Chapter 35

Deborah got back from work at about half past one. They had a snack lunch and were off to see Neil by two.

Neil must have been about six foot four in his stocking feet weighing in at about eighteen stone all of which was bone and muscle. Deborah felt as if she only came up to his waist.

"How nice to meet you both," he said shaking Richard's hand and then kissing Rachel's, something that surprised her immensely. Neil chuckled. "I only do that for very, very beautiful ladies. You are a very lucky man, Richard. Do you know where there are any more?"

Richard smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said. "There's only one like this."

"Well," said Neil. "If Friday was such a great day you'd better show me the ring, Deborah." She did and Neil was duly impressed.

"Thank you so much, Neil," she said. "What was going to be a good day was made a fabulous day by you and Geoffrey. It was a brilliant idea to get him in on the act but it was also very, very kind of you to arrange it all at such short notice and at such a wonderful price. Thank you very, very much."

She stood on tiptoe and reached vainly for his head. He bent down and she put her arms round his neck and gave him a smacking kiss full on the lips.

"Wow!" he exclaimed as she released him.

"Fully deserved," she said and treated him to one of her heart stopping smiles. "We're going to have an engagement barbeque three weeks tomorrow. I do hope you will come."

"Nothing will stop me. Yes please."

"Good! Well, I've got a quick bit of shopping to do so I'll leave you here, darling, to settle up and see you at the car in about twenty minutes. Goodbye, Neil, and thank you again. See you at the barbeque." She gave Richard a quick but impassioned kiss and was gone.

"Congratulations, Richard! You've found yourself a winner."

Richard smiled. "Thank you, Neil. I agree. Now what do I owe you?

Neil tossed a bill in front of him.

Richard wrote a cheque saying as he did so, "I thought the petrol would be a lot more than that."

"You were saved by the dual carriageway and motorway. It was when you got into London that the consumption started to go really high."

"I don't begrudge it one bit. Thank you, Neil. We both really are very, very grateful. Now, I have two questions for you and you can refuse to answer either because I'm being nosy."

"Go on then."

" Geoffrey said that you had served together but not regimentally. I put two and two together and probably made five but were you both in the SAS?"

Neil looked him in the eye but Richard did not flinch.

"Yes," he said.

"OK, thank you. That leads me on to my second question and I have a very good reason for asking it. First though, because I don't want to foul things up, is this room clean apart from anything you may have installed?"