Cindy squealed again with delight. Garth ground his teeth at the way Faye had backed him into a corner. Saturday was fully booked with important meetings. Faye's eyes were still on him, understanding everything, daring him to refuse.

He thought faster than he'd ever done in his life. 'That's right,' he said. 'We'll all be going out together. You, me, Mummy and Adrian.'

'Adrian's got a football match that afternoon,' Cindy said. 'Can we all go and watch it?'

'Of course we will,' Garth responded at once. 'Actually, I thought of inviting myself to stay with you for a while. Only if you want me, of course.' He was throwing the challenge back at Faye.

'Of course we want you,' Cindy declared, shocked. 'We do, don't we, Mummy? We want Daddy ever and ever so much.'

'Well, it's not quite that simple,' Garth said, as if giving the matter serious thought. 'You see, this house has only three bedrooms, so there isn't anywhere for me.'

'But it's easy,' Cindy said. 'I'll move in with Mummy and you can have my room.'

'Can I, darling? That's very nice of you.' He looked at Faye. 'You see? It's easy.'

Cindy danced off to find her brother, singing, 'Daddy's home! Daddy's home!' The other two regarded each other.

'I think you're the most unscrupulous man I've ever known,' Faye seethed. 'How dare you use a child's love in that cynical way?'

'But perhaps I'm not being cynical, Faye. You told me I should pay them more attention, especially Cindy. That's what I'm doing. Don't you think I've made her happy?'

'For your own ends, the way everything is for your own ends.'

'She's happy. Does it matter why?'

'It will matter, when you decide to change tactics and drop her. It's bad enough that you've neglected her until now, but when she finds that this sudden interest is only a way of using her, she'll stop trusting you. I don't want her to lose faith in the world so soon.'