But gradually one activity came particularly to my attention. Once, times a day, so t it again, carrying a can of petrol ime. Sook to to lose interest. S s distantly, ful.  looking I took tever did s  t t at o be realized. ever t seem to find it strange t t  despite trol cans, sed in fetcing the house.

    I seemed to spend urning to t one day, not ing to leave Emmeline and tected, I put one instead in t of sig occurred to me t perter place. Because, by alurning to t it  altoget put an end to the rigmarole.

    atcired me out, but sired. A little sleep  a long  at any . And I ting sleepy. One day, in t to bed. t in  noter,  soundly.

    I dreains.

    It ime to go and cired of al. atc, c at all.  , t touc ening to t, tranquil it —t ained myself, tting into  I rate me, take over my breat of t took  myself drifting off o sleep.

    Somet I  before I ever  move, kept my breatcween my lashes.

    S over t, lifted t of t to stop  I didn’t. If I , sponed ting , I could find out  a stop to it once and for all. tirred in  o be in anyone’s arms but Emmeline’s, and a baby is not taken in by a twin.

    I folloo t s ajar. t to t  to t rectangle I sa in t. I s. he was awake.

    Kneeling by took coals from ttle, logs from ted t kno of paper, kindling, coals and logs; Adeline’s fires  oug to burn at all.

    tion of c couldn’t catc couldn’t. But I could not reassure myself. o do  somet to spark. trong s fire to er if sed to badly enough.

    In cill wrapped