Page 29 of Sir Durham’s Disarming Asset

“Amber, oh, Amber!” To Zeph’s astonishment, tears fell freely down her cheeks. This was the woman five years older than she who, as a girl, had once saved Zeph from a rushing river. Zeph had tripped along the banks, fallen into a river wild from a recent storm, and Amber had jumped in, grabbed Zeph by the neck of her gown, and hauled her back to shore.

“Bonjour, ma petite. How wonderful to have you with us.”

They stood in each other’s arms for a long minute. Then Amber pulled back to consider Zeph’s face and hair. “Sir Raphael has done a superb job of bringing you back to yourself. You look”—she waved a hand—“refreshed! I will compliment the man. The gown, too. I like the forest green and jade trim. To whom did he take you in Brighton?”

“Madame Clermont. She was very pleasant to work with. Do you know her?”

“No, but I will.” She let her brows dance. “One always needs new ways to enjoy corsets and stays.”

Zeph moaned. “Nothing can do that.”

Amber turned to pull another lady forward. “Here is our friend whom you have not met. Vivienne, whose husband is a dear friend of my Godfrey and Gus’s Kane. Viv was an émigré to Britain during the Terror. She came here with her family, and we are happy to see her safe with us.”

Zeph shook hands with the lady who had platinum-blonde hair and a ready smile. “We are so eager to help you become acclimated to London. We have each had that challenge.”

“And here,” said Amber as another lady stepped toward them, “is another lady who has had the pleasure of living in England for many years.”

“But none,” said the woman with golden hair and winning eyes the color of amethysts, “as delightful as having the friendship of all these ladies.”

Amber introduced her. “Baroness Fournier had the opportunity for a few years to live among King George’s court, but later chose to do something quite different.”

“And marry someone nobler than all of them,” Gus added.

The baroness accepted the statement with humility. “I rejected Their Majesties’ wish that I marry one of their cousins, then I went to Paris to work… Well, we will say, my work was not usual. I was learning secrets in the house of the deputy chief of police.”

“You worked for René Vaillancourt?” Zeph was very impressed. Here was a woman who had breached Society’s rules. “What did you do?”

She laughed. “I am a very good cook. I worked in his kitchen.”

“Dear me.” Zeph had to sit. Others followed.

“You were as brave. Much more than I.” The baroness took a seat beside her and squeezed Zeph’s hand. “You stole his documents from him.”

Zeph smiled, even as she froze. No. No! No one can know all I took. Even Vaillancourt, to her knowledge, had not issued a statement about his missing documents. But then again, such an admission would be damning.

She focused on the lady who had worked as a servant. “You are kind, baroness. I applaud you that you worked in Vaillancourt’s kitchen.”

The young lady rolled her eyes. “You will call me by my name. Liesel. And do know I worked there only to learn what I could about his activities. Servants, you know, hear everything.”

Zeph smiled. “I do. How long did you stay?”

“Until I could no longer. You see, I discovered that Bonaparte had decided to send soldiers to capture a French prince. I had to leave Paris and go to warn him.”

Zeph shook her head. “I am sorry to say I do not remember this.”

“The man they wanted was living in a German duchy along the French border. He refused to leave, though he knew he was considered a threat to Bonaparte. Soldiers came to take him. I saw them. I tried to get help, but in the end, I too had to flee. My husband, Lord Fournier, helped me do that. It is how we met and learned we could not live without each other.”

“Heartwarming,” Zeph told her. Fulfilling to find a man you treasure amid horror.

“He is an extraordinary man, my husband. He has helped me do so much. From providing a home for my youngest brother and sister, to helping me claim my income and dowry.”

That sparked Zeph’s interest even more than all the other news. “You had financial issues?”

“When Bonaparte persuaded many German leaders to ally with him, my home, Rittenburg, was absorbed into his Confederation of the Rhine. My brother’s and my household administrator—what do you call them here? We say ein Burgmann. Herr Becker is the name of our man, a longtime retainer. He transferred much of the family wealth to bankers here.”

Zeph grew warm at the prospect of discussing London bankers. “That was wise of him. Would you tell me about which bankers he used?”

“Of course.”