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At first it had seemed odd that she should be the blackmailer After all, she couldn't be very much older than twenty She certainly wasn't older than Melissa, as nearly thirty-two So she couldn't have any firsthand knowledge of Lady Danbury's extramarital affair

But she had lived her entire life in the region; she had said so herself Perhaps her parents had passed on a confidence Secrets had a way of lingering in small towns for years

Not to mention that Miss Hotchkiss had free run of Danbury House If Aunt Agatha had left any incri evidence about, no one was more likely to come across it than her companion

No matter which way he turned, he was led back to Miss Elizabeth Hotchkiss

But if he wanted to learn her secrets, he had to uard enough so that she h those delectable pink lips of hers It seemed to him that the best way to do this was to ask for her assistance Her sort of woman was polite to a fault There was no way she would say no if he asked her to help hihborhood Even if she was the blackmailer--and thus selfish to the core--she had appearances to maintain Miss Elizabeth Hotchkiss, companion to the Countess of Danbury, could not afford to be seen as anything less than gracious and kind

"Perhaps you realize that I aan

She nodded slowly, her eyes wary

"And you told e your entire life,"

"Yes"

He suide of sorts Sohts Or, at the very least, to tell hts? What sights?"

Dae were brihts' isn't the best choice of words," he ie has its own little quirks, and if I aest estate in the district, I need to be aware of such things"

"That's true," she said, nodding thoughtfully "Of course, I'm not certain what precisely you would need to know, as I've never ed an estate And one would think that you, also, would be at a loss, since you have never ed an estate before, either"

He looked at her sharply "I never said that"

She stopped walking "Didn't you? Yesterday, when you said you were fro estates in London I did not say that I had not done so prior to that"

"I see" She turned her head to the side and looked at hi estates, if not in London?''

She was testing him, the damnable chit Why, he wasn't certain, but she was definitely testing him But he wasn't about to let her trip hiuise more tiharew up"

"I have heard it is beautiful there," she said politely "Why did you leave?"

"The usual reasons"

"Which are?"

"Why are you so curious?"

She shrugged "I'm always curious Ask anyone"