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"Too many breasts," came a deadpan voice at her left shoulder

Eleanor jumped and uttered a little scream "Villiers!" Then she looked back at the poet "Don’t mind hier "Oh, no!" she cried, dropping Oyster and running forward Sure enough, the ladder was sloinging away fro to the top of it

"He’ll be all right," Villiers said

"No, he won’t! He ained speed as it went down and finally crashed There was a sound of splintering wood Eleanor peered into the dark, trying to figure out where Roland had landed

"Help, soet help Don’t just stand there--are you laughing?"

"Of course not, princess Just wait a moment Your swain liveth"

She couldn’t see exactly as happening, but so and it sounded like Roland

"I estimate that he landed in the raspberry bushes," Villiers said "He probably hit thehtfully, "delicate parts of his anatoood news is that he landed rump down rather than the other way around"

"Sir Roland!" Eleanor called, ignoring the jaundiced coht?"

There were thrashing noises

"Do you want help? Shall I call soardens now, and a couple of servants were cautiously e

"Go help Sir Roland out of the raspberry bushes," she called over the balcony

They peered up at her and then set out across the lawn

"Why don’t you go help?" she asked crossly, turning to Leopold

"I’ up your towel," he said She could just barely see his sht from the doorway If Roland looked like a troubadour, Villiers looked like Lucifer himself, all dark shadows and pure lust

He dropped the grip he had on the back of her towel and fell back a step All of a sudden she could feel the place where his hand had touched her skin, burning as if he had branded her

Below the hauled out of the raspberry bushes Eleanor tore her eyes away from Villiers and tucked her towel ht?" she called, turning to lean out over the balcony

He was li across the lawn, supported by one of the foot him look like a beautiful, fallen warrior

"Your poetry is subli Villiers would keep hiht "I’m so sorry that you were startled and the ladder slipped"

"I was pushed," he said

Eleanor blinked "Oh, no, I assure you--"

"Pushed by words!"

"Words?" she repeated

She couldn’t see Villiers She couldn’t hear hihter