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Except she wasn’t

Sam swore softly and halted He braced his pal to catch his breath Lady Eant clothes and with an accent that could cut ice, no one in his right mind would mistake her for one Not even an unsophisticated backwoodsman from the frontiers of the New World His hest tiers of the English aristocracy wasn’t one of theo home Sam looked around S upper stories loo above He’d never been in this part of London before, but that wouldn’t stop hi The return journey was always the hardest, his initial freshness and energy bloay Now his chest labored to draw breath, and his an to ache at the continued exertion Then, too, the areas where he’d been woundedas he ran Reroaned, remember where the tomahaed your flesh, where the ball burrowed next to bone Re, the one left to bear witness

Sam ran on, despite aches and memories This was the point that separated those ould continue froe the pain To embrace it Pain kept you awake Pain meant that you still lived

He didn’t kno ain ducked into the mews behind his rented house, the moon had set He was so weary that he al and solid, beside the corner of the stables It was a measure of Sam’s tiredness that he nearly ran by him But he didn’t He stopped and slid into the shadows of his neighbor’s stables He peered at the watcher The man was barrel-shaped and wore a scarlet coat and a battered tricorne, fraying gray about the edges Sam had seen him before Once today, across the street as he and Rebecca had left Lady Emeline’s house, and yesterday as Sae The shape and the way thehim

Sa two lead balls froer than his thu the streets of London in the dark He curled his right fist around the balls

Silently, Saer man’s hair from behind with his left hand He punched the man swiftly in the side of his head "Who sent you?"

Scarlet Coat was fast for a big man He twisted and tried to elbow Saain, once, twice, his fist connecting each time with the other asped His London accent was so thick, Sam could hardly make out the words

The man ailanced off his chin He punched quick and hard at theover his hurt side When he straightened, he had a wicked blade in his hand Sa Scarlet Coat struck with his knife, but Saround,on what looked like a white bone handle Saht his right arm and pulled the man in toward himself

"Your employer," Sam hissed as he wrenched the ht Saered and that was all Scarlet Coat needed The other rabbed his knife as he ran past it, and then he disappeared around the end of the mews

Sam started after hi prey--but he stopped before thefor hours now; his as no longer fresh If he did catch Scarlet Coat, he’d be in no condition to hed, pocketed the lead balls, and headed back to his own house

The daas already breaking

Chapter Three

One day as Iron Heart eeping the street, a procession rode by There were running footuards e with two footape as the carriage came closer When it was directly beside him, the curtain shifted and he saw the face of the lady within And what a face it was! She was perfectly forht’ve been ivory Iron Heart stared after her

Beside him a voice cackled "Do you think Princess Solace beautiful?"

Iron Heart turned and found a wizened oldwhere before there had been no one He frowned, but he had to admit that the princess wasso close that Iron Heart could smell the stink of his breath, "would you like to marry her?"

--from Iron Heart

Eh of pleasure "That was ashop"

"But," Miss Hartley panted beside her, "do I really need all those frocks? Won’t one or two ball gowns do?"

"Now, Miss Hartley--"

"Oh, please, won’t you call me Rebecca?"

Eirl was terribly sweet "Yes, of course Rebecca, then It is most iold leaf, if possible," a masculine voice cut into Emeline’s homily

"Oh, Samuel!" Rebecca exclai"

E out her brow She didn’t want Mr Hartley to see either her vexation at the interruption or the odd flutter of excitement she felt low in her belly Surely, such tue

Mr Hartley’s chin was indeed a darker shade of plum than it’d been since Emeline had last seen hiht An oddly cluainst a la like he’d been there for quite so in this way since the ladies had entered the dresso The awfulout here the entire tiuilt "Mr Hartley, you do know that it’s quite acceptable for you to leave us whilst we finish our shopping?"

He raised his eyebrows, and the sardonic expression in his eyes said that he knew perfectly well the niceties of a ladies’ shopping day "I wouldn’t dreaize if my presence is irksome"

At her side, Tante Cristelle clicked her tongue "You talk like a courtier, monsieur I do not think it becorinned and bowed to her aunt, not at all put out "I am suitably reprimanded, ma’am"

"Yes, well," Elover’s next Just down here is the most wonderful shop--"

"Perhaps you ladies would like soive myself if you fainted away from the exertion of your labors"