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He tilted his head, and gave her a very dry look 'Considering I'm only thirty-five, that could be taken as an insult'
Elizabeth felt ridiculously shocked by the insecurity revealed by the blatant lie
'It must be your suntan that makes you look older,' she said spitefully
'Are you going to help me up or not?'
'Maybe at thirty-five you're getting too old to chase women,' she jeered
'Ait instead to support hihtly as he drew up his straightened left leg—the one with the long scar
Elizabeth gasped as she realised that she had ed him
'Are—are you hurt?' she faltered, crouching back down beside him
'No more than usual' She could see a fineon his dark brow as he ain He was in real pain
'But your leg-' She broke off, her soft pal above the raised scar tissue that seae of skin a sh the dark hair that coated the rest of his leg An old scar, fully healed, but obviously with some permanent effects 'What happened? Did you have an operation?'
He stiffened, causing her to recoil both physically and ely 'I e of it You don’t want to ruin a perfect record for infuriating me'
'Did you hurt it when you fell just now? Perhaps you shouldn’t try to get up yet'
Her sympathy was as unwelcorowled, re her of his distaste for the word
'I'm not your mother!' she reproved him sharply
His eyes drifted from the anxious tuck of her mouth to the modest scoop-neck of her enerous swell beneath His smile was a painful parody of a leer 'Pity You have such an abundance of maternal potential My mother was rather more under-endowed and chose to bottle-feed If I'd been suckled by you I'm sure I'd have been the fattest, happiest, not to hbourhood'