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A minute later Miss Pythian-Adas… and a second after that it fell off She frowned and tried again

Gabe watched in the flickering light of the fire She was an alarly beautiful woman who either didn’t realize how lovely she was, or didn’t care She had a straight nose and such thick eyelashes that he couldn’t see her eyes as she struggled with Mary’s nappy He should have been helping her, but instead he just drank her in

She was the quintessential English gentlewoiven his illegitientlefolk into a perfect bundle of femininity

"Bloody hell," muttered the delicate bundle of fes fastened?"

A laugh wrenched its way out of Gabe’s chest

She looked up at hih those eyelashes, one hand protectively keeping Mary froe offended you I know you’re a man of the church--"

"No," he said quickly "I am a professor, but never a priest"

"Well," she said, and he watched the emotions dance over her face "Mr Not-a-priest, do you think that you could give that bell a good tug? Because we don’t seem to be able to clothe little Mary Not that she s joyfully

"She wears so many clothes normally," Gabe said

"The curse of womanhood," Miss Pythian-Adams replied

"Why so?" Gabe asked

"Haven’t you ever noticed how difficult it is for a woman to be properly dressed?" And, when he shook his head, she continued, "As a man, you wear siing in the evening Ladies owns, riding costureatest folly of all, presentation gowns seith pearls and other fripperies, and ith hoops!"

"I thought wo clothes," Gabe said His hed "Some indubitably do And there are times when I quite relish it But it’s a sad way to spend one’s life"

Gabe was quite aware that he would be happy to spend his life and ti Miss Pythian-Adaht He had sworn off women forever after the debacle with Loretta

And Miss Pythian-Adams was a lady His face started to burn a little with embarrassht? What if soed? What if--

The door swung sharply open "Oh, so there’swo her nappy," Gabe said "She et through when I arrived here and had been crying for some time"