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"But you are here, and Thayer is in control Oh, Matt! It means so much to everyone when the Stone of Stoneyville takes part!"

"All right, Penny, all right Where’s the uniforht to you"

Penny’s exciteious Darcy had barely ely co, corset, pantalettes, hoop, cheoing to have a breeze Of course, in a way, that’s bad There will be black powder everywhere, but it’s great, really, because you get the true essence of how horrible battle was and just what the poor oes on first, corset over that, then the dress It’s not an elegant evening gown, but a typical day dress Nice one, and it will look great on you Deep blue It will do wonders for your hair"

"Thanks, Penny," Darcy said, and she htly into the corset

"It’s how they really wore them!" Penny told her

"Hey, that was then, this is now I’ out on the battlefield, okay, please?"

With a sigh, Penny eased her hold on the ribbons "Lavinia will let you tie her up until she’s just about dead"

"I’ll just bet she looks great then," Darcy said "I want to breathe through the show"

When she went downstairs, she discovered that Matt had already headed out--as a last-istration papers for insurance purposes But Carter and Clint aiting for her

"Wow!" Clint told her "It’s a look--it’s a look!"

"The best that money can buy, huh?" Carter teased

They were alone with Penny in the foyer "Is Lavinia co? Adao the e came back yesterday"

"Great," Darcy said She felt a cold nose touch her hand Oola She stroked the dog and looked at the two

"Maybe we should leave her in the house," Clint said "All the commotion out there…she may not be used to it," Clint said

"There will be all kinds of dogs around People bring their pets," Carter said

"I guess you’re right All right, Oola Let’s see what kind of a cavalry dog you’llwith the cavalry," Clint said "We’ll set you up with Penny, Lavinia, and Adaood," she said

When they arrived at the field, they could see it was already crawling with people Darcy was startled when the three of them were asked to stop a dozen tirinned at her "See, you look great"

"Thanks I’ood," Clint said "You get to be ued

Darcy could see that ed behind a makeshift fence There were officers in sheriff’s depart the lines, while those in Civil War attire were on the other side of the fence "Where’s Matt?"

"With his company, probably," Carter said "We’ll find them later We’ll position you back here--you can see better"

"Where will Adaet here soon enough, we’ll bring ’e to have to join the rest of the tourists" He tipped his hat to her, then disht here Don’t you love that--a perfect historical iress, what can you do?" Darcy syo down on the first volley," Clint told her, "so I’ll get back to you as soon as I can reasonably crawl, noble and injured, off the field"

"You get to go doith the first volley?" Carter asked hirinned, and was then surprised when a Robert E Lee look-alike rode out to the center of the field on a beautiful white horse, disaphone to speak He introduced the day of the battle, the circuht about the skir to wind their way back to Meade, while the Southern troops were riding to catch up with Lee before the battle at Sharpsburg A e train, and, realizing they had a shts, decided to turn the stolen guns against their ene, some of it house-to-house, but the uns had sent the tattered Northerners fleeing And yet it had not been a victory for either side as far too ave a flourish of his hat, mounted his white horse, and left the field in a flurry of hooves and dirt The one, the first cannon sounded The battle coined what such a battle must have been like Within uns filled the air Officers roared out commands from both sides of the field The cavalry ca, swords flying Men advanced, went down, retreated

She saw Matt, riding with his sword swirling in the black- touched her heart

He disappeared into the field of black powder

Foot soldiers advanced behind the cavalry From the hillock where Clint and Carter had left her, Darcy was in perfect position, and she was enthralled

Suddenly she felt an odd sense of real pain and nostalgia sweep over her She closed her eyes, and the shouting seee

She opened her eyes to true horror

There were twice as many men on the field And there were no spectators Broken, bleeding, riddled with bullets, soldiers in blue and in gray lay littering the field A horse whinnied in terror and went down Bullets flew hard and furious…she heard the whap of one as it struck the tree near her