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Oh, good heavens, her misery only needed this Marcus Holroyd, the Earl of Chatteris, happy and dry in his plush carriage Honoria felt her jaw go slack, although really, she didn’t knohy she should be surprised Marcus lived in Caeshire, not too far from the city More to the point, if anyone were to see her while she was looking like a wet, bedraggled creature of the rodential variety, it would be he

"Good God, Honoria," he said, scowling down at her in that supercilious way of his, "you s "It is a bit brisk"

"What are you doing here?"

"Ruining shoes"

"What?"

"Shopping," she said,across the street, "with friends And cousins" Not that her cousins weren’t also friends But she had so ory unto themselves

The door opened wider "Get in," he said Not Will you please get in or Please, you ht have tossed her hair and said, You can’t order ht have thought it, even if she’d lacked the courage to say it aloud But Honoria was cold, and she valued her comfort more than her pride, and more to the point, this was Marcus Holroyd, and she’d known hie of six, to be precise

That was also probably the last tiht with a grimace At seven she’d made such a pest of herself that he and her brother Daniel had taken to calling her Mosquito When she’d claierous it had sounded, they’d s she’d been, ever since

He’d seen her wetter than this, too He’d seen her coht she’d been cohs of the old oak tree at Whipple Hill Marcus and Daniel had built a fort at its base, no girls allowed They had pelted her with pebbles until she’d lost her grip and tumbled down

In retrospect, she really shouldn’t have chosen the branch that hung over the lake

Marcus had fished her out of the dunk, though, which was more than she could say for her own brother

Marcus Holroyd, she thought ruefully He’d been in her life al as she could remember Since before he was Lord Chatteris, since before Daniel was Lord Winstead Since before Charlotte, her closest-in-age sister, had married and left home

Since before Daniel, too, had left

"Honoria"

She looked up Marcus’s voice was impatient, but his face held a hint of concern "Get in," he repeated

She nodded and did as he said, taking his large hand in hers and accepting his help into his carriage "Marcus," she said, trying to settle herself into her seat with all the grace and nonchalance sheroom, never mind the puddles at her feet "What a lovely surprise to see you"