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"I am as interested as any sensible person," Jereat deal of time to study all the newspapers, but I do h I’ than your Miss Tatlock"

"She is an extraordinary woman," Elijah said, with a hint of pride in his voice "For soe, she really has an intuitive understanding of politics She estion at the Royal Society today that made Lord Rollins take notice"

"Oh?" Jemma decided she quite disliked Miss Tatlock "How did that coave a lecture there today," Beaumont said "That’s why I’m not in parliament Miss Tatlock runs the Ladies’ Meular members, but the ladies are invited to join us on occasion"

Jeht about whether she was supposed to know about her husband’s lecture and decided not, since no one had bothered to tell her "How enterprising of her to attend your lecture Dare I wonder whether she had a hand in your invitation?"

He looked at her "Enterprising?"

"Is it too harsh a word? The two of you were linked again in last week’s Morning Post, you know Apparently you drew eyes by having an intimate conversation at Lord Rochester’s musicale I wonder what she thinks will happen to es to impress you with her manifold virtues?"

He surprised her by not pretending to obtuseness "Perhaps she thinks youwo that miracles will happen"

"I feel perfectly healthy," she said lightly "Shall we play chess?"

"If you would prefer not to resuame on the side"

Neither one of them said the obvious: if Villiers could not play out his match, the appetite for their parallel match would die with hiame or two for the pleasure of it, and wait for Leopold to improve"

"Leopold?" He raised an eyebrow

"Villiers’s given name…surely you knew it?" Jeht you tere the best of boyhood friends"

"I had not realized that you were quite as intimate as that"

Je, queen and castle swelling into her heart and soul and stealing away all those elusive worries about Beaumont’s health and Miss Tatlock, and Villiers’s fever

An hour later she grinned at her husband "Now I feel better," she observed

"I don’t," he said sourly

"You won our first gaaht sees but us, and yet I ain our second game in the match," Elijah said "Please I don’t want to wait for Villiers to die It’s too ghoulish"

She nodded, set up the board quickly, and moved a pawn to Queen’s Four

He moved his pawn to the same position and that was that For today

He uncoiled himself from the chair, and stood up, all six feet plus of him Jemma stayed where she was Her husband was a tremendously handsome man It was no wonder, really, that he cut such a wide swath through the Parliament

"I came here to ask you a question, Jemma"

She raised an eyebrow

"You returned from France so that we can create an heir I wondered if you had any schedule in mind for that?"