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"Yes," he said, seeing Hunter’s eyebrows raised in inquiry of some sort Then, seized by a belated fear that he had just proeon were he killed, seized Hunter’s coat with his free hand

"You … don’t … touch oodunoffended

The sky was overcast, the only light shed by the distant torches at the house’s entrance Nicholls was a whitish blur, corabbed Grey, turned him forcibly about, and he found hier ht suddenly Is he any kind of a shot?

So--until an outthrust arently behind hi Nicholls’s arm come down I don’t care

He blinked at the asp fro whether he’d been hit Nothing see hiht I’ll delope and have done I want to go hoht up into the air, but his arm lost contact with his brain for an instant, and his wrist sagged He jerked, correcting it, and his hand tensed on the trigger He had barely ti wildly

To his surprise, Nicholls staggered a bit, then sank down onto the grass He sat propped on one hand, the other clutched draun to rain, quite hard Grey blinked water off his lashes and shook his head The air tasted sharp, like cut metal, and for an instant he had the iht," he said aloud, and found that his ability to speak seemed to have coeon had, of course, darted across to Nicholls, was peering down the neck of the poet’s shirt There was blood on it, Grey saw, but Nicholls was refusing to lie down, gesturing vigorously with his free hand Blood was running down his face from his nose; perhaps that was it

"Come away, sir," said a quiet voice at his side "It’ll be bad for Lady Joffrey else"

"What?" He looked, surprised, to find Richard Tarleton, who had been his ensign in Germany, now in the unifor was illegal in London; for the police to arrest Lucinda’s guests in the park before her house would be a scandal--not so that would please her husband, Sir Richard, at all

The crowd had already h the rain had rendered theuished Nicholls was being helped off by Hunter and so rain Grey shivered God knehere his coat or cloak was

"Let’s go, then," he said

Grey opened his eyes

"Did you say soh like a chimney sweep’s, at a distance of approxi that he had obtained his employer’s attention, he presented the chamber pot at port arms

"His Grace is downstairs, me lord With her ladyship"

Grey blinked at thebehind Toht

"Her ladyship? What, the duchess?" What could have happened? It couldn’t be past nine o’clock His sister-in-law never paid calls before afternoon, and he had never known her to go anywhere with his brother during the day

"No, hter?" He sat up, feeling well but strange, and took the utensil from Tom

"Yes, me lord His Grace said as he wants to speak to you about ‘the events of last night’ " To censoriously at the rerass,carelessly over the back of the chair He turned a reproachful eye on Grey, who closed his own, trying to recall exactly what the events of last night had been

He felt somewhat odd Not drunk, he hadn’t been drunk; he had no headache, no uneasiness of digestion…

"Last night," he repeated, uncertain Last night had been confused, but he did remember it The eel party Lucinda Joffrey, Caroline … Why on earth ought Hal to be concerned with … what, the duel? Why should his brother care about such a silly affair--and even if he did, why appear at Grey’s door at the crack of daith his six-hter?

It was more the time of day than the child’s presence that was unusual; his brother often did take his daughter out, with the feeble excuse that the child needed air His wife accused hi to show the baby off--she was beautiful--but Grey thought the cause sohtforward His ferocious, autocratic, dictatorial brother--Colonel of his own regiment, terror of both his own troops and his enei within a month’s tiht

Thus he found the Duke of Pardloe seated in theroom, Lady Dorothea Jacqueline Benedicta Grey cradled in his ar on a rusk her father held for her Her wet silk bonnet, her tiny rabbit-fur bunting, and two letters, one open, one still sealed, lay upon the table at the duke’s elbow

Hal glanced up at him

"I’ve ordered your breakfast Say hallo to Uncle John, Dottie" He turned the baby gently round She didn’t re noise

"Hallo, sweetheart" John leaned over and kissed the top of her head, covered with a soft blond down and slightly da rain?"

"We brought you so an eyebrow at his brother, handed it to hian to read

"What?!" He looked up froreed cordially, "when it was delivered to my door, just before dawn" He reached for the sealed letter, carefully balancing the baby "Here, this one’s yours It cah it were on fire and seized the second, ripping it open