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Maybe it was soed, she thought with an ironic smile She certainly felt a lot more comfortable in the cosy old-fashioned kitchen than she expected to upstairs in the drawing room

When she did eventually find herself in the ot there Her heels were noisy on the glea wooden floor as she slowed her pace outside the study door behind which she had seen Roman disappear

Perhaps Roman wasn’t in there Perhaps he had finished and was even noaiting for her upstairs The possibility made her heartbeat quicken—and her stride

It was Sa through the slightly open door She stopped pretending to herself she wasn’t eavesdropping when she identified the distinctive sound of Roman’s deep voice

Even this far away it had the ability to raise goose-buht a smile to her lips; this faded when Roman’s voice was closely followed by the deep ruer

‘I suppose it’s better late than never…’ she heard hily ‘A man should never feel ashamed of his own child’

Shock held Scarlet frozen to the spot Had Ros he’d said been a lie? It was hard for her to believe this, but it was equally hard to read his comment any other way

‘When I look at that poor innocent babe I’m ashamed Ashamed that I raised a man who can’t see beyond his own selfish pleasure’

Scarlet flinched as there was the sound of so…and Finn’s terse instruction to, ‘Leave the da alone Someone will pick it up later’

‘I’m ashamed of you, I’m ashamed I’m your father’

Scarlet, who now recognised with a sick feeling as happening, pressed her hand to her mouth

‘I’m sorry to be such a disappointment to you, Father’ In contrast to his father’s voice, Roet excited, Father’

‘I’usted’

Without thinking about what she was doing, acting purely on an instinct that told her she couldn’t let Ro that he was innocent of, Scarlet stepped through the door into the room

Thebook-lined roo fire in the vast carved stone fire-place, it should have made for a warm, cosy atmosphere But inside the atmosphere was ice

The two big e oak desk between them, didn’t notice her