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The door behind Linnet’s shoulder opened and a flock of men swept in Before she even turned around she heard Piers’s growl "Well, well, look who’s here, trying to burnish her halo"

Linnet atching Gavan, as pushing hisound of a cane, and Piers was standing on the other side of the bed "Slu with the nearly dead and the newly bred, are you?"

"What’s newly bred?" And, without pausing, "Did you see this lady?" Gavan pointed to Linnet

Piers’s eyebroent up "I did see the lady What do you think of her? I was consideringher"

Gavan nodded "My da says" He hesitated

"Out with it," Piers said "She looks like a lady, but she’s not"

Linnet glared at hi peaches," Gavan said He peered right at Linnet’s chest, so naturally, Piers did as well "You’d better take her," he said to Piers "That caneLinnet’s scowl, Piers bent down to take a closer look at the attributes in question "Are you sure? I always fancied a black-haired girl with a kind of gypsy look about her"

Gavan threw hi about woal who looks like a gypsy, well, she probably is a gypsy And if you o out and live in the ditches because she won’t want to stop in one place, not for long"

"Couldn’t I just let her go on her own?"

"Not if you’re ether, you know That’s what ed the subject "Been up yet?"

"Nurse let et up to use the chamber pot But then I pretended to miss and splash her on the shoe, so she said I was as bad as Old Nick and put hter of children in the park

"Where is the nurse?" Linnet asked, glancing up at Piers "Gavan seeri around here," Gavan said cheerfully

"Probably sneaking my brandy," Piers said "I would if I had to cope with Gavan urinating on my slippers Gavan, you tell me if Nurse Matilda rolls in here, drunk as a top, won’t you?"

Gavan nodded vigorously

"Do you like the nurse?" Linnet asked hiive led noise from the next bed Piers and his little coterie had moved farther down the row, so Linnet leaned toward Mr Hammerhock "Yes?"

"For God’s sake, woman, move back," came a roar from behind her "There’s a chance he’s infectious, you bacon-brained fool"

Linnet ignored hi a feords "The nurse is a tartar," he said finally, gasping fro to marry the doctor, then?" Gavan asked "Because he’s not very nice He’s always calling people rude names, and the nurse calls him Old Nick too"

From across the ward, as if on cue, Piers roared at one of his young doctors

"Me mum would wallop him," Gavan said "I think if you marry him, you’ll have to wallop him now and then"

They both looked down the row at Piers’s iht not be easy," Gavan added

"I see what you et out of bed?"

"Can’t," Gavan stated "I ht lose my spot There’s ever so many sick people ant to be here, you know"

"I won’t let the that Mr Haht be a little tired, so perhaps a footman could carry you outside I know you were probably a very active boy before you caet to the privy yesterday," Gavan said doubtfully, "not without hanging onto the nurse’s ar," Linnet said "Co the bell By now Piers was all the way down the roo the doctors, and he paid no attention when a nice footman named Neythen scooped up Gavan and his blanket and headed out the door