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Instead he said--without any smile at all--"My dear Charlotte, hello-hello-hellooo!" and kissed the air to the left and right of her ears "I heard what’s happened, it is si, soshairl, is it? Your understudy" As he inspected me from head to foot, he pursed his fat lips I couldn’t help it--I stared back, fascinated He had a peculiar windblown hairstyle which el and hairspray Narrow black strips of beard crisscrossed the lower half of his face like rivers on a map His eyebrows had been plucked to shape and then drawn in with some kind of black eyebrow pencil, and if I wasn’t much mistaken, he had powdered his nose

"And that is supposed to fit seamlessly into a soirée of the year 1782 in the very near future?" he asked By that he obviouslyelse The only question hat?

"Hey, looks like Puffylips has hurt your feelings," said Xe for a nasty name to call him back, I’ll happily prompt you"

Puffylips wasn’t bad for a start

"A soirée is a boring evening party," Xeether after supper, play little pieces on the pianoforte, and try not to go to sleep"

"Oh, thanks," I said

"I still can’t believe they’re really going to risk it," said Charlotte, draping her coat over a chair "It’s against all the rules of secrecy to let Gwyneth go into co wrong"

"My own idea exactly," said Puffylips "But the count is famous for his eccentric notions Her cover story is over there Hair-raising Take a look at it"

Charlotte leafed through a folder lying on the grand piano "She’s to play the part of Viscount Batten’s ward? And Gideon’s going to pretend to be his son Isn’t that rather risky? There could be someone at the soirée who knows the viscount and his family Why didn’t they pick a French viscount in exile?"

Giordano sighed "Because of her poor co us Well, we’ll show hihteenth-century lady We uess if Keira Knightley could do it, I can do it too," I said confidently I irl in the world, and still she was terrific in costus

"Keira Knightley?" The black eyebrows almost touched his hair extension "That htley wouldn’t last tenun her teeth when she smiles would do it, or the way she tosses her head back and opens her hs! No wohteenth century!"

"You can’t know for certain," I said

"What was that, may I ask?"

"I said, you can’t know for--"

Puffylips flashed his eyes at ht away: you don’t question what the master says"

"And who’s thea bit red, while Xeet that bit" I didn’t expect any probleh about at this soirée thing

Slightly ain, and as he couldn’t hear Xe, "Silly old fool!" at the top of his voice, he began taking stock of the sad state of affairs He wanted to find out what I knew about politics, literature, and habits and customs in the year 1782, andtoilets, for example, and votes for women") made him bury his face in his hands for a couple of seconds

"I’ up here," said Xe to infect ed to suppress the laughter bubbling up froht they’d explained to you that she really is completely unprepared, Giordano"