Wounded Beast (Gypsy Heroes)

‘Right,’ he mutters.

I smile at him.

‘Thank you,’ he says.

I start walking toward him. ‘Need some help?’

‘Nah, I think I’ve nearly got it all,’ he says, looking down at the mess.

I go over to the cupboard under the sink, and, opening it, find some cloths and a bottle of floor cleaner. I find a bowl and fill it from the hot water tap. I squirt a little cleaner into the bowl and walk over to him. I take the sponge out of his hand and replace it with a wet cloth. I toss the sponge across the room into the sink and squat beside him. I wink and begin to clean the floor. He copies my actions exactly.

‘So you got the diaper on, huh?’ he asks casually.

‘Yeah.’ I dip the cloth into the bowl of warm water and rinse it.

‘Any problems?’

‘Nope.’

‘Hmmm … Good.’

There is silence for a few minutes.

‘What do you think they feed that kid?’ he asks.

I hide my amusement as I wring milky water out of the cloth. ‘I don’t know. Maybe dead cats.’

‘I never imagined a baby could stink like that,’ he says in an awed voice. He actually shudders.

I push the bowl over to him. ‘I’ll have to be sure not to fart in bed, then.’

He stops swirling the cloth in the water. ‘Let’s make a deal. Any time you eat a dead cat for dinner, and you think you’re gonna fart in bed, just let me know, and I’ll put a sick bowl by my side,’ he says very seriously.

I laugh so hard at the thought of him puking his guts into a bowl that I fall over backwards. He sits on his heels looking down at me. ‘Have I ever told you, Ella Savage, you are one delicious woman?’

‘Is it because I’m covered in ice cream?’ I giggle.

He bends down and kisses my nose. ‘Even before that. Well before that,’ he growls.

We’re interrupted by an incoherent scream of rage coming from the living room. Dom freezes.

‘Go on,’ I say. ‘I’ll finish up here and join you.’

‘No, you go. I’ll finish up here and join you.’

I try not to chuckle. ‘Are you afraid of them, Dominic Eden?’

‘Terrified,’ he says.

I kiss his nose and go into the living room. Tommy is upset because Liliana has changed the channel.

‘Right,’ I say. ‘No more TV. How about we read a book?’

Both are happy with that, so I take Tommy out of the playpen, and together we choose a book and cuddle up on the sofa to read it. By the time Dom comes in, both kids are leaning on either side of me and we are more than halfway through the book.

He stops at the entrance and watches for a minute before he comes in and sits down with us. After reading the book, we play with the kids.

It’s a game where Dom has to say, ‘Fe fi fo fum, I smell the blood of a half-gypsy girl and the blood of a full-gypsy boy.’