At ease with each other. That’s what we are.
It was a strange thought and he wondered why it should be so. He was not unused to female company after all.
But never before have I spent so much time, continuous time, with one single female. Those weeks at themas, just being together. Living together.
At ease together.
Even as he thought it, memories flashed. ‘Ease’ had not been there between them at first—the very opposite.
The first time he’d set eyes on her, in that faded dressing gown, in the courtyard ofMas Delfine.
Staring at me as if I were the demon king arriving to dispossess her. Come to take her home from her.
He shook the accusation away. Not only was it not true, it had been her father who was to blame, not him, for her loss. But now he was not taking from Arielle. He was giving.
His eyes rested on her again, warm and appreciative. How stunning she looked in the gown he’d bought her. That was only one of their purchases today and more would follow. He wouldbuy jewellery for her too and lavish his lifestyle on her. Just as he was doing this evening and would do throughout their stay in Paris.
I want to please her, to indulge her, because she is worth it to me. She’s valuable. She’s…
Another word formed in his head.
Precious.
It hung there a moment, like a pearl, and something moved within him. Something he did not recognise, but which kept his gaze on her arrested. Then Marc made some remark, requiring his response and the moment was gone. But as Arielle turned her head to him, her beautiful eyes smiling and meeting his for a moment, he heard the echo of that word again.
Precious.
And that strange, elusive, unrecognised emotion that came with it echoed too.
Chapter Nine
Arielle gazed atthe city of Paris from the topmost viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower, Lycos beside her, his arm around her waist. It was only one of the many sights of the city she’d seen with him. Some she had already known from childhood visits with her mother, but even those she revelled in again, seeing them afresh with Lycos. But then Lycos could have taken her on a tour of the sewers—a popular if eclectic tourist attraction—and she would have wanted to go.
Anywhere he wants. Anywhere at all.
While he wanted her to go with him. Be with him.
She felt an ache pluck at her that she sought to dismiss.
How long do I have with him?
She didn’t know. She didn’t even know how long he wanted to stay in Paris. The days had been full of sightseeing, the evenings with dining out at fabulous restaurants. And several times Lycos had taken her to the theatre, to the opera and to a concert to hear a world-famous pianist, one of her very favourites, give a heart-stopping concert performance. Tickets had been gold-dust, but somehow Lycos had obtained them, producing them with a flourish that had made her exclaim with thrilled disbelief.
As well as the city’s sights they’d been out to Versailles, not just to tour the grand palace, but to dine with the Derenzes again at their elegant, nineteenth-century townhouse. They had been warmly welcomed. Tara had taken her up to the nursery floor to make the acquaintance of their two young children.
Arielle had taken to Tara from the off, knowing they might have become friends, except that there would be no opportunity.
Soon I will be in England making my new life there, whatever it is to be, and this time here, in Paris, will be gone. As my life at themaswill be gone.
And her time with Lycos…
Her thoughts sheered away. She must not let them in, nor the emotions that went with them. Emotions she must not have, because there could be no purpose to them, except to cause her pain. She must take this time with Lycos only for what it was.
That it will not last. That the moment will come when he is done with Paris. Done with me. Then my time with him will end, as my time at themashas ended.
Even with Lycos’s arm around her, she felt pain clench.
My home and Lycos. I must bear the loss of both.
