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Finchley nodded

"Make hilasses of water Not just sips He has to drink enough for the whole day"

Finchley clasped his hands "I will, Your Grace I will And you’ll--"

"If you need me, I’ll come"

Chapter 17

July 13

Poppy wasn’t used to being angry Now she had a little coal of rage under her breastbone She’d been nurturing it ever since Fletch sent a note indicating that he intended to pay her a call

A call! It had been over two months and her husband had decided to pay her a call

What had she done to Fletch that he should be so rude to her? Loved hirew that little beard, and beca with her

There were lih patience didn’t seeer she felt on re how Fletch smiled at Louise He smiled at Louise the way he used to smile at her And then it all dropped ahen he saw her, and there was nothing but scorn and dislike in his eyes

"He used to love lass It looked back at her, precisely the same face that Fletch first fell in love with She wore the sah as made no matter She maintained appropriate standards when they wereto breakfast, and was never seen in dishabille

But the weight of Fletch’s silent deht He wanted her to be French, even though she wasn’t French

Her e had turned out to be just like her relationship with her mother Her mother’s demands were different Be beautiful Be powerful Be obedient But the important ones were the ones Poppy could never achieve: you’ll never be as beautiful as I am, her mother had remarked many a time You’ll never charm men the way I do I would have ht struck Poppy: what if she had never been in love with Fletch? What if she had simply obeyed her mother’s command to ht of it, Fletch was the only unmarried duke she met in Paris after her debut

She didn’t understand Fletch She didn’t even feel as if she kneho Fletch was--so how could she be in love with him? The awful pressure in her chest eased a little She had only thought she loved him

She had no choice but to love her mother, no matter how badly she disappointed her But she could choose not to love Fletch, and she could choose to make his disappointment irrelevant to her

I need to ht Decide for o back to that house, said her heart Stop trying to pleaseto love him

What she really wanted was time to be Poppy, rather than the Duchess of Fletcher With a sudden rush, ideas crowded into her head: things she wanted to do, books she wanted to read, places she wanted to see She aliddy with the joy of it She didn’t need to be a duchess She could be just herself Poppy

She could live alone Look at Jemma Jemma had left her husband and set up her own house She could do that as well And she could travel! Giddy ies of Paris, the Nile, the wild Americas, came to mind

There was a little tap at the door, and her maid said, "His Grace requests your presence"