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The Blue Bull, he decided He’d glanced into the shed there as he passed earlier, and seen a good pile of clean straw He’d spend a penny or two for dinner, and perhaps the oould let him sleep in the stable for the sake of Christian kindness

Turning, his eye caught sight of a sign on the house across the road

WILMINGTON GAZETTEER, JNO GILLETTE PROP, it read Wilton’s newspaper; one of the few in the Colony of North Carolina One too e to pick up a rock and hurl it through Jno Gillette’sInstead, he yanked the sodden band off his head and,an effort to tidy himself into some semblance of decency, turned toward the river and the Blue Bull

She was there

She was sitting by the hearth, her tailed hair sparking in the firelight, engaged in conversation with a young er wanted to wipe off forcibly Instead, he slammed the door behind him with a crash and started toward her She turned, startled, and stared blankly at the bearded stranger Recognition flashed in her eyes, then joy, and a huge smile spread across her face

"Oh," she said "It’s you" Then her eyes changed, as realization flared up like a brushfire She screaood full-bodied scream, and every head in the tavern snapped round at the sound of it

"Daot her by the ar?"

Her face had gone dead white, her eyes round and dark with shock She jerked away, trying to free herself

"Let go!"

"That I won’t! You’ll co round the table, he got hold of her other arm, jerked her up, whirled her around and pushed her in front of him toward the door

"MacKenzie!" Dalowered at thehim to keep out of it Luckily the er; he hesitated, but then took courage fronaciously

"What you doing to the lass, MacKenzie? Leave her be!" There was a stir a froet out of here now, or he wouldn’t get out at all

"Tell theht, tell them you know ht" Brianna spoke, voice husky with shock, but loud enough to be heard over the growing hubbub "It’s all right I--I know him" The seairl in the inglenook had gotten to her feet; she looked frightened to death, but bravely clutched a stone ale bottle in one fist, evidently intending to hit Roger with it, if necessary Her high-pitched voice rang out above the suspicious gruo wi’ yon black villain, surely?"

Brianna hter, choked by hysteria Reaching up, she dug her nails hard into the back of his hand Startled by the pain, he loosened his grip and she yanked her arht," she repeated, e "I know hio on up to bed I’ll--I’ll be back later" She whirled on her bootheel and headed for the door, walking fast Roger gave the taprooht of interfering, and followed her

She aiting right outside the door; her fingers sank into his ar were it pro hi here?" she asked

He detached her fingers and gripped theed her a little way down the road, to the shelter of a big horse-chestnut tree The sky still gloith the re branches reached nearly to the ground, and it was dark enough underneath to hide the after them

She whirled on hi here, for God’s sake?"

"Looking for you, ye wee fool! And what in the na here? And dressed like that, God damn you!" He’d had the briefest look at her in her breeches and shirt, but it was enough

In her own tiy as to be sexless After h, the blatant division of her legs, the sheer bloody length of thigh and curve of calf, seeeous that he wanted to wrap a sheet around her

"Bloody woht as alk down the street nakd!"

"Don’t be an idiot! What are you doing here?"

"I told you--looking for you"

He took her by the shoulders, then, and kissed her, hard Fear, anger, and the sheer relief of finding her were fused at once into a solid bolt of desire, and he found he was shaking with it So was she She was clinging to hiht," he whispered to her He buried his ht, I’ht, out of his arht?" she cried "How can you say that? For God’s sake, you’re here!"

There was no rabbed her by the ar off into fking nowhere and risking your bloody neck, and--why the hell did you do it?!"

"I’ here?"

"I know that, for God’s sake! I mean why in hell did you not tell rasp and gave hiering

"Because you wouldn’t have let o, that’s why! You’d have tried to stop ht I would! God, I’d have locked you in a room, or tied you hand and foot! Of all the flea-brained notions--"

She hit hiht him hard across the cheekbone