Hector propped himself up on both elbows as he slurped his soup, Les abandoned cutlery altogether and drank straight from the bowl; Theo had brought in a piece of a corpse, which now sat on their supper table between the soup tureen and the milk jar. Then Mona insisted on talking about women’s legs, of all topics. Lena hardly dared to look at the Duke. He hadn’t said a word all evening aside from the shocked expletive he’d uttered earlier, but impassively proceeded to eat his soup, which was overly salted, as usual.
Rubbing her eyebrow, she desperately sought to change the subject, but Mona intercepted her. “It is a legitimate question, Mama, considering the price ofstockings these days. It would be a shame to ruin them by cutting into them.”
She had a point.
“To answer your question, naturally the bodies are first stripped of their clothing.” Worse and worse. Theo prepared to describe the intricate process of undressing a corpse in minute detail. “Now. As for female bodies. Most come in naked?—”
“Theo!” Lena shrieked.
“What?”
“You can’t talk about that now.”
“Why not?”
She leaned forwards and hissed with a sideways glance at the Duke. “In case you’ve forgotten, we have a duke sitting at our table.”
Theo dismissed him. “Oh, him. I don’t think he’ll mind.”
One of the Duke’s eyebrows lifted. “I am still sitting here,” he observed, but no one heeded him.
Lena’s mind worked feverishly. Stockings. Price. A better subject than naked female bodies, dead or otherwise. Lena jumped on it. “It’s true. Stockings are horribly expensive,” she babbled before Theo could continue his elocution on naked female corpses. “I was looking at the shop window of Schönberger’s the other day. There was a lovely pink pair with such pretty embroidery. I wanted to buy them, but…” She sighed. “You cannot imagine how much they cost. I was so shocked, I nearly dropped the violin.” She looked around to make sure she had their attention. “Guess how much they wanted for a pair of pink silk stockings? The winner gets an extra helping ofApfelstrudel.” It was a game they sometimes played.
The children enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity. The distraction worked. Lena sighed with relief.
“FiveGulden?” Hector offered.
“Eleven,” suggested Les.
“Nineteen?” Mona said.
“Since we are talking about a purveyor to court,” Theo said, “I assume a pair of embroidered silk stockings might cost more than that. I say twenty-nine.”
All heads turned to the Duke.
He folded his arms across his chest. “I say less. Twenty-five.”
Lena wondered, fleetingly, if he’d ever gone shopping and knew the price of stockings, and if his lower number was to let Theo win. If so, it was inordinately kind of him. She flashed him a quick smile. “Fifty. FiftyGuldenfor a pair of silly stockings. Isn’t that price shamelessly exorbitant?”
Theo whistled.
Mona shrieked.
Hector and Les grumbled.
“Good brother that I am, I’ll share theApfelstrudelwith you, never fear,” Theo said, satisfied that he had won that round.
“You may not collect your prize until you have removed that body part from the table,” Lena insisted. “It’s robbing me of my appetite.”
Theo did so promptly.
“Well, this has been a most…enlightening evening,” the Duke murmured after they had finished supper. “If you will excuse me. I have some work to do.”
Lena fiddled with the cords of her apron. “I’ll see that you’re not disturbed by my brood of barbarians. You must think we have no manners at all, discussing female body parts and legs—” She floundered hopelessly, succumbing to an embarrassed coughing fit. “Your Gr—that is, of course, Julius.”
Then something incredible happened, leaving Lena completely stunned.
The corners of his mouth turned up, and the cold steel in his eyes melted to liquid silver as they looked at her appreciatively.
