Everything was the same, yet nothing was the same. It had been difficult to let Richard go to his own home – she'd wanted to ask, to beg, him to sta..., to sleep with her. Jumping the gun with Peter had seemed obvious and natural, yet she sensed Richard would have been uncomfortable with it.Emma and Liina were both delighted at her news. Emma actually said, "It's about time, Dulcie. I reckon he's been screwing up his courage to ask for weeks. Months, even. You'll be perfect together."Later, Liina. The normally relaxed atmosphere was tense, and they all sat in silence waiting for him to speak. He cleared his throat and addressed the group. ‘There’s no gentle way to say this, so I’ll just come out and say it: we’re in serious trouble,’ he began. No one was surprised by the news, but it still wasn’t very comforting to hear it from the boss. ‘Sales are down, some of our biggest advertisers are pulling out, and at this rate we’ll be out of business in a few months.’ The room was still silent,. ‘Thank you for your support this morning. You’re a really great friend,’ she said quietly. ‘I guess I just need to work harder on my illustrations. Maybe I could try children’s books.’ I scoffed. ‘Okay, Patrick. What the hell?’ I whirled around in my chair. I know I had anger in my eyes. She looked taken aback. ‘Go out with me,’ I said. ‘What?’ She was uncomfortable. ‘Go out with me. We can get dinner. Go to a movie. Bowling. Whatever,’ I said. ‘You can see what it’s like to have someone who. " Then yourself and Gabrain should make your way there to see this Guthrum and put our terms to him. Once Gavin arrives I have thought up a little gimmick that will hopefully impress the Danes and lend some weight to your negotiations."Scott didn't go into details of what he had planned at this point, but instead he enquired how many days it would take Mac to make his way to Exeter. Mac indicated that three days hard marching would probably cover the trip and Scott nodded. He could have used.