Rose knew why. Rose knew why, and it would be so simple to tell Ustinya, even though she absolutely could not. Sometimes she wished that she could just tell Ustinya and Petra, end the secrecy, and at least she and Nik could be open in the house. But of course it would never be that simple.

Rosaline, Nik's lover, wanted him to never touch his wife again. But Rosaline, the long-term lodger and ostensibly Ustinya's friend, had to offer advice.

"Sometimes a man needs a little bit of a - nudge," Rose said, "To encourage him to visit."

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