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noted in relief, it had almost dried. There was a damp spot on the wool blanket on which she'd slept, though. She hoped she hadn't mined the bed beneath. Quickly, she pulled the blanket off and began folding it. The area beneath it seemed dry, thank heavens. |
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"I am René," the man continued, helping her fold the blanket. "I help out here. Come, I will take yon to the guest house." |
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She still couldn't make out his face in the dimness, but he seemed small and burly, and he spoke with a growl. |
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"And you'll show me what I'm supposed to do there?" Her confusion grew. She had thought be would show her where she was really to sleep. |
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"Do?" The man sounded confused. Perhaps his English was not good. |
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"Put me to work. Le travail." One good thing about her scattered childhood was that she had learned a smattering of different languages. One bad thing was that she'd acquired no fluency in any of them. |
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"Work?" His tone was horrified. "You do not work here." |
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"I do now." Mariah sighed despite herself. "Mr. Thorn hired me." |
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"But" That was all he said, and then he was gone. Mariah heard his heavy footfalls echo through the stable. Slowly, she followed. She was still tired, but she had a bargain to keep. |
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Assuming all this was real. |
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When she reached the cleared area outside the stable, she noted that daylight was waning. She wondered how long she'd been in the past, how long she'd slept. As a busy film executive, she'd been a slave to time. Her wrist had invariably been shackled by the bonds of a watch. |
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But now she could only guess at the hour, and minutes seemed irrelevant. |
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She didn't want to just stand there. Since she couldn't go to Thorn's house, she first visited the small structure that was clearly an outhouse. Then she headed toward the largest log building, which she assumed was the guest house. |
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