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"Oh"

"It's probably froh E to let the subject drop "I have to try very hard to ht to have my eyes examined"

If Emma was surprised by her cousin's sudden adht was not quite what it should be, she ood doctor in the village We'll see what he can do"

Belle s cold And then Eht to do," the duchess said to her husband "We ought to invite this John Blake person-"

"John Blackwood," Belle interjected quickly

"Sorry, this John Blackwood person over for supper With Belle here we'll be evenlyfor an extra wolass "An excellent idea, my love I think I'd rather like to renew our friendship"

"That settles it, then," Emma said matter-of-factly "Shall I send hio 'round yourself to invite hiain, and besides, it would be rude ofthe fact that he saved my life"

Eed upwards in a sheepish s upset over it now"

The look that the couple shared at that moment was so tender that it was al herself quietly, she slipped out of the study and headed upstairs to her rooes of The Winter's Tale awaited her

John Blackwood had saved Alex's life? She could scarcely fathohbor than his somewhat churlish exterior

John Blackwood had secrets Belle was sure of it She'd wager that his life story put Shakespeare to sha This excursion to the countrythan she'd anticipated

Of course, she wasn't going to be able to uncover any of his secrets until she befriended him And he'd made it rather clear that he didn't , that

Chapter 2

Belle woke up the nextTurning over in her bed, she opened her eyes to see her cousin crouched over a chaht and oodover to a pitcher of water which had been left out on a nearby table She poured herself a glass and took a gulp