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She turned toward her lip color, and dropped her hand She didn’t love Fletch She had never loved Fletch Why should she make herself beautiful for him?

She walked down the stairs and found she was actually senuinely smiled in Fletch’s presence? Probably over a year She had spent all that tiure out how to please hi into the drawing rooh it was unimportant, she quickly reminded herself--Fletch was so beautiful His hair was like ebony, with a sheen like ht and his eyes slanted under his eyebrows,him look just faintly exotic If he wasn’t so infernally beautiful, he wouldn’t be so de around with a frown Thatat her, and she was sick of it

She save hi for love "Yes, Fletch?"

"I need you to co ho with Jemma for the foreseeable future She won’t retire to the country until December because of Beaumont’s involvement in the House of Lords; I shall stay with her"

"Couldn’t we just skip all the fuss, please, Poppy? Surely we’ve known each other long enough so that you could siive you"

"Oh good," he said, looking as if he’d never had a doubt of it

"Although you were abysize I will never do such a thing again"

"And you were flirting with one of my friends"

"I hadn’t the faintest idea--" he said, and stopped

"Yes," she said thoughtfully, tapping her finger on the chair, "that one is a bit more difficult to explain away, isn’t it? It is true that Louise is one of my friends A dear friend, unfortunately for you But of course there are many women in London hom I am positively unacquainted"

"Yes," he said, looking uneasy for the first tiree that you should siently

His mouth actually fell open a bit, which was very pleasant to observe

"We should make some plans," Poppy said "Obviously, we shall have to co-habit again at some point in the future…shall we say five years or so? When you feel that the question of an heir beco, I assure you that I will be coe, but now I realize that it would be far, far wiser to wait I have things to do"

"You do?" He sounded stunned

"Yes You and I have separated in an a without acriest five years and then we shall have to live in the saain"

"You what?"

"We could plan for more than five years, but we run the risk of childlessness After all, we have been married four years with no issue"

He just stared at her

"We can discuss these arrange s you wished to say at this point?"

Though she was being tree was still under her breastbone She paused, but he seemed to have been struck dumb

"Jemma assures me that she would love me to retire with theing a large party with her After that, I thought I ht return to France for a few years, but I’m not certain of e prompted her to say, very sweetly, "But never fear, Fletch, I will be certain to give you my direction I knoould be most incommodious if you had no idea where your as No one wants to have to track his wife like a grouse in hunting season"

He finally opened his ht"