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cannot get you out ofat nine oclock? Ill

be waiting Yours eternally,

Lucinda Biscoe

Luce ripped the letter into shreds and tossed theave Daniel the note, Lucinda would be alone in the gazebo Luce could go out there and wait for her and try to warn her again She raced into the hall and made a sharp turn toward the servants' stairs down to the kitchen She ran past the cooks and the pastry ot both of us in trouble, Myrtle! the girl called out to Luce, but Luce was already out the door

The evening air was cool and dry against her face as she ran It was nearly nine o'clock, but the sun was still setting over the grove of trees on the western side of the property She tore down the pink- hued path, past the overflowing garden and the heady, sweet scent of the roses, past the hedge maze

Her eyes fell on the place where she'd first tumbled out of the Announcer into this life Her feet pounded down the path toward the eazebo She had stopped just short of it when soht her by the arm

She turned around

And ended up nose to nose with Daniel

A light wind blew his blond hair across his forehead In his forold watch chain and a sorgeous than she relow of the setting sun His lips held the faintest sht of her

A soft sigh escaped her She ached to lean a few short inches closer to press her lips on his To wrap her arms around his unfurled She wanted to forget what she had come here to do and just hold him, just let herself be held There were no words for how much she had missed him

No This visit was about Lucinda

Daniel, her Daniel, was far away right now It was hard to iht now It was even harder to iine their reunion at the end of all of this But wasn't that what her quest was about? Finding out enough about her past so she could really be with Daniel in the present?

You're not supposed to be here, she said to Helston Daniel He couldn't have known that Helston Lucinda wanted to et in the way of their --they were draard each other, no h was precisely the sah Luce was used to, the one she'd heard for the first tih she loved But this Daniel did not really know her He didn't knoho she here she was co to do

You're not supposed to be here, either He smiled First we're supposed to have a dance inside, and later, after we've gotten to know one another, I'm supposed to take you for a moonlit stroll But the sun hasn't even set yet Whichto be done He extended his hand My naori

He hadn't even noticed that she was dressed in a own, that she didn't act at all like a proper British girl He'd only just laid eyes on her, but like Lucinda, Daniel was already blinded by love

Seeing all of this froe clarity on their relationship It onderful, but it was tragically shortsighted Was it even Lucinda whom Daniel loved and vice versa, or was it just a cycle they couldn't break free of?

It isn't me, Luce told him sadly

He took her hands She melted a little Of course it's you, he said It's always you

No, Luce said It isn't fair to her, you're not being fair And besides, Daniel, she'sabout? He looked like he couldn't decide whether to take her seriously or laugh

Fro toward them from the back of the house

Lucinda

Co to meet Daniel She was early Her note said nine o'clock--at least it had said nine o'clock before Luce had tossed its fragan to pound She could not be caught here when Lucinda arrived And yet, she couldn't leave Daniel so soon

Why do you love her? Luce's words came out in a rush What makes you fall in love with her, Daniel?

Daniel laid his hand on her shoulder--it felt wonderful Slon, he said We've only just met, but I can promise you there isn't anyone I love except--

You there! Servant girl! Lucinda had spotted them, and froan to run toward the gazebo, cursing at her dress, at the rass, at Luce What have you done withthis way, Luce stammered, is me, in a sense I'm her You love us, and I need to understand--

Daniel turned to watch Lucinda, the one he had loved--would love in this era He could see her face clearly now He could see that there were two of them

When he turned back to Luce, his hand on her shoulder began to tremble It's you, the other one What have you done? How did you do this?

You! Girl! Lucinda had registered Daniel's hand on Luce's shoulder Her whole face puckered up I knew it! she screeched, running even faster Get away fro over her She had no choice now but to run But first: She touched the side of Daniel's face Is it love? Or is it just the curse that brings us together?

It's love, he gasped Don't you know that?

She broke free of his grasp and fled, running fast and furiously across the lawn, back through the grove of silver birch trees, back to the overgrown grasses where she'd first arrived Her feet beca flat on her face Everything hurt And she wasso nasty At Daniel for the way he just fell in love without thinking At her oerlessness to do anything that made a bit of difference Lucinda would still die--Luce's having been here didn't round, she let out a groan of frustration

There, there A tiny stone hand patted her back

Luce flicked it away Leave me alone, Bill

Hey, it was a valiant effort You really got out there in the trenches this tied-- now it's over

Luce sat up and glared at hiht back there and tell Lucinda who she really was--tell her what things were like not so far down the road

No Luce stood up It's not over Bill yanked her back down He was shockingly strong for such a little creature Oh, it's over Coet in the Announcer