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"Be off!" Holly insisted. "Your sniveling will not help her. Cleaning the wound will. |
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Perhaps he was. In any event, he knew he was no good for Mariah. He should leave her to those who could help. |
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He stared at the lovely, still form for an agonized minute. |
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She looked peaceful, her head haloed by waves of honey-rich hair. Her sweet lips were pale, parted as though she tried to tell him somethingthat he had failed her, no doubt. |
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Except for a small bruise, there was no color in her smooth cheeks. The scratch on her small nose stood out like a scar. |
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He reached his hand toward her as though in supplication, then snatched it back. |
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He would not ask forgiveness of her. She had no reason to forgive him. |
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He felt himself petrify inside, as though he were the rocks over which the rivers ran. |
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He did not deserve to be in the company of people. |
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He made himself turn to René. He had business to attend to. "Have we any invaders left to worry about?" |
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The Frenchman shook his head. "They were waiting to ambush you. They claimed at first they came for lodging, but I noticed that they had the horse and goods of Ambrose, poor fellow. I dared not attack for fear of their hurting Holly. But the diversion when you arrived . . . well, the one who was in the kitchen with us, he will trouble us no more." |
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"What happened to the soldiers who came back here with you?" |
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"They seemed eager, and so I released them to return to the fort. Had I but known . . . " René shook his head sorrowfully. |
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"I left the two soldiers who'd been taken with Mariah in the forest." Thorn waited for René's censure for not having made Mariah stay there, too, but none came. "Find them, if you will, and have them check on the other marauder in the smokehouse. He's trussed like the animal he is, and I can but hope that my knife gave him his just reward. The soldiers may make themselves of use by taking charge of both of these animals, alive or dead." |
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