“Yes, well, there’s something to be said for damsels who need rescuing.” Thomas’s gaze strayed back to Marianne. She would never need rescuing. And wasn’t there something to be said for that as well?”

“What happened to the days of the hero rescuing the damsel in distress?" Not that I could envisage Heather as a damsel in distress."Those days are long gone, Brendan. Nowadays, the damsel takes care of herself, and on occasion she might even rescue the hero, if she feels he deserves it.""I'm screwed, then.”

“I don’t often need rescuing, but it’s nice when it goes well and doesn’t involve great heights.”

“Zara. We all need to rescue and we all need to be rescued.”

“Hey, he says again, sitting down next to me as though he knows me well. “Need rescuing?”

“I tried to think of something good to ask of him. “Do you always do this?Rescue girls from embarrassment?”Surprise flickered across his face and then there was something else I couldn’t recognize.“No..” he said softly. “Not always.”There was something in the way he said that, which felt like there was something else underneath the words I wasn’t catching.”