When Pamela awoke, Theo was already up and dressed, sitting on a chair by the window, elbow on the wide sill, chin on his fist, ostensibly staring outside. It was apparent from the disfocus of his gaze, however, that his attention was turned wholly inwards. But when Pamela stirred he turned to her abruptly.
'Come, get dressed. We're going out for a bit. There are some matters I feel we should discuss.'
She bit her lip apprehensively, wondering at the resolve in his demeanor. What could it mean? That last night had been a serious mistake? That he was going to fire her? Sealing herself off from such thoughts for the present she quickly left his room, went into her own and dressed herself to match him as closely as possible. He was wearing the cableknit sweater she so liked on him, and she had purchased one as similar as possible, acting on an unconscious desire to somehow make herself belong to him.
They received several speculative glances as they made their way through the house to the front door. Instead of going to where the vehicles were parked in the drive, Theo led her to a garage to the right of the house that until now Pamela had never seen opened. When he unlocked the door closest to the house, grasped the handle and heaved, the counterbalanced door groaned on its hinges as though it hadn't been opened in years, and she followed him inside. Once her eyes adjusted to the comparative darkness she gasped in surprise. There were two cars, an MG convertible and a beautifully restored Morgan. Besides these were a number of motorbikes, most of them in various stages of restoration. To her relief he bypassed the motorbikes and made his way straight to the MG. Putting down the top, noting her hesitation, he jerked his head towards the passenger seat.
'Come.'
The car started with a little difficulty, as though it had been sitting for some time. But once started it seemed to settle in, and he eased the clutch out gently, allowing the car to roll forward, gingerly letting it get used to being run once more. Once on the open road he accelerated slowly, then drove at a comfortable speed, not too fast for comfort but quick enough to demonstrate his easy mastery of the vehicle and the road.
'I'm not going to say that last night was a complete mistake,' he said without preamble, causing a worm of anxiety to bore into her heart. 'But sleeping with a woman I'm not married to, in my mother's home, is simply not in the book. Therefore, to keep things on the up-and-up, I'm going to ask that you marry me. We're going right now to Bradford to buy you a wedding and engagement band, if that's all right with you. So, what do you say? Will you marry me?'