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Chapter 1

Oxfordshire, England, 1816

If, one by one, you weeded all the world - Arabella Blydon blinked That couldn't be right There weren't any gardeners in The Winter's Tale She held the book farther from her face Even worse She pulled the book closer The type on the page slowly focused If, one by one, you wedded all the world -Belle sighed and leaned back against a tree trunk Thather bright blue eyes to focus on the words that lay before her on the page They refused to obey, but she wasn't about to read with her face pressed into the book, so she squinted and plodded on

A chilly wind passed across her, and she glanced up at the overcast sky It was going to rain, no doubt about that, but if she were lucky she'd have another hour until the first drops fell That was all the time she'd need to finish The Winter's TaleAnd that would mark the end of her Grand Shakespearean Quest, the semi-academic endeavor that had occupied her spare time for nearly six months She'd started with All's Well that Ends Well and proceeded alphabetically, wending her way through Hamlet, all the Henrys, Romeo and Juliet, and a host of other plays she hadn't even heard of before She wasn't exactly sure why she'd done it, other than the simple fact that she liked to read, but now that the end was in sight she was daet in her way

Belle gulped and looked this way and that, as if afraid that solanced back up at the sky A beah a tiny hole in the clouds Belle took that as a sign for optimism and plucked a chicken sandwich out of her picnic lunch She bit into it daintily and picked up her book again The words see to focus as before, so she moved the volume closer to her face, which she contorted in a number of different ways until she found a squint that worked

"There you go, Arabella," she ly uncomfortable pose for another forty-five minutes, you should have no problem with the rest of your book"

"Of course your facial muscles will probably be quite sore by that point," drawled a voice from behind her

Belle dropped her book and whirled her head around Standing a few yards aas a gentleant, attire His hair was a rich chocolate brown and his eyes were the exact sa down at her and her solitary picnic with an amused expression, and his lazy pose indicated that he'd been watching her for so to say but hoping that her scornful gaze would put him in his place

It didn't seem to do the trick In fact, he looked even more amused by her "You need spectacles," he said si," she retorted

"A"

"I s to the Duke of Ashbourne My cousin," she added for eer pointed to the west " That land belongs to the Duke of Ashbourne The boundary is that ridge over there And thus you are trespassing"

Belle narrowed her eyes and pushed a lock of her wavy blond hair behind her ear "Are you certain?"

"Absolutely I realize that Ashbourne's land holdings are vast, but they are not infinite"

She shifted uncomfortably "Oh Well, in that case, I ahty voice "I'll just see to my horse and be off"

"Don't be silly," he said quickly "I hope I am not so ill-tempered that I cannot allow a lady to read under one ofas you like"

Belle considered leaving anyway, but comfort won out over pride "Thank you I've been here for several hours and am quite ensconced"