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"She is mine," Robin bellowed

Chris locked the door behind her "Robin, Guy, you can do this later We have to get to this councilbefore the contessa does"

Neither an circling around each other

"You ruined ham snarled "Do not do the saht," Robin told his bared "She would have been free to have the life she wanted"

"Which you gave her by getting her with your brat?" Nottingha on the door, and strode over to step between them "This brawl is over"

"It will be shortly," Robin said in a low, lethal voice "Step out of the way, love"

That did it "Don’t you callto kill hiot his attention "Marian is dead"

"Her death doesn’t seeestured at hi over her And for what?"

"He killed Marian," Nottingham said "He had me imprisoned for ten years in my own keep He stole my life from me"

"Your mother imprisoned you, Guy," Chris said "You said she had been planning to kill you on your wedding day She probably would have, too, if Robin hadn’t taken Marian He didn’t steal your life He saved it And you" She turned and glared at her lover "How long do you think Guy’s ? She had her land and her ht?"

Both ers as they stared at her, their scowls uncertain

Chris turned her head toward the voices shouting outside the lavatory "You two can stay here and pretend that nothing has changed, but the contessa is out there somewhere, and she’s not exactly sane, and apparently she has an arood ti each other to pieces"

Chris unlocked the door, pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered outside No one tried to stop her, which was a good thing, because she was angry enough to kill someone herself

Outside the terminal she went to the first unoccupied black cab she saw and climbed in

"Where are we off to, love?" the driver asked her

She didn’t knohere the contessa could be, or where the Darkyn werefor le conseil supérieur, and felt like bursting into tears Then the door opened, and two sullen-looking men climbed in beside her

"Shoemaker’s Heaven," Robin told the driver

Chapter Nineteen

Richard conte after Alexandra stalked out of the reception rooneurs argued over what the doctor had revealed

"Did you know any of this?" Richard demanded in a low voice

"No Alexandra chose not to confide in me" His smile became ironic "I assume from your reaction that she was not supposed to reveal this inforreement Apparently I was mistaken" Richard felt as weary as if he had spent the last hour in battle "How much of what she said could be the truth?"

"Most or all of it Alexandra spoke to Liling Harper for several hours last night The girl spent sixteen years as one of the Brethren’s test subjects; she reat deal about theave hi Liling Jaus has never lost a siege or spared an ene Richard’s attention to the fact that the other seigneurs had fallen silent and atching hi to the Brethren attacks"

Richard nodded to Cyprien, and they returned to their places

The high lord looked down the table "Very well Do we commit ourselves to war?" No one estion to expose the order to the media" He watched Michael, but like the others he didn’t put in a vote Richard sighed "All who find favor with Dr Keller’s proposals"

Seven hands raised into the air

"I should save h lord," Richard observed in a sour tone "Very well We will consult with Lady Alexandra and decide what is to be done" He slapped his glove on the table "Le conseil supérieur is adjourned"