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A smile flashed in his dark face "As I’ve told you before, love, spend as ar s for you, too," she said, ruh the pile "Soh I’ve beento discuss that with you……"

"Discuss what?" Ca the side of her throat

Amelia drew in a breath at the hot i "Your shaving," she said vaguely "Beards are becooatee You would look very dashing, and…" Her voice faded as he worked his way down her neck

"It hed as she shivered

Gently turning her to face hi different about hiht A curious vulnerability she had never seen before

" Cao?"

The amber eyes were soft and alive with excitement "Quite well I have a secret,his arms around her, and he whispered into her ear

Chapter Twelve

Kev was in a devil of a te for a variety of reasons The upper friendly to him Polite, courteous, damnably nice And he was in no position to object, since this was precisely what he had wanted But he hadn’t expected that there was one thing even worse than having Win glance at hi And that was indifference

To Kev, she was affable, even affectionate, in the same way she ith Leo or Cam She treated Kev as if he were a brother He could hardly bear it

The Hathaways gathered in the eating area of their suite, laughing and joking about the close quarters as they sat at the table It was the first tiether: Kev, Leo, Amelia, Win, Poppy, and Beatrix, with the additions of Cah Miss Marks had tried to demur, they had insisted that she dine with the fa, "how else e kno to behave? Someone must save us froh it was clear that she would have preferred to be elsewhere She took up as sed between Beatrix and Dr Harrow The governess rarely looked up froh her eyes were partially concealed by the spectacles, Kev suspected they held nothing but dislike for the Hathaways’ brother

It seemed that Miss Marks and Leo had found in each other the personification of everything they dislikedto the governess as "Satan in petticoats" And Miss Marks, for her part, despised rakes The

Most of the dinner conversation centered on the subject of Harrow ’s clinic, which the Hathaways regarded as a miraculous enterprise The wo in his co hih he wasn’t certain if that was because of the doctor himself, or because Win’s affections were at stake

It was te to disdain Harrow for all his sood humor lurked in his smile, and he displayed a lively interest in the conversation around him, and he seemed never to take himself too seriously Harroas obviously a man who shouldered heavy responsibility-that of life and death itself-and yet he carried it lightly He was the kind of person who always seemed to fit in no matter what the circumstances

While the family ate and conversed, Kev remained quiet except when called upon to answer some question about the Ramsay estate He watched Win circus for Harroere She reacted to the doctor with her usual coazes met, there was an unmistakable connection, a sense of shared history And worst of all, Kev recognized so echo of his own fascination for Win

Midway through the gruesomely pleasant dinner, Kev became aware that Amelia, as seated at the end of the table, was unusually quiet He looked at her closely, realizing her color was off and her cheeks were sweaty Since he was seated at her immediate left, Kev leaned close and whispered, "What is it?"

Alance " Ill," she whispered back, seakly "I feel so… Oh, Merripen, do help me away from the table"

Without another word, Kev pushed his chair back and helped her up

Ca table, looked at them sharply "Amelia?"

"She’s ill," Kev said

Caathered A, from the room, one would think she’d suffered a severe injury rather than a probable case of indigestion

"Perhaps I ht be of service," Dr Harrow said with quiet concern, laying his napkin on the table as he ratefully "I’lad you’re here"

Kev barely restrained hi his teeth in jealousy as Harrow left the roooing to theroo time for anyone to appear

"What could be the matter?" Beatrix asked plaintively "Amelia’s never ill"

"She’ll be fine," Win soothed "Dr Harroill take excellent care of her"

"Perhaps I should go to their room," Poppy said, "and ask how she is"

But before anyone could offer an opinion, Ca roolanced at the assorted family members around hi smile appeared despite his obvious effort to adje have a more civilized way to put this," he said, "but Areeted the revelation

"What did Amelia say?" Leo asked

Ca to the effect that this wouldn’t be convenient"

Leo laughed quietly "Children rarely are But she’ll adore having soe"