Page 68 (2/2)

"George, wait!"

He hated that he was holding his breath

"George, this isin the entrance to her rooe of the door Her face was so expressive Had it always been so?

Yes, he thought She’d never been one to hide her feelings beneath a s he’d found so annoying about her when they were growing up She sinored

But that was then And this was…

So else entirely

"Madness?" he echoed He wasn’t sure what she meant He didn’t want to make assumptions

Her lips trembled into a tentative smile "Surely we can be friends"

Friends?

"I asped, then practically hissed, "I wasn’t going to say it quite so bluntly For heaven’s sake, George, yourdown the hall, George threw over a lifetientlee!"

"Apparently one can whisper and scream at the sarinned as she closed the door "I didn’t think you wished to conduct this sort of conversation in the hall"

The look she gave him was sarcas rooms and a library downstairs"

"And look what happened last tiether"

Her face flushed instantly But Billie was a trouper, and after aherself to cal of Edward?"

Like that, his jaunty ?" she asked hopefully

He didn’t want to talk about Edward For so many reasons But Billie deserved a reply, so he said, "Just the suppositions of a retired general"

"I’ I wish there was soe of her bed and looked over at hi I hate it"

He closed his eyes Breathed out through his nose Once again, they were in perfect agreement

"Sometimes I think I should have been born a boy"

"No" His response was ih "That’s very kind of you I suppose you have to say that after, well, you know…"