John thought for a moment. "Why don't you come with me? Allow the kid to be born and be someplace safe? I will put a roof over your head and allow you the chance to get on your feet? There's nowhere as safe as an army base" he thought for a moment. Was he doing the right thing? He'd soon find out.

He continued "your not stupid. I understand that you want to do whats best for your child" he placed his arm along the back of the seat and continued. "You've got a good heart in you. I can feel it. You've just had a rough start and deserve better"

She looked at him with both surprise, followed by the sagging of her shoulders that was indicative of the relief that matched her gaze. "Are you sure this is what you want?" she asked softly, feeling compelled to do as she did when familiar with some people, reaching out and lightly touching his arm in the process. "If you will have me, then I accept." She looked down then and closed her eyes against the fresh sting of saline trying to start something on her face. Her mouth wobbled slightly and she nodded then, repeating herself, "Yes. I will."

And then she let her hand fall in her lap. "Where do we go from here?" she asked then.

John nodded "of course I will have you. It give you a chance to get back on your feet and who knows where it will lead" his hand found hers as they sat and his fingers intertwined. "Sit and enjoy the view and worry about the details later. As soon as I'm ready to head back to base I'll let you know. Hopefully it will be soon" by this stage his arm was along the back of the chair and he had tilted his body slightly towards her. He held her hand with his free hand and watched the world go by.

"Sometimes he have to go someplace else to rebuild before we can come back and build here. I'd like to return and set up a business when I leave the army"

She stiffened a little when his fingers twined with hers, more in surprise than anything. Viktre had never held her hand... All he had done was roll in the sheets in an eager fashion. She fought the urge to pull her hand away, but she liked it too. She just was not sure what to feel at the moment. "Thank you," she said after relaxing herself, unable to look him in the eye at the moment. And then she squeezed both her eyes shut and her lips, a tiny squeak emerging before she pressed her fist to her mouth and turned her head.

After urging herself to calm down, she said, "If we are to do this, I suppose you had better know who you are about to... do this with. My name is Philippa, but I am called Pippa for short. How do you do?" And then she looked at him with a calm expression despite the slight bit of moisture that had forced it's way out and now clung to her bottom lash, suspended there for a long moment before it was freed by the blinking of her eyes.

John smiled, "Corporal John Blacke, 2nd battalion The Princess of Wales's Own (Yorkshire Regiment)," he continued. "im a regimental tailor. Hopefully, once all this mess has cleared, I can open my own business and work for myself. " he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

He tilted his head. "I've known soldiers know people less time than we've been sat together and be married before they shipped out, this isn't out the ordinary in the army"

He sighed "although I feel my time now in the army will be short lived so I'm looking towards the future and a better life for myself.....for us"

"I would like for you to meet the man who gave me a chance of employment despite me not having a skillset... He kept me on as his maid even after I broke his rules and ended up this way. He would want to know I am in good hands. He knows everything that's happened, I have been honest. And I am sure you would like for me to meet your family." She bit her lip for a moment as she considered things. "What shall we tell your family? Should we do this tonight or should we tell everyone before we do this? Do we pretend we are in love in front of your family?" She had a lot of questions to ask before they gallivanted off somewhere to get married. It was a delicate situation for either of them at this point considering the child wasn't his.

John nodded. "There is no rush to tell anyone. They will be told when the time is right and to be honest I am due to go away again with the army back to York but I worry I may end up being placed under military arrest on my return to camp." He tilted his head "all my family need to know is that I met you when I returned to York. That buys us some time"

He nodded "im more than happy to meet your employer Pippa, and once the time is right you can move into quarters on camp where you and the child will have a roof over your head. That way we can get an understanding of what's going to happen" he rubbed his chin "we want everyone to believe us. Who knows this might lead to more"

"I do not have much time for waiting, unfortunately. People are starting to notice that I am thickening around the waist. Would you be opposed to us doing the actual wedding in the next week or so? I've heard about a place called Gretna Green... is it true that one could elope there?" She forced herself to breathe, her stomach still roiling at the scent of brine and fish in the air. She finally turned her face toward him and afforded him with the look of a frightened young woman. The exhaustion was etched across her face, though not enough to mar her beauty.

John nodded. This sounded interesting and he wondered where it would lead. If it didn't work out it didn't work out. People married for less. He thought for a moment. What's the worst that could happen. He had already lost everything and was needing to rebuild. Could it be that bad rebuilding a life with her?

He nodded "I know of the place. I havent been personally but I know the place" he looked to her "how do you want us to interact with each other?" He was curious to her thoughts about it all

"I don't know, to be honest," she said as she continued to peer at him. "I just... want us to be amicable at least. I am not worried about our hearts tangling up, worse things could happen than a wife falling in love with her husband. I just do not know what the future will bring." At least she was real about it. She looked down at their grasped hands. She squeezed. "Tell me about yourself... what do you like to eat? Colors? Things of that nature. I happen to like blue a lot... and my favorite thing to eat is scones, only because I learned to make those first."