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need for sustenance that occupied her. And it was with quite a start that she all at once realised that thoughts of the person who yesterday had been the someone special in her life had been astonishingly absent!

    `No one,' she answered, hiding her astonished feelings. `But I think I'd better be going. It was lovely bumping into you ag-'

    `How long are you here for?' Russell cut in. 'I'm not really sure,' she hedged, and stood up. She really should be getting back.

    Russell walked to her car with her, suggesting that perhaps he might call and see her the next day. Varnie liked him very much, but was unsure of how she was going to cope being head cook and bottle-washer for Johnny's employer. And in any event Beaumont, who didn't want anyone to know where he was, would probably be furious should she have `gentleman callers' turning up at his hideaway. Though hadn't Russell said he was only here for a day or so?

    `I shall be pretty busy sorting out my grandfather's affairs,' Varnie invented, and kissed cheeks with Russell on parting. But she drove back to Aldwyn House still feeling very much shaken that, when she had believed she thought enough of Martin Walker to go on holiday with him he should, in less than twenty-four hours, barely figure in her thoughts!

    Though when she considered the depths of his deception-he was a married man, for goodness' sake, deceiving his wife, the mother of his children Varnie began to feel less astonished that he had killed stone-dead her feeling for him. No wonder he did not figure largely in her thoughts. She knew then that she had not loved him as much as she had thought. She had been stunned, and that was natural enough. Had felt sick and half a dozen other emotions. But any feelings she had thought she'd for him had died the moment he had acknowledged that he was married, yet had still thought she might go away with him when he lyingly told her he was getting a divorce.

    She had thought she would find living with the knowledge of his deceit exceedingly painful, hut in actual fact the only thing that was smarting was her pride that she had been so gullible. How could she have been so unworldly as not to smell something fishy when the only times she'd seen him had been when he was Cheltenham way on business? And that had always been in the week. True, she had worked peculiar hours too. But really-and dim wasn't the word for it-only now did the fact that in all the months she had known him never once had they both had a weekend free at the same time. Even one time when he was supposed to be free, and she'd managed to swap duties and arranged to see him, he had rung at the last minute to say that something had cropped up. Of course it had-his wife and children!

    Varnie put him from her mind, realizing that perhaps she had Leon Beaumont to thank that Martin Walker hadn't spent the whole of that morning occupying her head. For goodness' sake, it wasn't every day that she strolled naked into some man's bedroom! That was certainly enough to block off all thoughts of some other man. And that was without his overbearing attitude and all that followed. The arrogant...

    Varnie calmed down. Johnny. She must keep that clever brother, but-as his father said-often without a grain of sense, to the forefront of her mind. He did not deserve her consideration after what he had done; how dared he hand over his key to her property and invite his boss to use the place as his own? But Johnny did so love his job, and wanted desperately to keep it, and he was her brother and, as her brother, the rights and wrongs of it just didn't come into it.

    That being so, Varnie decided she must make the best of a bad job. She did not want Beaumont in her house, but since, she reluctantly faced, she could not throw him out. Johnny was to keep his job, she would allow him to stay-and only hope it wouldn't be for more than a day or so.

    She pulled up her car to the side of the house and started to extract the groceries