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with feeling.
    Julius shrugged. “Many people have. That may mean nothing, but still, I’d like to be positive that Miss Merton is safe before I leave the district.”
    “Miss Merton!” Connie exclaimed. “She is the one? You believe her to be a Stuart?”
    With a wry smile, Julius nodded. “I more than believe it. Augustus discovered a new document in Rome. Most of it was destroyed, but the Mertons featured on it. It listed some of the other children, too. Now I’ve seen her, I don’t have any doubts.”
    “What do you intend?”
    Julius hesitated. Before he’d met her he’d have said he planned to leave her in peace, but in all conscience he could not claim that now. So what did he want?
    His body knew. He heated every time he was close to her. But his mind—he would not let his basic urges dictate his decisions ever again. He did not answer Alex, but spread his hands. “I will decide when I know more.”
    Alex exchanged a glance with his wife that Julius decided not to pursue. “I am living at the Crown in Appleton.” He snorted. “If you can call it living. It’s adequate. I do not want anyone to recognize me, not yet. I take it you have not done much in the way of social events locally?”
    “Not at all,” Alex said. “We’ve used Connie’s health shamelessly as a shield.” He clasped her hand warmly in his.
    “Alex was far too anxious,” Connie said, turning a laughing face to first her husband and then Julius. “I was fine. A little sickly, it’s true, but rest and a careful diet took care of that.”
    Alex shook his head. “The birth was agony. They wouldn’t let me anywhere near her.”
    “To fret around me while I did my work?” Connie laughed. “No.”
    “I know. I recall the day Caroline was born. I went to my wife when she howled for me, but they protested vigorously until I threatened them with force.” The birth had come as a deep shock to his wife, who had expected nothing like the experience she’d undergone. How she could have remained ignorant of the realities of giving birth had mystified Julius, but further shocks had remained in store for them both.
    He turned his mind away from the memory of what had happened after the baby’s birth. He had no wish to dwell on it, especially on such a happy occasion and with two of his best friends.
    Connie and Alex looked to be as deeply in love as ever. Julius was happy for them and felt no jealousy when he saw them together, any more than when he saw the other Emperors with the people they had found to love. He told himself that more frequently these days, although he didn’t doubt a wife would make his life easier from a practical point of view.
    Inevitably, his thoughts drifted back to Eve. Would she—no, he could not even think it. He had to give himself more time.
    “We will not be doing that again,” Alex said firmly.
    Connie merely laughed, but her exchange of glances with Julius told a completely different story. She wanted more children, and if Julius knew her at all, he would not wager on her not getting her way.
    “That is entirely your concern,” he said, thus forestalling any discussion until after he had left. “I have been invited to attend a soiree at Sir Henry Fulworth’s house. Am I likely to meet anyone there?”
    “I would hope so,” Connie said, “or the soiree will be a complete failure.”
    Julius rolled his eyes. “You are perfectly aware of my meaning. Anyone who might recognize me.”
    “So you’ll put up with indifferent service at an inn and not seeing Caroline for a while?” Alex said.
    “She and Helena are with my parents. They will be safe enough for a week or two.” Although Julius had his worries in that quarter, he would not concern his cousin with them at the moment. Once he would not have hesitated, but Alex had his own worries now. “I need to ensure this person is safe.”
    “I could do that for you.”
    Julius finished his tea. “I will take care of her safety before I