“Cats are not the same, of course, but I would miss my cats if I were gone for a long period of time.” Her brow creased slightly. “Is there anyone you miss?”
The question caught him off guard. It was difficult to explain how solitary his life had become, and he wouldn’t try. He shook his head.
“Ah.” She smiled. “Why have you never married?”
Marek’s eyebrows rose as he forked a bite of potato. “That’s a rather pointed question.”
“Are you surprised by it?” Her eyes glittered with amusement.
He smiled softy. “No.”
“Do you mind terribly if I ask? I wondered who was watching after your dogs while you were away, if you had a Mr. Brimble to mind them, and it made me wonder whether you had a wife to take care of them. You’re a handsome man, Marek. I should think ladies would be deliriously happy to entertain an offer from you.”
He had to laugh at that. “Thank you... I think. But I should think the answer to your question is obvious.”
“Not at all,” she insisted.
“No? If it was ever discovered who I am, it could be disastrous for me. I’ve no doubt Felix Oberon would seek to see me hanged as my mere existence puts another claim to the throne before his. It would be unfair to burden a wife with it.”
She frowned. “But you’ve not been discovered after all this time. Aren’t you lonely?”
Was he lonely? Marek didn’t know if he would call his state of being lonely. He was alone. Removed. But he hadn’t been filled with longing.
At least not until he’d met her.
“I should think if the king knew you were alive, he’d be filled with joy,” she said quietly. “Can you imagine, to discover your baby had not met a tragic end, after all?”
“I don’t know how he would feel,” he said. “Life in Wesloria is not as it is here. People struggle to simply survive in many parts of the country. I believe the king is trying to make things better, but until that happens, everyone is viewed with suspicion. I would be viewed with suspicion. I can’t risk it.” He put down his fork. He didn’t want to think of his solitary life in Wesloria or the isolation he felt from most of the world. “Why haven’t you married again, Hollis? You’re a beautiful, vibrant woman. I would think gentlemen would be begging for an introduction.”
She laughed. “You are too kind, sir. If there are gentlemen wishing to marry a widow, I’ve scared them all away.”
“I doubt that.”
“Gentlemen do not always appreciate a woman who is forthright in her actions and words.” She looked at him as if she expected him to disagree.
He definitely disagreed. “On the contrary, madam. Gentlemen do appreciate it, but they are not always prepared for it. Society has given us to believe we always have the upper hand.”
“Thatis so true!” she exclaimed. She leaned back in her seat, one arm draped over her middle. “Quite honestly, it wasn’t until very recently that I felt I could finally let go of my grief over losing my husband.”
He understood a little about grief—his was for a life that could have been, and a life that was lost to him. “How did he die, if I may?” Marek asked curiously.
“It was a carriage accident. In weather much like this, his carriage went off a bridge and he drowned.”
“Good Lord.”
“It was quite shocking. I don’t like to think about it. To imagine...” She shook her head, picked up her wineglass, and took a long drink, then put it down. “Therefore, I don’t imagine.”
“What was he like?”
“Percy?” She smiled fondly. “He was a good man. You would have liked him. He and Donovan were childhood mates, and he brought Donovan into his household when things began to be said about him. But Percy never had an unkind thing to say about Donovan. I think he loved him like a brother, and Donovan the same. Percy was also very curious by nature. He was the one who established the gazette. But his gazette was about very serious things, such as politics and economics.” She gave him a very pert little smile. “It was not as popular as my version.”
Marek laughed at that. “It’s truly remarkable what you’ve done.”
“Not really,” she said breezily. “I had help. And what else did I have to do? I meant it as a way to honor his memory, but now—now I...”
She looked away, as if trying to find the right words.
“Now what?” he prodded her.
