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Emeline’s heart seemed to stop dead at her fear spoken aloud "I’m not"

"Do you know that?"

"No"

"So, if you are?"

"I shall have to marry him" She said the words with dread, but inside her chest, sonant, she’d have no choice, would she? Even with all her doubts and fears, she’d have to embrace the catamount

"And if you’re not?"

Emeline thrust aside the traitorous emotions She could not marry a colonial "I’ll do what I’d always planned to do"

Melisande sighed "Will you tell Lord Vale about what happened during this house party?"

E do, her face closed and impossible to read "That is probably best if you want to make a life with him A man often cannot take the truth"

"Do you think me awful?"

"No No, of course not, dear" Melisande glanced up, a flicker of surprise crossing her face "Why would you think that I’d judge you?"

Emeline closed her eyes "So many would I think I would, if I only heard the facts and not the people involved"

"Well, I a here help your problem with Mr Hartley?"

"The distance, don’t you see? If I’m not in the same house, or county, as he is, well, then I won’t be as susceptible to hishis" Emeline waved her hands "You know"

Melisande looked thoughtful--and not altogether convinced "And when he returns to London as well?"

"It’ll be all over I’reat difference" Emeline said the words sturdily, as if she completely believed them, but inside she was not so certain

And no matter her words, Melisande must’ve sensed the doubt Her eyebroere up alain But her friend didn’t cons of affection

Melisande drew Ehtly "Good luck, then, dear I hope your plan works"

And Eainst her friend’s shoulder and prayed, eyes squeezed shut, that her plan would work If it didn’t, she had nowhere else to run

Chapter Fifteen

Murder! cried the guards Murder! cried the lords and ladies of the court Murder! cried the people of the Shining City And all Iron Heart could do was clasp his head in his bloodied hands The princess cried and begged, first to her ht break his silence and explain what he had done, and then to her father forhad no choice but to sentence Iron Heart to death by fire, the execution to be carried out before the next dawn

--from Iron Heart

"It was a lovely party, wasn’t it?" Rebecca broke an hour’s silence with her tentative question

Sa past and tried to focus on his younger sister She was sitting across fro forlorn, which was his fault, he knew It had been three days since Emeline had quit the house party so abruptly He hadn’t even known she was gone until long after she hadn’t shown for luncheon on the day they’d ht, she’d had a two-hour start

Still, he would’ve followed her if Rebecca hadn’t talked so out the scandal he’d create if he pursued Lady Emeline so soon after she’d left Personally, he didn’t care two figs about possible wagging tongues But Rebecca was a differentquite a bit of tilish fa friendships

Sa need to hunt Emeline, catch her, and hold her until she came to her senses and stayed by higling girls and insipid aht he’d dreaue and her soft, warm breasts For three days, he’d restrained hiun to leave and Rebecca deemed it appropriate for them to depart Hasselthorpe House as well It had been three days of hell, but that was hardly Rebecca’s fault, and he was a cad to be such a boring traveling partner

He tried to make up for the hours of silence she’d endured "Did you enjoy the party?"

"Yes" She s ladies were talking to me and the Hopedale sisters have invited me to come have tea with them some afternoon in London"

"They should’ve been talking to you at the beginning of the party"

"They had to get to know me, didn’t they? It’s really not all that different froland?" he asked softly

She hesitated, then shrugged "I suppose so" She looked down thoughtfully at her hands in her lap "And what about you? Do you like England enough to stay here with Lady Emeline?"

He hadn’t expected such a blunt query, although he should have Rebecca was a very perceptive girl When they’d arrived in London, he’d planned on staying only long enough to do his business with Mr Wedgwood and look into the Spinner’s Falls massacre Now his business was finished, and soon he hoped to talk to Thornton and clear up Spinner’s Falls as well What then? "I don’t know"

"Why not?"

He glanced at Rebecca ih for "