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His gaze drops to his cup; he takes another sip, his brows furrowing. “So in the end, I said yes, just to make him stop.”

“I will look over the scores more closely,” I utter. “If something comes to mind, I will let you know.”

“Mm...” he shifts his gaze to Étienne. “Is your maid not here?”

“Marie?”

“No, the other one... the prettier one, with blue eyes.”

“Alice?”

“Yes, exactly. Alice.”

His voice remains calm, but there’s a note of amusement in how he pronounces the name.

“What do you want with my maid?” I ask, somewhat alarmed.

He leans back against the sofa and interlaces his hands over his stomach. “Nothing, I just like looking at beautiful things.”

“She is a person, not a thing, Elijah.”

“Does it make a difference? Don’t you nobles treat everyone as if they were objects?”

Knocks at the door interrupt the conversation, the door opens. Marie enters first, followed silently by Richard.

“Evander!”

He looks up and notices Elijah on the sofa.

“Mr. Lirael, what a pleasure.”

“Lord Richard.”

A murmur escapes Elijah’s lips. “Now it will become even more tedious.”

Richard approaches and settles beside me. He places a hand on my knee, giving it a pat.

“I am here to take you away, Evander.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Somewhere far?”

Richard laughs. “Not too far.”

Elijah tilts his head, his eyes scrutinizing us with curiosity.

“Do you want to come to Vienna with me, Evander?”

Richard stiffens for a moment, surprised. “Are you going to Vienna, Mr. Lirael?”

“Not immediately.”

Richard turns his gaze to me. “Let’s go to the club tonight.”

I shake my head in refusal. “I don’t much feel like it, Richard.”

“I’ve come all this way, Evander... Come now, don’t leave me alone.”

Elijah sighs, looking away.