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ahead, Katie. I’ll have a talk with this nephew of mine, and join you later.’
    Katie got up and almost ran to the door. Both of them were talking, neither listening, as she closed the door behind her. She stopped at the head of the stairs, one hand on the round pomegranate knob of the newell post. It seemed almost impossible to control her shaking nerves. What have I got myself into, she almost screamed at herself. They’re mad! Every one of them!
    Well, it’s too late to turn back, and too soon to run. She drew herself up to her full height, controlled her breathing, and stilled the vibrations in her legs. Outside the window the fog bank glared at her, as if waiting for the glass to break so that it could get at her. She took more deep breaths, and forced her hands to unclench. There were little red marks in each of her palms, where her nails had almost pierced the skin. She held them up in front of her, giggling almost hysterically.
    ‘Welcome to Never-Never Land, Katie,’ she said, and started down the stairs.
     

CHAPTER TWO
    It was the sound of the baby crying that hurried Katie’s steps. She found him in the kitchen all alone, holding on to one of the table legs to keep himself upright. Eloise was gone. So was the entire platter of bacon and eggs. Kate could feel a surge of anger flush through her system. But the baby must come first. She held out her arms and made love-noises. Little Jon glanced at her, turned off his waterfall, and wobbled over for comfort.
    ‘Back to square one,’ she sighed as she ran her hand over the little man’s bottom. ‘Or square one-half, no less!’ She bundled him up on her hip again, chuckling as she recalled Aunt Grace’s comments, but thankful to have a place to rest the heavy child. And then back to the nursery. As she went by the living room door she could see Eloise daintily picking at the last of the bacon. ‘Don’t forget to clean up my room,’ the actress called after her as she thumped down the corridor. .
    ‘Don’t forget to clean up my room,’ Katie mimicked as she lay the boy down on the table to change his wet diaper. ‘Don’t forget—oh you poor little darling. You need a bath!’
    She pinned the new diaper, grabbed a handful of clean clothes, swung the baby back on her hip, and went hunting for a bathroom. She found one on the second floor, three doors down the hall. It was tiny, but well- decorated. She started the water, and laughed as the baby, realising what was to come, gurgled in glee. There was an assortment of bottles on the glass shelf over the washbasin. She picked up a bottle of bubble bath at hazard and used it liberally in the tub. Jon began to bounce up and down in expectation. She tested the water temperature with her elbow and plunged the baby into the water. Pandemonium broke loose—in a small way.
    ‘You like this?’ She laughed at him as the baby began to beat at the tiny bubbles with the flat of his hand. She left him to his own devices, only occasionally getting in a lick with the flannel at strategic places where his antics had failed to splash him clean. She had tucked a towel under her chin and across her breasts, and was just about to lift the child out, when both doors to the bathroom opened almost simultaneously.
    ‘So this is where you’ve got to,’ Harry King announced from the hallway. ‘I looked all over the ground floor for you.’
    ‘Just what are you doing with that brat in my bathroom?’ Eloise grated from the other doorway. Behind her, Katie could see the outline of a lavishly decorated bedroom, like a rococo harem.
    ‘I—’ Katie started to say.
    ‘Get him out of here,’ Eloise demanded in a harsh voice. ‘How do you expect me to keep myself clean if I have to share a bathroom with that messy child?’
    ‘That’s enough, Eloise,’ Harry commanded. There was evidently something unusual in his tone that cut Eloise off without another word. Master of his world, Katie thought, as she watched the