Lottie followed the boy’s departure then turned back to him. “That was clever of you.”

Alec stepped away to open the palazzo’s heavy front door. “He won’t take anything otherwise. He already knows I charge a pittance for rent.” But even Nico wouldn’t pass up the chance to sample the Venetian rice and peas dish that was popular this time of year. He gestured for Lottie to enter first, but she stood on the front step, head tilted back to take in the palazzo’s faded beauty. “You own this place?”

“Yes,” he said, with a hint of pride. “Every last crumbling bit.”

“Who does Nico live with?”

“His mother and aunt. They are seamstresses.”

Lottie met his eyes and her brow tensed with worry. “No father?”

“Not one that makes himself useful,” he muttered. Then they stared at one another in silence until he motioned for her to enter again. They couldn’t stand in the damned doorway forever. Lottie gave herself a little shake and moved past him into the entrance hall.

The palazzo was once a grand place but had fallen into disrepair over the years. Alec was slowly trying to bring it back to its former glory, but that required a great deal of money he didn’t have. He had spent nearly all his savings cleaning the place and seeing to the most pressing repairs, like the rather large holes in the floor. Now it was reasonably tidy, and safe for a curious boy like Nico.

Lottie craned her neck as she took in the entrance hall’s high ceilings. Her lips parted as she noticed the massive Venetian glass chandelier hanging above their heads. “How beautiful.”

Alec and Nico had spent the better part of a week polishing each individual crystal droplet. The boy was always eager to help, and his mother was grateful to have her energetic son occupied.

“My flat is on the top floor.” The words came out gruffly, but Lottie only nodded and headed toward the sweeping staircase. They ascended in silence, but as soon as they reached the landing outside his door, she abruptly turned around.

“Please, let me help you. It’s the least I can do,” she pressed. “You did agree to bring me here.”

Alec stuck out his chest just as Nico used to do before he learned to mask his charitable efforts. “No.”

“If you won’t do it for your own sake, then do it for the boy’s. And his mother.”

That was far harder to dismiss, but he still had a scrap of pride left. “I can take care of them. Keep your money.”

Lottie flinched ever so slightly before changing course: “Then we should go to the signore’s dinner tonight. He said there would be a collector there.”