If Harry is surprised when Ruth links her arm through his then he doesn't show it, whilst she on the other hand is beginning to appreciate the man behind the mask who had rolled up his sleeves and helped her to pack her most cherished possessions collected over many years, in such a way that she wants to prove to him that not only does she trust him but that their unspoken keep at arms-length relationship, might in time see her sharing his concerns in as much as a problem shared is a problem halved. Something which had never been an option with her boss at GCHQ, whereas Harry despite her having read his file has something about him that makes him interesting in a way that not only makes her feel safe but wants to get to know him better and is why she is happy enough to let him take the lead as to what they do and where they go on what is one of several market days in Stroud, only made possible since receiving Ros's message telling them to stay put.
Although what she doesn't expect him to say but just adds to the fascination by which time they are walking beside the river is, 'my daughter would do a double take if she saw me doing something that amounts to normal because she sees me and quite rightly spending most of the time sitting behind my desk barking orders as well as presuming that I can read people which I failed to do and almost cost me my freedom when it came to your predecessor whom I'd known for as long as I have Malcolm.'
Opening the door for Ruth to say, 'my claim to fame as far as step mother is concerned and is why she hasn't spoken to me since I joined GCHQ was my step brother Peter Haigh, because she presumed I could have stopped him from killing himself despite me telling her otherwise, which is the reason that I haven't told her that I no longer work there or that once I sell my house I'll be buying something in London.'
'And your father?
'Is and always has been understanding where I'm concerned but since he remarried after my mother died when I was ten has drifted into the background in an effort to keep the peace.'
''I'm sorry,' Harry follows up by saying, 'in which case depending on where they live, I think it's time we find a way for you to talk to him or better still see him?'
In addition to being surprised for what now feels like the umpteenth time, Ruth although she doesn't voice it other than to say, 'thank you, I'd like that,' is because Harry had said we, knowing that it will be virtually impossible to see her father on his own and secondly if she does, that the repercussions if her step mother finds out will cause him further grief, whereas if they see him together she is in no doubt that Harry with few words will be able to either charm or stun her step mother into silence, which gives her the courage to make the call, the result being that on their way back to London at a time yet to be confirmed, she will be able to see the father that she hasn't seen for over a year and if not tell him the truth as to where she is working, at least be able to keep in touch from now on.
A meeting that when it happens, having signed out of the hotel where they had been staying for what now amounts to almost a week, is in a village on the outskirts of Oxford, both familiar as a city where Ruth attended Corpus Christie and where her father had subsequently moved assuming that she would see sense and stay on in some capacity or other, instead of which having tried her hand at teaching had in his opinion entered the murky world of spying.
Today though when he opens the front door, not only does his optimism rise to heights that he hasn't felt for as long as he can remember but the daughter he loves more than life itself looks so well, then wrapping her arms around him before introducing her friend who having shaken his hand and hung up their coats in a way which suggests he's a gentleman, manages to steer his wife into the kitchen to make them all a drink, leaving them alone for long enough that Ruth is able to tell him not only how much she's missed him but by moving to London that she'll be able to visit more often.