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She wished she could believe the feeling in his eyes, but she dared not trust him any more There was too much hidden between them; too many question marks in her mind

'And it wasn't even me she wanted to kill!' She met his eyes and saw them flick away, as they always did at theelse occurred to Sian then, and she frowned, watching him closely

'If you knew she hated Annette, ere you going to marry… ?' She broke off the question because she didn't think she could stand hearing hi about Annette; she didn't want to know any more He must have been deeply in love with her, or he wouldn't have riskedsomeone his sister hated that da still hated Annette like poison?

He wasn't answering her, anyway; he was staring at nothing, his face in hard profile

Sian arden!'

He followed 'I'll show you the roses and the croquet lawn—can you play? We could have a game They've set it up so that people can play this afternoon They're charging the done to make money'

Sian didn't look round at him 'I'd rather be alone,' she said in a stiff, cold voice, then began to run, and this time he didn't follow

It was a relief to be out of the house, in the sunlight, although she found herself surrounded by people at first Workmen, ladies with ar up on the stalls, children setting up a crazy golf course on one lahile in another corner so coconuts on battered wooden cups for a coconut shy She felt people looking at her, curious eyes following her No doubt they wondered who she was—but she ignored thearden she could see: a wilder area of trees, rough grass, shrubs At least there she could be alone to think

One group of women discussed her so loudly that she could hear every word, and maybe was meant to! 'Is it her?' one asked

Another said, 'No, she isn't old enough The pictures in the papers made her look thirty, at least, and this one can't be more than twenty-five'

Sian wanted to run, to get away from the speculative eyes, the faintly malicious voices, but she

'I think it is her,' someone else said

'Well, I don't think '

'Men like blondes, though, don't they?'

Sian was almost out of earshot; the last words floated to her on the surind her teeth Whatunderneath the scalp? Why did people think in stereotypes?