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"Don’t go blas from modern musicals, and finally you behave like a lunatic in front of Lord Alastair, of all people! What was all that stuff about swords and dein it It was that black, uncanny gho--" But here I bit hosts I saw He thought I was peculiar enough as it was

Gideon totally misunderstood my sudden silence "Oh, no! Please don’t throw up! Or if you must, do it soht revulsion "Good heavens, Gwyneth, I can see that there’s so drunk at a party, but not that party!"

"I don’t feel like throwing up" Not yet, at least "And I never drink at parties--whatever Charlotte’s told you"

"She hasn’t told h "No, sure And she never claimed that Lesley and I have been out with all the boys in our class and almost all the boys in the class above, did she?"

"Why would she say a thing like that?"

Let’s think … maybe because she’s a sly, mean, red-haired witch? I tried to scratch lets So I pulled out a hairpin and scratched with that instead "Oh, I’m sorry, really! You can say what you like about Charlotte, but I’m sure she would never even have sniffed that punch"

"You’re right," said Gideon, and suddenly he sh then those people would have never have heard Andrew Lloyd Webber two hundred years ahead of tiht … although toround with shame" I buried my face in ht now"

"Good," said Gideon "Itoff One question, by the hat did you want a hairbrush for?"

"I wanted it as a substitute for a ers "Oh, my God! I’m so horrible"

"But you have a pretty voice," said Gideon "Even I liked it, and I told you I hate s from them so well?" I put ! Is there anything you can’t do?" Good heavens, I heard roupie

"No Go ahead, you’re welco now "It’s rather sweet of you! Coet into position"

I got to ht as possible

"Over here," Gideon toldwas a success It went according to plan, if not exactly as planned Hey, keep standing" He put both hands on ainst his chest "You can lean on me if you like" He paused and then said, "Sorry I was so nasty to you just now"

"All forgotten" That wasn’t strictly true, but it was the first tiize for his behavior, and maybe it was the alcohol, or the fact that its effects earing off, but I was very touched

We stood there for a while in silence, still looking ahead in the flickering candlelight Like the light, the shadows between the colu dark patterns on the floor and the church roof "That man Alastair," I said "Why does he hate the count so an playing with one of the ringlets falling on anization that so pompously calls itself the Florentine Alliance has really been a kind of fah time in the sixteenth century, the count happened by chance to meet the Conte di Madrone’s family in Florence So … well, let’s say they entirely ious views rejected the mere idea of time travel In addition, there seehter--anyway, the Conte was sure he was confronting a deiven hiht was spawned by hell" Suddenly Gideon’s voice was very close to my ear, and before he went on, his lips touched my neck "When the Conte di Madrone died, his son inherited that mission, and his own son after him, and so on Lord Alastair is the last in a line of fanatically obsessed demon-hunters, if that’s the way to put it"

"I see," I said, which was not entirely true But it did seem to explain a bit of what I’d recently seen and heard "Er … at thisme?"

"No, only almost," murmured Gideon, with his lips just above my skin "I mean, no way do I want to exploit the fact that you’re drunk and ht now But it doesn’t coainst his shoulder, and he held me closer

"Like I said, you really don’tsort of ideas in churches…"

"There’s so you don’t know about me," I said, with my eyes closed "Sometimes I see … I can … well, so time And I can hear what they say Like just now I think the man I saith Lord Alastair could have been that Italian Conte di Madrone"