Page 25 of Four of Hearts

Laughing, he checked the time. He had a little while to himself before whatever transport had been arranged turned up to take him to the Tan Hill Inn. He wondered about mulling over what had happened over in Reeth, then decided that it would only ruin things, so probably best to ignore it for now. There was always the option of making another nice mug of tea, then having a nap. That was certainly tempting. But he was too restless, and he knew that lying down would only put him on edge. He needed to keep busy. There was the speech, wasn’t there? A memory of Grace in her dress came to mind. Well, he thought, if you can’t beat them, join them.

Harry had never spent so long getting ready for anything, certainly not a social event, anyway. While in the Paras, he’d been on plenty of operations that had involved numerous gear and weapons checks, on top of orders being picked apart and revised again and again. This wasn’t that. It was worse.

Having shaved his face with extra care, to ensure he didn’t nick any of his scars and end up spending the night in the pub with a face covered in spots of blood, he’d taken his second shower of the day. He’d done his best to enjoy it, but concern about what lay ahead made that difficult. When he stepped out of the cubical he found three pairs of eyes staring up at him, Smudge, Jess, and Cheese, all sitting down, all with their heads cocked to one side, all trying to work out what the big ugly man they lived with was doing showering in the middle of the afternoon.

Back in the bedroom, Harry sat on the edge of the bed in his dressing gown. In front of him on a hanger, was the outfit that would transform him from a scarred, gruff DCI into a scarred, gruff King Arthur. He could put it on now, and walk around the house feeling a bit awkward, or wait until just a few minutes before his pick-up was due, and do it then. But did he really want to spend however long walking around in a dressing gown?

Harry stood up, threw the dressing gown behind him onto the bed, and started to get dressed. Again, three pairs of eyes stared at him, this time from the bedroom door.

‘I know,’ he said. ‘I look ridiculous.’

Cheese came over and sat on his feet.

‘That’s not helpful.’

The dog just wagged her tail.

Harry reached down, picked up the puppy, who had grown considerably he noticed, and held her up to his face.

‘Don’t suppose you fancy going instead of me, do you?’

Cheese licked Harry’s nose, then tried to bite it.

Harry placed Cheese back on the floor, then finished getting dressed. Once done, he dunked the crown on his head, grabbed his sword and shield, and made his way downstairs. As he stepped into the dining area of the open plan ground floor, he made out the silhouette of someone standing at the front door.Matt’s crash and the burned-out SUV flashed before his eyes, and before he knew what he was doing, he’d drawn his sword, ready to attack.

‘You BASTA?—’

Harry cut himself off, not just because he was suddenly very aware of how ridiculous he looked, but also because he now saw who it was standing facing him. It most certainly wasn’t his cousin, or even someone sent by his cousin.

‘Now then, Harry,’ said Arthur, Grace’s dad. ‘Right fancy get up, that, isn’t it, like? Grace told me about it. Must admit, I fair wet myself when I heard. Suits you though, doesn’t it?’

Arthur took off his coat, hung it behind the door, then dropped to his haunches, as the three dogs trotted over to meet him. His own dog, Molly, an aging springer spaniel, now going deaf, had already made her way over to the unlit fire, and was falling asleep on the rug.

Harry did his best to shove the sword back into its scabbard as casually as possible, and walked over to greet his new father-in-law.

‘I’m not a fan of surprises,’ he said.

‘Same,’ said Arthur, looking up at Harry from the floor as he made a fuss of the dogs; Cheese trying to climb up him to bite his ears; Smudge and Jess on their backs for tummy rubs. ‘Just have to do these things, sometimes, don’t you?’

‘Can’t imagine you in fancy dress,’ said Harry.

Arthur stood up, and puffed out his chest.

‘I’ll have you know that I’ve been a Pantomime Dame at least a half a dozen times.’

Harry heard the pride in the old man’s voice.

‘Really?’

‘Yes, really. Now, are you going to put the kettle on, or do I need to do that myself?’

Harry made them both a mug of tea, then they sat down in front of the wood-burning stove.

‘Feel free to get the fire on if it gets chilly,’ said Harry, then gestured at the full log basket to the side. ‘Plenty in there to be burned.’ He glanced down at Molly and smiled. ‘Reckon she’d appreciate it.’

Arthur placed his mug on the coffee table, then turned to look at Harry.

‘She loves you, you know?’ he said, then rested a calloused, strong hand on Harry’s knee. ‘And so do I, lad.’