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How could he have done this? He'd followed her Followed her! Why would Colin follow her? What would he have to gain? Why would he--

She suddenly looked aroundwOh, da if anyone heard her The hack had left She'd given specific instructions to the driver to wait for her, that she'd only be a ression she could lay at Colin's door He'd delayed her inside the church, and now the hack had left, and she was stuck here on the steps of St Bride's Church, in the middle of the City of London, so far froht as well have been in France People were staring at her and any minute now she was sure to be accosted, because who had ever seen a gently bred lady alone in the City, e of anervous attack?

Why hy had she been so foolish as to think that he was the perfectsomeone asn't even real Because the Colin she knew-- no, the Colin she'd thought she'd known--clearly didn't exist And whoever this man was, she wasn't even sure she liked him The man she'd loved so faithfully over the years never would have behaved like this He wouldn't have followed her--Oh, very well, he would have, but only to assure himself of her safety But he wouldn't have been so cruel, and he certainly wouldn't have opened her private correspondence

She had read two pages of his journal, that was true,but they hadn't been in a sealed envelope!

She sank onto the steps and sat down, the stone cool even through the fabric of her dress There was little she could do now besides sit here and wait for Colin Only a fool would take off on foot by herself so far from home She supposed she could hail a hack on Fleet Street, but what if they were all occupied, and besides, was there really any point in running from Colin? He knehere she lived, and unless she decided to run to the Orkney Islands, she wasn't likely to escape a confrontation

She sighed Colin would probably find her in the Orkneys, seasoned traveler that he was And she didn't even want to go to the Orkneys

She choked back a sob Now she wasn't evensense Why was she fixated on the Orkney Islands?

And then there was Colin's voice behind her, clipped and so very cold "Get up," was all he said

She did, not because he'd ordered her to (or at least that hat she told herself), and not because she was afraid of him, but rather because she couldn't sit on the steps of St Bride's forever, and even if she wanted nothing more than to hide herself from Colin for the next six months, at the moment he was her only safe means hoe"

She went, cliive the driver her address and then instruct hiood thirty seconds before he handed her the single sheet of paper that had been folded into the envelope she'd left in the church "I believe this is yours," he said

She gulped and looked down, not that she needed to She already had the words memorized She'd written and rewritten theht, she didn't think they'd ever escape her entle pat on the hand as he e her mind" And indeed, because I feel one should always support one's words with one's actions, I endeavor to keep my opinions and decisions steadfast and true