AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lottie’s smile was more genuine this time. “Yes. We were on our way to Saint Mark’s.” She tugged out of Alec’s grip and graciously accepted Signore Cardinelli’s arm.
“Oh, how convenient! I’ll walk with you. It’s on my way.” Alec muffled a snort at the obvious lie, but neither paid him any mind. “Now, tell me where you were before this…”
Signore Cardinelli’s voice faded into the street noise as they strolled in the direction of Saint Mark’s. Alec stood in place, watching the pair of them. After a few steps, Lottie turned back. “Aren’t you coming,cousin?” Her green eyes were bright with mischief, and likely more. Alec gave her a subtle frown but followed. No doubt Lottie thought she was punishing him by cozying up to the signore.
If she knew only the half of it.
As they made their way through the crowded streets, Alec kept a sharp eye and ear out, waiting to jump in and rescue Lottie from the signore’s prying questions, but there was no need. She easily deflected each one by asking plenty of her own, having quickly realized that Signore Cardinelli’s favorite subject was himself.
Lottie learned more about him in ten minutes than Alec had in ten months.
The base of his skull tingled. Shelikedthis game. And was rather good at it.
But then, why wouldn’t she? Simply living with Sir Alfred provided them both with an intuition his colleagues would kill for. The man’s lessons had sunk deep into their blood, whether they were aware of it or not. Lottie was incredibly perceptive, highly intelligent, and perhaps in possession of more secrets than she let on…
It was all very hushed up, of course.
And I never tried to decipher the codes myself.
Alec flexed his fingers. His instincts had never led him astray before. There was a game afoot here. One far more complicated than a runaway niece.
And he would ferret out the truth. Whatever it may be.
Chapter Twelve
As the unlikely trio slowly wended their way through the labyrinthine streets, Lottie made sure to keep Signore Cardinelli talking about himself—a decidedly easy task. She had spent the last five years stroking the egos of men back in London, as a lady did not dare venture to talk about herself unless asked to do so. And in her experience, few men ever bothered beyond the barest preliminaries. While he prattled on, she took in the salt-crusted palazzos slowly crumbling into murky canals, the slices of pale blue sky overhead, and caught snippets of dialect from Venetians as well as the many foreigners who called the floating city home. But more than the sights and sounds—and smells—of Venice, it was Alec who commanded most of her attention. Even though he remained a few steps behind them, Lottie was never not intimately aware of his looming presence, listening to everything that passed between her and the signore and watching with hawklike focus.
She was still stinging from Alec’s duplicitous speech to Mrs. Huntington and hadn’t missed the chance to needle him a little by flirting with Signore Cardinelli. But the longer she talked with the enigmatic Venetian, the stronger her suspicion grew that the man was far more than what he seemed, and that Alec’s connection to him likely went much deeper than a shared interest in antiquity.
When they were just a few minutes away from Saint Mark’s Square, the signore bid them adieu. He made a great show of kissing Lottie’s hand once more.
“Thank you for a charming walk, Miss Gresham. Your cousin is a most fortunate man. I trust that this will not be our last meeting.” He raised an eyebrow and glanced in Alec’s direction.
Lottie gave him her most winsome smile. “As do I, Signore Cardinelli.”
The man tipped his hat to Alec, who returned the gesture, and then went off in the direction of his nearby palazzo. Without a word Alec led her in the opposite direction with a thorny expression on his face that was likely meant to warn her off. Lottie pointedly ignored it.
“He was rather nice,” she offered.
Alec’s only reply was another derisive snort.
He still hadn’t learned that she did not give up so easily. “Do you not like him?” she asked innocently. “You seem to know each other quite well.”
Alec kept his gaze ahead. “It’s work. That’s all. We have been helpful to one another upon occasion.” He gestured in the direction of the square up ahead and quickened their pace.
“In regards to his collection of Roman and Etruscan artifacts?”
Signore Cardinelli had gone on for some minutes about his treasures, boasting that his was one of the largest private collections in Europe.
Alec flicked her a cool glance. “Among other things.”
“Are we not going to dinner, then?”
“Absolutely not,” he barked and walked even faster, moving a few steps ahead.
“Why?” she pressed, determined to fracture his marble facade. “You can’t possibly be worried about a man twice my age with a penchant for ancient crockery.”
Alec suddenly stopped short and whirled around. Lottie bumped right into the solid wall of his chest. For an instant she was sorely tempted to press against the warm musculature and inhale his woodsy scent, but Alec stepped back and put his hands on his hips. She suspected he took the same stance with students who tried to submit late work.
