It's probably the combination of Word (which uses what html checkers describe as 'illegal characters' for some of its punctuation) and the Mac platform. It won't happen if you type the words in directly here, or if you prepare them first in a 'plain text' editor. A small thing, of course, but a bit strange to look at.

Wanton Seed progresses, though it isn't ready for press yet. I've located the Stansbridges in the 1861, 1871 and 1901 censuses now, by the way; spelled Stanbridge, which is why I missed them before. I was meaning to email you about that, to see if you wanted copies.