Chapter 13

It was not as though Molly had been particularly quiet coming in but Dan and Gina were so deeply wrapped up in each other that they never heard her. She stood in the doorway and looked at them.

"At last," she thought. "They've been growing closer and closer since that awful night club night and they've both been tip-toeing round each other since the accident."

"Hello, darlings," she said.

Two happy faces popped up. "Hello, Mum," they both said together."

"Dan's asked me to marry him."

"And Gina said yes."

Molly went down on her knees and embraced them both. "I'm so pleased and happy for you both," she said. "Both your fathers would have been thrilled." She kissed them each in turn but then could not but help pull Gina's leg. "Even though he's a stuffy old pedagogue?"

Gina had the grace to blush and then giggled. "I'll drop the 'stuffy old'," she said. "He's really quite sprightly." She kissed him gently.

Dan growled and kissed her back.

"So you obviously had a good walk."

Gina nodded enthusiastically. "And Djamila caught a rabbit. I'm going to cook it up for their dinner tomorrow."

"And I'm going to take you both for a celebratory dinner at the Crown," said Molly.

Gina glanced questioningly at Dan. "Rachel?" she asked softly.

Dan smiled at her. "Don't worry, my sweet. It was nothing more than a friendship and she's going to learn about us soon anyway so the sooner the better. I haven't seen her or spoken to her since she went off to Sherborne three months ago."

Gina squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Well," said Molly. "I don't know about you two lovebirds but I need a cup of tea and a hunk of fruit cake."

"I'll do it," offered Gina, albeit reluctantly detaching herself from Dan.

"I don't imagine you've given any thought to when you'll get married, have you?" said Molly when they were in the kitchen.

"No, Mum," grinned Dan. "We've been otherwise occupied."

Molly chuckled. "Why is it that everyone seems to get engaged in mid-winter and then has to wait for the warmer weather to get married. Both Ned and James did."

"Men!" said Gina and pealed with laughter.

"No," replied Dan. "'In spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love'."

"So you don't love me," she pouted.

"I do. It's just that you rushed me. I couldn't risk someone else snapping you up."

Gina dropped what she was doing and put her arms round him. "Not a hope," she smiled up at him. "I'd made up my mind."

"With the help of Google?" he smiled back.

She gently smacked his face. "Cheeky boy!"

"What's all that about?" asked Molly.

"I had to make sure we wouldn't be committing incest."

"Silly girl. Of course you aren't."

"My pedagogue thought so."

"Silly pedagogue. When's my tea going to be ready?"

"Oh, Mum, I'm sorry."

She reluctantly let go of Dan and went and finished what she had started.

Gina went back to work on Monday. Dan met her at one o'clock at a jeweller in Pitsbury and they chose her engagement ring. It took a long time but in the end Gina went for a simple white gold ring with lots of small but brilliant diamonds. She wanted to give Dan a ring but immediately sensed his reluctance and backed off.

"Do you think he'll wear a wedding ring?" she asked Molly.

"Not from choice, I'd guess," Molly replied with a wry grin. "Neither of your fathers ever did and he's a bit of a stick in a mud. You can always try but I doubt he'll be very enthusiastic. I don't know. It is the modern fashion so you might get lucky."

Gina nodded ruefully. "I won't press him. It's where his heart is that matters."

Molly chuckled. "On his sleeve? It certainly is at the moment."

Gina's smile was almost shy.

The next day she was even shier, pulling Dan out of the kitchen. "I'm on the pill," she whispered.

Dan said nothing; just kissed her tenderly.

"It'll be a month before I'm safe," she whispered.

"I can wait: just about."

"I hope I can."

"You will, my lovely."

They picked the first Saturday in the Easter Holidays for the wedding. Fortunately that was a week before Easter itself so they did not face competition. They did not announce their engagement in the papers but relied on word of mouth which seemed to work well.

Dan told Arthur Winston on the first day of term and word was round the school by lunchtime. Both the Winstons were thrilled for Dan.

"You weren't engaged on New Year's Eve were you?" said Betty.

"No," smiled Dan, "but we were the following afternoon."

"Dazzled you the night before had she? I must say, Dan, she really has become an absolute beauty."

"Thank you, Betty. I think so too but then I'm biased."

"No bias needed, my dear."

Three weeks later Dan was asked to attend a meeting of the trustees. It was an evening affair with drinks and dinner afterwards. Dan was invited to take over as headmaster from the end of the Summer Term. Despite his conversation with Arthur some eighteen months earlier he had never thought it a reality.