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“They’re nice boys” He rumpled Webb’s dark hair with affection

“I wike you,” Arthur said, tipping his head way back to look at the stranger

“I like you, too,” Bull replied with a slight gruffness in his voice

“You’re very good with children,” Lorna reet married and have some of your own” “That isn’t likely to happen,” he said, “considering the only girl I ever wanted to azeto her

“Please don’t say things like that, Mr Giles,” Lorna insisted aardly, because it couldn’t be unsaid, or forgotten “It makes it impossible for us to even be friends”

He breathed in deeply and released it in a quick sigh “My apologies, Mrs Calder”

All she could do was nod and ood day” With the boys in hand, she turned and walked to the waiting wagon

22

Canvas tents were clustered together like soout of the stark, lonely plains Not far froons sat, a herd of horses grazed under the watchful eye of a wrangler Longeared mules and powerfully hbreds, inter the food feast in a classless way that the people occupying the tents regarded as unthinkable for themselves

“Don’t you find this all so exciting and adventurous, Lady Crawford?” declared Penelope Dunshill, daughter of the present Earl of Crawford and the future wife to the Duke of Middleton The high-spirited brunette didn’t possess any real beauty, but her vivacity made it appear she was attractive “I want to allop madly over this melancholy land” The instant the desire was expressed, she turned eagerly frorassland to her co”

“No” Elaine Dunshill adjusted the black parasol to the other shoulder to keep the sun off her relatively unlined face “Even you would wilt in this heat, Penelope, and George has a lavish dinner planned for this evening so we all can sareatly disappointed if his future bride is too enervated to enjoy it” That should have been sufficient arguuide is away froe repaired A person can become too easily lost in this country without a native to show the way I suggest you lie down and rest for a couple of hours instead”

“If you insist” The long sigh that acconess

When they paused in front of Penelope’s tent, her personal uide, horse handlers, cook, maids, and valets, there was a retinue of twelve to serve the English party of six Yet, they were supposedly “roughing it” Elaine sht occurred to her

It was practically the only amusement she found in this tour of the “real” American West Con’s death had diminished the role she played in London society and politics She ure in black, a color she continued to wear even after the year’shad passed, but she was the wife of a dead earl, no longer sought for the influence she no longer had Despite her personal and inherited wealth, she had been relegated to dowager status

She chafed under the loss of power and prestige that had her playing coirl who found allop across the plains than inpeople The only alternative to her present position was to receive no invitations and retire to so