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"How do you mean?" he asked sharply

"If you do not want to touch arded him kindly "If you would like to, then you may"

He scowled "How can you say that you want me, that you have me here in your house, in your bed, and not care if I--"

She sighed "I’ve told you before, Willia a distraction from the confusion that warred within him

"I won’t call you Mr Sher one of the pilloith the back of her hand; though it was dark, she could see his face clearly and kneas deeply troubled She strove to lighten the burdens of desire that so plagued hiround "What does the T in your name stand for?"

"My friends and… and fa hard

"Cump?" She was baffled

"My given nas added William when they took me in after my father’s death So that I could be baptized into Maria Ewing’s Catholic religion" He sat on the edge of the bed and absently reached out to stroke her hair

Madelaine knew he had just given her a very special gift "You’re naency as he reached out and wrapped his long-fingered hands around her upper arms "How do you know about Tecumseh?"

"I know he had a twin brother, Tenska, and they were both called The Prophet" It was not a direct answer, but it was all she was prepared to give now "Co if you don’t want to"

He glowered at her, then looked down at his up and under the covers He stared up at the ceiling in the darkness "What should we talk about?" he asked, hisat all Either will please me if that is what you want" As ainst hers for the length of her body, she, too, lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, noticing a faint crack in the ornae the rift between theive him, as he had offered his naested impulsively "If you like, I will tell you how old I am"

"That is a wonderful secret for a lady to share with a friend, and quite an adrave "Very well On my honor I promise I will never repeat it," he told her soed ahead, telling herself that surprise was an advantage with this man "For I was born on the twenty-second day of November, 1724, at Montalia, my family estate, hi the south of France"

For several seconds Sherman was silent Then he chuckled "Seventeen-twenty-four, not 1824 That would make you inning to worry

He turned toward her, trying hard to keep the incredulity out of his voice "All right I deserved that For the sake of argument, ill say you are ancient, a veritable crone You arc one hundred thirty-one years old, or will be in Nove continued, rich and easy, the hard lines in his face relaxing so that he, hier than he was "And how did you attain this great age without looking older than a girl just out?"

"Because I died on the fourth of August, 17441 was just out," she replied, trying to keep her voice frouise the chill that seized her, ust, 1744," he repeated, as if hearing the words again would change the, and he took aunder control He lay back on the pilloilling hih "You don’t expect hting the desolation that swept over her She was afraid her teeth would chatter ’Tecu now, am I? This is the truth"

"The truth?" he scoffed "Well, Madahty pretty for a corpse" He rolled onto his side, propped himself on his elbow, and stared at her "How can you claie confidences and then tell such bald-faced…" The words straggled; when he spoke again, he ed "You are telling the truth, aren’t you?"

"Yes," she said as if froreat distance

"But how… ?" He touched her face with one long finger, he did his best to comprehend the enorave him Saint-Germain’s answer "I drink the Elixir of Life And I do not die I cannot die"