Asher's Dilemma by Coleen Kwan Read Free Book Online

That, Minerva felt sure, was what had really happened, but she would never be able to verify that, because her father was no longer compos mentis. Following his ordeal at the hands of his kidnappers, her father had become as docile as a baby, and had little memory of the past. His health was fragile, his grip on reality even more tenuous, and she couldn’t contemplate questioning him about his marriage.
    “Father’s not well these days,” Minerva said.
    Mrs. Nemo’s eyes narrowed. “And how do you come to be knocking on my door?”
    Minerva’s brain froze. The shock of meeting her long-dead parent had fuddled her wits. She couldn’t tell her mother about Asher. She wasn’t sure why, only that her nerves shrilled at the notion. Asher must know who Mrs. Nemo was—he couldn’t have failed to notice the resemblance—and clearly he hadn’t wanted Minerva to meet her. What business Asher had with Mrs. Nemo, Minerva was loath to speculate.
    “I, ah, I must have given the wrong directions to the cab driver,” Minerva improvised. “I’m visiting a client here in London, you see.” Briefly she gave her mother the bare bones of her business.
    Mrs. Nemo’s plucked eyebrows rose up. “Mercy me. So you’ve set up shop as an appendage-maker. I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised. You were always more interested in your father’s gadgets than your dolls.” She tilted her head to one side. “And so it’s pure coincidence that you ended up here?”
    “Of course.” Minerva attempted a convincing tone. “Stranger things have happened.” She paused. It hadn’t escaped her notice that her mother had shown little interest in her father. “Father always said life was stranger than fiction.”
    “Ah yes, your father. You mentioned he’s not well these days?”
    “That’s right, I’m afraid. He’s suffered a mental breakdown and doesn’t remember much anymore.” Minerva expanded upon her father’s condition, but after only a few minutes she paused as she caught the boredom flickering across her mother’s face. She remembered that expression all too well from her childhood when she’d chattered on, desperate to cling to her mother’s attention, yet seeing her indifference grow with every passing second. She’d failed to hold her mother’s interest then, and her mother had left. Now, seventeen years later, she was living openly with a man who couldn’t be her husband.
    “Is Herr Schick your lover?” she abruptly asked.
    Derision tinged her mother’s smile. “Why, that horror on your face—you remind me of my own mama.”
    “I have a right to know.”
    Mrs. Nemo raised an imperious finger, her smile vanishing. “Before you say anything, let me warn you that I will not tolerate any sanctimonious preaching. Not from you, not from anyone.”
    Minerva stared at her. “I’m not here to judge you.”
    “No? The appalled look you wear says otherwise.”
    Minerva swallowed. Who was she to judge? She herself had been prepared to be Asher’s mistress, and she’d never have regretted that. “Are you—are you in love with Herr Schick?”
    Her mother’s mouth fell open. “Child, surely you’re not that naive?”
    Humiliation knotted in Minerva’s chest. She hadn’t meant to sound so callow. She lowered her eyes to the carpet, unable to witness her mother’s amusement. Mrs. Nemo reached out and tipped up Minerva’s chin. She was smiling, but her smile was tinged with regret, not mockery.
    “Oh, Mimi dearest. By your standards I’ve done some shocking, outrageous things. I admit it. I’ve taken several lovers, but never have I been a mere concubine. I enter these relationships on my own terms, with my own agenda, and I choose only those which are advantageous to me. My current arrangement with Herr Schick is no different.” She shifted her grip to Minerva’s shoulder and gently squeezed. “I’ll be candid with you now. I wish you’d never discovered I was still alive. It would have been