Page 37 of Rogue Lyon

She touched her lips. What in God’s good name had just happened? A chess lesson, yes, but then she’d allowed herself to be persuaded to take a secret trip to a foreign land with a man whose reputation was more than a little tarnished.

A man who had become all she could think about.

After blowing out the candles, Meredith made her way to her attic room with her returned umbrella. As she turned the last corner, she found Nancy helping herself to a glass of water from a chipped, porcelain jug.

“How was your evening?” Nancy asked with a smile.

“Interesting.” Meredith wrapped her arms around herself. Her emotions were pinging around so wildly, she was sure Nancy would see them.

“Oh?”

“Two lessons.” Meredith pressed her lips together.

“And was one Mr. Habsburg, by any chance?”

“Er…yes.”

“And did he behave?”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“Well, he’s obviously got a soft spot for you. He likes what he sees, or perhaps he likes your witty tongue and your sharp mind.” She tapped the side of her head.

“He’s just keen to teach me about art. A sharing of knowledge, you know. I teach him chess, and he’s introduced me to the art world.”

“You keep telling yourself that, Meredith, if it helps to not fall for him.”

“It’s true. And I am not falling for him.”

Nancy stepped closer and placed her hand on Meredith’s shoulder. “Have fun with a handsome man, by all means. But that handsome man is a rake, and not the marrying kind.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because if he were, he’d be married by now. To someone.”

“Perhaps he just hasn’t met the right woman.” Meredith tipped her chin, feeling suddenly protective of Jules.

Nancy shrugged. “That may well be the case, but the man has an expensive art addiction. He’ll marry into money if he marries at all, you mark my words.”

Meredith gritted her teeth. Jules had plenty of money of his own from what she’d seen.

“And word on the street is the Duke of Marlborough is still being most insistent that he marry his daughter after their tryst on the private terrace.”

“There was no tryst and why would he be so insistent?”

“I suppose it could be the Habsburg name. It’s old royalty, ancient royalty, and pious to boot. Maybe that appeals to a man who has everything. Grandchildren who can trace lineage back to the Holy Roman Emperor.”

“That seems somewhat wild, given Jules’s ancestors were illegitimate back in the fifteenth century.”

Nancy tapped the side of her head again. “Who knows how the male mind works. Certainly not like ours.”

Meredith bit on her bottom lip. That much was true.

“What?” Nancy asked.

“He’s asked me to go to Paris with him,” Meredith blurted out. “To an art exhibition.”

“He’s done what?” Nancy’s eyes widened.