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‘What’s wrong with him?’ he asked Scarlet in a hushed undertone ‘Is he ill?’

She shook her head She was a a fool, hid the fact ‘Not even possessed by a demon,’ she told him cheerfully ‘He’s tired, that’s all A nap and he’ll be fine He’s fighting sleep—he doesn’t want to give in,’ she explained knowledgeably

‘He’s also fighting ’

Scarlet looked at his heartbreakingly perfect profile ‘You ought to be used to that,’ she told him drily

Despite his discon of self-consciousness about being the cynosure of curious eyes when a few minutes later he leapt to his son’s defence

She recalled the event with a wry smile The passer-by who loudly offered the opinion that what that child needed was a firained for when confronted by an icily irate father

Roman said, in a voice that er was a coward and a bully at the very least And anyone who hit his child would find hi the action for the rest of their natural life!

The man’s face was a picture

Since the last visit, Roman had been meant to come around the previous day, but he had cancelled at the last minute As she had explained to Sa after all she had wondered whether after the trip in the park he was having second thoughts about the joys of fatherhoodp????e

She didn’t turn around i into her back Waiting for her pulse rate to slow to a canter, she continued to dry the dishes stacked on the draining-board as though achieving a shiny finish on the crockery were so she had alanted to dedicate her life to

‘Had we arranged for you to colass up to the light to check for ses

‘I must have lost my schedule,’ he returned with an equal amount of irony

‘There’s no need to be facetious,’ she snapped ‘You can’t just barge in here whenever it suits you I have a life of my own’

‘The jury is still out on that one’

Scarlet bit back a retort to this jibe ‘This is only going to work if you accept I have a right to my privacy…’