'I'm almost ready,' Malcolm tells them opening the door to the sitting room, which they take to mean he is ready to go out, when in fact he has spent the last few days since he saw them plotting his trip around the coastline of mainland Britain. As is obvious when they follow him into the room where maps, lists and an assortment of leaflets are vying for space alongside the inevitable crossword which reminds them of a time when Malcolm and Colin used to compete to finish it, as they did when they were working to develop whatever was required in a variety of locations. Before with a typically understated flourish and by way of an explanation as to why he's invited them inside he hands Ruth an envelope which contains her new passport and the paperwork to prove that she has a bank account in her name, together with a card which has been delivered to Harry's house in London, plus what she hadn't been expecting so brings tears, is pretty much down to the final pound on a statement which proves he has managed to recoup the money she had squirreled away in separate accounts in Cyprus under her aliases.

'You're a genius and they're happy tears,' Harry tells him, once Ruth has headed into the kitchen with the pretext of making them all a drink, knowing that in part her emotional reaction is due to the previous night and how wonderfully right it had felt to both of them, which allows him to take a look at the chart which Malcolm has produced indicating overnight stopping points on what to Harry seems to be overly ambitious trip, until Malcolm reminds him that the last time that either of them had taken more than a day off was when the entire team had attended Ruth's funeral and to how to make it look convincing Adam had suggested that they should make themselves scarce afterwards. Which as Harry well knows had been to protect him at a time when there was every chance that in his state of mind, he would have either make a costly mistake, or have searched out Mace and wrung his scrawny neck.

Now though when Ruth re-appears and needing to change the subject, he tells Malcolm, 'Ruth and I have concluded that it was Connie who set her up otherwise why did she comment about me not having a shiny new ring and suggest that your Sarah had fat fingers if you remember?'

Malcolm does in the same way that he will never forget the moment after security had broken the door down and he, Jo and Ros had found Ben with his throat cut, but to distract himself hangs onto the fact that Harry's recent deductions are suggesting that the two people who have so obvious moved their relationship on and not before time, might perhaps eventually require the purchase of the rings which Connie had used as a means to see Harry's reaction, at a time when he had still been vulnerable given that the only reason they had gone to see her was because he had sanctioned the torture of four agents from other countries including as was later proven the treacherous Bob Hogan.

.

Battle and the surrounding area, a small town named after the battle of Hastings together with an Abbey which had the weather been warmer would have been Malcolm's first choice for a day out, they park for another time and instead drive along the coast road to Rye. Also steeped in history as one of the Cinq Ports it has retained the feeling of being authentic to the point where someone arriving there for the first time as are Harry and Ruth, might expect to see Henry James the writer coming out of the Lamb House where he once lived, or a serving wench from the Mermaid Inn. Neither of which of course happens or can Harry find somewhere to park the car other than in what is named The Gibbet Marsh Car Park which again brings images of a time when punishment was served out almost daily and where crowds came to watch the corpse as it slowly disintegrated.

That it is located at sea level means that to reach the town itself they need to either walk up what is a very steep hill or climb several flights of steps and choosing the latter which Malcolm does without stopping, whereas Harry and Ruth take their time, including to pause and look back at the view of what is a very grey and angry looking sea, with small boats beached on what little shingle there is. Harry conscious as he always is that Ruth had not so long ago lived close to a very different sea and whatever George might have been that she had and still does love and miss Nico, so puts his arm protectively around her shoulders, before catching up with Malcolm in the main street where black and white timber houses blend in with the shops.

One of which sells everything that you need for time spent outdoors according to the sticker on the window and is where, 'far from it I had her approval,' Malcolm tells Harry meaning his mum, after Harry has suggested that being homeless for however long it takes him to walk, bus or train until he finds somewhere that he wants to settle down, having sold the house they had lived in for decades might be a problem. Before adding, 'we discussed it as long as five years ago when she knew what was going on around her and she was all for it,' as Harry watches him trying on a pair of walking boots, with Ruth at this point having disappeared into a bookshop which suggests that they have all the time in the world when in reality they have half an hour before they are due to have lunch in a small restaurant in one of the back streets.

Before completely changing the subject whilst trying on what suggests by the way he is smiling that Malcolm is going to buy the second pair of boots by saying, 'you can't be in two places at once Harry and whether you like it or not there are a lot more people out there who once they realise how important Ruth is to you will try and come between you, so my suggestion for what it's worth is that Ruth moves in with you whether or not she eventually decides to come back to Thames House, besides it will help to ensure that you don't go back to spending your evenings sitting on the grid buried in work that can wait until the morning and more importantly that when you do get home, that you have someone to talk to who you trust sufficiently that you won't have to lie to, plus this time you'll have the complete backing of your colleagues.'

Wise words which Harry hadn't needed to hear because although he and Ruth haven't discussed the subject he is as sure as he can be that by the end of the week that they will be living together on a permanent basis, only for them to become prophetic and cut their holiday short by two days when within an hour of them getting back to Winchelsea his phone rings and Ros says, 'sorry about this but you need to turn on a news channel.'

Resigned possibly but determined definitely when, 'you'll also need an analyst with experience,' says Ruth in a voice which doesn't broker an argument or does it suggest that she's surprised that earlier than they had planned that Harry has to go back to work because the familiar face on the screen is explaining that an Indian nuclear submarine has strayed into Pakistan's waters and the head of the Pakistan military has deemed this as an act of war so is demanding that it withdraws immediately or risk retaliation.

A statement with far too many negatives for Harry to do anything other than say to Ros, 'we'll leave here first thing in the morning so we should be with you about ten.'

Although if Ros is surprised that Ruth is coming back to work she doesn't voice it, or does she hear Harry say to Ruth because he's ended the call, 'I'm dammed if I'm going to let work no matter how serious stop us from having one more night where we are.'