She peeked around Mr. Clarke but no one else was there. Her chest contracted with what she suspected was disappointment.

Angelo rose and the two men shook hands. “Mr. Clarke, this is a surprise. Did we have an appointment?”

“No, so please forgive my intrusion.” Shifting toward Alice, there was something akin to amusement simmering in his gaze. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Miss Lusk, a pleasure to see you in Chef Franconi’s kitchen once more.”

“Mr. Clarke.” Pushing her chair back, she started to stand. “I’ll leave you two to your meeting.”

“No, please, stay. I’m glad you’re here. Chef, may I have a moment with Miss Lusk?”

Angelo tilted his head in her direction. “Only if the lady agrees.”

“Of course,” she said. “Shall we move to the dining room?”

“No, no.” Angelo removed his plate and wineglass and set them aside. Then he brought a clean glass and poured Mr. Clarke wine. “I insist. This is the best red wine from Barolo. Enjoy.” The chef moved to the stove, where his assistants were finishing the last orders of the night.

“Chef said you often come right before closing.” Mr. Clarke sipped the wine and his eyes widened as he examined the bottle. “That is nice. I might have to order a case. Anyway, I stopped by in the hopes of seeing you.”

“Me?”

“I did need to speak with Chef, but yes, I had hoped to run into you. I never had the chance to thank you for your help.”

With the recipes. “Oh, you are welcome. I hope you find them useful.”

“We have, although it has been difficult to sample them. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

“What do you mean? I wrote the instructions clearly.”

“Yes, you did, and we are very grateful, of course. It has been impossible to locate a chef who can execute them properly, unfortunately. But I won’t bore you with our silly problems. Had you a nice time in Newport?”

He stared at her intently over the rim of his glass but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Had Kit mentioned anything about the lessons? Was Mr. Clarke secretly laughing at her? “I did. How are Mr. Archer and Maddie?”

“Still honeymooning. And you were at the opera two nights ago, I believe? My apologies for not saying hello. Did you speak to Kit?”

“I did, but only briefly.”

Mr. Clarke’s lips curved as if this confirmed something he already knew. “I am worried about him. He’s been uncharacteristically out of sorts since returning from the chateau. I wish I knew what happened at that house party.”