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Just why have you asked me to come here?'
    At that, he moved from his desk and came to stand by her side, his nearness disconcerting.
    'To warn you that if you go on as you are now, you will sacrifice your life for your sister.'
    Emma was roused to anger. 'And on what do you base that dire assumption?'
    'Your readiness to fall in with her every whim, devote all your time to her. . .' He shook his head and his gaze was warning.
    'You cannot cite any instance——'
    He interrupted, and the atmosphere between them reached a tension that was almost tangible as he looked deeply into her eyes and said, 'Can you deny that you would have had dinner with me, had it not been for leaving Irene?'
     

CHAPTER TWO
    Emma heard Adam's words, resisting them as an accusation which fired her with a sudden rebellion. What right had he to question her motives? It was her business whether or not she had dinner with him, she argued. Nevertheless there was an uneasiness in her contemplation of the issue and she faced him stormily, her voice raised. 'I see no reason why I should deny such an accusation. Having dinner with you is wholly a matter of choice and. . .' She hesitated, unnerved by his inescapable gaze.
    'That is the point exactly,' he said with telling emphasis. 'You did not make the choice with free will.'
    His words fell significantly on the uneasy silence, and Emma lost a little of her nerve. She did not want to dwell on the matter, or be faced with the fact that her refusal had been influenced by Irene; that, despite herself and the antagonism she was slowly building up against this man, she found the prospect of dining with him a singular challenge, even temptation.
    She burst forth protestingly, 'You have no right whatsoever to question my motives. Or is it that you cannot face rejection of any kind?' There was a faint note of scorn in her voice.
    Adam was roused by her annoyance, aware of the flashing of her blue eyes and the firm set of her red inviting lips.
    He wanted to put his hands on her shoulders and shake her into submission, unprepared for the passionate reaction her dismissal had stimulated.
    'If,' he said with emphasis, 'I had felt that the rejection was genuine, I should have dealt with it in a very different way.' He paused, and defied her to avoid his gaze. 'My point is still valid and my concern for you very great.'
    Emma felt the walls of the room were closing in on her and that there was no escape from someone who had suddenly constituted himself her judge.
    She burst out accusingly, 'You seem deliberately to underestimate my sister's condition, and make no allowances for her fears. No one has agoraphobia for pleasure. You didn't know Irene before all this happened,' she added fiercely. 'To have both parents killed ' She broke off shakenly, furious with herself because emotion overwhelmed her, the loss seeming to be as real as when the shock of the news first reached her.
    Adam felt a terrible sense of inadequacy as he hastened to say, his voice low and sympathetic, 'I assure you I do not overlook one facet of all this. If I did, I should not concern myself beyond the purely professional aspect.'
    Her gaze was direct and unnerving. 'Perhaps it would be very much better if you brought only a medical assessment to the case.'
    'I don't merely treat symptoms,' he said with quiet firmness.
    She flashed, 'You surprise me. I should have thought that was precisely what you are doing with Irene.'
    He said gently, 'You're wrong, Emma. Irene has become a child who cannot bear to have its mother out of its sight. With you there, she lives in a little world of her own and finds both consolation and security in it.'
    Emma said loyally, 'Is that so strange?'
    His voice seemed to throb into the silence. 'Not strange but dangerous! For you both.'
    Emma's nerves were taut; emotion flamed, the awareness of Adam's assessment disquieting. Her only weapon against him seemed to be attack as she rushed forth, 'Isn't all this a little