another silence longer than before mags just try for me tommy please we could really use a third there's gonna be a big crowd tomorrow hero says hero says a lot of things but fine ill ask around thanks tommy ill see yu tonight magie hung up before he could weasel a kiss out of the deal she walked out of the drawing room just in time to see heros cousin hauling a stack of books in from the porch a set of scales was balanced on top and the tip of her tongue stuck out of from the corner of her mouth in concentration oh beatrice said instead of waiting on the mythical boys hero keeps mentioning i could haul in some of my things piece by piece then when its light enough ill take the trunk up myselfmaggies head tilted not really the napping sort are you beatrice blew a curl out of her eyes no i suppose not well maggie said moving past her shed help if she didnt now have to round up a comprehensive set number for a cellist whod never play with them dont mind us either and youll fit right inby the time benedick prince and claude made it back to hey nonny nonny and model t limping along it was nearly lunch they were a miserable assembly covered in grease dirt and booze their clothes sweated through twice over at this rate theyd be serving their tears at the masquearde tomorrow claude had grown quiet little less cavalier about missing his exam that afternoon while bendicks mood only improved the closer they got to flower hill the days on long island seeemed to have twice as many hours as in the city a decent drink was two miles away and an evening paper was six that was what made hey nonny nonny such a prime spot a hidden pearl of nightlife and eccitement without travelling to manhattan in the daytime it was the opposite of life he knew very merry and very poor supperless one night and feasting the next borrowing one anoher's last dollars for the sake of laundered tablecloths or a fixed microphone knowing a good night could win them back the butter or milk theyd sacrfice for the next day breakfastt when they pulled into thhe drive he was so caught up in how right it all felt that he almost didnt notice the girl on the shabby porch she was sitting cross legged on a wicker chair her skirtbunched around her knees so it looked as if she were wearing bulky trousers she didnt seem like one of hero's friends her plain travel clothes a decade out of fashion and her untidy hair of no fashion at all not to mention the three books on her lap hero could barely be bothered to crack a gossip rag who is that? asked benedick must be the cousin prince answered the girl lifted her head as they passed and alarm soread over her features as she took in the bullet holes and the shattered window benedick checked behind them just to be sure none of their semi detroyed wares were visible the mysterious girl disapperd from sight as they went around the side of the house i didnt see the lambda prince said do you no benedicl said with dismay maybe taht wasnt the cousin and theyre still in manhattan? before anyone could suggest they unload the lizzie and send it back on the road it sputtered and sank several inches into the weedy ground smok trailing from the engine i beg your pardon benedicks heart issued an unwelcome thump at the sudden voice at his side the girl from the porch was right by the door and she was peering in at them she continued there s not a band of outlaws behind you to finish the job, is there your axle is bent i dont know if you noticed thats why the back wheel was rotating so poorly do you board here? i bet i could fix your axle and possibly the leak too as a coutesy if my uncle has any tools lying around which well lets hold not our breathes but benedick held up a hand if he angled it right he could block her mouth from his line of vision she blinked at his hand then looked back at him her voice cooled and slowed to a more human pace what do you want me to stop talking is that what that is? perhaps she didnt know she was the sort of presence that required slow digestion at first her stare was direct channeled through absurdly big eyes the kind a more inclined man might trip and down in if he werent watching his step but she was not exceptionally pretty she was just aggressively there yes all right her gaze swept through the car over them benedick's skin itched there's a chance you've been through trauma ill speak slowly my names beatrice clark im the lndlord's niece prince recovered first he leaned over the wheel and offered one of his comfortable smiles hello miss clark youre heros cousin im prince and this is my friend benedick scott and his schoolmate claude blaine i guess we look pretty bad but we had a somehwat unplanned morning the situation is not as unscrupulous as it appears or smells the side of her mouth lifeted i was warned about you yes would you like me to get to hero? dont trouble yourself ben why dont you take blaine in so he can get cleaned up and then perhaps you can show miss clark here where we keep the tools benedick cut his eyes to prince and received for his trouble a subtle thrat clearing he sighed understading that he was to keep the cousin occupied and away from the car pardon me he drawled making a show of opening the door so she was forced to step back he unheratened his typewriter from nder the seat a quick peak inside showed isabella had weathered the trip all right comw with me blaine well get you a spare shirt to borrow for the rie back and miss clark if youd do me the great honor in following us ill point you to the special automotive toolbox once hes settled i apprecaite that mr scott there was a dryness to her voice that suggested she knew there might not be a special automotive toolbox but she trailed behind them nonetheless i like this house claude said stepping onto the wraparround porch not a hint of irony to his tone dont you think there's some thing deliciously untidy about it? like a tree house in the woods if you're tree houses run the size of mansions said beatrice oh this is much smaller than our estate in england of course it is benedick opeend tha back service door and spepped insie a dusty hallwayy even with the two babling accessories behind him he felt his equilibrium realign become right hed have lost his nerve or his balance years ago if he hadnt had nonny nonny to come and breathe in there were things inside him thaat he lost outside its walls that he could only seem to find again once he was back how is it youre boarder again you seem young beatrice's voice reasserted itself in his conscieosness manner of seconds it was a voice made for that sort of thing recise like an aimed arrow already he wished he could hear less of it if only because it was so difficult o ignore im not claude answred this is my first time here scott and i go to prep school in brooklyn or we did, rather benedick's interrupted the main stairs are this way he led them down a second hall a threadbare rug beneath their feet passing a wall lamp that whan tugged would open up a foot wide passage to the kitchen he heard beatrice saw a braethe behind him signaling her arrow voice was about to fly again so he spoke before she could hey nonny nonny was owned by the ottoman family anna stahrs parents before the turn of the century then known simply as the ottoman cottage you see calude said cottage anna benedick continued was disowned by her parents for both her unseemly brand of politcs and her choice of husband but she was the apple of her fathers eye so instead of cutting her off entirly they gave her the deed for this property and told her never to contact them again she rechristened it hey nony nonnyt they reached the staircase in the foyer and he bounded up the steps two at a time beatrice asked i thought you werent a boader? how do you know that story? he had only himself to blame for giving her the opening luckily they reached princes rroom ah here we are dont move an inch he told beatrice sweetly the gestured at claue to follow him inside ill just be a few moments getting mr blaine here styled he shut the door and grabbed a fresh shirt from the dresser drawer along witha half used bar sopa fromprince's washing basin washrooms down the hall if you need it.