Page 28 (1/2)

She threw the ball, scooped--and the sixth knucklebone slid, s skirts She closed her fingers around the bones

"You won!" Tobias cried, looking utterly shocked "But I never lose"

She took a second to savor her victory "That’s likely because you’ve never played a woirls are better at knucklebones than boys?" She’d seen that jutting jaw before Villiers had it Well, every boy had it when they were confronted with an unpleasant reality

"I’m better than you are," she pointed out "Why shouldn’t the two of us stand as eh that language "I’ve played lots of girls before," he reported "And I alin"

"Pride goeth before a fall," she said And then she relented, grinning at him "I cheated"

"What?" His voice suddenly dropped a register, taking on, in its disbelief, his father’s low voice

She whisked aside her skirt and showed him the hidden jack "You should always count the bones when someone claims victory"

"I do always count the bones!" he cried "Well, norh to low He would have his father’s deep velvet tones someday

"Your mistake," she said cheerfully "I cheated--but I still won You tried to cheat and you lost When I decided to cheat, I won because you didn’t see it"

Tobias narrowed his eyes "You’re a strange lady"

"Very strange," Villiers said froht Eleanor strange since our nursery days," Anne laughed She sounded a little drunk

"Tobias," Eleanor said, ignoring theh to haulposition?"

He jue" He had decided to like her, she guessed Now that she had cheated Men were strange, no e "I’ll be taller than you in a ," she told hiet her to her feet She twitched her skirts so they flowed over her panniers

He was longing to tell her that she was crazy and that dogs didn’t boast, so she put hiart"

"What does he boast about?" Tobias asked

"His tail, for one thing He loves his tail The probleoes around and around, barking so that I realize how important and beautiful and special that tail is"

Tobias had clearly learned not to laugh, because he just watched her with those curious, intent eyes that reminded her of his father It made her itch to comfort him, which was absurd

"Second, Oyster is ridiculously proud of his ability to defend me"

"Defend you? The nurselet"

"I have to admit that there may be a certain resemblance But my point is that he thinks he’s very fierce Extremely so He likes to pretend that the fire andirons are about to attack es to save my life"