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is it?’
    ‘Just past the bottom of the staircase, first door on your left.’
    When Harriet entered Rowena was sittingslumped in a wicker chair, her head back and her face drained of its usual colour. Harriet cleared her throat and at once the film star’s head came up and a professional sparkle returned to her features.
    ‘Was everything all right, Harriet?’ she asked sweetly.
    ‘The rooms are incredible; I shall get thoroughly spoilt here.’
    ‘I hope so,’ said Rowena vaguely. ‘You must help me get this room straight. It needs lots of potted plants, spice ropes – that kind of thing. Would you see to it for me?’
    Harriet, though she thought the clean uncluttered lines of the room very attractive, agreed. If Rowena wanted plants, plants it should be.
    Harriet stood by the large glass windows of the conservatory and stared out across the grass that gently sloped away from the back of the house.
    ‘I hadn’t realised quite how beautiful you were,’ said Rowena suddenly.
    Harriet turned to look at her. ‘I’m sorry?’
    ‘You’re young as well.’
    ‘I’m twenty-three,’ said Harriet, wondering why Rowena should suddenly start talking about her PA’s appearance.
    ‘Unfortunately I’m not. I hadn’t expected Chris to find you so attractive.’ Harriet, uncertain as to what she should say, kept silent. ‘Did you find him attractive?’ continued Rowena.
    Harriet gave a small smile, embarrassed by the question. ‘I really don’t know – I hardly saw him-but not especially. He isn’t my type.’
    ‘Then what is your “type”, as you so quaintly put it?’ queried Rowena.
    Now Harriet realised that she was in trouble. ‘I prefer dark men,’ she said slowly.
    ‘Then presumably you find my husband attractive, if not my half-brother?’
    Harriet wished Rowena would change the subject. If she kept on like this it was going to be impossible not to antagonise her, and her voice already had an edge to it, as though she was annoyed by something Harriet had done.
    ‘He’s very handsome,’ she replied diplomatically.
    ‘Handsome! Yes, of course he’s handsome, but so are thousands of men. Isn’t he attractive to you?’
    ‘I hadn’t thought about it,’ lied Harriet.
    Rowena sat up straight in her chair. ‘That’s a lie. I saw the way you looked at him. You felt it, the same as all women do. You wanted him, didn’t you? Even then, in those first moments, you were wondering what it would be like to go to bed with him.’
    ‘I most certainly was not!’ said Harriet, trying her best to sound offended. ‘I’m sorry, Rowena, but I’m not sure where this is leading. Have I done something wrong? Would you like me to leave, is that it?’
    Rowena leant across the table towards her. ‘I think perhaps there’s something you should know,’ she said slowly.
    ‘And what could that be?’ asked Lewis, strolling into the room and pouring himself a mug of coffee from the percolator on the table.
    Rowena turned her head towards him. ‘I didn’t hear you coming, darling.’
    He smiled at her, and absentmindedly ran thefingers of his left hand down her bare arm. Rowena stretched and made a small sound of pleasure. His arm slid up to her shoulder and pushed the mass of red-gold hair behind her ear so that he could softly stroke the side of her neck. ‘What did you want Harriet to know?’ he repeated.
    ‘I can’t remember now, you’ve distracted me!’ laughed Rowena. ‘It wasn’t important, only something about my fan mail.’
    Lewis looked over at Harriet. ‘My wife gets a lot of fan mail. You’ll spend a great deal of time answering it, I’m afraid. She has ten standard letters of reply on the computer, all designed to appear personal. You just have to be careful to check that the person you’re replying to hasn’t written before. If they have then the letter’s on a separate disk and you choose from ten follow-up replies. “How wonderful to hear from you again”, that kind of