Robert Galbraith

His loud voice reverberated around the stairwell

while she stood huddled against it

coupled with a gently expanding belly,

His subconscious had become entangled with Charlotte again;

But Robin, heading back to the office with sandwiches and crisps, felt even sorrier for Strike than she had done before. His marriage—or, if they had not been married, his live-in relationship—had failed; he was sleeping in his office; he had been injured in the war, and now she discovered that his mother had died in dubious and squalid circumstances.

long-term boyfriend

in front of three down-and-outs huddled on the steps

Even the pale and pugnacious commuters squashed into the Tube carriage around her were gilded by the radiance of the ring, and as she emerged into the chilly March daylight at Tottenham Court Road underground station, she stroked the underside of the platinum band with her thumb, and experienced an explosion of happiness at the thought that she might buy some bridal magazines at lunchtime.

tall and curvaceous

strawberry-blonde hair that rippled as she strode briskly along, the chill air adding color to her pale cheeks