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Sad wasn’t the right word, but at the time he hadn’t yet learned tulass of spirits and stared at the ceiling "It’s Hugo Marshall’s fault," he’d said after a while "It’s all Hugo Marshall’s fault"

Robert hadn’t knohat to o Marshall a villain?"

"Yes," his father had said with a bitter laugh "He’s a villain A knave A cur A right bloody bastard"

That right bloody bastard had a son, and at the moment, that son was surrounded by other boys In the upstairs room, his friends all turned to Robert The library seemed too so Marshall is," the older boy said

"I have no idea" It was the first ti time that Robert had told a lie "I’ve never heard of hiive him away

On fine summer days after his talk with his father, Robert had wandered in the paddocks outside, wielding a switch instead of a sword, and challenging white-headed daisies to duels Soons But usually, he fought villains--villains and knaves and curs, all nao Marshall When he defeated hiht the right bloody bastard ho and bound, and laid the cur at his mother’s feet

After that, they all lived happily ever after No more shouts No more silences No more separations

"Do we stop it?" Sebastian asked

Three boys turned to look at Robert Possibly, Robert conceded, they ht have looked to him because he was the only duke’s heir at Eton Maybe it had to do with the clear, blue eyes he’d inherited from his father--eyes that he’d learned made other boys nervous, if he simply stared But the most likely reason they looked to Robert--or so he told hiht, and therefore superior in e it The little lag thinks he’s superior to us When he’s drummed out, he’ll know better"

Beside him, Sebastian frowned in puzzlement

Robert turned away sharply "You don’t have any questions, Malheur, do you?"

"No," his cousin said after a long pause "None at all"

ROBERT MADE IT A POINT to avoid Marshall for as long as he could It wasn’t hard--he’d been attending Eton for quite a while now, and the other boy was just starting Norh the usual rounds of roughhousing, while everyone figured out where he stood Once he found his place in the pecking order, he ht keep it with a minimum of fuss and scarcely a blackened eye

But Marshall had no place at Eton Robert was determined that this would be the case He chanced to re on it Heit would be if a soap-seller’s son had to bathe in slops, and Marshall’s soap was replaced with bars of nize that Robert was the instigator of his probleht back like the ill-an to construct snide insults in Latin--clever enough that the other boys sniggered about them And after that incident with the arments He found them in the larder, stuffed into a barrel of pickles--wet, cold, and salty No aar

Sos were not to be borne That hen Robert kneas going to have to confront the boy directly