MillionMoments and I had another crack at writing something together - just for fun. Its a bit silly but we kind of felt that we needed something to take our minds off series 4...

"What are you looking at?" The question had taken Richard by surprise, so engrossed had he been in looking at his computer.

"Hmmm? Oh Nothing." He hadn't been quick enough to close the window before Camille had appeared behind him.

"Men in lycra? " She scoffed. "I should say that I'm surprised but..."

"But what?" He said flatly, daring her to continue the sentence. In truth, she lacked a witty way to end it, she had just assumed he would get embarrassed, deny he was looking at the pictures for that reason and tell her the real reason.

"Nothing," she eventually said innocently. "I am sure you have a perfectly valid reason to be browsing pictures of fit young men in tight outfits at work. Perhaps you suspect one to be responsible for that spate of thefts from the Harbour Gym?"

"Actually," he said stiffly, "I do."

"Suspect them of the thefts?"

"No!" He never knew why he had to explain himself to her, why she never understood him. He huffed annoyed, "they're my old rowing team."

She looked as though she couldn't quite believe him. "You used to row?"

"Of course I didn't row for Cambridge, but I rowed at school a bit."

"And we all know how well that went," she said, alluding to the way he had reacted when they first went out in Roast Beef. To be fair to him, he had gotten a lot better since. "Plus I don't think lycra is really your look." Richard actually looked a little upset, perhaps mentioning the school thing was not the best of ideas. Or maybe it was the not looking good in lycra bit that has insulted him…She decided it was best to just plow on. "So if you didn't row with them how are they 'your' rowing team?"

"Because of the boat race." He was speaking to her as if she were a simpleton. She rewarded him by giving him a blank look. "The Oxford Cambridge boat race?" He was still speaking slowly and her eyes were beginning to narrow in annoyance. "The one that's happened every year in the middle of London since 1836..?" Still nothing. "Come on Camille, everyone's heard of it..."

"Well clearly they haven't since I am someone, and therefore part of everyone," she said, a little testy at him thinking her ignorant.

"Ok," he said, sitting back and becoming suddenly animated. Camille knew this wasn't going to be a short explanation. "Cambridge and Oxford are the top universities in the world…"

"In the UK," she interrupted him to correct.

He waved her comment away with his hand signalling that her point was irrelevant. Clearly Richard didn't think much of the US universities. And she already knew how he felt about anything French.

"And, every year, they challenge each other to a boat race that takes place on the Thames. It is a major sporting event in the UK, shown live on the BBC and people gather on the banks of the Thames as well. In fact I used to go down every year as well.""You? You joined crowds of people to watch a sporting event?" She was sceptical. He hadn't shown an interest in any other sports since he had been here – Camille had thought he would enjoy the cricket match between Saint Marie and Dominica she had brought him to. After all, wasn't cricket the ultimate English sport, barely understood by nations that hadn't once been colonised by Britain? And she'd heard all about his bowling efforts that had led to the arrest of Paul Vincent. But he had spent the whole time complaining about standing in the heat, and the attitude of the teams to the game being all wrong and hadn't seemed to enjoy it at all. And since she didn't understand cricket, she had been pretty miserable as well. Camille have concluded Richard just didn't do sports.

"Yes, I did. Every year until I came out here." His pride at doing something that surprised her gave way to his usual grumble. "And now I can't even watch it on tv, because my tv doesn't work."

"It works!"

"It's in French. It doesn't work."

"It is a television Richard, if it shows tv channels then it does work!" Camille couldn't help but continue to press the point. "You just think because it doesn't show the channels you want it is useless!"

"Well it is for my purposes," he countered. "It should show things that I want to watch."

"Like Fiona Bruce."

"Like," he corrected her, "the Antiques Roadshow, yes."

Camille had looked up the Antiques Roadshow, interested to see what type of programme had managed to capture Richard's attention from his books, and had been dismayed to find that it was a very dull one.

"She's very pretty," she said slyly. "That Fiona Bruce."

"She's alright."

"Some might even say stunning," she teased, not falling for his apparent ambivalence one bit. "Especially in that advert where she slow motion catches the vase."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he told her. He even managed to look her in the eye – Camille was impressed, he could bluff well on occasion.

"Oh?" She said, raising a single eyebrow. "So if I checked your internet history I wouldn't find it watched, liked and added to your favourites?" That gave him pause. Camille knew it to be the case, because she had shown Richard how to use YouTube (he knew so much about some aspects of technology, but displayed a remarkable lack of knowledge about others) and had been following his activity. He probably hadn't realised that sort of thing was public.

He didn't reply, but huffed instead, muttering something about lack of privacy and how that sort of thing would never happen back in London. Camille was not put off. "Isn't she a little old for you Richard? Fiona Bruce?"

"Do you have a problem with age, Camille?" Even as he said it, he knew that he should have ignored her. This conversation bore no reference to work, or even, that matter to the boat race.

"No," she said simply. "I don't think it matters if you truly love someone."

There then followed an awkward pause – or at least Richard felt it was awkward. Camille seemed simply amused. "Well I don't have any intention of declaring my undying love for Fiona Bruce anytime soon," he said, trying to break the moment. "Though I may be willing to marry anyone who can get me a TV showing the boat race this weekend," he joked.

"Is it on the BBC?" It was meant as an innocent question but given his last comment it took on an entirely new meaning.

He flushed bright red, harrumphed and said, "yes, yes it is. But you can't watch it outside of the UK. Believe me, I've tried."

She raised a single eyebrow at him and said simply, "we'll see."

Catherine did not usually need much of an excuse to throw a party, but her daughter's current proposal had caught her a little off guard. "A boat race?" She repeated. "You mean like sailing?" She had images of sail boats racing along the English south coast like in the Olympics, she could imagine that would be exciting to watch.

"No, rowing, along the Thames."

"Oh," she said, hiding her surprise. She could also see the appeal in watching young men row, and while all of them would no doubt be far too young for her, she couldn't imagine that that would make it party worthy or why, even more puzzlingly, Richard apparently wanted to watch young men in lycra.

"Are you sure that's what Richard wants?" She was mulling it over, muttering to herself, "he's never really been that interested in sports." But if Richard's mercurial nature was a mystery to her then it would have to stay that way. She made a quick decision, if Richard liked rowing, then he liked rowing. She shrugged. "But of course we can have a party!"

"Thank you, Maman!" Camille said brightly, leaning in and kissing her mother on the cheek. "We'll need lots of blue decorations! I can help you pick them out and set up if you like."

Catherine smiled graciously at her daughter, "Well you never failed me on the decoration front before so I won't say no to the help! Why blue though?"

"Because that is what the teams wear."

"They both wear blue? Isn't that a bit confusing?"

Camille shrugged. "I don't really get it either. Richard's spent all morning trying to explain. Apparently it's a big deal in the UK." She was picking idly at some nuts on the bar. "I think they're different blues though – I'll check."

"And I will invite people! It's not a party without people!" Camille wasn't too sure how well Richard would react to having a crowd of random men and women he didn't know at an event that had been specifically designed for him, but said nothing. It would be good for him, she decided, to be sociable for once. And if he was that desperate to watch the race, then she was sure he would put up with it.

"Excellent – we can start at lunchtime just before the boat race starts and carry on until the evening!"

"I suppose roast beef should be on the menu?"

"I don't know. From the way Richard was talking, I think everyone has burgers and beer."

"Oh!" If Catherine was suitably impressed by Richard embracing anything other than his usual ham sandwiches then she was more perplexed by another thought that suddenly struck her. "In April? Outside?" She would never understand him.

Camille shrugged, again thinking that if he was so desperate to see the boat race then she could take certain liberties wherever she wanted, she secretly couldn't wait to see him with a burger and beer. Perhaps he would even forgo his suit and tie. Although she had no idea what he would wear instead. She silently contemplated his wardrobe, her mind lingered on him removing his tie before she realised that it probably wasn't the best thought to have when she was in the vicinity of her mother. She was interrupted from her planning by a slightly bookish looking man in his late 30s, waving an empty bottle of beer at them. It amused her that he looked slightly like Richard. Would she never escape him?

"Sorry, can I have 5 more?"

"Of course." Catherine was the ever perfect landlady. She was dealing with the beers when she turned to Camille, "I thought London was freezing in April."

The man interrupted. "It can be," then realised that it might have been a private conversation. "Um, sorry."

"No, that's fine!" Catherine's face lit up at the prospect to interrogate a Londoner about her upcoming party, which she promptly did.

"You're joking, right?" The mystery stranger said, delighted, after hearing their plan. "Will you be open to the public? Tell me you'll be open to the public!"

Catherine, who wasn't one to miss an opportunity to make money whilst throwing a party, said "Well I don't see why not! You wish to come?"

"Not just me, they'll be…oh…say 30 of us?" Open seeing the surprised look on the pair's face he explained, "There are a bunch of Pembrokeians here for a reunion you see." That didn't really help clear things up for the women, who were unfamiliar with the collegiate organisation of Oxbridge. He seemed to realise this, "Pembroke, it's one of the colleges. And we've been desperately seeking a place to watch the boat race, you can't get the BBC out here, believe me we've tried!" Camille bit back a smile as she remembered not only Richard's exact words that morning but also the tinny music of the Antiques Roadshow and how excited he had been by even the smallest hope of seeing something that the BBC produced.

"Perfect – I'll let Richard know, my boss," she clarified. "It will be nice to get him to meet people." She became slightly embarrassed on his behalf. "He's not great at socialising..." she suddenly felt very disloyal sharing that with someone she'd only just met. Any other situation, Camille was sure Richard would dread being dragged into a room full of strangers, but this was different. These people were his peers, and it would recreate that atmosphere he missed from the banks of the Thames more closely. It almost seemed too good to be true! Though she didn't truly think a marriage proposal would be on the cards immediately…but perhaps at least a dinner date?