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"A h trouble?"

"It wasn’t like that"

"Don’t you kno ot in trouble? Walking out with a rimaced "You’ve never learned your lesson"

"What lesson should I have learned?"

Freddy straightened and set her hands on her hips "I scarcely said a hen you flaunted your proble forced to vacate the home I hold dear I aht cavorting withIt was the Wolf of Clermont, if you must know I have to speak with him And even if it wasn’t, what do you expectbad happened to me?"

Freddy’s lips compressed

"If you’re worried about where to stay, I’ve a few leads on roohtfall I was just headed out to--"

As she spoke, Freddy reached down and picked up a pair of slippers "Us?" she said "We won’t have anything" And then she threw the slippers at Serena

They were made of wool and therefore bounced ineffectually off Serena’s forehead Still, she was aghast Mild-s at her?

"How dare you?" Freddy said "How dare you bring me into this?"

"Freddy--it’s just a place to stay We’ll find a new one, just as good"

"You don’t understand!" Freddy looked about the entry "You’ve never understood I have only ever had one safe place--these rooms--and now you’ve taken them from me"

Freddy reached down and picked up the tired valise that stood next to the table

"Listen to yourself," Serena said "You wantanything else again You won’t be satisfied until you’ve brought me down to your level"

Freddy’s eyes flashed Her lips pressed together, and in thatsaid too much Freddy hurled the valise at her It traveled only a few feet, lacking the basic capabilities to sustain long flight, and landed in a discordant crumple of leather and buckles

"Do you not understand what happened to you?" Freddy glared at her "You suffered a fate worse than death, and still you--"

"I am alive," Serena said "My child is alive I intend to carry on living Can you say that much?"

At that, Freddy swiped her hand across the side-table, tipping it over It fell with a resounding crash

Serena stepped forward and bent aardly to right the furniture Her sister let out a sniff "Oh, don’t bother," she said crossly "I’ll clean it up I always do clean up after your , anyway Go and dally with an entire company of men I don’t care"

Chapter Seven

AT ELEVEN O’CLOCK precisely, Serena was met at her bench by a man she had never seen before He looked precisely the sort of o--tall andinto broad shoulders