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"Piers"

They walked toward one another, until they stood on opposite sides of the laht rail and a dark cape, hastily tied One look at her face told hi down here at this hour?"

She sniffed, and her voice caught "I"

"You’ve been weeping" He put his hand on her shoulder She tre?"

"I’ve lost it It’s gone I’ve searched everywhere in the house I could think of, and then I re for an hour now, under every bench and bush It’s not here, either It’s gone"

She pressed her lips together and turned her head, as though to keep herself fro Her chin quivered

"Co it frouided her to sit on a bench "Letfor"

"It will sound so silly You’ll laugh at me"

"Never"

Over the past week, the girl had been accused of loose virtue, accosted by a cutpurse, and held briefly at gunpoint--and she’d taken it all in relative good humor

He’d never seen her like this

Whatever she’d misplaced, it must ular shape with her fingers "Just a scrap of flannel with ribbon edging and a bit of stitching on it I use it to mark the place in my books I kno inconsequential it must sound, but it’s important to me"

Piers knew better than reat importance "You’re certain it isn’t in your bedcha the state of her other possessions

She shook her head "This isn’t like stockings or shawls I’m untidy, but I’m never careless about this It’s either in , when I settled doith my novel it wasn’t there I searched everywhere My cha roo this afternoon"

"Where did you sit?"

"Over there" She indicated a stump tucked under a bit of ivy

"Then it’s likely still in the garden Or perhaps you lost it so your path back into the house"

"Oh, Lord" Her hand fluttered in her lap "If the wind took it"

"Charlotte Don’t fret so" He put an ar her close Both to soothe her and to calht He pressed a kiss to the top of her head "We’ll find it"

"But I’ve searched everywhere"