Fred's smile faded. The easy contentment he'd been feeling turned into a weight in his chest.
Right. Her daughter. George's daughter. That surprise wouldn't go over well. It was best not to take a chance, not to upset his niece by having spent the night with his girlfriend. With his brother's wife.
"Quite right," he said with a smile that he didn't feel and waggling his eyebrows to distract from that fact. Fred rolled over and out of bed, where he grabbed his trousers and shirt. "It really is too bad about George's ear, otherwise I could just pretend to be him and everything'd be swell!"