So in Love by Karen Ranney Page A

reluctance for pain. In addition, she’d acquired an unhealthy obsession for religion. He’d found her at prayers one day, the image of his mistress petitioning God for forgiveness of her multitudinous sins almost amusing if it hadn’t been so tedious.
    “The woman I asked about is an opportunistic thief. She stole the gem.”
    The goldsmith regarded him for several moments, as if attempting to ascertain the truth of his statement. Nicholas managed to curtail his irritation and waited.
    “The woman is employed by the Hartley family,” Talbot finally offered, which only tallied with Nicholas’s suspicions that his daughter had become a servant.
    “And what did she want with you?”
    “Why should I tell you?” There was that smirk again, that thin smile that was beginning to be a decided irritant.
    “Because she is a thief,” Nicholas said. Hélène had left the gem to her daughter, a legacy that had been agreedupon at their marriage. However, neither of them had anticipated that France would change or that he would be living a whisper thin distance from true penury. The ruby would keep him in some luxury until France returned to normal and he would once more be restored to his rightful place. Not scrabbling for survival in his tiny room in Paris while the magnificent house that had once been his was bequeathed to some peasant who had, no doubt, been a fishmonger a month earlier.
    “Then the law will restore the gem to the rightful owner,” Talbot said.
    The two men regarded each other for five swings of the pendulum of the clock mounted on the wall.
    The shop was small and not overtly prosperous. In France, merchants had called upon him to display their wares. In the past two years, however, he’d been forced to frequent their establishments as he’d sold one family heirloom after another in order to buy food and wood.
    Vallans, the showplace of France, had been razed, leaving him without income and a lifetime of accumulated treasures. He’d managed to procure a handful of items before escaping the torch-bearing mob, and even those were rapidly dwindling.
    “Then shall we make an arrangement between us?” Talbot suddenly said, his smile seeming more genuine. “I’ll inform you if she attempts to sell me the ruby, while you agree to let me sell it for you.”
    “For a substantial commission, of course.” Glancing around the shop, Nicholas wondered if Talbot’s clientele was such that he already had a buyer in mind. He frankly doubted it, but he wouldn’t allow his misgivings show.
    “A fair commission,” Talbot countered.
    “Such an arrangement, of course,” Nicholas said pleasantly, “is contingent upon my obtaining the ruby once again.”
    “I’ll help you get the stone,” Talbot said, extending his hand.
    For a moment Nicholas regarded the other man, studying his expression while he ignored the gesture. He would be a fool to trust this man; he knew that deep in his heart. But he clasped the other man’s hand and smiled anyway.
    Talbot was not the only one who knew an opportunity when he saw it.

Chapter 9
    J eanne stood at the window of the schoolroom, looking out at the afternoon. The sun was bright in the sky, and the window warm against her fingers.
    Lessons were finished for today, and Davis had done well despite her inattention. Her mind was not on her duties, but on the conversation she’d had with Douglas.
    He had a wife. And a daughter.
    Could she die of envy? Or regret? She might, if the tightness in her stomach was any indication. Closing her eyes, she tried not to think of him, but it was as futile a wish as wanting to transport herself to some other place.
    Douglas had a wife and a child.
    She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of life they had. Were they very much in love? What kind of woman was his wife? Did he tell her that he would love her and be with her forever, no matter what happened? If so, he was so much more constant to his wife than he’d ever been to her.
    Jeanne