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Show 108 The mimist whirled around and purposely bumped into Elise, throwing her off balance so that she fell to the ground. Gales of laughter burst forth again around her. Suddenly the high pitched laugh of the mimist ceased to be heard above the chorus of raillery as he momentarily narrowed his focus to the small gold charm suspended from a delicate chain around Elise's throat. Then in an instant he resumed his antic posture and pranced to the side of the fallen damsel. In a gallant gesture, he bowed deeply and helped her to her feet. With sleight of hand, he removed the necklace as he whispered in her ear, "This is no place to be defending Puritans if you value your neck." His whispering voice was heavy timbred, quite unlike that of the jocular wit he was just moments before. Elise tried to get a closer look at the unrecognizable -mimist, not knowing whether to thank him or berate him for the indignity he caused her to suffer. But he was off and laughing before she could respond. She brushed off her clothes and noticed that many of the eyes that were staring at her were, full of scornful reproach. As she made her purchases in the market that day, she heard a great deal more than she had wanted to hear in the noisy conversations around her. It angered her when she heard a joke that an Anglican minister had purportedly made over the pulpit about Puritans. But |