new　croquet　mallets；　or　。。。

Orwhat？

Blair　didn？t　give　up　easily　and　she　was　determined　not　to　let　yesterday　get　her　down。　Maybe

Marcus　and　Camilla　needed　to　get　their　cousinly　bonding　thing　out　of　the　way。　They？d

undoubtedly　soon　tire　of　each　other？s　pany。　Besides；　Marcus　was　likely　to　forget

Camilla？sname　when　he　caught　a　glimpse　of　Blair　in　her　new　knee…high　black　python…skin　boots

and　her　new　black　lace　Gossard　corset　and　matching　boy　shorts；　which　she　planned　on　modeling

for　him　that　very　night　in　between　courses　during　the　champagne…and…chocolate　room　service

dinner　she？d　planned。

Tucking　the　still…warm　credit　card　back　into　her　new　Smythson　billfold；　Blair　dropped　her　wallet

inside　the　limited…edition　hand…painted　Goyard　bag　she？d　picked　up　the　day　before　and　walked　out

of　the　store　and　onto　the　quiet　stretch　of　Press　Street。　She？d　been　to　London　only　once　with　her

family；　when　she　was　twelve。　They？d　stayed　at　the　Langham　Hotel　just　off　Regent　Street；　visited

Old　Ben　and　Buckingham　Palace；　seen　the　crown　jewels；　watched　the　changing　of　the　guard；

drunk　tea；　and　eaten　scones。　As　far　as　she　could　remember；　she？d　spent　most　of　the　trip　listening　to

Madonna　on　her　iPod。　But　that　was　London　as　atourist。　Now　that　shelived　here；　things　were　totally

different。

Everyone　said　London　was　gray；　overcast；　foggy；　and　depressing；　but　it　had　been　clear　and　sunny

all　week。　The　trees　were　in　full　bloom；　there　were　lush　gardens　on　every　block；　and　every　building

was　ornate　and　beautiful。　Everyone　also　said　that　the　English　were　standoffish；　with　bad　teeth　and

thick　accents；　and　although　their　teeth　and　accentswere　distractions；　so　far　every