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she tossed at him; she realized she must look horrified. "I kill no English, now, Mariahunless they expire from my ill will." |
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She laughed and went to serve the guests. |
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Thorn was seated at the table with them, wearing a loose-sleeved ecru shirt. He acted the lord of the manor, waiting for her to serve him, too. |
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She considered dumping the food in his lap, then decided it wouldn't be politically expedient. She needed this job. |
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More important, she probably needed to be here to learn what Pierce wanted of herand how she could return to her own time. |
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"Who is this?" asked one of the officers, still wearing a bright red coat, though his tricornered hat was hung on a nail on the wall right behind him. "New help, Thorn?" |
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He nodded curtly, taking a sip of his soup. |
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"We must be giving you too much business, if you can afford to hire more servants," the man continued. |
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"She doesn't cost much," Thorn replied. |
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Mariah nearly made an indignant retort before she realized she still didn't know how cheaply she worked; they hadn't yet discussed her wages. But of course they were considerably less than she'd brought in as a highly regarded unit production manager. And she didn't know yet how much she owed Thorn for saving her life. |
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"Does she know what kind of man she works for?" the officer went on. |
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Mariah was aghast at the officer's incivility. "Yes," she snapped, "I do. He's" |
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"An innkeeper," Thorn interrupted, his voice tight. "That is all." He stood and stalked from the room, followed by loud laughter from the soldiers. |
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As soon as Mariah had served everyone, she returned to the kitchen, fuming. "Did you hear all that?" she asked René. "I don't know what those men were after, but they were terribly rude to Thorn." |
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"Yes." René helped her remove from the tray the dirty dishes she'd taken from the other room. "And he allows it because he believes it." |
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