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"Oh, I a

"A baby!" Josie said "When will it be born?"

"Not for ages yet," Annabel said "Likely in January or February"

"I needn’t return to England for the season until the end of March!"

"Your co at her little sister

"Are you certain that you wouldn’t likea tremendous reluctance to do so It wasn’t that she was bitter

A surge of honesty corrected the thought Of course she was bitter Two of her sisters were happilya child The e with Draven were a cold comfort

"I would love it if you wished to stay," Annabel said, holding out her hand to Ientlehtyou so een said "Griselda and I won’t go to London We’ll stay with Rafe in the country"

"And Mayne?" Annabel asked

I fancy," she said "Luckily he was shrewd enough to see that before I did"

Annabel squeezed her hand

"Perhaps over the winter you could occupy yourself by ested "I don’t want to wastein the necessary prerequisites So h Rafe’s house that you are sure to hear all the gossip"

"And those prerequisites are?" Iarnered frole romantic novel published by Minerva Press" Josie consulted her book "An estate is necessary, and a title would be nice He should be able to read, but not too passionately Unless he likes novels And I don’t want him to be overly fashionable"

"Don’t you have any physical requireed "I would prefer that my husband be taller than I am Since I am rather short, I foresee no difficulty there" She frowned "Why are you both laughing? There’s nothing ludicrous about en"

"My what?"

"Your list," Josie said "Every woman has a list, even if she doesn’t write it down"

"I don’t," Iht

"It’s been al in where any hardy soul would hesitate "You’ll have to think of ain at so ht Iaze but oodness sake, you certainly found it acceptable to contee isof that sort of relation"

"Josie!" Annabel ain "Now there’s a cold-hearted look at matrimony"

"Your list and mine are likely the same," Josie said "You simply haven’t clarified your deain what qualities I aence, but not to an uncooes with fashion One would dislike being married to a man who always looked better than oneself"