“That’s a polite way to ask for information I didn’t offer,” Sophia said, but she didn’t feel pressured, either. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to say, but to her surprise she started talking anyway. “Most people think it’s a stage name, but I’ve never hidden anything about myself. My mom is straight up Italian, only first-generation American. My dad’s roots run deep in eastern Texas and western Louisiana with a little bit of Spanish, some Mexican, Cajun, and French Canadian to his DNA. It’s all a bit muddled in me. I’m every bit the genetic mutt my name implies.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Vic said conversationally. “I’ve got a little bit of everything in me, too . . . Both Anglo and Saxon.”

Sophia stared at her, not sure she’d actually just said that. “Seriously?”

Vic laughed. “No. I’m just Anglo. I’m quite dry and boring, actually. My family tree barely forked for almost a hundred years in the Middle Ages. Don’t worry, we’ve dealt with the inbreeding over the last two centuries . . . mostly.”

Sophia burst out laughing. She didn’t know what else to do. Vic could say the most astoundingly aristocratic thing one moment, then follow it up with a sarcastic crack at her own expense without ever shifting her tone in the slightest.

“I didn’t mean to make light of your upbringing though,” she added. “It actually sounds fascinating to me.”

“Sure,” Sophia said. “This from the woman who casually mentioned where her people were during the Wars of the Roses earlier today.”

“My upbringing is as second nature to me as yours is to you.”

“I wish yours was a little more second nature to me, if only for this role.”

“What do you want to know?” Vic asked.

She shook her head. “Nothing in particular . . . yet. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

“You can, you know? I’m right here.”

“Thank you,” she said, though she had no intention of accepting the offer. She reminded herself she was here only until evening fell fully. Then she planned to put a healthy distance between herself and Vic’s disarming appeal. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out, and if not, I can always have Talia ask Emma for advice.”

Vic’s smile turned a little sly or maybe almost shy. The expression was new, and Sophia couldn’t constrain her curiosity. “Why do you look so . . . satisfied?”

“Nothing, no reason, I don’t.” She bit her lip for a second before going on. “Emma’s info is as good a source as any. She had impeccable research methodologies. It’s not easy to get into the mind of a woman bound by title and tradition who has to choose between love and honour while sitting high atop her ancient castle, but Emma did so beautifully.”