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Pandora paused, unwilling to relate any of the distasteful details of her ear suppurating and draining She glanced cautiously at Gabriel, whose face was averted He was no longer playing with her braid His hand had clenched around it until the muscles of his forearms and wrist stood out

"Even after I recovered fro didn’t co ht It made me afraid of the dark Ever since then--" She stopped as Gabriel lifted his head

His face was hard andher more than her father’s fury ever had

"That bloody son of a bitch," he said softly "If he were still alive, I’d beat him with a thresher’s flail"

Pandora reached out with a flutteringthe air near him "No," she said breathlessly, "no, I wouldn’t want that I hated hi tiht her hand in entle, as if it were a bird he wanted to hold without injuring His eyes had dilated until she could see reflections of herself in the dark centers "Why?" he whispered after a longme was the only way to hide his own pain"

Chapter 12

Gabriel was stunned by Pandora’s compassion for a man who had caused her such harm He shook his head in wonder as he stared into her eyes, as dark as cloud-shadow on a field of blue gentian "That doesn’t excuse hiive hieance He wanted to strip the flesh fro up his skeleton to scare crows His fingers contained a subtle trees of her face, the sweet, high plane of her cheekbone "What did the doctor say about your ear? What treative?"

"It wasn’t necessary to send for a doctor"

A fresh flood of rage seared his veins as the words sunk in "Your eardrum was ruptured What in God’s nah he had , his tone was far froan to inch backward

He realized the last thing she needed fro eainst his side "No, don’t pull away Tell me what happened"

"The fever had passed," she said after a long hesitation, "andwell, you have to understand nored it, and it was never spoken of again Especially if it was so my father had done when he’d lost his temper After a while, no one remembered what had really happened Our family history was erased and rewritten a thousand ti the problem with my ear didn’t , or when I stury She said I’d been clumsy because I was hasty or careless She wouldn’t ad She refused even to discuss it" Pandora stopped, chewing thoughtfully on her lower lip "I’ her sound terrible, and she wasn’t There were times when she was affectionate and kind No one’s all one way or the other" She flicked a glance of dread in his direction "Oh God, you’re not going to pity uished for her sake, and outraged It was all he could do to keep his voice cal pitied?"

"That, andit’s a shame I’d rather keep private"

"Not your shame Your father’s"