right in a tick.’ Sure enough, the water spat and dribbled and then began to flow and the dreadful noise abated.
Luke opened his mouth and then shut it again. This was hardly the time to score further points about how inadequate this housing was. Not when Amy had just collected another inhabitant. Somehow it didn’t surprise him that she would be prepared to lavish emotional energy on animals, as well as people. She was half-Italian, after all. Plenty of emotional energy to go around.
A heavy, unfamiliar feeling was gathering over Luke like dark clouds. He had known it would be a mistake to set foot in this house.
Amy seemed to be thinking hard, but Luke could read nothing in her expression when she glanced in his direction. She gave a slight nod just as the first tendril of steam escaped the spout of the kettle. Then she looked at her watch very deliberately.
‘I absolutely have to go to work,’ she said suddenly. ‘I’ll let Margaret know what’s happening. She might be able to get a pool nurse in to cover and then I’d be able to come home.’ Amy was speaking very fast, the words tumbling over each other. ‘I’ve got my mobile. Could you please tell Zoe to text me if she needs me?’
‘You can’t leave!’ Luke made the statement an order.
‘I have to. I can’t afford to lose my job.’
This was unacceptable. Luke stared at Amy. ‘You’re going to leave a house full of children? Unattended?’
‘I’m not leaving them unattended,’ Amy said calmly. ‘You’re here.’
‘I’m not staying.’
‘Why not? It’s your house. And it’s not for long. Zoe will be back in just a few minutes.’ She sounded extraordinarily calm. ‘I don’t really see that you’ve got a choice, Mr Harrington. Sorry.’
She didn’t look sorry. There was an expression curiously like satisfaction as Amy shrugged on a coat that hung behind the kitchen door, grabbed a bright red tote bag that stood beside the hutch dresser and practically ran from the house.
It all seemed to happen within seconds. Stunning! And now Luke knew what that strange, heavy feeling was.
Defeat. By stepping into this damned house he had stepped onto a battlefield and he had just lost the first skirmish. Something akin to admiration sneaked into the astonishment at the way he had just been manipulated.
Amy Phillips was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
There was no point continuing to stare at an empty doorway. Luke turned as the kettle began to whistle. He had to move to take it off the range and he was still standing there, lost in thought, when the back door opened again.
Zoe entered, holding a piece of rope. On the end of the rope was the biggest dog Luke had ever seen. Long, long legs and tufty hair and big sad brown eyes.
Luke stared. He couldn’t help it. He knew he probably had an expression of extreme distaste on his face but he couldn’t help that, either. He had a flash of sympathy for Bernie. This animal was too big and probably did smell and would, most likely, cost a fortune to feed.
‘Don’t worry,’ Zoe told him scathingly. ‘He probably doesn’t like you, either.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I know who you are,’ she informed him. ‘And I really don’t like you.’
‘Oh?’ Despite himself, Luke was curious. ‘Why is that?’
‘You made Amy cry.’
CHAPTER FOUR
T HE route that cut through a corner of Regent’s Park, crossed the busy main roads and then tracked past the ambulance entrance to Lizzie’s emergency department had never been completed so fast.
Amy felt as if she was running for her life and her heart was still pounding so hard she had to slow down on the stairs up to the floor that housed the cardiology ward.
What had she done?
It had seemed like the perfect solution at the time. Of course the children couldn’t be left without a responsible adult in attendance. Not when the babysitter was hardly more than a child herself and was currently distracted by her own problems.
Amy had
Luke opened his mouth and then shut it again. This was hardly the time to score further points about how inadequate this housing was. Not when Amy had just collected another inhabitant. Somehow it didn’t surprise him that she would be prepared to lavish emotional energy on animals, as well as people. She was half-Italian, after all. Plenty of emotional energy to go around.
A heavy, unfamiliar feeling was gathering over Luke like dark clouds. He had known it would be a mistake to set foot in this house.
Amy seemed to be thinking hard, but Luke could read nothing in her expression when she glanced in his direction. She gave a slight nod just as the first tendril of steam escaped the spout of the kettle. Then she looked at her watch very deliberately.
‘I absolutely have to go to work,’ she said suddenly. ‘I’ll let Margaret know what’s happening. She might be able to get a pool nurse in to cover and then I’d be able to come home.’ Amy was speaking very fast, the words tumbling over each other. ‘I’ve got my mobile. Could you please tell Zoe to text me if she needs me?’
‘You can’t leave!’ Luke made the statement an order.
‘I have to. I can’t afford to lose my job.’
This was unacceptable. Luke stared at Amy. ‘You’re going to leave a house full of children? Unattended?’
‘I’m not leaving them unattended,’ Amy said calmly. ‘You’re here.’
‘I’m not staying.’
‘Why not? It’s your house. And it’s not for long. Zoe will be back in just a few minutes.’ She sounded extraordinarily calm. ‘I don’t really see that you’ve got a choice, Mr Harrington. Sorry.’
She didn’t look sorry. There was an expression curiously like satisfaction as Amy shrugged on a coat that hung behind the kitchen door, grabbed a bright red tote bag that stood beside the hutch dresser and practically ran from the house.
It all seemed to happen within seconds. Stunning! And now Luke knew what that strange, heavy feeling was.
Defeat. By stepping into this damned house he had stepped onto a battlefield and he had just lost the first skirmish. Something akin to admiration sneaked into the astonishment at the way he had just been manipulated.
Amy Phillips was certainly a force to be reckoned with.
There was no point continuing to stare at an empty doorway. Luke turned as the kettle began to whistle. He had to move to take it off the range and he was still standing there, lost in thought, when the back door opened again.
Zoe entered, holding a piece of rope. On the end of the rope was the biggest dog Luke had ever seen. Long, long legs and tufty hair and big sad brown eyes.
Luke stared. He couldn’t help it. He knew he probably had an expression of extreme distaste on his face but he couldn’t help that, either. He had a flash of sympathy for Bernie. This animal was too big and probably did smell and would, most likely, cost a fortune to feed.
‘Don’t worry,’ Zoe told him scathingly. ‘He probably doesn’t like you, either.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I know who you are,’ she informed him. ‘And I really don’t like you.’
‘Oh?’ Despite himself, Luke was curious. ‘Why is that?’
‘You made Amy cry.’
CHAPTER FOUR
T HE route that cut through a corner of Regent’s Park, crossed the busy main roads and then tracked past the ambulance entrance to Lizzie’s emergency department had never been completed so fast.
Amy felt as if she was running for her life and her heart was still pounding so hard she had to slow down on the stairs up to the floor that housed the cardiology ward.
What had she done?
It had seemed like the perfect solution at the time. Of course the children couldn’t be left without a responsible adult in attendance. Not when the babysitter was hardly more than a child herself and was currently distracted by her own problems.
Amy had
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