Chapter 22

Mary invited herself to supper with the Hardacres again that evening. She wanted to let Steven know that she thought Ray was safe but most of all she needed to talk to Becca.

Steven, as ever, greeted her lovingly. She told him that she was confident of handling Ray. "It might just be though," she added, "that he might lose his head if I turn him down."

"'If' not 'when'," Steven smiled at her.

"I just don't know. Oh, Uncle Steven, I found it so difficult at lunch time. Half of me wanted to be even rougher with him than I was. The other half wanted to wind myself round him and forgive him everything."

She looked beseechingly at Becca.

Becca smiled fondly albeit slightly ruefully at her. "I've really no idea, love. I've never experienced anything similar. Is he the same Ray you fell in love with?"

"Well, he looks the same but behaves as though he's had all the stuffing knocked out of him. I've never known him so lost for words and apologetic."

"I wonder whether it was the fear of being arrested or done over by the other two that's cowed him."

"I don't think so. He admitted that they were all three worried when I first left but then they realised I hadn't done anything. He did say though that they made his last month a misery with cruel and vicious teasing but there were no threats."

"I'd guess," said Steven, "that that would have been more belittling him for not being able to keep or control his wife and wild surmises about what you'd probably been up to."

Mary nodded.

"How did he explain that cable?" asked Becca.

"He said that although he was missing me his anger overrode it."

"Do you believe that?"

"I think so."

"Hmm! It could indicate a lack of rationality. He might go off the rails again."

Mary nodded miserably.

"On the other hand, the fact that you had carried out your threat could have meant to him that you didn't love him enough to stay with him for better for worse. In addition, at that stage he was probably still frightened that you were going to shop them. Let's face it, you were pretty determined to at the time."

"Yes," Mary whispered.

"So it's pretty understandable that he was unhinged," chipped in Becca.

Mary looked at her hopefully.

"It still doesn't show much strength of character to me," muttered Steven.

Mary's face fell again.

"They weren't like that in my day," said Becca gruffly but grinning.

Steven smiled back.

"He wasn't so spineless that he wasn't prepared to come after you and try again though," said Becca.

Mary perked up again.

"I wonder whether he's thought any further than just getting you back," added Becca. "I mean will he want to go back to Australia or would he be prepared to settle here? Will he listen to what you'd prefer to do?"

Mary shrugged. "I don't know."

"It might be a test of his love for you."

"Or mine for him."

"True."

There was silence broken at last by Becca. She leant across the table and covered Mary's hand with hers.

"It seems clear to me that you do still have strong feelings for Ray but that you need to make sure that he now fully realises his obligations to you: to trust you, to consider your point of view, to be more adult in his dealings with you, to put his love for you above himself."

She paused waiting for Mary to look up at her.

"So he's got to woo you again and he's got to come up with all those things I've just mentioned. You must not put words into his mouth or he may just trot them back out at you. He and only he has got to realise those obligations himself and promise you that he will fulfil them."

"That could take a long time."

"Yes, love, but not necessarily and you don't want to run into this sort of trouble again."

"No!" She looked at Steven who nodded.

"I think she's hit the nail on the head," he said.

When Mary left later she hugged Becca. "Thank you," she whispered. "I love you, Becca. Thank God Uncle Steven found you."

"Dead right!" Becca murmured hugging her back.

It took Mary a long time to get to sleep that night. She was so excited that Ray had come to claim her back and had told her he loved her. On the other hand, he had hurt her deeply and she still felt that. Could she stick to Becca's advice and not show her feelings? She had to. She just had to if it was going to work and she so wanted it to. She had to go on being tough. It was going to be difficult with those blue eyes speaking love to her. 'Gentle tough, ' she thought. 'Gentle tough.' On that note she finally fell asleep.

Both were shy of each other when they met the next day at The Shepherd. They started with disjointed conversation about nothings. At last Mary took the bull by the horns.

"Ray," she said, "I didn't take the decision to run away with you lightly and I'm still not sorry I did. We had a lot going for us and I still feel a lot for you but, and it's a big but, you let me down over something I felt and still feel very strongly about."

Ray sensibly said nothing, merely nodded sadly.

"As I say, I still have feelings for you but you have got to prove to me that if I come back to you I can trust you not to let me down again."

"I understand. What assurances do you want?"

"Think about it, Ray, then you tell me."

Ray thought for a moment. "OK," he said. "That's fair, I guess."

Mary smiled at him.

"How long are you planning to stay over here?" she asked.

"Until you say yes and then perhaps for ever."

"Well, in that case, you can't go on staying in expensive hotels so what are you going to do?"

"Find digs and a job, I guess."

Mary nodded but offered nothing.

"I could try the travel agency I used to work for."

Mary nodded again.

"It's all I really know. At least I could give first hand advice on Melbourne and the surrounding area and," he added with the ghost of a wry smile, "Bangkok."

Mary smiled too. "Without the extras."

"Without the extras."

"Did anything strike you as a way ahead in the travel business?" she asked.

"Yes, two things, one of which has already started in a small way."

"Go on."

"Cheap flights by chartered airlines to popular resorts..."

"Could you get into that?"

"I don't think so. I haven't got the capital.

"But you might be able to get the travel firm interested if you get your job back. After all they are a national company as opposed to a small local business.

Ray nodded thoughtfully.