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Page 94
"Bon!" cried René, beside her. "But I heard no shot. How did you catch it?"
"On the run," Thorn replied. "I tossed my knife at it."
"Well done," René said. He looked at Mariah as though she, too, should congratulate Thorn.
"Show off," she muttered, then allowed, "I guess that's more sporting than shooting it." She assumed that, after the rudeness of their lunch guests, he'd have preferred throwing his knife at targets on horseback.
"Then you are not impressed by skills in casting knives?" Thorn sounded tense, as though she'd insulted him.
"I'm sure it's a good thing to know," she replied as brightly as she could. She hadn't intended to offend Thorn. But poor bunny . . .
Poor me! she thought a moment later when Thorn tried to hand the rabbit to her. She put her hands behind her back, trying not to wrinkle her nose in distaste. "What am I supposed to do with it?"
She had to look up to make out the expression in his stony brown eyes. Speaking of distaste! This man, with his lips a straight, unyielding line, clearly wasn't pleased with her.
Well, she wasn't very pleased with him, either. And the sudden pang of sorrow she felt had nothing to do with his low opinion of her. She just felt sad for the rabbit.
She took a few steps back, turned toward a table and began busying herself with drying the tankards she'd just washed.
She'd never been a vegetarian at home, but the only meat she'd eaten had been from animals raised to be eaten. That way she could maintain that she was a wildlife loverthough she'd chosen not to listen to animal-rights activists describe how cruelly the animals that became her dinner had been raised.
Here, there was undoubtedly an abundance of game in this primeval forest. However irritable and unpredictable Thorn might be, she felt sure he wouldn't let the animals he killed suffer. They were creatures who would have lived wonderful, free lives, and were part of the human food chain.
She could justify eating meat here. Maybe even more than she could at home. As long as

 
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