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"No I was eager for explanations, for excuses, for anything But along with his other faults, Beaumont is honest He had told ized for what I’d seen--but then I asked him if he loved her He hesitated for a moment and declined to answer, but it was too late And he finally admitted the truth"

"He loved his mistress? My mother said that men form those relationships in a purely practical fashion"

"Your rain of salt," Jemma said "Sarah was very beautiful By the tiether, if you can use that terer his mistress now, but I don’t kno their relationship ended I do know that he had an attachreater than his attachment to me, with our stilted intimacies and my foolish comments in bed"

Poppy sed "It sounds as if you and I are in si with someone," Je love to me, and proceeded to his office, where he made love to Miss Cobbett There is a world of difference there, Poppy"

"Not really," Poppy said "You know there isn’t If Louise hadn’t happened to be ht now Is that--is that a common place for such activities?" she burst out

"No," Jelooes survive, for one reason or another I waited in Paris for three years, thinking that Beau ned to pay me a visit, I had discovered some pleasures of my own--if not on a table top"

"I see," Poppy said "You’re suggesting that Fletch ait three years before paying ave her a squeeze, but said nothing

"He isn’t going to come, is he?" It was a relief to say it out loud

"I’m not sure how parallel our situations are," Jeuess is that he’s rather surprised he hasn’t encountered you at a party"

"He’s going to parties?" Poppy asked

Jemma turned back the newspaper and pointed to a column entitled "Taradiddle about the Ton" Just above Jeer was a sentence that made Poppy’s heart drop into her slippers

The Duke of F--found hiht without his duchess The tiddle is that the said duchess may have departed for Venice The Duke appeared un in colloquy with Pitt’s lords, who see of fashion to their ranks

"How Fletchof fashion," Poppy said And: "I’," Jemma said "If they’re not sure where you are, theyof Lady Cleland’s sewing circle," Poppy said, after a bit

"I wouldn’t," Jemma said

"Why not?"

"It sounds boring"

"It’s our duty," Poppy said "Caring for the poor and succouring the afflicted"

"I don’t do it well," Jereat deal of money away Beaumont’s money, but believe me, an impoverished person far prefers the solid clink of coin to a poorly stitched sheet, which is about all that I can sew"

"I ondering about money…What am I to do about money?"

"What do you mean? Fletcher certainly has plenty of money I’ve never heard otherwise"