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Were they in a lee Instead, they settled for exchanging triurins, while Daisy stamped her feet in an exuberant little victory dance
"Wh-what is he like?" Evie asked
"Shy, but pleasant," Annabelle replied "And he seems to have a sense of humor, which I hadn’t dared to hope for"
"All that, and teeth, too," Lillian exclai spooked easily," Annabelle said "I a-willed wo to be deuilty for the deception"
"All wo courtship--and men, too, for that matter," Lillian said prosaically "We try to conceal our defects and say the things we think the other one wants to hear We pretend that we’re always lovely and sweet-tempered and that we don’t mind the other’s nasty little habits And then after the wedding, er the boom"
"I don’t think that men have to pretend quite as much as women do, however," Annabelle replied "If a man is portly, or has brown teeth, or is soentleman and has so standards"
"Which is e’re all allflowers," Evie said
"We won’t be for long," Annabelle promised with a s witchlike in a black dress that did not flatter her sallow complexion There was little family resemblance between Evie, with her round face and red hair and freckled complexion, and her ill-teeline," she said sharply, throwing the group a disapproving glance as she gestured to the girl "I’ve warned you not to disappear like that--I have searched everywhere for you, for at least ten minutes, and I do not recall that you asked for perirls for you to associate with…" Chattering angrily, Aunt Florence stalked toward the grand staircase, while Evie sighed and fell into step behind her As they watched, Evie stuck her hand behind her back and waggled her fingers to wave good-bye
"Evie says her family is very wealthy," Daisy remarked "But she says that they’re all unhappy, every last one of them I wonder why?"
"Oldlike a lifetiot" She tucked her arm into Daisy’s "Come, dear, before Mother realizes that we’ve disappeared" She glanced at Annabelle with an inquiring smile "Will you come ith us, Annabelle?"
"No, thank you My mother will meet ht, then" Lillian’s dark eyes glowed as she added, "By the tione on your ith Kendall I’ll expect a full report at breakfast"
Annabelle saluted her playfully and watched the two of therand staircase and paused in the shadow at the base of the curving structure It seeth of ti roo, however Her head was filled with thoughts, including conversational ga their walk tomorrow and ideas of how to secure his attention to herself, in spite of thethe next feeeks
If she was clever enough to make Lord Kendall like her, and if the wallflowers succeeded in their plan of entrapment, ould it be like to be the wife of such a man? She was instinctively certain that she could never fall in love with someone like Kendall-- but she vowed that she would do everything possible to be a good wife to hie to Kendall could be very pleasant Life would be coain have to worry about whether or not there was enough food for the table And most importantly, Jereain have to endure the foul attentions of Lord Hodgeham
Heavy footsteps approached as so at the banister, Annabelle glanced upith a slight smile, and suddenly she froze Incredibly, she found herself being confronted by a fleshy face sureham? But it couldn’t be!
He reached the nadir of the stairs and stood before her with a no As Annabelle stared into Hodgehaather into a spiky ball that rolled around her stomach
How could he be there? Why had she not seen hiht of her mother, as soon to rossly insolent man, who styled hiusting attentions in return for his stingy handfuls of coins, had now come to persecute theuarantee of torehaht betray his relationship with her--he could ruin the hieha pink with malevolent pleasure "What a pleasant coincidence that you should be the first guest I encounter at Stony Cross Park"
Queasy chills coursed over Annabelle as she forced herself to hold his gaze She tried to banish all eehaulfed her "After the rigors of the journey from London," he continued, "I elected to have supper in my room So sorry to have missed you earlier However, there will beweeks Your char iven anything to be able to answer "no" Her heart was beating so hard that it seeht to think and speak above the insistent hao near her," she said, amazed that her voice was steady "Don’t speak to her"
"Ah, Miss Peyton, you wound me…I, who have been your family’s only friend in those difficult times when others have deserted you"
She stared at hi, as if she was face-to-face with a venomous snake that was poised to strike
"A happy coincidence, is it not, that we find ourselves attending the sahed quietly, thehis combed-over hair to slip in an oily banner across his low forehead He smoothed it back with his plump palm "Fortune has indeed smiled on me, to provide for such proxihly"
"There will be no proxi her fist hard to keep fro face "I warn you, irl, did you think that I was referring to Philippa? You are tooadmired you Yearned, in fact, to des for you Now it seems that fate has presented us with the perfect opportunity to become more familiar with each other"
"I would rather sleep in a pit of snakes," Annabelle replied coldly, but there was a catch in her voice, and he smiled at the sound
"At first you will protest, of course Girls of your sort always do But then you’ll do the sensible thing…the wise thing…and you’ll see the advantages of beco my friend I can be a valuable friend, my dear And if you please me, I will reward you handsomely"
Annabelle tried desperately to think of a way to destroy any hope he ht trespass on another eham away from her Annabelle forced her lips into a scornful smile "Does it appear that I a the folds of her fine nen "You’re enerous one than you So you had better leave me--and my mother-- completely alone Or you will answer to him"