Page 23 of The Bright and Hungry Future of Hawks

“Oh? In—?”

“All this.” He waved vaguely around the room, probably implying the whole house. “Not a single one of your people has ever been here, met your wife, or knows anything about you.”

“And how—?”

“After the interview—after your invite. When they took me down and signed me out. I asked.”

“Ah, and you think—?”

“I don’tthink. I know, sir. You may have been a diplomat. I checked that too. But you…” He narrowed his eyes. “You’re something else as well.”

“I thought we were assessing your suitability for this job, not mine.”

“Well, it seems to me those two things are connected. You’re the boss. What do you think? Sir.”

Aleksey had never been so glad to see his wife. Anyone’s wife, come to that. Philipa swept into the kitchen with her pack, all of whom were back from an exhausting afternoon in the fields.

“Ben, dear, how are you getting along? What on Earth are you both...? Good God, Nikki, you would literally drive a duck to drink. Do you ever listen to a single thing I tell you?” She took Ben’s arm determinedly. “Tea is laid in the small sitting room for you both! Come on: scones, some of our best Devon clotted cream, strawberry jam—from my own strawberries, I’ll have you know—and a chocky cake. It’s almost four! You must be absolutely starving, poor thing.”

Aleksey could have sworn Ben gave him a triumphal smirk as he let himself be led away.

He was too busy pretending he didn’t like the dogs to be sure.

* * *

After tea, they were at something of an impasse.

Aleksey felt their roles had been reversed somewhat, and he didn’t like it one bit. Ben was now assessing him. Every time Aleksey looked up to say something extremely intelligent, which would probably have gone straight over the other man’s head, Ben Rider was studying him, so he stayed silent.

Finally, the stalemate was broken when Ben said, apropos of nothing as far as Aleksey could see, “It’ll be low tide now.”

“Yes. I expect so. The sea has a habit of coming in and going out, I have observed.”

“Can we go see?”

“You want to look at…sand? Now?”

Ben didn’t even bother to disguise the look he was given then. Ben Rider had a very derisive stare when he wanted.

Aleksey shrugged, and they set off for their second walk of what was proving to be a very taxing day. It was more exercise than Aleksey had taken for a long time, a situation, he reflected, he really ought to do something about. Ack, he was intermittent smoking. How much healthier could anyone be?

They walked in silence, both lost to their own thoughts.

It felt damp and was starting to get dark, and at exactly the moment Aleksey realised this, he felt drops on his forehead.

“It is starting to rain. Come—we should return.”

Ben scrunched his nose. “Rain? You call this rain? You should see the bloody stuff in Wales, sir.”

I have.

Then I saw you.

I am now regretting both those things.

“Do not go—the beach will be even more exposed.”

He was apparently wasting his breath, as Ben had already turned onto the downward path, replying cheerily over his shoulder, “I guess you’re not used to getting to the sea because of all the dykes in the way.”

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