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"Aye, you do, " sheagreed withher first real s in the white breeches and shirt under a lireen and yellow ribbons onthekneebreeches

They hadstopped at the tailor’s onthe waytothe Beechaet theirhands onso was not going to recover in time to attend the "sour-ee" It had worked, ustOfcourse thehtsize Well, alhtsize It had been made fora Lordsomebody-or-other and was dueto be delivered the next day, but would be delayed now thanks to Henry He’d offered up a s a ed at his breeches impatiently That was theonly realproblereen waistcoat fit hiat the waist Apparentlythe noble who’d co of asto rigging, did not Now Henry was forced to constantly tug the pants up or else risk losing the to the side slightly, Valoree peered past Henry’s scowling face at the s from behind him

"Beecham, "shesaidHenryreettheman

"Ah, Lord Beechaements Irequested Good ofye toinvite us to thishere littleswaran cheerfully

"Soiree, " Valoree corrected, thenforced a brightsmile to her face as she nodded at their host "Lord Beechaan toslip ontohis face

"Is there so? " Valoree asked atouch nervously, onlyjust noorrying overhis recognizing Henry as oneof the servants that had accoht itaproblem, for She hadheard that mostnobles didn’t trouble theured that Beecha, mylord, " theman said "It is just that you look very much like one of the servants Isaith Lady Ainsley this afternoon"

"Ah" Henry nodded sole hewould come up with one The sailor was a quick thinker He didn’tdisappoint her"That’d be me brother

Half brother, thatis My father’s bastard offspringHis e, we tookhim onas a servant Have to look after family, don’t ye know" He slapped their host on theback as he said that, nearly sending the slender ed a weakslanced to Valoree and asked with real regret, "Yourauntcould notht? "

"’Fraidnot, " Henry answeredbeforeValoree couldspeak, then tried for a conspiratorial look and said, "You knoo overtheleast little problem Well, she took to the bo - "

"Bed, " Valoree interjected quicklybefore he could finish "She was not feeling welland took to herbed"

"I see, " Beecham said, and Valoreesuspectedhe did see - if not the whole picture, then thatso to present Sighinginwardly, she sent a quick glance at Henry, relieved when he caught the younger man’sarm and whirled him around to propel him toward the middle of theroom

"How about ye introduce us around so we can size up the offerings this evening"

"Offerings? " Beecham asked uncertainly

"Aye The men Got toat theback ofhis head and followingthe inedshe had one of her blades withher and was sticking it intoher quarterlanced up frohtlyat Beecham’s distressed face "Last I saw her, she ith youand thatolder gentle toperuse the roomful of people unhappily, unawareof the wayDaniel stiffened

"Heruncle? " he askedcarefully "On which side? "

Beecha rapidly"Which side? You mean which side of the fahtly "Idonot know She ine he isfromthemother’s side, however, since I do not believe that Lord Ainsley had a brother" He pausedto considerthat briefly, then shrugged with disinterest

"He does not visit London much, obviously, " Daniel said

Beecham shook his head

"He hasaplantation on oneof the islands in the Caribbean

This is hisfirsttrip toLondon in years"

"Whichisland? "

Beecham frownedat the question "I I am not sure I do not think they mentioned which one, " he admitted slowly, then waved the question away "Ihappen? " Daniel asked before he could slip away, and the other roaned

"Aye Therewas anincident"

Daniel’s eyebrowsrose at his pained inflection"An incident? "

"Yes" Beecham hesitated, then said, "I had introducedthem to several people when Mother wavedus over - "

Daniel hadto sh he couldn’t blame him Were Lady Beecharateful she wasn’t She was a rather unpleasant woman

"So Iwas forced to introduce LadyAinsley and her uncle to her friends; thenMothersentone Well "He whined piteously

"Lady Ainsley’s facefell off"

Daniel blinked, bely broken Then he suddenly straightened, an idea strikinghim"Mayhap I should check - "