She shakes her head. “Who could truly dare sleep in this cold? We might never wake up.” She saunters over to the easel. “Ah, your little liebling. Very good, Artist. Really, it is very good. You have found your muse at last.”

“Oh, I think she will only let me paint her once.”

“Pity. She stirs something in you.” She gives him a blatantly vulgar glance which, much to his annoyance, causes Bram to blush. “So, you have not yet taken her into your narrow little bed.”

“I don’t see that is any of your business.”

“Don’t be such a prude. In this house everything is everybody’s business.”

“Perhaps I prefer to keep some things private.”

“Why?” She shakes her head, genuinely baffled by this. “Do you think your sex life is so very different from anyone else’s? What do you think Mangan is doing to me when you hear him roaring in the night, hmm? What is he doing with Jane, on the days when she can be bothered to care? How do you think the house came to be full of children?” She folds her arms, still smoking, sighing at him. “You English make too much fuss about sex, anyway. How long are you going to go on torturing yourself with Beauty? What are you waiting for? She’s never going to marry you.”

Bram frowns now and looks away from her, contemplating his feet.

“You surely do not think this?” Gudrun laughs flatly. “My God, Artist, you do! You think Lady Lilith, daughter of a duke, who has ridiculous amounts of money and could marry a prince if she wanted to … you think she is going to marry you?” She laughs again. “Has she even broken off her engagement to that handsome viscount of hers? I have not read of it in the paper.”

“If you’ve just come up here to mock us, mock me, you can take your nasty coffee and leave.”

“Oh, I have hurt your feelings. Forgive me, Artist. I grow cynical. Why shouldn’t she marry you? Why not marry for love? There is plenty of space in here, after all. Jane can help look after your beautiful artist babies. And Mangan won’t mind, though of course he will expect you to share her with him. Do you think Beauty would like that? Some highborn ladies find the wild man exciting. Perhaps yours is no different.”

Bram has never in his life wanted to hit a woman, but he knows he is as close to doing so now as he will ever come.

“Get out,” he says.

Gurdun shrugs, drops her cigarette butt to the floor, and grinds it out with her heel.