bit down briefly on her lower lip. She had a very lovely mouth, he noticed. Soft, sensitive, defenseless. “He’s the one who left me.”
Afraid that the longer he engaged in a game of cat and mouse with such a woman, the duller the sharp edge of his suspicions might grow, Anton observed her closely, willing himself to uncover artifice, but finding only sincerity. Was he overreacting? At the mercy of his own paranoia—and she its innocent victim?
Suddenly despising himself for toying with memories she clearly found painful, he murmured with honest compassion, “In that case, he is a double fool and a cad. I can see that he’s caused you much unhappiness.”
“At the time, yes, but I’m over it now.”
“And over him?”
She managed another smile, and if it was a trifle hesitant, it was also unmistakably genuine. “Oh, yes. Most definitely over him.”
Choosing not to examine the real cause of the relief flooding through him, he nodded to Henri, who scooped up a tray bearing the two glasses of wine and a lighted candle, and brought it to the table. “Then we shall celebrate your freedom with a toast.”
“No,” she began. “It’s very kind of you, but I meant what I said before. I really—”
Sweeping aside her objection, Anton said, “Henri, your lovely guest isn’t certain it’s safe to get to know me. Reassure her, will you, that I’m quite respectable?”
He’d switched to French, aware that Henri’s English was minimal, at best. Without waiting for Henri to reply, she spoke, also in French, and it was, as the man had said, flawless. “I’m sure you’re respectable enough. I’m just not accustomed to being approached by strange men.”
“Strange men?” Henri set down the tray with a distinct thump. “Madame, you speak of the Comte de Valois!”
“A real live Comte?” She tipped her head to one side and this time managed a slight laugh. “In this day and age?”
Henri drew himself up to his full one hundred and seventy-five centimeters—about five feet eight inches in her part of the world. “A gentleman remains a gentleman, regardless of the times, Madame, and you may rest assured Monsieur le Comte fits the description in every way.”
“Thanks, Henri,” Anton intervened, knowing he scarcely deserved the accolade in the present circumstances. “That’ll be all, for now.”
She watched the innkeeper march back to the bar, his spine stiff with outrage, then switched her gaze to Anton again. “He wasn’t joking, was he? You really are you a Count.”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Oh, dear! Then I owe you an apology. You must think me incredibly rude, not to mention gauche.”
“I find you quite delightful,” he said, and with the sense of floundering ever deeper into dangerous waters, realized he spoke the truth.
She clasped both hands to her cheeks. “I don’t quite know how to behave or what to say. I’ve never had drinks with royalty before.”
“I don’t consider myself royalty. As for how you should behave, simply be yourself and speak your mind freely. Isn’t that always the best way?”
“I’m not sure,” she said. “It hasn’t done me a lot of good, in the past.”
He touched the rim of his glass to hers. “Then let us drink to the future. À votre santé.”
“À votre santé aussi, Monsieur le Comte.”
Continuing in French, he said, “To my friends, I am Anton.”
“I hardly think I qualify as a friend on such short acquaintance.”
The candle flame illuminated the classic oval of her face, the dimples beside her cupid’s bow mouth and the delicate winged brows showcasing her eyes which, he saw now, were the same deep, intense blue as a Provencal sky in high summer. Her shoulder-length hair, worn simply, shone with the luster of a newly polished, old gold coin.
Was she beautiful?
Not in the conventional sense, no, he decided. Hers was a more subtle appeal, one he found quite irresistible. “Sometimes,” he said earnestly, “friendship, like love, can strike instantly, as I believe it has between you and me.”
“How can that be? You don’t even know my name.”
Returning her smile, he said, “You think I haven’t noticed? I’ve been trying to learn it from the moment I saw you, but you’ve evaded me at every turn.”
“It’s no secret. I’m Diana. Diana…Reeves.”
He noticed her slight hesitation, but decided not to push the point. She was skittish enough as it was. Instead, taking her hand, he raised it to his lips. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Diana Reeves. What did you have for dinner, last night?”
“Beef stew with potato dumplings.”
“Then we’ll order something different, tonight.”
“I don’t recall saying I’d have dinner with you. Not that that seems to mean much,” she added ruefully. “I didn’t agree to have a drink with you, either, but I’m doing it anyway. Do you always get your own way?”
“If I want something badly enough, I do. It’s one of the perks of being a Count.”
She regarded him soberly. “You’re being very charming, Anton, and I’m sure most women would be flattered by your attention, but I think it’s only fair to tell you that I’m not very good at flirting.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s one of the qualities about you that I find most attractive.”
“My ex-husband said I took things far too seriously and didn’t know how to have fun.”
“I thought we already established that your ex-husband is a fool.”
Her dimples deepened as another smile lit up her face. “You’re right, we did.”
“Then forget about him and concentrate on us and friendship at first sight. When did you arrive in France?”
“Just yesterday.”
“And you came straight here, to Bellevue-sur-Lac?”
At his question, tension emanated from her, so fierce that he half expected to see blue sparks crackling from the ends of her hair. “As a matter of fact, I did. What’s wrong with that?”
Why so defensive, all of a sudden? he wondered, his suspicions on high alert again. “I didn’t say there was anything wrong, Diana,” he replied mildly.
Color swept into her cheeks. “Well, you sounded as if you did.”
“Perhaps you interpreted surprise as disapproval.”
“Why should you be surprised?”
He
