He was reading when Ben came in and flung himself on the sofa next to him. He stared into the flames in the wood burner for a moment before saying, ‘You knew, obviously.’
‘Only for sure when I went to Exeter to buy the bed. I met up with Harry to offer him the job, and he confirmed what I suspected.’
Ben nodded, although he didn’t appear to be listening. ‘I always kinda knew, didn’t I? You kept thinking he was so dumb, but there was always something.’
‘You knew him better than I did in the beginning—he was your friend in the Regiment.’
‘Hmm.’ Ben smirked. ‘I paired him up with Tim, so that must have been my spooky intuition. I mean, it makes more sense now, doesn’t it? I always wondered what they talked about in bed.’ He appeared to hear what he’d said, and added a little contritely, ‘I don’t picture them in bed. You know what I mean.’
Aleksey mussed his hair. ‘It does make more sense—the two of them together. Equally inane and useless. How did the professor take it?’
Ben pouted a little. ‘Better than I took you not being Nikolas.’
‘Huh. I seem to remember you cared for me and nursed me back to health and then threatened to kill anyone who’d hurt me again.’
‘Yeah, we definitely remember our past differently.’
‘Ack, I think we recall it equally well. So, all is good between them? I had visions of irreconcilable differences and the moron moving back in with us.’
Ben turned sideward to face him, knee up on the sofa and arm hooked over the back. He returned the favour of the hair, playing with the greying blond strands. ‘Let’s go back to the island. Take them both so Tim can meet Harry—he’s not actually met him, remember? I think that would help a lot.’
‘You would like to? Not wait until half term and take the family?’
‘How was Molly?’
‘She’s planning her wedding.’
‘What!’
‘Forth birthday party—it seems the same amount of planning is required.’
Ben frowned. ‘Really? I haven’t eventhoughtabout it. She wants a…party?’
‘Everyoneis already invited apparently.’
‘Oh, God.’
‘Oh, and you have a new admirer called Jemima.’
‘Her teacher?’
‘Possibly. She didn’t say.’
Ben closed his eyes and propped his head up on one hand. ‘I talked to Sarah in the car when Molly fell asleep. Daniel works in Tavistock.’
‘What does he do?’
‘He’s the curate in a team ministry.’
Aleksey wondered what Peyton was making of that. Not much, he suspected. ‘Is she talking about marriage?’
‘Not directly, but she seems so happy…’
Aleksey began to run his fingers up and down Ben’s thigh. ‘Molly liked the idea of living on her own in her own palace in the woods.’
‘Did she want me to build her one in the trees?’
‘With towers and a throne room.’
