Excuse me； why was her mother discussing her private business with Cyrus Rose； her stupid；
red…faced； tacky…assed stepfather？ ？I don？t even know what you？re talking about。？ Blair yawned；
draining the coffee cup。 She wondered how long this particular chat was going to last。 The whole
thing was just so 。。。boring 。 She needed more sleep； and a long bath； and a facial to get rid of all
the London grime； and maybe a haircut and a few face…framing highlights to go with her cleansed
and exfoliated face。
？What I？m talking about； Blair； is this American Express bill。？ Eleanor shook a wrinkled fax。 ？I
had them send it over as soon as the woman on the phone told me about your 。 。 。 shopping
exploits。？
Oops。
？Well； Mom；？ Blair admitted； ？I might have gone alittle overboard on the wedding dress； but
once you see it； I know you？ll agree？？
？Wedding dress？？her mother gasped。 ？I guess that explains the eighteen…thousand…dollar charge。
What is this about a wedding？？ She sat down on the bed and fanned herself with her
diamond…encrusted fingers。 ？I feel like I？m going to faint！ You？re getting married？ Oh； Blair！ I
don？t know what to say！？ She threw her arms around Blair and burst into noisy tears。 Then she
abruptly sat up。 ？No； wait； I do： over my dead damn body you？re getting married！ Have you lost
your mind？！？
Blair rolled her eyes。 ？No； Mom； I？m not getting married。 At least； not right away。 Anyway； that
dress was only ten thousand； not eighteen。？
Oh； yes； that？s much better。
？No； my dear； innocent child。？ Eleanor shook her head。 ？Didn？t you realize that the exchange
rate is almost two to one？？
？Look；？ Blair declared hurr