Follow a Stranger

about?”

Kate put out her tongue, but told him.

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Sam whistled. “You must have penetrated that thick hide

of his, after all! It’s your big blue eyes and Goldilocks hair,

Sis.”

Kate was angry to feel herself blushing. “Don’t be silly,”

she told him severely, and went upstairs to have a bath.

She took her time over her preparations and it was almost

seven when she looked at herself in the mirror for the last

time. Her dress was very simple, a high-waisted pink crepe,

with a scooped neckline and long, wide sleeves which floated

as she moved her arms. With her blonde hair in a smooth

chignon, a matching pink lipstick and her favourite false

eyelashes, she decided she looked passable.

If only she did not look so maddeningly young! She

suddenly longed for a glittering sophistication. She would

have liked to sweep downstairs and see his eyes open in

stunned admiration.

Then she made a face at herself. What silly nonsense!

They were ships, passing in the night. What did it matter

what he thought of her?

She touched behind her ears with some scent, tucked back

a wandering hair, and then heard his voice below. He was

early! Kate felt her heart flip over peculiarly, as it had once

before that day, and ordered herself to be calm and collected.

As she approached the sitting-room she heard him refuse

the drink her mother was offering. She opened the door

quietly. He turned to look at her, his expression inscrutable.

“Ah, there you are,” he said calmly. “I am afraid I am