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Olivia smiled "That’s Rupert"

"Did the ht?" Quin asked

Grooper shook his head "It was the da--if you’ll pardon me, my lady We was all done and we held the fort for three days, till the English forces could get back to us They didn’t think we had a chance, you see Not after all the earlier atteust in his voice spoke for itself

"We held that fort, and we did it nice, too We had all the Frogs in the stockade, but we gave ’em blankets and plenty of food Because the ht like a cornered rat Sure enough, once they were all snug and well fed, they didn’t seeet out"

"Then what happened?" Olivia asked

"The major, well, he liked to walk about on those battleuard up there" He cleared his throat "Well, he said as how thepoetry" The last word ca that Rupert had begun senerally considered to be a hazardous activity," Quin observed

"Not one for poetryto iory as treason "Theat theat the moon?"

"We found a scrap of paper behind with a bit of verse on it, all about the moon At any rate, the fall knocked his brains about He didn’t even wake up for a day and we thought he was gone for sure But then he started talking of this Lucy--we thought she was his lady wife--so we decided as hoe should get hiton’s doctor, he said that we had to wait till the lad you didn’t wait," Olivia put in

"The major wasn’t like the rest of theh "We put hiht hiht him up the north coast of France easy as pie And ould have co hi of the waves It hurt his head"

Olivia put a hand on Grooper’s sleeve "You did just the right thing His father may not have been able to say this before he collapsed, but he is treeant looked at his hands and said, "Iffen we’d known Lucy was a dog, I don’t know that ould have done it"

"In that case I’ the shore," Quin said, breaking in "Olivia, you ait here with Sergeant Grooper" He seemed to think that he had the ultimate say in that matter "The captain will drop anchor and I will take the rowboat to the hut and fetch theher tone even "I intend to be in that rowboat"

"I beg to differ"

"I did not come all this way to sit safely offshore If Rupert is alive, he h to venture a ride in a rowboat as, indeed, Grooper and his fellow soldiers surmised"

"When we first discussed this possibility, we did not realize that there is a garrison of French soldiers a handsbreadth from the hut I am extremely doubtful that Rupert and the two men who remained at his side are still at liberty"

Olivia pressed her lips together before they could tremble "It is true that Rupert is not a very lucky person"

"I am certain that we can retrieve his body froh," Quin said bluntly "We will bring it back to England and he will be buried with honors, as befits his rank and his deeds But you need not risk yourself in that particular endeavor, Olivia I will bring Rupert home" There was a fierceness in his voice that turned the words into a vow

Now tears were pressing against her eyes Other than his father, Rupert had never had a cha duke She felt sure that Quin would never allow the slightest insult against his erstwhile rival