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"I told them both the whole story of Rebecca And as I did so I kneas beingunder this roof but frankness, or so it seemed to me My love for them ordained that frankness

"I also told theht

" 'Don't you see that I belong with her?' I said finally 'She's the only one ill ever understand me, and I'm the only one who'll ever understand her?¡¯

" 'Son, you have your own ghosts,' said Michael, 'and she has hers You have to move away from each other You have to seek a decent normality on your own ¡¯

" 'Oh, God, that's impossible!' I said 'We'll never achieve it Besides, who's to say we can't achieve it better together if it's achievable at all?¡¯

"I could see now they were pondering ence on the else They hadn't kicked me out of their house yet in any event, and now an overpowering urge to have hot chocolate came over e amounts

"And to my utter amazement, Michael rose and said, 'I'll fix it for you I'd like some myself ' I was stunned They were a fa else I heard hih under his breath as he went to the pantry Then carance of the heated milk

"Rowan sat there sole, and then, very softly, she spoke Her voice as usual was h cheekbones and blunt-cut wavy hair

" 'Tarquin, let me lay it out,' she said 'Let iven s about her, which really shouldn't be told She isn't really old enough to give that perers herself every time she has intimate relations with aherself severely We're trying to keep Mona alive ¡¯

" 'But we used protection, Dr Mayfair,' I insisted Nevertheless this was frightening news I had driedto behave like an adult

" 'Of course you did,' said Dr Mayfair, raising her eyebrows slightly, 'but even the best of precautions can fail There's always the possibility that Mona will conceive And just the se weakens Mona in ways that a normal woman does not have to worry about It's all because of the baby born to Mona, the baby whoarden outside It left Mona vulnerable And we're trying to keep Mona alive We're trying to discover how to fix what's wrong so Mona won't be so vulnerable, but for that we need time ¡¯

" 'Dear God,' I whispered 'That's why Mona was at Mayfair Medical the day I saw her ¡¯

" 'Precisely,' said Rowan She was beco a little more heated, but she sounded compassionate at the same time 'We're not insensitive et her to stop seducing her cousins and to cooperate with our regimen of blood tests and nutritional supple inside of her and why she so often conceives Now, I've told you more than I should, and by the way, letsince she ht to know that, but we can't countenance her being with you ¡¯

" 'No,' I said, 'what you can't countenance is her being alone with me Let me see her here with you present Let me see her with a vow of celibacy What could

be wrong with that?¡¯