“And if we are caught together, your reputation will suffer. It is not right for us to be together without a chaperone.” “You think I want to be compromised? By you?” She rolled her eyes. “I am promised, all but betrothed to a cousin, the heir to Longbourn, so you have nothing to worry about, sir. I have no need to seek a husband.” Something about the tone of her voice—resignation mixed with regret. What kind of man was this cousin? What did it matter to him? “Besides, Walker and Rustle are adequate chaperones, well able to convince any who we may encounter of the propriety of our company.”
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