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The Greekscowled "NayI told you it was a wasted trip"

"I see Well, that shall be our first order of business thisto her feet

"What? " Valoreeasked suspiciously, tearingher gaze fro out to purchasesohtlike your last" Sheheadedfor thedoor, but paused beside Henry "Did itreallyfall intoLadyBeechashook her head, aain and ordered, "You’dbest fetchsoh the door then, adding, "Co, Valoree The bread will still be there e return"

"Notbloodylikely with Bull and One-Eye around, " Valoree ood-sized hunk of cheese, before following thewo Henry, she said sweetly, "Ye’d best befetchingsoed yer mind and decided wecan return tothesea, after all? "

The last part waselse Valoree would havedearlyloved togiveupthis hu venture and returnto their liveson thesea, butshekneweven as she voiced the words that none of the reat deal more humiliationleft to sufferbefore they wouldcallit quits Andwhy not? They weren’t the ones having to suffer

"Whichdo youlike best, Valoree? "

Sighing, Valoree peered at the small pots of red color and frowned She did not havemuch patience at the best of ti what tiny bit she did have ratherquickly They were supposed tohave comein searchof makeupAndthey were now Finally But they had left the town house several hours ago

First, "AuntMeg" had insisted onastop atthe tailor’s to see about those dresses Henry had gone to order Despite her irritation, Valoree hadto adent move The little land-rat had horrible taste, andthe dresses he had decided on for her had all been atrocious They werefrilly, fluffy, busy littledressesthathad nsHe apparently didn’t realize she was not afrilly, fluffy sort of woman The tailor was an idiot She had told hiri in his earevery time he hadtriedto sneak in aruffle or frill

They had all - Meg, Valoree, and the tailor - been relieved when thatwas over But then Valoreehad clie at the next stop to find they were at a perfuiven her an ihout the hour of sniffing and sa forced on her The wo theuered nose until she’d finallyorderedHenry to buy one of theet her toleave off

The woh Henry had been less than pleased Still, they had both left her alone to choose her own fragrance then She hadone that reminded her of tropical breezes andthe salleon rich inspices Meg had looked doubtful ather choice, but Henry hadproclaimed it nectar and paid for it alittle ’s

Now here they were, finallyat the nofasterthantherest of the trip

They had spenthalf anhour just choosing a foundation, the white base thatwas spread over a woman’s face, neck, and bosom to hide skin problemsor scars from thepox And while Valoreedid nothaveeither of thoseproblehttan - despite the captain’s hatshe alore

And tans si at court Ladieswere tohave lily white skin androugedcheeksand lips

A foundation arhadbeen what the shopkeeper obviously favored, but Valoree had refused to even consider it, no matter how many times he insisteditwasthe best She hadheardthat the concoction iven up on tryingto sell her that, heturnedto a longdescription of the other offerings he had; pastessulfur She had chosen onewith an egg white-and-talc base and stood firm on itdespite his effortsto steer her back to the lead and vinegar

Now they hadit - a most unattractivename for the variety of red face paints that were used on both the cheeks and lips Once again he was insisting on describing their contents There werethem, but vermilion,theirattention to

Valoree groaned There were still kohl and concoctions to brightentheeyes to get through yet Also, Valoree see She envisioned hoursofthis nonsense ahead, and, frankly, she had already hadhourandshe was dyingofthirst She hadn’t had anything to drink since the night before, and the fact thatshe had eatenthe whole loaf of bread as well as the chunk of cheese in the carriage, polishingoffa good portionofeach on the way fro them betweenshops, didn’t help

"Well? Do anyof the, Valoree focused on the paintpots again, then shook herhead "I donot care"

"Of course youdo, dear You - "

"Nay I don’t, " Valoree assured the wory? " Henry asked peevishly"You ate that whole loaf of bread yerself"

Valoree’s an to twitch at theresentry-eyedglancesat her loaf and cheese, but had ignoredtheht that they wouldgive up this fool’s errand of trying tofinda husband

Forcing heraed "Well, I am

AndIahtSo thetwo of you cantoward thedoor "Iam in searchof refreshment" She said the word dryly as she walked out of the shop, knowing Henry wouldgather her true She wanted a damn drink

A realdrink Rum, or whiskey, or - "Ah, Lady AinsleyWhat asurprise"