Chapter 22

Richard played golf on Wednesday morning which was a good thing as it kept him occupied. He played reasonably well, which came as a slight surprise to him considering his distraction, and he enjoyed his opponent's company. They had known each other a long time.

That did not stop him being at the tree on time. Deborah had beaten him to it. He glanced round. No one else was in sight.

"You beat me to it," he said gathering her in his arms. "Hello, my darling!"

"At last!" she said into his chest. "I don't know how I got through this morning." She turned her face up to him. "I don't think I've killed anybody but it was hard work concentrating. Can I have a kiss?"

They kissed: gently, lengthily and lovingly.

When they finally broke apart Deborah's face and, of course, her eyes were a picture of joy.

"Darling!" they said simultaneously and then collapsed in giggles.

" 'Yes, darling?'" she asked.

" 'Nothing! Just darling, darling!' "

That set them off into giggles again.

"Come on," said Richard. "We've got to exercise these animals."

"Yessir! We're not going to go on quoting Shakespeare or 1930's Punch, are we?"

"I hope not. Good as they were they're hardly original."

"No, but I hope that every time I say 'I love you' you're not going to accuse me of being unoriginal, are you?"

"Never! You can say it as often as you want and my heart will fill with joy."

"Fine! But we're back to you bursting again so I'll watch my step."

"I love you, Deborah. You make me laugh."

She smiled up at him. "That makes two of us," she said.

"Let's make a change," Richard said, "and walk the other way."

"It's a bit short."

"Not if we do a bit of trespassing."

"Ooh!"

"Come on, girls," he called to the dogs who left their nosing about and bounded joyfully off.

They walked on in happy silence for a couple of minutes. Once again, Richard walked in the right-hand wheel rut while Deborah walked in the middle of the track. This time they held hands though.

Deborah looked up at him.

"Penny for them," she said.

"Sorry, I was just wondering how to start."

Deborah pulled him to a stop, turning him so that they were facing each other.

"Richard, darling," she said, "please don't ever hesitate to tell me anything. It doesn't have to be well thought out and prepared. I want to hear whatever as it is. I love you too much to have to think over everything we're going to say to each other. Trust me, sweetheart."

"I do. I will, but forgive me if I don't always just blurt things out."

"Of course! What's on your mind at the moment?"

They continued walking and Richard could not help the minute pause before he said, "It's just that I was completely flabbergasted when Sharon said yesterday that you'd told her to 'look after' me when you ran off yesterday. I let her because you had said so and I was very frustrated. I didn't actually feel any guilt but I did wonder."

Deborah smiled a little ruefully.

"I surprised myself actually," she replied. "I'm a monogamist by upbringing and by nature. I'm a jealous lover but I'd just promised Sharon that I would never take you away from her and she'd broken down in gratitude and said that if ever I took you away or you pushed her away she'd probably do away with herself. That was pretty shattering. And then she'd just given you, the love of her life, to me because she didn't feel she could live up to you."

"I know, I know. That's why I was tying myself in such knots telling you about us."

"But you did tell me and you were completely open about your love for her and I could not deny my love for you. If I had said to myself: 'If he feels that strongly about her and she for him then they can stew in their own juice, ' I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life. In this very short time I've grown to love you deeply, Richard, and to admire you for your honesty and courage among other things. I could not and cannot let you go over something like this. I may not be entirely happy with it but I have a feeling that it will work itself out."

She paused and Richard stopped, took her other hand and gazed down on her with love and admiration.

"I'll tell you another thing though," and her eyes began to sparkle again, "there'll be none of this three in a bed stuff. I am just not into other women."

"Heaven forbid!" Richard exclaimed. "It had never even crossed my mind."

"It better hadn't!" She reached up and kissed him. "Come on, solemn face, the dogs are getting bored."