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She must be here in this theater for a reason Her soul had drawn her here; why?

She pushed through the crowd,the side of the ae The wooden planks had been covered with a thick, herass Two full-sized cannons stood like guards near either wing, and a row of potted orange trees lined the back wall Not far from Luce, a rickety wooden ladder led to a curtained space: the tiring-roo class she'd taken with Callie--where the actors got into their costumes and prepared for their scenes

Wait! Bill called as she hurried up the ladder

Behind the curtain, the room was small and cramped and dimly lit Luce passed stacks ofa old and velvet cloaks Then she froze: Several actors were standing around in various stages of undress--boys with half-buttoned gowns,up brown leather boots Thankfully, the actors were busily powdering their faces and frantically rehearsing lines, so that the rooments of the play

Before any of the actors could look up and see her, Bill flew to Luce's side and pushed her into one of the wardrobes Clothes closed around her

What are you doing? she asked

Let me remind you that you're an actor in a ti back here as a woman Not that that stopped you Your past self took soet herself a role in All Is True

All Is True? Luce repeated She'd been hoping she would at least recognize the title No such luck She peeked out of the wardrobe into the roohth, Bill said, yanking her back by the collar But pay attention: Would you like to venture a guess as to why your past self would lie and disguise herself to land a role--

Daniel

He'd just co-room The door to the yard outside was still open behind hi a handwritten script, hardly noticing the other players around him He looked different than he had in any of her other lives His blond hair was long and a bit wavy, gathered with a black band at the nape of his neck He had a beard, neatly trimmed, just a bit darker in color than the hair on his head

Luce felt an urge to touch it To caress his face and run her fingers through his hair and trace the back of his neck and touch every part of hi the clean line of athered into knee-high black boots

As he drew nearer, her heart began to pound The roar of the crowd in the pit fell away The stink of dried sweat from the costumes in the wardrobe disappeared There was just the sound of her breathing and his footsteps ht of her, Daniel's thunderstorlowed violet He smiled in surprise

She couldn't hold it in any longer She rushed toward hi the past self, who could be anywhere, steps away, the girl this Daniel really belonged to She forgot everything but her need to be held by hiuiding her quickly to the other side of the bulky wardrobe, where they were hidden from the other actors Her hands found the back of his neck A warh her She closed her eyes and felt his lips coht She waited to feel the hunger in his kiss She waited And waited

Luce inched higher, arching her neck so that he would kiss her harder, more deeply She needed his kiss to re herself in the past and seeing herself dying again and again: because of hiether Because of their love

Touching hiain re her froain as he'd done in Tibet She wanted to ask what he'd dreamed about when he'd slept for days after she'd died in Prussia She wanted to hear what he'd said to Luschka right before she died that awful night in Moscow She wanted to pour out her love, and break down and cry, and let hih, she had missed him with all her heart

But there was no way to communicate any of that to this Daniel None of that had even happened yet to this Daniel Besides, he took her for the Lucinda of this era, the girl who didn't know any of the things that Luce had come to know There were no words to tell him

Her kiss was the only way she could show him that she understood

But Daniel wouldn't kiss her the way she wanted The closer she pressed to him, the farther back he leaned

Finally he pushed her away completely He held on only to her hands, as if the rest of her were dangerous

Lady He kissed the very tips of her fingers,her shiver Would I be too bold to say your love makes you unmannerly?

Unmannerly? Luce blushed

Daniel took her back into his arms, slowly, a bit nervously Good Lucinda, you must not find yourself in this place dressed as you are His eyes kept returning to her dress What clothes are these? Where is your costuh the clothes pegs

Quickly, Daniel began to unlace his boots, tossing theape when he dropped his trousers He wore short gray pantaloons underneath that left very little to the iination

Her cheeks burned as Daniel briskly unbuttoned his white shirt He yanked it off, exposing the full beauty of his chest Luce sucked in her breath The only things eous--and he see on her by standing there in his underwear

She gulped, fanning herself Is it hot in here?

Put these on until I can fetch your costu the clothes at her Hurry, before someone sees you He dashed to the wardrobe in the corner and rifled through it, pulling out a rich green-and-gold robe, another white shirt, and a pair of cropped green pants He hurried into the new clothes--his costuuessed--as she picked up his discarded street clothes

Luce reirl in Versailles a half hour to squeeze her into this dress There were strings and ties and laces in all sorts of private places There was no way she was going to be able to get out of it with any sort of dignity

There was, uripped the black fabric of her skirt I thought this would look nice for my character