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him with the truth in a way sure to convince him of her insanity. |
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The saddest part was that she'd ruined any possibility of his remembering their lovemaking with anything but disdain: for her, for her quick and easy response, and, afterwards, for her lies. |
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Except, of course, they were the truth. |
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Each new thought of how he would now regard her sent tears flooding her eyes. How could any rational man believe she was from the future? She could hardly believe it herself. |
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And as far as preventing the duelwell, she'd fixed things all right. She'd thrown the idea in with jet planes and movies and microwave ovens, made it sound just as credible in this time of low, or no, technology. |
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That was one grievous wrong that she'd somehow have to right on her own; Thorn wouldn't believe her enough to try to keep out of trouble. And he didn't seem to know Will Shepherd. |
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Was the duel Pierce's grievous wrong? That no longer mattered. It was the one she planned to tackle. |
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At long last, morning arrived. Her room passed from coal blackness to fuzzy gray, and she sat on the edge of the bed. Despite all that had happened, she reveled in the soreness of her muscles, skin and other areas that had been integral to their lovemaking. |
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At least she had a wonderful memory. |
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Sometime today, she would have to face Thorn. She'd do so coolly. Bravely. |
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She'd keep her misery to herself. |
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What would happen next? From beneath her mattress, she drew out the page on which she had written her recollections of the screenplay. She'd jotted down all the details she could remember but knew now what a waste of time that had been. Nothing happened exactly as depicted. Yet there was a hint of portent in each major episode. |
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Only three had not yet occurred, any one of which was enough to scare her. |
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The first would be Matilda'shercapture by Indians. But she'd be wary. She wouldn't leave the inn, no matter |
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