the local bakery as a stop gap before dinner, which once he has ushered them into what was is a very comfortable sitting room where he spends most of his time either reading or watching TV, sees him heading into the kitchen to make the tea, having said if either of them need to use the bathroom then it is first on the right at the top of the stairs which had not only seen Ruth disappearing but gave Harry another moment but this time to imagine Malcolm in these surroundings. Similar in as much the building itself reminds him of the house where Malcolm had lived with his mum, but still with the question as to why he has chosen to move here when the last time that he had seen him he had talked about a walking holiday in Scotland?
Which means that the last thing that he expects Malcolm to say when he asks him is, 'visiting castles - do you know that in East Sussex alone there are as many as twenty three,' before handing him a photograph of what is clearly Malcolm as a young child standing in front of what according to the date on the back means that he would had been seven when this was taken is Hever Castle alongside his father, before adding, 'I found this in a box when I was having a clear out and I know it probably sounds silly but I thought if I came here and did something completely different, it would help me to make some sense of it all.'
'It's not silly at all Malcolm,' Harry tells him, knowing that the sense of it all to which he is referring, is not only about the recent loss of his mum, but what had been the truly horrific demise of Colin, plus the others who have died unnecessarily and before their time, including what would have been Ruth if it hadn't been for Ros's timely intervention, only for both of them to be saved from what almost certainly would have seen a dip in their moods but a conversation which would have been counter-productive when Ruth reappears bringing them both back to the here and now and the reason they had accepted his invitation. But more importantly because Malcolm has no intension of working until the following morning they agree with his suggestion that as the sun has come out maybe when they have finished their tea they should all go for a walk.
One which takes the three of them through the cut which is a narrow pathway between his neighbours and the house beyond onto a footpath that had kept going would have eventually taken them to the sea but for now does its job in as much as it prevents Malcolm from returning to the subject as to how he is going to cope and more importantly stops him from asking what has happened to cause such a transformation in their behaviour?
A subject of many parts which sooner rather than later they have to confront when Harry carries their bags upstairs and it becomes a case of who is going to sleep in which bedroom, although whether or not Malcolm realises or doesn't see because he is setting the table for dinner they don't know, whereas they are more than aware that the last time they had been in this situation had been at Havensworth and that moment in the corridor when Harry in shirt sleeves and without a tie just as he is now, had walked towards her his eyes begging her not to reject him and is the reason he says, 'you choose Ruth,' pointing to the two partially open doors, to deflect himself from doing or saying something stupid to ruin this opportunity, despite both rooms at least from what he can see are identical and because he is carrying Ruth's luggage means that whichever room she chooses he will have to step inside.
Not knowing that when Ruth had come upstairs earlier she had had a look so knows that the one overlooking the back garden is the closest to the bathroom and for no other reason than the thought of running the gauntlet when it comes to bath times with Malcolm, who may or may not have an en-suite and to a lesser degree Harry with whom she will have to share, both of whom are gentleman so will do everything to ensure that she isn't embarrassed in any way, is none the less the reason that she opts for the bedroom with the green bedspread.
Saved as is Harry at least for the moment from having to verbally admit to each other that this is the closest they have felt to stepping over what is the inevitable line since the night he had taken her out, because not only are they in Malcolm's house but dinner is imminent so instead with the luggage deposited they head back downstairs where they enjoy what is a very good dinner which Malcolm has obvious gone to a lot of trouble to produce combined with a couple of bottles of wine. After which he rejects Ruth's offer to help him with the washing up and instead says, 'I still listen to the Shipping Forecast which isn't on for a while yet so you two go on up,' before adding, 'and if either of you wake up before I do in the morning, then please make yourself a warm drink.'
.
Thanking Malcolm, it becomes a close run thing as to who moves first, before almost in unison they find themselves facing each other on the landing, which not surprisingly feels as though it has shrunk in size. Although whether it is because Harry had kissed her on the cheek the night before or not, Ruth neither knows or does she run when his hand closes over hers expecting that at least he will do the same, only to be more than disappointed when without the kiss she had been expecting he says, 'sleep well Ruth, I'll see you in the morning,' before disappearing behind his door.
If Ruth feels disappointed and confused, then Harry who is now leaning against the inside of his door is calling himself an idiot big time. Because not only had they both been fully dressed and it wasn't as if he hadn't kissed her before was it although technically it had been her who had kissed him, how to rectify his mistake having dismissed knocking on her door and apologising when she might already be in the process of getting undressed and yes this will be the next step, but not at the first opportunity because Ruth has never been anything but the woman that not only does he love but respects, he doesn't know. That and the prime reason they are here is so that she can sort out her finances and once that is done can find somewhere of her own to live, the second of which he can and will help her to achieve if she wants him to, still doesn't justify why having taken her hand he had then turned away and is the reason that when he himself finally climbs into bed he knows he is facing a fretful night.