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She looked at him coolly “You were”

He gritted his teeth together and continued “What my father said about Mary Winthrop…”

Her mouth fell open “Is that what you think this is about?”

He stared at her, blinking twice before saying, “Isn’t it?”

“Of course not,” she sputtered “Good heavens, do you take me for a fool?”

“I…er…no?”

“I hope I know you well enough to know that you would not offer e to tomen At least not purposefully”

“Right,” he said, looking a little confused “Then what—”

“Do you knohy you asked me to marry you?” she demanded

“What the devil are you talking about?”

“Do you know?” she repeated She’d asked him once before, and he had not answered

“Of course I know It’s because—” But he cut himself off, and he obviously didn’t knohat to say

She shook her head, blinking back tears “I don’t want to see you right now”

“What is wrong with you?”

“There is nothing wrong with me,” she cried out, as loudly as she dared “I at least knohy I accepted your proposal But you—You have no idea why you rendered it”