Hugh’s mouth firmed. “I also hide my condition to protect myself. It’s dishonest, and I’m not proud of it at all.”
“There’s a difference.” Aleida pinned him with her gaze.“Hiding your condition never hurt anyone else, and it gave you the confidence to make your way in the world.”
“Regardless...” He crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders.
Aleida set her empty cup on the cabinet. “You underestimate your friends. You have all the advantages of wealth, position, intelligence, and temperament. Your friends think you had an easy road to success and resent you for it. They don’t know what you’ve overcome. I think they’d respect you more if they knew. I do.”
Muscles worked beneath his jaw, and he tucked in his lips.
A gray-and-white cat stepped into the study, rubbing his side along the doorjamb.
Aleida smiled and stretched out her hand. “You must be the famous Lennox. Hugh praised your cleverness, but he failed to mention how handsome you are.”
“Do be careful,” Hugh said.
Lennox lifted his nose and sniffed her fingers.
“So handsome,” Aleida said. “Look at those green eyes.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere. It takes him a long time to...”
Lennox lowered his backside, wiggled it, and leapt into Aleida’s lap.
“Well, hello.” She stroked his soft fur as he settled down.
“He...” Hugh’s jaw dangled. “He never...”
“He’s never sat in your lap?”
“No.” Hugh gaped at her, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “He only recently let me pet him.”
“Have you evermadea lap?” Aleida scratched behind velvety ears. “You sit with your knees apart, and you rarely sit still.”
“Quite right.” A grin cracked his face, then he leaned over and addressed the cat. “You may have won her heart now, but when the bombers come, she’ll see what a coward you are.”
“Poor Lennox.” Aleida covered his ears. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to sit on his lap if he maligns you like this.”
“The bombers.” Hugh straightened up and checked his wristwatch. “The Germans are running late. Rather rude of them.”
“Do you think the weather’s keeping them away?”
“We can hope.”
Lennox twisted his head, and Aleida scratched under his chin. “What would you do tonight without a story to chase?”
“My days and nights are topsy-turvy. I suppose I could write my story about—” He patted his side and frowned. “Ah yes, it’s in my jacket.”
“Your notebook?”
“I interviewed men in a dozen government ministries. Would you like to see my notes? I organized them.” Eagerness brightened his smile.
She laughed. He was adorable. “I’d like to see.”
He darted out of the room. In a minute, he returned with a frown and tossed a notebook onto his desk. “It’s Jouveau’s notebook. I grabbed the wrong one when I left in such a hurry. Bother.”
“Shall we go back?”
“He’ll have left for his clandestine meeting. I’ll give it to him tomorrow.” Hugh leaned his hip against his desk and smiled at her. “Although my cat would like to detain you indefinitely, if the bombers don’t come, you could get a full night’s sleep. Shall I walk you home?”
