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"The general labeled the Canterwick Rifles the ‘Forlorn Hope,’ " the duke went on "That’s the terive to a company that has no hope of success ‘Forlorn Hope’! My son! Picton had to eat his words"
"I expect Picton didn’t want to let theiana "It’s rather nice to see that even a general can’t stop Rupert once he puts his "
"He and his lish company had failed," the duke bellowed "Scaled then and held them for several days, until the Fifth Division was able to return They’d given up, you see Given up andthe fort at Badajoz They weren’t, thanks to lanced to her right Quin was looking at her; their eyes ulf had opened between them
"Most of the French defenders retreated to San Cristobal, and surrendered fro louder by the moment "The marquess led his company up those ramparts, then held the fort, and captured many French soldiers Held it With one hundred men, he held the whole fort" The duke leveled a ferocious look around the roos behindof the Order of the Bath An honor held by twenty-four men at the most My son!"
There was a moment of silence and then, spontaneously, applausespreading fro, even tearful in soht Olivia’s arm, pulled her to hi around the room, fierce "I present to you my son’s fiancée, the future Marchioness of Montsurrey"
Olivia alrew louder, then subsided as the Dowager Duchess of Sconce advanced majestically to stand before the duke In the perfect silence of the roohtly creaky, curtsy
"Your Grace," she said, "it will be the honor of this nation to welcohtly deserved glory"
Olivia did not look at Quin again
She could not look
Twenty-three
Why Heroes Are Not as Much Fun as Dukes
The dinner that followed the arrival of the Duke of Canteras never forgotten by any of the delighted and--after the joyous popping of chah there was one participant who, even years later, would re utter despair in the uests feeling like a ghost: a human shell with a semblance of a face but no other distinctions than incredibly bad luck when it caiana after dinner He tracked Olivia from the corner of his eye, sa she passed froenerally fell in love with her and into envy of the marquess
Of course, no one would voice such a shabby eht, not after the French had surrendered that fort, which had been so hard-sought with lost English lives
He walked fro, people didn’t try to stop him and talk of the marquess "Envy" was a pale word to describe the ee, pure hatred, livid, bone-deep jealousy His o
He didn’t knohat she saw in his eyes It didn’t matter
The devil of it was that he would walk out of the roo back into it a moment later He couldn’t fool himself that he walked rando for her again And again
It seeuests retired to their rooms and the still excited and voluble duke was escorted to the Queen’s Chamber, so called because Queen Elizabeth had slept in it on three occasions