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strength gone from her she collapsed on to the bed, gasping for breath. He had both hands in his pockets now, watching her like a hawk peering down at his next victim. And then, slowly, that wide grin came across his face again. He laughed softly. ‘You’ve got weak knees for this kind of game,’ he chortled.
    ‘I don’t—I—that’s not part of the contract for domestics,’ she spluttered. ‘I wish you hadn’t done that. What will your—what will Eloise say?’
    ‘But we both know that you’re not a domestic, don’t we?’ he returned. ‘And as for Eloise, I won’t tell her if you won’t!’
    ‘Why you—you conniving arrogant—chauvinist!’ She spat the words at him, her face flushed with anger. ‘You’re going to marry Eloise, and you play games with me at the same time?’
    ‘Now, now,’ he chuckled. ‘You may think I’m going to marry Eloise, and Eloise might think so too, but the truth of the matter is that I’m just not the marrying type. ’
    ‘And you think that gives you the right to—to force yourself on me?’
    ‘Come on, love,’ he taunted. ‘I can’t help it if you have weak knees. That was hardly forcing, you know. And don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it, because I know you did. I did, too. I would think that my aunt would have picked out a more experienced candidate though. Now, perhaps you’d like to tell me what kind of a plot Aunt Grace is working on this time?
    ‘Coincidence is a little hard to swallow. This road and this house are about as far as you can get from the mainstream of life. Anybody who chose Highway 19W as a short cut to Ohio needs her brain transplanted. It only took me sixty seconds to see that dear Aunt Grace is up to her little game again. And that makes you an accessory to the crime, doesn’t it?’
    ‘I haven’t the slightest idea what you’re talking about!’ Katie snapped at him. ‘I don’t know you, I didn’t know your aunt, and I don’t even know this poor little kid. Is that all a coincidence?’
    ‘Well, I wouldn’t put it past Aunt Grace and my sister to work up some double-barrelled scheme. Don’t be alarmed, though. I always manage to uncover the plot before the trap is sprung. Are your bags still out in your car? I’ll go get them. You can just sit there and think about what new cover story you plan to tell me, or you can hop across the hall and consult with the First Witch. I’ll walk very slowly to give you a better chance.’
    ‘Why you—you insufferable—’ But the invective had lost its flavour as the door closed behind him. Just sit here? Why that—insulting man! I’ll get down to my car somehow, and I’ll—but she had been just sitting, and the inaction did her in. She fell over on her side, feet still on the floor, and dozed away into another fog, forgetfulness.
    He returned in about an hour with her three bags. He set them down quietly in the corner, and came over to the bed. With much tender care he picked up her legs and swung them up on the bed. Then, still moving cautiously, he unlaced her high-top brogues and slipped them off. He also loosened the belt of her jeans and brought a blanket from the cupboard to cover her and the baby.
    Her wild russet curls had fallen across her eyes and cheek. He brushed them back with a light finger. There was a tiny droplet of perspiration standing on the very tip of her nose. He bent over, and removed it with his tongue. He stood there for another three or four minutes, brooding over her, tracing the outline of her under the blankets, recalling the spark that had jumped between them. It was so obviously another one of Aunt Grace’s ploys, yet something didn’t feel right, and he was at a loss to say just what it was. He walked back to the door, jingling the change in his pocket with a nervous hand.
    ‘A professional bachelor needs to be very wary indeed,’ he muttered to himself as he went out into the corridor. ‘Take care, Harry.’ But as he wandered down the