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"Well, …"

"You're shameless"

"Perhaps, but you'll note that this story has a happy ending"

John's thoughts turned to the mystery man who had attacked them both "Unfortunately, this particular chapter has not reached a conclusion"

Belle sobered "Well, a happy ht before the cliht"

Belle's cheeks reached unparalleled heights of pinkness "I was speaking in literary terms," sheher and shut his still s mouth After a suitable interlude, he asked, "Do you think Persephone will have risen yet?"

Belle frowned and looked at the sky, which was still pink and orange with the last stripes of dawn "I'e bird I never know quite what to make of her Besides, I'm rarely up at this hour, so I wouldn't know if she's an early riser"

"Well, for your sake I hope she's still abed The only thing she could really do is insist that I marry you, which wouldn't be a problem because I plan to do exactly that and with all possible haste All the sa and all that feave him a sharp look at the "feine that Persephone and I will e to comport ourselves in a manner so as not to offend your masculine sensibilities"

John's lips twitched "See that you do"

Belle was spared from further comment by their arrival at her front steps She had had the foresight to bring a key with her the previous night, and they slipped silently inside John i to create a scene

"Please don't go yet," Belle said quickly, placing a gentle hand on his arly, none of the servants had witnessed their clandestine entrance "Wait forarded her masculine attire with a smile and nodded as Belle scurried up the stairs She stopped on the landing, looked back doith an irin, and said, "We have ain as he saw hi the spines of the books until he found one with an intriguing title and plucked it off the shelf He browsed through it lazily, not paying hts rested stubbornly on the fair-haired angel just upstairs from him What on earth had possessed her to climb a tree to his third-story ? Not that he was displeased with the results, but still, he'd kill her if she tried sorearm, not with desire but with contentment

She was his He still wasn't certain how it had all come about, but she was his

Belle reappeared dressed in a pale pink frock which brought out the natural rosiness of her cheeks Her hair had been hastily pulled back into a loose knot which, while no one would mistake the style for fashionable, was at least presentable

John raised a brow at her speedy transformation "Only five minutes, my lady I am stunned… and iet oneself dressed," Belle said

"My sisters could never accomplish it in less than two hours"

"I suppose it all depends on how badly one wants to get where one is going"