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"Yes we have," Daisy argued, and turned to Swift "What is the score?"
"I don’t know"
As their gazes held, Daisy could hardly restrain a snicker of sudden elittered in Swift’s eyes "I think you won," he said
"Oh, don’t condescend to me," Daisy said "You’re ahead I can take a loss It’s part of the ga It’s been point-for-point for at least…" Swift fumbled in the pocket of his waistcoat and pulled out a watch "…two hours"
"Which means that in all likelihood you preserved your early lead"
"But you chipped away at it after the third round--"
"Oh, hell’s bells!" cahly aggravated, having gone into thegreen "You’ve quarreled all afternoon like a pair of ferrets, and now you’re fighting over on If so out here ‘til ht Daisy, you’re covered with dust and your hair is a bird’s nest Cohts Now"
"There’s no need to shout," Daisy replied lanced over her shoulder at Mattheift…a friendlier glance than she had ever given hian to pick up the wooden bowls
"Leave thes in order Your ti yourself for supper, which will coly Matthew dropped the bowls and went toward the house with Westcliff He watched Daisy’s sht
Westcliff did not aze "You have a unique approach to courtship," he coames would catch her interest, but it seeround before his feet, schooling his tone into cal Miss Bowman"
"Then it seems I misinterpreted your apparent passion for bowls"
Matthew shot hi But that doesn’t mean I want to erous that way When one of them first attracts your interest, all you know is she’s thecreature you’ve ever encountered But then you discover that asas she is, you can scarcely wait until the next tiression of an incurable disease, it spreads froins All other woin to seem colorless and dull in coo --"
"I have no idea what you’re talking about," Matthew interrupted, turning pale He was not about to succumb to an incurable disease A man had choices in life And no, insanity-producing physical urge…but it could be conquered by sheer force of will
"If you say so," Westcliff said, sounding unconvinced
CHAPTER 6
Staring in the looking glass poised atop the cherrywood dresser, Matthew carefully knotted his for cravat with deft twists and pulls He was hungry, but the thought of going down to the long for hall filled hi on a narrow plank suspended high in the air, and ato his doom
He should never have allowed hie, should never have stayed and played that bloody game for hours
It was just that Daisy had been so adorable, and while they played her attention had been focused entirely on him, and that had been too uiling woether in a convenient pocket-sized parcel
Bloody hell, hoanted to bed her Mattheas amazed Llandrindon or any other man there had been able to function rationally in her presence
It was ti to do whatever was necessary to shove her together with Llandrindon Compared to the other bachelors present, the Scottish lord was the pick of the lot Llandrindon and Daisy would have a calht stray occasionally, as most men of leisure did, Daisy would be too busy with her family and her books to notice Or if she did, she would learn to turn a blind eye to his indiscretions and take refuge in her daydreainable gift of having Daisy in his life
Moodily Mattheent downstairs and joined the elegant throng that had gathered in anticipation of the dining hall procession The woowns that had been embroidered and beaded and trimmed with lace The men were clad in sober black and brilliant white, the plainness of their attire meant to serve as a suitable backdrop for the display of the women
"Swift," came Thomas Bowman’s hearty welcome "Come here--I want you to quote the latest production estimates to these fellows" In Bowman’s view there was never an inappropriate tiroup of a half-dozen men who stood in the corner, and recited the numbers his employer wanted
One of Matthew’slists of figures in his head He loved nu co simple In mathematics, unlike life, there was always a solution, a definite answer
But as Mattheas speaking he caught sight of Daisy and her friends standing with Lillian, and half his brain proown that wrapped tightly around her slender waist and pushed the small, pretty shapes of her brsts upward into a low-cut bodice of glea, ruched satin Yellow satin ribbons had been braided into artful ropes that held the bodice in place Her black hair had been pulled to the top of her head with a few spiraling curls falling to her neck and shoulders She looked delicate and perfect, like one of the artful sugared garnishes on the dessert tray that one was never supposed to eat
Mattheanted to tug her bodice down until her ar histhe tips of her breasts,her writhe--
"But do you really think," ca’s voice, "there is any roo the lower classes No matter what their nationality, it is a known fact that they do not prefer to bathe often"