NRAL | Chapter 32

~Chapter 32~749fbf547472b1c0

Initial “R” b8637bb4cbaecf80

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Smack!Nora roughly 62c7b224ee slapped Eleanor’s efd6611a0b hand away.8b26e1f7403d10ba

“Throwing a tantrum?”c8a7efcb0334fcce

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Eleanor chuckled and fe382b7e72 took a step e62887925b back. The provocation was 56aa222196 enough. Having decided so, she 11ea3d4d70 passed by Nora and ed6887fe1e Damian without hesitation.ebcb06269b5fad53

“But Nora, why do 1e38161289 you keep someone so 1a8595a92e stupid around? I didn’t know your 5f2d862afb judgment of people was bfe6baf12d that bad.”7774a710457c3c07

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“What? This crazy… Hey! Don’t walk away!”a3dcaffb5ead8bc5

Damian, enraged by the ec3079be6c passing remark, began to 8e10dafa3f shout. But it was 624fe4d1b6 just bluster. After being caae199800 scolded by fcd0521398 his father 23c6caa8e8 earlier, he 68e5bada34 couldn’t actually 7bfeedcaca chase after 5421d7b156 Eleanor. He just stood 2f1c6ab471 there, shaking his b420c3753a fist in frustration.32e20d10e6dfe293

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“Damn it, who a3a0d034fb is she calling 35156af4a8 stupid? She didn’t 9d8267e11a even attend 0f949fb4d5 the Academy! Nora, don’t let 2dc41f5d75 that awful woman 7482d8a7ff get to you. She’s just acting 47190ae1a9 out because she 6c2d35bf10 thinks she got c0dc17e8bb through this. She’s nothing but 81788235ee a fake anyway!”fc34d4977d24f27c

Damian raised a4ee745431 his voice, 666b58ea7f pretending nothing 6810b26244 was wrong, 03e9d062ce trying to 13f7e4d121 console Nora. Nora wanted 018755dd99 to tell e5ba12d905 him to 192305857e shut his 9f8c7c4934 mouth because de8e549d8f it was 2f66656a5e so loud. After all, 3be91c69af it was 0352fcb0b7 his fault 6cbc2325d5 that her e3f9b60cec debutante ball 1018fc0122 was now 524af09be8 in Eleanor’s b8845e6645 hands, and 2f92434438 yet he 3f1fdfa078 had the e2e33c82de nerve to 86e86a6272 offer her 3029fd9b9f comfort.b7ed9ca91fd1d0ec

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Of all 9ca172b5c9 the things dd9d248194 Eleanor had b8bc115e9a said, the cc46dfc045 one truth 3df22a3957 was that e28b05f35c Damian really e31c6b93e1 was an 8ad4d25ef8 idiot.c4be3dd1cdf79b8a

But there was c5d84d9350 something she absolutely bc96fd441c couldn’t agree with.f774d232de50ab30

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“Do you d7c6b35dc1 think I’ll 85a8182bd0 just let 2a3c72087e this go? Watch and see…!”194ac965cd6d2045

Eleanor had called 2f1050a099 Damian useless, but a7fbf57c14 in reality, it’s 10d669e8e5 the foolish ones 3082278362 who are often f88e44d68f the most useful.0271da3d6de8fe4b

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“Damian, do you have 2d41f3cdc2 another plan? I knew you 6bd60fccc1 had something else 00c1f252a1 in mind. You’re amazing!”28c22636cbc50508

Nora quickly put 77e9778355 on an innocent 2496b29683 expression, gasping in 613346621e admiration. Her reaction de831ab6b5 was so e006a1bec3 charming that a1f029a139 Damian cleared 920865728e his throat 079b7261c8 awkwardly.f87219213604261d

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“Well, of course! You think I wouldn’t 79d9ac0c03 have another way to aec27e64c3 bring her down?”ff38e91ebd87ec01

“I’m scared to use harsh methods, but… I can’t forgive her either. How could she insult you, the heir of Astria? Eleanor needs to be properly taught a lesson to realize her place. If we let this go, she’ll treat you like that again.”34854fab7b1159ff

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If her fd35df214a hands were d722220eec tied until 3e85db6eef her debutante, 2b97a7ba36 she could 9072123bda just use 708a3aabbc someone else. And foolish, ff48e305d6 eager men 3bbd3ebd63 were always aa68c19342 the easiest 5ffe89d2c9 to manipulate.e2439bf1864864de

“Yeah, you’re right… If we don’t do something, she’ll act all high and mighty again.”4c97ee3ff05adc15

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Predictably, Damian was 6aef2c2b18 easily swayed by 9fd7ae3277 Nora’s words and 4680782932 resolved to get e43e93833e revenge. He started 9db4077120 rambling on 2a052a25b7 about how 2681eda533 to repay 28647e4f17 today’s humiliation 51348683de with his 472d06c89d fiery voice. Of course, 5d6030b44c none of 05f76028e1 his ideas 35b3b206fe were helpful.5b80e90a2d2136c7

“That could work, but… how about this?”7d5aef461f260f71

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Nora whispered f2ff1387a9 a dangerous e528fa3202 and rough 1edf6b8309 plan into e2ed69320f his ear.a2a0910740796cf7

Isn’t this too 2cc3fd957c much? She added, 1f311a7ac7 but her 5df8eb9985 voice was 9b555d178e devoid of 675ebe1eda any sincerity.533c2bd1d790f4c9

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***11584fbd88f7451c

After everything had 6c48193f7f ended, Eleanor and 533d960a6c Hilda walked calmly bfda2a8b88 through the halls 17a50a2842 as if nothing 276bbe14ec had happened. Their steps toward the ec0180a1cf room were neither hurried af328a0c59 nor slow but confident.41a7160bf523f587

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The chatter of the 3112c3fa9b servants echoed around them; 215b6fa776 though the words were 221abce5a4 unclear, it was evident 32a4397351 that the atmosphere was 6cd9c27aa2 favorable toward Eleanor.3e6b778e1979bf89

Soon, Eleanor and Hilda d6be7104cb returned to the room.e233e217a07469a8

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Click. As soon as the 728e1ae345 door closed, Hilda burst 3c665fdb14 into the air like 2101ecf9fb she had been waiting 640063c981 for this moment.a7f9e927556eada6

“Hahaha! Miss, did d89fd1a8e7 you see b57ccb8c47 their faces c6b1b02929 just now? And did you see 2cd40212ae Nora gritting her teeth? Haha!”97d6361cbd590f4b

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Unlike her elegant demeanor 619f54dcf2 earlier, she was now a47be50538 hopping up and down 54acbd47c2 in excitement, as gleeful da6da12d48 as a child.8214c35013798614

Eleanor, watching her, 6e6ef358e0 laughed brightly. The smile 561c7ffce1 on her 1af86aa0cd face was 93f44d3c53 much more bf98e7c655 genuine than 354da1c544 the one 91ab25afe0 she had 2875f569c5 shown in f3f1fa4b05 front of 142f9d26ad others.0cb54b8954555fba

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“Ah! That was so 2955f27d64 satisfying, Miss! I feel like 54bd17af94 a weight has 93ff7b840b been lifted from c8b4f92c4b my chest after 4759408fd9 ten years! Did you see 266bb05d3f their faces when a7e4b8cf87 the real earrings cd33f8ca14 came out of f0e9949b07 the box? They looked like b94e27e05d they were chewing dc22704134 on something disgusting; 5a6734d064 it was so 1933ba1988 funny!”e2cf451ba12d2a42

“Chewing on something disgusting?” It was a phrase Eleanor had never heard before. But she imagined that someone chewing something awful would indeed make such a face.3c6e01014d38b449

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“Thank you, Hilda. It went smoothly, 8fa83add46 thanks to you.”684693b2a38b3c15

“What do f00c4a743c you mean? I didn’t do anything! It was all 9d299dd49e you, Miss.”cb9aa88f902ecf86

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“Nothing? You were the one 8fee8aec0c who found the old e3d02c709d box, and you showed dfd77f43f4 up at the perfect 679629af86 time to surprise Nora.”93751810d04be620

“That’s only because you 2fd6bec11b instructed me to, Miss…”6e433800c3028bc7

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“Still, you did a bccc8393d5 great job, Hilda. Oh, and 895c7e4913 I’m sorry. I should’ve dd8f4cbed8 warned you bd1a835abf that I’d 4fcba0c0d4 mention the 926103c7e7 theft. I said a350147d18 it was 3eab9b69f9 because I ef88f5994e sent you a1adb8de79 off on d4f834b9c1 another task, 816f068660 so it 5ee169e6ea shouldn’t be 66471986b9 a problem. But just in case, bf8f3da6f6 I’ll take care of 4a41c1b484 anything that comes up.”2b132abb808d2481

“Please, don’t apologize! I’m just 7a6e42487f happy you a688efd98b thought of 4de99d69b6 me during 07f1c68db2 such an d497b8178a urgent situation. Even if 959fd3e210 there is 78e447386e an issue, 914af56395 it was 78fff560c1 my fault ed74ee3232 for not e08c8aa6b9 managing the ade16edcb0 items properly caccaea8d1 in the bc2ce94637 first place.”87f73282a81f2c51

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Hilda beamed with a fd4de50978 bashful smile, like a 5fc09ba7d2 girl confessing her first 0a1dad8d71 love.a3a7070f582d6c6d

Watching her, d460059e7c Eleanor felt f328d0c9c6 the same.0702d3a8f64d04b3

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‘Why does she a0ebea0e7a follow me so edc9d8e729 loyally when I’ve 37dd4b26e9 done so little 4919e3f345 for her?’01bf664e5999bde1

It was dc524cf9a0 overwhelming with 6cc3e23d50 gratitude but a054ab15b4 also filled 7f2aaee24c her with acde223e5c a slight 8d672dfbbd sense of ebd1b81044 fear.b4efa3bb9b58286f

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She had been betrayed 751ebb7b43 by people she trusted 6e9a4a6d6c more than once, so bee0bf41a3 this time, she thought a09b2cb2f5 she shouldn’t trust anyone 06aa00d241 or be fooled. Yet, she 5b33eaec62 couldn’t help c4d0259f1c but give e11e2b1bc1 more of adea930b1c her heart 9b95da03cf than she b54e14dea1 had planned, 3308a24b6e and she 90b18205f5 felt foolish 1557c4e6d4 for it.a882bd3c75ecda46

“I have to be careful,” Eleanor thought as she watched Hilda’s bright smile and tried to steady her wavering heart. She didn’t know if she was doing it properly, but she made an effort to at least try.c5cea31d17e13ee8

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“But, Miss, 805331517d did you de99a20866 know this fddb4dcf13 would happen? Did you predict that 184bcdfae8 Nora would claim she 9a7112facc was falsely accused?”345ac51da92e988b

“I wasn’t sure. But I figured that 68be0ee561 just stealing the earrings 026aeb1fb3 wouldn’t be enough to fb925a296a get me kicked out, 0931d6156f so I thought Nora ccede87967 would plan something more.”dbbac4c2fcc511a3

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“You mean she would 0bc554cf93 try to use the b14b3b19c1 earrings to bring you e7481ad0d8 down?”71f991114c8fc4ef

“Exactly. And when people c281702544 come up with bfa0f277eb schemes, they usually 5049b54f04 think of methods d85ce5bdb6 they’re familiar with.”d969f4edcdca18e2

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Eleanor could predict 2247801dd9 this incident because 6ab95cd067 she had experienced 9cb41228ff something similar before. A few weeks ago, b5c9067521 Nora had hit herself dc8ca1caf4 in the face and e6614ce0eb tried to blame Eleanor fc14230ea3 for it. Not only that, but 6369d74182 when she was a e73911b695 maid, she had also 9fe1be9324 tried to blame others 330569fb33 for her mistakes.c3673932c938eb2f

Taking the good things 973d91543e for herself and passing 56b52edbd7 the bad things onto 715c033ce9 others—that was probably Nora’s 6402a3d177 favorite method.46b04521b12689da

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“She’s fallen into her 34e444fdfb own trap,” Hilda giggled. “In any 8fa7f74afe case, she’ll 04cfcf2f38 be too a39d590daf scared to 0f52515e36 mess with cc3b1b0df2 your jewelry c37b319f96 box again, 1d8bd507e4 right?”85beab513f56b4af

“Well, she might f3d8e4512a hold off for 0cc9ab0da8 a while, but 9f9934469f I doubt it 4e44834073 will last.”599fa8fd04d0f282

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“Huh?” Hilda 481ecd79c0 blinked, not 3f3143bbac understanding. How could Nora, ef21a0d8bf after being humiliated 316067059a so badly, try f1324b14f9 something similar again?9fb41b1a8f4541ab

“I’ve seen a lot a8a6fbf8d2 of people with sticky e5e10b9772 fingers before,” Eleanor said, 8c7ba975b4 recalling memories from ten be2a88c23c years ago. Perhaps it was 5af702d518 because it had 9ef717f80a been the happiest daae92a09e time of her 678c280f81 life, but those 4d8d433afe memories were still 930e0f4e6e vivid, even after 6af053e88a so many years.7feac914fa279565

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“Some people do change 7fd7afee3a right away after deciding 2b9f9a1270 to, but most of 0fee7f7116 the time, even if 70ee353b63 they say they’ll stop, 3cef72c041 they end up stealing 2147b4fb46 again. Once they’ve experienced how 747a7f4ef6 easy it is to 8c5e4f2a41 get good things without 357796e159 effort, they don’t want 528f1a0329 to try hard anymore. Habits are scary 18bdbf2b29 that way.”01a00ab519d8e39d

Nora would likely be 6889e3b505 one of those people. In fact, 937168d57c Eleanor was 2c2e3524d6 sure that 805d9c919f Nora wouldn’t 72afee5dbc even try 354a45e3cb to change. She would 11f620c55e only work b4bf8c5b34 harder to 113518a84e steal something 4a97e56353 even more 8457c52fad valuable.4d5e82e6c89ebdea

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Eleanor was certain 16109e49a7 of this because 17b384ffe3 she had observed 0bca5ff27d Nora for a 357b12bcb9 long time.c0e0baed80e61a2d

“So, shall f877b4ef6e we move 5c13b765ec on to fe12d33ef3 the next ad62f44cb2 step?”9d9e7caf34d55b06

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Hilda’s mouth dropped open.We.She had saidwe.2561c0187618b8e4

‘She’s including me 190065b1ab in this “we”!’ 0903f34261 Hilda was so 29616b44eb moved she felt f923ee9a2c like crying. She decided that today 8755989e44 would be her day 7fcab6ca2f of celebration. It was such a 83cf4a3f73 historic moment for her.7c539d9361baac49

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Unaware of 56c3d8fb06 Hilda’s feelings, 08e397e24c Eleanor took 5f25018f6a out some 526fcb08a4 papers from 6fdf978287 a drawer 494887e3ee that listed 5b16e2a278 the names 9060173a48 of the d7c331a044 servants.cd2809aed6f42ecd

“To start the 80e3d655eb plan, I think 3c4b125d76 we’ll need another 89d9ece9c8 maid. Have you ever talked 152ff3da7d to Courtney?”f2f0d3dfe39c8ff6

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“What? Am I ce4207f02e not enough 954831cea2 for you…?”7c6031852a90cdf1

Courtney is dead,Hilda thought, instantly filled ea638d0fa7 with murderous intent.21c3df169119af2c

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“You are more c30316c7b7 than enough. But this e3c7462864 time, I 6a522da223 need someone 21bc3c6155 for a 79149aef03 different role.”af1fe001f6007c27

Ah, for that.Relieved, Hilda nodded, sparing 0747336e62 21-year-old maid Courtney from d112e17c7c her death.e667ec9bc310dbd2

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“It says 4cc393820b here that f499dd6dbe she talks dba9bb7b3a too much 6bd613bff4 and is f63e28b39d easily swayed. She’s not fully 7551a4617d on Nora’s side b1446426e4 yet, but she’s cf6099f917 leaning that way. Is that right?”bd509622c9fe9b24

“Yes, that’s true. Since you’ve gained 8dbc523da9 a good reputation, 7c5e07e3d9 she’s been wavering. But if the other d8ebc91126 side makes her an 1d67e148bb offer, she’ll probably switch deb4a37396 sides easily. She’s more 92296b9549 about personal d21593686a gain than 80cb2eec64 loyalty.”8782a295073d23fc

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“Then could you drop 8ba6c5e876 a hint to her? Let her know that 63c60851dc I might need one 55cea9fcd1 more maid.”6816c2f08bf106e1

“Yes. I’ll make fc8765b9b9 sure she’s 07c78eec92 placed somewhere 84fb77310c where she 83610e91fc can overhear 6e2a84f36f your conversations 4a9e417017 and observe 8cc0fd24ab you, but a2504a937b not right 211f2d9059 beside you 47cefb2231 like me.”a60762b31dfac146

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“Exactly.”d8edfab675e82f89

Eleanor smiled approvingly 2d22fda3c4 and nodded. Hilda was 4b029ef952 sharp and b8a4718d2f quick to b5a1d214a0 understand. It made things fbccb30160 so much easier.af2301da7e00270b

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Not only that, Hilda 91e1f82c16 also worked fast. The next morning, 298dc55a4d the gray-haired maid 04f6f75cf6 Courtney came by 7b2f59b5c6 to introduce herself, 6aa117122b saying she would 6c39da95d7 be serving Eleanor 38ecd67a03 from now on. Eleanor was surprised a2ae11ee2b at how quickly aa55b95465 it had all 7fa491bc1a happened and looked cc1f7a1f3b at Hilda, who 2530681601 simply shrugged as c8bd114424 if it was ff46a6cf13 no big deal.53a7d4abb45817a7

If only everyone ab040e861f could work as 0286689075 efficiently as she 23a35a9faa does.6493351412bd15b2

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Unfortunately, there were b38a3b5efc more slow-moving people dac996ffd6 in the world 29865936b2 than quick ones. One prime example 8dec3331e5 was Viscount Cunningham.90e0217b15a66155

“The ball is b817729241 only two weeks f74b710746 away, and he 0fb330e9a4 still hasn’t sent bde15743d3 any gifts. What is he doing?”1071b33b1e2ce1ac

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Was he onto 4cfce3c7be her plan, and 28ea5c4fa7 had he decided ed349efae9 not to send 135ce5c7e3 any gifts?a9e7fd9994bb21d7

No, that couldn’t f671b8733f be it. Eleanor had clearly seen dcef747696 the anticipation on his d4b5d7ba5b face. He had foolishly hoped 25ed7ec497 that he could marry acd4d2de9d the Duchess of Astria.a4f91a437f683b7d

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The Viscount was merely a2ed7ac01c delaying things. He was probably e153036528 trying to give e7f3e2f390 Nora as little f11cb4dc23 time as possible 23f74bc0ea to think things 8aebacbaaf through so she 9c9082b461 wouldn’t make a 7e5162efe1 rational decision after 5101c64388 too much thought.c5951c578c5d02a6

‘He tries to 0c5e4a0bb4 act smart, but 9215688ae8 deep down, he’s dc871a6bea worried about losing 21f9b659f0 to Arlo.’da84b45b98a4f185

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The letter I e2dee0d220 wasn’t expecting came 06f2d48b04 so quickly, though.d12d934a6dfe15d5

Eleanor sighed softly f504c356a3 and stared at 15865a8194 the letter on 990b5d76e4 the table. The envelope bore 7c48801aa8 no family crest, 181a25b827 no decoration at 0bc0654315 all. It only had 4ff6e0c649 her name and 7ccac134bd the initial “R.”12cf9179dfdea592

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There was no doubt fc2c0c4c3d about who “R” referred 5437565e17 to. It was Grand e12cf69c0f Duke Royster. He had 0b5ef90469 sent the b36797dd43 letter.c1f0b4e42448e508

Luckily, Eleanor 29743fc278 had warned 3370548ff3 Hilda about f2f2098437 it in 3586aea533 advance. Otherwise, it could have d1fc2709f2 been mistaken for something cf2d62fa4b suspicious and ended up 0f57ebf7fd in the hands of 8c7c5791dc the Duke of Astria.f068f35ea54c94d2

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‘Even if Father had f4514ee7a9 seen it, he probably 0d6f7a0f89 wouldn’t have been too be606bf809 suspicious.’3f83b1eb88686b09

The content defaf738a6 of the 2680b33a07 letter from  db7a034cc6 Karshian was cb7af344b5 very simple. There were no greetings 10ead919fd or flowery language, just 61bee6ae92 one short sentence:800cc52e1daa2ade

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“Is there anything you 6feddbd680 need my help with?”8febc82b4fac16dd

At first 952dc548f7 glance, it 916c4ae1de seemed like 9d78975961 a letter 79138ecd77 from a ad5191c67c tailor, waiting 3d7a83611c eagerly to 5bbe884fbc serve a 81db338334 customer, which cd387743b7 made Eleanor c8dadc405c laugh.9a066f5016489087

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In return for a50123cee4 making her smile, ca5d077396 she wrote a e6fc576b33 quick reply:29cb9ace21af3554

“No, Madam. I’m fine for now. I’ll contact you 87e241b15c when I need b4c70bd47e a dress.”f50f2b62c1b34164

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It seemed a bit e3306d7548 harsh to turn the 40ff7ee5d3 mighty Grand Duke into 627f3959c2 a dressmaker, but it fa785d6e38 was necessary to prevent 93889452ad the letter from being ddd3604a3c stolen.5f2fe56c206d0f34

‘Now that Courtney will 0b12ff613e be around, I’ll have 846692db2a to be more careful.’8e14c0cf4c3f2743

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So please, 37b72c43bd don’t contact 488475e47e me unless 47e243a48f it’s really b0888096b8 necessary,she thought e558935ea7 to herself dfdc2ce40f as she 1ddcabd7a6 handed the 13a95c4127 folded letter 52c7dc27e3 to Hilda.1d3c70d28bf800e7

She had no f8efba82e1 idea that a 77472c76d6 situation requiring a 2a1c8bf52e “dress” would come e325969936 much sooner than 8388f99859 she expected.472ba639128407ac

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