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Olivia considered that for a ed "We are at war We have been at war for soet to Rupert I’m sure that any French soldiers I roaned "You haven’t been reading the newspapers, have you?"

"Would it surprise you to hear that the answer is no?" The footmen had left, and the bath was ready Olivia tore off her wrapper again "If your sensibilities are going to be offended by ie, you had better leave now"

"You have nothing I don’t have," her sister said, dropping onto a stool to the side of the bath

"I just havewater

"You cannot take such a quixotic trip across the Channel," Georgiana insisted "You haven’t the faintest idea of the peril"

"I can live with the uncertainty," Olivia said "Norah, will you please wash my hair as quickly as hu Olivia’s hair as if it were a bundle of laundry

"Since you do know all the danger and you read the newspapers, Georgie, you’d better tellI absolutely have to know"

Her sister started to protest, but Olivia held up her hand "You’ve known ine that I would leave Rupert to die in some hut on the coast of France? Alone? I may not have wanted to marry him, but I am fond of him In an odd way, I truly respect hi

"He is not your fiancé anyiana said But her voice betrayed the fact that she knew she couldn’t win

Olivia shook her head "Stop"

"Then I a with you"

"No, you certainly are not Just how perilous is it to land on the French shore, anyway?" Olivia soaped an ar to the newspapers, French soldiers are constantly patrolling the beaches, looking for an invasion force and also for slers You could be captured"

"Why on earth would they want to capture me?"

Her sister stared at her "Do I really need to spell out what soldiers are capable of doing to wohtly "There are those who pay for the privilege"

Georgiana gasped "How can you respond with--with a vulgarity to such a terrible prospect?"

"I do not ie But if I have learned anything duringon the worst possibilities is not helpful Therefore, I choose to picture any French soldier I allant" She spoke the last word using the French pronunciation, and considered "Perhaps with a es"

"I will never understand you! Just how gallant will those soldiers be if they believe you to be a spy?"

"A spy? Me? I look nothing like a spy"

"Who knohat a spy looks like? I have a definite understanding that there are woed in that business I wonder if you’re even allowed to ransooodness you read the paper so assiduously," Olivia said "Perhaps you can find out the answer to that question beforethe water sluice froathered that I will need a s"

"I will accompany you to France, miss," Norah said stoutly "You will need someone to dress you, even in a French prison"

Olivia’s s with iana protested Then: "Oh"