before。
That？s because he？d raided the sophomore class of some random Catholic school near his Sutton
Place apartment and paid the boys to e。
？They？re cute；？ Isabel remarked； eyeballing a particularly innocent； wide…eyed…looking boy who
was signing Chuck？s Riverside Prep yearbook with a yellow highlighter pen。 Isabel had changed
into a pair of cutoff Rogan jeans and a cut…up red Juicy Couture T…shirt and was looking almost
indecently slutty。
The boy eyeballed her back。 He？d never seen so much well…tended exposed skin。 Maybe it was
his lucky night！
？They？re only； like； thirteen years old；？ Kati scoffed as she flipped through her yearbook；
counting how many people had signed it。 She was saving her virginity for college。 Sort of。
Technically she？d already lost it to Chuck Bass at a party at Serena？s house； like； two years ago；
but she？d been so drunk at the time； she didn？t even remember it。
Lord Marcus slipped something cool and wonderful around Blair？s neck。 Blair touched her
collarbone and glanced down。 It was a Bvlgari pearl choker exactly like the one she？d borrowed
from her mother for herBreakfast at Fred？s audition； only ten times nicer。 Each pearl in the strand
was its own unique shape； imperfect and perfect at the same time； fastened by an ornate gold clasp
shaped like the letterB 。 ？Congratulations； Bee；？ he murmured； kissing her on the nape of the
neck。
Bee？
Blair had always wanted a nickname。 She tilted her chin up to kiss him on the mouth； feeling
drunk with happiness and all the vodka she？d consumed with Vanessa in the hours between
graduation and now。 She had an insanely cute new car； an insanely hot new boyfriend； and she was
going to Yale in the fall。 The pearls were just accessories for her already…perfect life。
Well； aren？t we smug？
？I？d love for you to e to England this summer；？ Lord Marcus whispered； his lips brushing
Blair？s hair。 ？My family？s desperate to meet you。 You could stay at the house。 And maybe we
could even fly to Paris and see your dad while you？re over。？
Blair？s breath caught in her throat and she turned around； blinking up at him like a vacant
cartoon princess who？d just been woken from a witch？s spell。 He？d only asked her to visit him；
but it had sounded almost like ？a marriage proposal 。 He was her prince； her knight？well； not
exactly； but a lord was almost the same thing。 He？d swooped in on his white stallion； swept her off
her feet； and now he wanted to take her home to meet his parents because soon？maybe even
sometime this summer？he was going to give her an incredibly rare diamond ring； kneel down
before her； and ask her to marry him。
Not that he actually mentioned marriage。 And when exactly did a white stallion enter the picture？
？Yes；？ Blair responded blissfully。 ？Oh； yes！？
It was more of a response to the marriage proposal in her head than to Lord Marcus？s original
proposal； but in the world according to Blair； they were intrinsically linked： She would go to
England and she would e back engaged to Lord Marcus。
Even though she was only seventeen and her mom had never even met him。 Not that she ever
planned to purposely introduce her mother to Marcus。 They could meet at the wedding。 Or maybe
they？d elope to some remote South Pacific island and have an intimate nighttime wedding on a
beach with only the natives as their witnesses。 They？d eat fire…roasted goat and dance barefoot in
the sand。
Remember； anything can happen on the Island of Blair。
She？d kept her summer open； thinking she would need all two and a half months just to shop and
pack for Yale。 She？d even considered going over to Europe to see her dad？but mostly to shop；
because the stores in New York never put out any fall fashions until September； and she had to be
in New Haven for orientation at the end of August。 How on earth would she arrive at Yale with the
right cashmere sweaters； ankle boots； and fitted jackets unless she bought them directly from
Prada in Milan or Burberry in London？
Now her summer was more defined。 She would shop； get engaged； and then shop some more。
？I can？t bear to think this is our last night together；？ Marcus lamented； kissing her behind the
ear。 ？It would do my heart good to know you？re going to e over in a couple of weeks。？
Blair would have closed her eyes and kissed him and then whispered something about how she
really； really needed to lie down so would he please walk her to her suite so she could rip his
clothes off and they could consummate their marriage a little early； but then Serena and Nate
wandered into the party behind a group of L？？cole girls who were all smoking Gauloises and
wearing crocheted Marni halter tops and gold Gucci toe…ring sandals because that French model；
Pru； had just worn a crocheted Marni halter top and gold Gucci toe…ring sandals on the cover of
the June issue of FrenchVogue 。 Serena had changed her outfit？luckily。 Otherwise Blair would
have broken her perfect； aristocratic nose。
？I thought you told me they broke up；？ Tina Ford； who？d just graduated from Seaton Arms；
mented to Isabel Coates。 She bit into an Absolut Citron？soaked ice cube。 ？Isn？t that why they
both missed graduation？？
？I heard they were never really together；？ Kati Farkas trilled in reply； even though Tina wasn？t
even talking to her。 ？Nate？s gay。 He came out last week。 And he？s in so much trouble。 His parents
are disowning him。 They？re not even going to pay for Yale。？
？So why is Serena still pretending to go out with him？？ Isabel demanded； lifting up her ripped
red T…shirt and exposing her tummy just to give that innocent…looking Catholic school boy Chuck
had brought with him a little thrill。
The other girls rolled their eyes。 ？Oh； you know how she is。 She always has to be sonice to
everybody；？ Rain plained。 ？Nate？s dad probably； like；hired her to flirt with Nate so he
wouldn？t be gay anymore！？
Actually； that does sound like something Captain Archibald would do。
As they？d filed out of Brick Church； and in the seconds before their families caught up with them；
Serena had tried to explain to Blair why she？d almost missed graduation； while Blair had
pretended not to listen。 Obviously Serena？s secondBreakfast at Fred？s audition was way more
important than listening to Blair？s speech or getting her diploma。 At least Blair had the satisfaction
of knowing that Serena would never get the part。 She was way too tall； too blond； and too
blue…eyed？totally wrong for it。
？I got the part！？ Serena screamed at the top of her lungs； so excited； she didn？t care who was
listening。 She grabbed Nate and squeezed him with her long； perfectly toned arms。 ？Ken Mogul
just called。 I got the part！？
Blair nearly fell off Lord Marcus？s knee。 She？d already been hating Serena all over again for
missing her graduation speech and for wearing the exact same Oscar de la Renta suit she had。 And
of course she still secretly hated her for being with Nate。 It hadn？t seemed possible to hate her any
more？until now。 But Blair had already started talking to Serena again？she？d even taken Serena？s
chemistry exam for her； for Christ？s sake； so now she was stuck with the awkward choice of
suddenly acting like a bitch for no reason in front of Lord Marcus； or being pletely fake and
pretending to be nice so Lord Marcus wouldn？t think she was a bitch and change his mind about
wanting to marry her。
As if he hadn？t already noticed her bitchy side。
Nate stood next to Serena like a hired piece of celebrity arm candy。 He rubbed his eyes and
smiled at Blair and Marcus blearily； and for the first time in a long time； Blair wondered what
she？d ever seen in him。 No matter how often they broke up； her happily…ever…after fantasies had
always featured Nate； but now they had a new and improved co…star。 She leaned back against
Marcus？s chest； making it very clear that she was supremely fortable on his lap and totally
unruffled by Serena？s news。 Her perfectly tailored suit was a little warm in the stuffy room； but it
looked so good on her； she didn？t care。
All of a sudden； another good…looking but shorte