I embraced her once more. This time, my own hands were busy. I didn't need to perform her trick with the hair. Thankfully, she wore her hair shorter...than mine and her hair wouldn't have taken the elaborate style she had given me. It was just as well because I didn't know how it was done. Without my full attention, it would have hopelessly confounded me, and I was far from ready to have given it that. As it was, I caressed her back and flanks, pressing my body into hers while slowly. "I burst out laughing at her reactions and the others joined in."More important than the current state of my finances, however, is the current state of my stomach, so a much more interesting topic would be the luncheon menu." Maybe to you young man, but if you knew the parlous state of this particular Dukedom," Joyce said, "Perhaps you would think differently. I take your point though. It is game soup, followed by poached salmon with potatoes and vegetables in a wine sauce and we finish off. I peered at it. The pointing arm was directed up the hill, pretty much exactly in the direction I had run from. That was weird."What's eating you little brother?"I jerked my head up as Harry came by, ruffling my hair, something I have always hated. He plopped down in the seat opposite me on the decking outside the main office and put his feet up on the low railing, crossing his boots at the ankle."How was your walk?" Crap." I realised just after I'd spoken that I would have to expand on that. He respected his dad, to be sure, but close was something they were not. He had an intense job which kept him late more often than not, and when he did get home, he was usually so exhausted that he really didn’t want to do much other than have dinner, drink a couple beers, watch some TV and go to bed. When weekends rolled around, his father was on the phone a lot of the time, or resolving concerns via email. There really wasn’t much time for the two of them to interact and get to know one.