She expected, however, that Lucien would interrogate her about Gregory and Ash—and more importantly, why she hadn’t told him about any of it. So far, she’d successfully avoided him today. But she knew that wouldn’t last.

So, she strode into his office and closed the door behind her. He looked up from his desk. “Is something amiss?”

“I know you want to ask me about Lord Gregory and the dog, but let me assure you that there is nothing notable to share. I confess I missed Ash more than I expected. If I didn’t think it would pain Lord Gregory—and Ash—I might even ask to keep him for myself.”

Lucien stared at her. “Extraordinary.” The word was barely audible. He was behaving as if he’d just discovered some sort of new species.

Evie crossed her arms. “That’s all you have to say?”

“No, but I don’t think you’ll answer my questions.” He clasped his hands atop his desk and cocked his head. “Am I to believe there is nothing between you and Lord Gregory besides a dog?”

“That’s right.”

“And the fact that you asked me to help him with a government appointment. Then there is the pesky issue with Lady Witney. You seem rather…tangled up with Lord Gregory.” Lucien actually looked smug.

Evie groaned low in her throat. “Stop it. There is no entanglement. We became friends caring for Ash in Oxfordshire, nothing more.”

“I wonder if Lord Gregory knows that,” Lucien quipped. He leapt to his feet.

“Why would you say such a thing? Please cease being meddlesome.”

Lucien held up his hands. “I am hardly being meddlesome. I was merely walking down the street, minding my own business, when I encountered Lord Gregory. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him I was going to your house.”

An absurd thrill shot through Evie’s chest. “Don’t even think of making a match.” Between him and Heloise, Evie was beginning to wonder if she ought to escape their interference and return to Cornwall where she’d gone to reinvent herself. She’d enjoyed several lovely months there as the newly widowed Mrs. Renshaw.

Except she loved London far too much to leave. And her friends, who were—mostly—here. She also loved the Phoenix Club, especially on nights like tonight when it would be teeming with people she knew and who accepted her completely. Would they do so if they knew the truth?

Where the hell had that come from? She rarely thought of her past life and whether it might become known. Enough time had passed that she felt comfortable in her new situation. Perhaps it was her encounter with Arbuthnot.