sweeping along below. Henry pulled over and Rufus jumped out. He ran round to the back of the car and swung my door open for me. 'Welcome to Hampton Court,' he said.
I have to admit, I was amazed. The place is about twenty minutes from my flat and I'd never been there before. Rufus, on the other hand, seemed to know the place intimately. We walked through the old Tudor kitchens and down into the giant greenhouses housing the world's largest vine. 'How do they know?' he whispered at every new historical fact. 'Have they measured every vine in the world? I bet they just make this stuff up.'
'Spoken like a true American,' I retorted as we escaped through a small wooden door and out into the palace courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the middle.
'Make a wish,' said Rufus, digging into his pockets for coins. He handed me enough money to keep a family of six fed for a week and urged me to throw them. I tossed the coins into the air and watched them fall and splash into the sparkling water; pennies from heaven. 'OK, my turn.' He threw his money into the fountain and made a wish that nothing would change between us.
'I want us to stay like this for ever,' he said, wrapping his arms around me.
'Me too,' I said, smiling like I'd never smiled before.
'I want us to get to know each other and for us to get closer and closer, but most of all I want the special bond between us to stay like this.'
'Yes,' I replied, almost breathless with joy. 'I want to know everything about you too.'
'Me first,' he said with a big smile. 'Tell me . . . what is the naughtiest thing you've ever done? Go on; tell me something about yourself that I don't know.'
Oh shit.
'Go on. It can't be that bad,' he said, sensing my reluctance. 'Can it?'
'I got banned from driving for twelve months,' I said sheepishly.
'How fast were you going?' he asked.
'No, drink-driving. But I hadn't been drinking. Well, I had, but I didn't know I had. I mean, my drinks were spiked by this guy that Mandy was going out with. He didn't like the fact that I wasn't drinking and put loads of alcohol into this fruit punch and fed it to me all night. I drove home, was stopped by police and ended up getting banned. Luckily no one got hurt . . .'
Rufus was silent for a moment and then gave me a hug and a wry smile. 'Wow. I'm dating a convict,' he said. 'Did you have mugshots done and fingerprints taken and everything?'
'Oh yes. The whole works.'
'Poor thing. Right, come on. I know what'll cheer you up . . . I've saved the best till last. Come with me,' he said, taking my hand and whisking me away from the courtyard, past the maze, and out to a gorgeous rose garden. The smell as we approached was unbelievable, hanging in the air as the flowers smiled and basked in the afternoon sunshine.
The sun was shining. I was surrounded by beautiful roses. That's when I fell in love. Later I would call my friends and family and try to enthuse them about a rose garden in a palace on the banks of the river. I'd try to explain about the magical pull of the scents and the immediate sense of relaxation we'd both felt. I'd tell them about the smiling gardener called Frank who came over and said hello, resting wearily on his hoe as he admired his roses and grinned engagingly, telling Rufus it was so nice to see him again. 'It was paradise,' I'd sigh. There's no question that they all thought I'd gone mad.
Rufus led me past the benches dedicated by one devoted spouse to another to a bench with no dedication on it at all. 'This is my favourite bench,' he said, and I almost squealed out loud. A man with his favourite bench! Who'd have thought? 'I call it the bench with no name.' We sat holding hands in companionable silence for a few moments.
'So do you bring all your girls here?' I teased, fairly sure of the answer but I had to ask.
'You're the first and only.' He smiled back at me. 'You know I've always felt this was a very special place. But now it will be our special place. A place that only
I have to admit, I was amazed. The place is about twenty minutes from my flat and I'd never been there before. Rufus, on the other hand, seemed to know the place intimately. We walked through the old Tudor kitchens and down into the giant greenhouses housing the world's largest vine. 'How do they know?' he whispered at every new historical fact. 'Have they measured every vine in the world? I bet they just make this stuff up.'
'Spoken like a true American,' I retorted as we escaped through a small wooden door and out into the palace courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the middle.
'Make a wish,' said Rufus, digging into his pockets for coins. He handed me enough money to keep a family of six fed for a week and urged me to throw them. I tossed the coins into the air and watched them fall and splash into the sparkling water; pennies from heaven. 'OK, my turn.' He threw his money into the fountain and made a wish that nothing would change between us.
'I want us to stay like this for ever,' he said, wrapping his arms around me.
'Me too,' I said, smiling like I'd never smiled before.
'I want us to get to know each other and for us to get closer and closer, but most of all I want the special bond between us to stay like this.'
'Yes,' I replied, almost breathless with joy. 'I want to know everything about you too.'
'Me first,' he said with a big smile. 'Tell me . . . what is the naughtiest thing you've ever done? Go on; tell me something about yourself that I don't know.'
Oh shit.
'Go on. It can't be that bad,' he said, sensing my reluctance. 'Can it?'
'I got banned from driving for twelve months,' I said sheepishly.
'How fast were you going?' he asked.
'No, drink-driving. But I hadn't been drinking. Well, I had, but I didn't know I had. I mean, my drinks were spiked by this guy that Mandy was going out with. He didn't like the fact that I wasn't drinking and put loads of alcohol into this fruit punch and fed it to me all night. I drove home, was stopped by police and ended up getting banned. Luckily no one got hurt . . .'
Rufus was silent for a moment and then gave me a hug and a wry smile. 'Wow. I'm dating a convict,' he said. 'Did you have mugshots done and fingerprints taken and everything?'
'Oh yes. The whole works.'
'Poor thing. Right, come on. I know what'll cheer you up . . . I've saved the best till last. Come with me,' he said, taking my hand and whisking me away from the courtyard, past the maze, and out to a gorgeous rose garden. The smell as we approached was unbelievable, hanging in the air as the flowers smiled and basked in the afternoon sunshine.
The sun was shining. I was surrounded by beautiful roses. That's when I fell in love. Later I would call my friends and family and try to enthuse them about a rose garden in a palace on the banks of the river. I'd try to explain about the magical pull of the scents and the immediate sense of relaxation we'd both felt. I'd tell them about the smiling gardener called Frank who came over and said hello, resting wearily on his hoe as he admired his roses and grinned engagingly, telling Rufus it was so nice to see him again. 'It was paradise,' I'd sigh. There's no question that they all thought I'd gone mad.
Rufus led me past the benches dedicated by one devoted spouse to another to a bench with no dedication on it at all. 'This is my favourite bench,' he said, and I almost squealed out loud. A man with his favourite bench! Who'd have thought? 'I call it the bench with no name.' We sat holding hands in companionable silence for a few moments.
'So do you bring all your girls here?' I teased, fairly sure of the answer but I had to ask.
'You're the first and only.' He smiled back at me. 'You know I've always felt this was a very special place. But now it will be our special place. A place that only
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