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Page 309

| hoped that by now she would have miscarried. It seemed now that he was saddled not only with her, but also her bastard child. |

| Bianca gazed fearfully up at Stanford and drew a blanket up over her. Without his saying anything, it was obvious that he was disgusted with the sight of her. He wished that her child was dead! |

| Her thoughts went to Sasha and the kind offer she had madeto take her in if she left Stanford and let her live with Sasha and Ashton until they took another trip into Melbourne. |

| But Bianca was too afraid to involve anyone but herself in this ordeal that she was living through. If only she had found the strength to say no to Stanford back in Melbourne! |

| But even then, fearing him was the reason she had accompanied him to the outback. |

| "Get up and get dressed," Stanford said, slipping a shirt on. "Get to cleaning up this place. It's beginning to smell like you." |

| Stung by his cruel words, Bianca cowered as she crept from the bed, hurriedly slipping a loose-fitted kangaroo-hide dress over her head. She glanced his way as he went to the door and pulled it open, cursing beneath his breath as he stepped out onto the porch. |

| She went to the door and stood behind it, listening intently as the horsemen stopped just outside the cabin and began talking to Stanford. |

| "Ashton's up to something," one of the men said. |

| "Like what?" Stanford asked, squinting up at one of his loyal gunmen whom he had sent to spy on Ashton and Sasha. |

| "Like he's having all of the sheep sheared," the |

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