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The excessively thin man glanced up from the puddle of lime that he was stirring and regarded the excessively fat man with a smile of meek interrogation.
Nother bucket o' mortar, Mr. Ooze."
The excessively thin man glanced up from the puddle of lime that he was stirring and regarded the excessively fat man with a smile of meek interrogation.
"'Nother bucket o' mortar, Willie Ooze, and don't you put your 'ead on one side at me like a bloomin' cockatoo."
Mr. William Hughes stuttered an apology. "I was thin-thinking."
"Thin-thinking!" The fat man laughed good-naturedly. Turning his back on his helper, he gave the brick which he had just laid an extra tap to emphasize his incredulity. "'Tisn't like you."
The thin man's feelings were wounded. To the little boy who looked on this was evident from the way he swallowed. His Adam's-apple took a run up his throat and, at the last moment, thought better of it. "But I was thinking," he persisted; "thinking that I'd learnt something from stirring up this gray muck. If ever I was to kill somebody-you, for instance, or that boy-I'd know better than to bury you in slaked lime."
"Uml Urn!" The fat man gulped with surprise. He puckered his vast chin against his collar so that his voice came deep and strangled. "It's scraps o' knowledge like that as saves men from the gallers. If 'alf the murderers that is 'anged 'ad come to me first, they wouldn't be 'anging. But-but--" He seemed at last to realize the unkind implication of Mr. Hughes's naive confession. "But I'd make four o' you, Willyum! You couldn't kill me, however you tried."
In the face of contradiction Mr. Hughes forgot his nervousness. "I could." he pleaded earnestly. "I've often thought about it. I'd put off till you was stooping, and then jump. What with you being so short of breath and me being so long in the arms and legs, why--! I've planned it out many times, you and me being such good friends and so much alone together."
The face of the fat man grew serious with disapproval. "You? 'ave, 'ave you! You've got as far as that! You're a nice domestic pet, I must say, to keep unchained to play with the children." He attempted to go on with his bricklaying, but the memory of Mr. Hughes's long arms and legs so immediately behind him was disturbing. He swung round holding his trowel like a weapon. "Don't like your way of talking; don't like it. O' course you've 'ad your troubles; for them I make allowances. But I don't like it, and I don't mind telling you. Um! Um!"
The thin man was crestfallen; he had hoped to give pleasure. "But I thought you liked murders."
"Like 'em! I enjoy them-so I do." The fat man spoke tartly. "But when you make me the corpse of your conversations, you presoom, Mr. Ooze, and I don't mind telling you-you really do. Let that boy be the corpse next time; leave me out of it-- 'Nother bucket o' mortar."
That boy, who was sole witness to this quarrel, was very small-far smaller than his age. In the big walled garden of Orchid Lodge he felt smaller than usual. Everything was strange; even the whispered sigh of dead leaves was different as they swam up and swirled in eddies. In his own garden, only six walls distant, their sigh was gentle as Dearie's footstep-but something had happened to Dearie; Jimmie Boy had told him so that morning. "Teddy, little man, it's happened again"-the information had left Teddy none the wiser. All he knew was that Jane had told the milkman that something was expected, and that the milkman had told the cook at Orchid Lodge. The result had been the intrusion at breakfast of the remarkable Mrs. Sheerug.
For a long while Mrs. Sheerug had been a staple topic of conversation between Dearie and Jimmie Boy. They had wondered who she was. They had made up the most preposterous tales about her and had told them to Teddy. They would watch for her to come out of her house six doors away, so that as she passed their window in Eden Row Jimmie Boy might make rapid sketches of her trotting balloon-like figure. He had used her more than once already in books which he had been commissioned to illustrate. She was the faery-godmother in his Cinderella and Other Ancient Tales: With!6 Plates in color by James Gurney. She was Mother Santa Claus in his Christmas Up to Date. They had rather wanted to get to know her, this child-man and woman who seemed no older than their little son and at times, even to their little son, not half as sensible. They had wanted to get to know her because she was always smiling, and because she was always upholstered in such hideously clashing colors, and because she was always setting out burdened on errands from which she returned empty-handed. The attraction of Mrs. Sheerug was heightened by Jane's, the maid-of-all-work's, discoveries: Orchid Lodge was heavily in debt to the local tradesmen and yet (it was Dearie who said "And yet." with a sigh of envy), and yet its mistress was always smiling.
When Mrs. Sheerug had invaded Teddy's father that morning, she had come arrayed for conquest. She had worn a green plush mantle, a blue bonnet and, waving defiance from the blue bonnet, a yellow feather.
"I'm a total stranger," she had said. "Go on with your breakfast, Mr. Gurney, I've had mine. I'll watch you. Well, I've heard, and so I've dropped in to see what I can do. You mustn't mind me; trying to be a mother to everyone's my foible. Now, first of all, you can't have that boy in the house-boys are nice, but a nuisance. They're noisy."
"But Teddy, I mean Theo, isn't."
It was just like Jimmie Boy to call him Theo before a stranger and to assume the r
Out To Win: The Story of America in France by Coningsby Dawson
You may feel inclined to dispute the assertion. You may even consider yourself insulted by the suggestion that it might have happened to you. "It could never have happened to me," you may argue. But it could.
It happened about six in the morning, in a large red room. A bar of sunlight streamed in at the window, in which dust-motes were dancing by the thousand. A man and woman were lying in bed; I was standing up in my cot, plucking at the woman with my podgy fingers. She stirred, turned, rubbed her eyes, smiled, stretched out her arms, and drew me under the bed-clothes beside her. The man slept on.
Five years ago, Alessia La Rosa's life took a drastic turn when, suffering from memory loss, she wed to Dominic Carter under her grandfather's mysterious arrangement. But their marriage was a facade, bringing her only humiliation and heartache as Dominic showed no love, and she couldn't conceive. Upon discovering Dominic's infidelity, Alessia sought liberation through divorce. Yet, fate had more in store for her. Five years later, spurred by an anonymous email hinting at her lost child's whereabouts, she returns to the city with her twin babies in tow, determined to uncover the truth. As she navigates the tangled web of her past, a surprising twist awaits. Dominic, upon meeting her again, finds himself drawn to the woman she has become, unaware of her true identity as his former wife. Little does he know, the woman he's falling for is not only his ex-wife but also a powerful Doctor and Master Hacker.
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!
It took only a second for a person's world to come crashing down. This was what happened in Hannah's case. For four years, she gave her husband her all, but one day, he said emotionlessly, "Let's get divorced." Hannah's heart broke into a million pieces as she signed the divorce papers, marking the end of her role as a devoted wife. Within Hannah, a strong woman awakened, vowing never to be beholden to any man again. Embracing her new life, she embarked on a journey to find herself and command her own destiny. By the time she returned, she had experienced so much growth and was now completely different from the docile wife everyone once knew. "Is this your latest trick to get my attention?" Hannah's ever-so-arrogant husband asked. Before she could retort, a handsome and domineering CEO pulled her into his embrace. He smiled down at her and said boldly to her ex, "Just a little heads-up, mister. This is my beloved wife. Keep off!"
Mia's life is spiraling out of control. Abandoned by her mother, bullied mercilessly at school, and thrown into a household of four dangerously attractive stepbrothers, she's desperate to find her footing. "You look absolutely edible," Sean growled, his eyes devouring her. Mia felt a rush of heat between her thighs "Oh, you think so?" she purred, turning to face him. She reached out and traced her fingers along the ribbon that wrapped around his waist. "Well, I've been waiting for this all day. And I'm starving." Sean's smile grew into a predatory grin. "Then let us feast," he said, and in a flash, the ribbon fell away, exposing his rock-hard length. He stepped closer, and Mia felt the warmth of his breath on her face as he whispered, "You're going to take every inch of us tonight, aren't you?" With Rolex's teasing smirk and Sean's quiet, hot stares, Mia doesn't know where to turn-or who to trust. Every glance, every touch leaves her breathless, confused, and craving more than she should. Will Mia survive their games, or will she lose herself in a dangerous world of secrets, seduction, and forbidden desire? One house. Four brothers. Endless temptation.
There was only one man in Raegan's heart, and it was Mitchel. In the second year of her marriage to him, she got pregnant. Raegan's joy knew no bounds. But before she could break the news to her husband, he served her divorce papers because he wanted to marry his first love. After an accident, Raegan lay in the pool of her own blood and called out to Mitchel for help. Unfortunately, he left with his first love in his arms. Raegan escaped death by the whiskers. Afterward, she decided to get her life back on track. Her name was everywhere years later. Mitchel became very uncomfortable. For some reason, he began to miss her. His heart ached when he saw her all smiles with another man. He crashed her wedding and fell to his knees while she was at the altar. With bloodshot eyes, he queried, "I thought you said your love for me is unbreakable? How come you are getting married to someone else? Come back to me!"
Everyone was shocked to the bones when the news of Rupert Benton's engagement broke out. It was surprising because the lucky girl was said to be a plain Jane, who grew up in the countryside and had nothing to her name. One evening, she showed up at a banquet, stunning everyone present. "Wow, she's so beautiful!" All the men drooled, and the women got so jealous. What they didn't know was that this so-called country girl was actually an heiress to a billion-dollar empire. It wasn't long before her secrets came to light one after the other. The elites couldn't stop talking about her. "Holy smokes! So, her father is the richest man in the world?" "She's also that excellent, but mysterious designer who many people adore! Who would have guessed?" Nonetheless, people thought that Rupert didn't love her. But they were in for another surprise. Rupert released a statement, silencing all the naysayers. "I'm very much in love with my beautiful fiancee. We will be getting married soon." Two questions were on everyone's minds: "Why did she hide her identity? And why was Rupert in love with her all of a sudden?"