第30部分(第6/7 頁)

。　“Serena　van　der　Woodsen　and　Nate　Archibald！　Why　didn’t　you　tell　me　they　were　ing；　Bear？”　Harold　cried；　kissing　Serena　on　both　cheeks　and　leaning　in　to　clap　Nate　on　the　back。　“e　in；　e　in！”　Harold　escorted　everyone　inside；　pumping　hands　enthusiastically　as　if　he　were　an　ambassador。

To　a　very　hostile　country？

“Thanks；　sir！”　Serena　said　weakly　as　she　shuffled　into　the　house。　She　didn’t　really　have　a　choice。

“So；　what　brings　you　this　way？”　Harold　asked；　throwing　more　logs　onto　the　crackling　fire　and　settling　back　into　his　leather　wingback　chair　as　if　preparing　for　an　all…night　chat。　Jenny；　Nate；　and　Dan　all　clustered　around　Serena；　delegating　explanation　responsibilities　to　her。

“Mr。　Waldorf；　I’m　really　sorry　to　intrude。　This　is　my　boyfriend；　Dan　Humphrey。”　Serena　emphasized　the　word　boyfriend。　Maybe　if　Blair　knew　she　wasn’t　with　Nate；　she’d　soften　a　little。　“And　his　sister；　Jenny。　Jenny　was　visiting　colleges　and　ran　into　Nate　on　a　tour　of　Brown。　And　we　were　all　driving　back　to　the　city　and　got　stuck　in　the　snow。”　She　shrugged；　as　if　that　explained　everything。

Blair　narrowed　her　eyes。　Of　course　Serena　would　play　the　Miss　Innocent　card；　as　if　they’d　just　happened　to　be　driving　right　past　the　Newport　house。　Newport　wasn’t　exactly　in　Brown’s　backyard。

“So　you　just　ran　into　each　other？”　Blair　asked　icily。

“Yeah。”　Nate　tried　to　catch　Blair’s　eye。　In　his　time　at　Deep　Springs；　he’d　almost　forgotten　how　pretty　she　was。　Her　hair　framed　her　small；　fine…featured　face；　her　eyes　were　bright；　and　she　wore　a　black　sweater　that　hugged　her　petite　frame。　Nate　forced　himself　to　glance　away。　She　looked　happy　now。　The　last　thing　he　wanted　to　do　was　get　in　the　way。　“We　can　leave。　Blair；　we’ll　leave；”　he　repeated　quietly；　trying　to　let　Blair　know