Asher's Dilemma by Coleen Kwan Read Free Book Online Page A

better for you to remain in ignorance. But now you know the truth.” She continued to knead Minerva’s shoulder, her tuberose perfume heady as incense, her eyes fathomless blue pools. “We can be friends, you and I, but not if you sermonize and demonize. What say you, child?”
    The constriction in Minerva’s chest intensified. A hot wave of tumbling emotion surged over her. The motherless eight-year-old in her yearned to rest her head on her mother’s bosom and find release in weeping. But the immaculate furbelows of Mrs. Nemo’s bodice offered no maternal comfort. They could be friends, acquaintances, yes, but never mother and daughter.
    “I’d like that,” she murmured, forcing back her tears. She hesitated as she mulled over how a friendship with Mrs. Nemo would be conducted. “Will you tell Herr Schick about me?”
    “Certainly not!” Her mother drew back in horror. “In fact, you must not call here again without prior warning.”
    “But I…” Minerva trailed off. Herr Schick was neither the most agreeable of men nor the wealthiest, so why was her mother with him when she had just denied having any feelings for him? “I hope he doesn’t treat you poorly.”
    Mrs. Nemo’s head tilted up regally. “I never allow any man to treat me poorly.”
    And Asher Quigley? What was he to Mrs. Nemo? The sick feeling returned to Minerva. She didn’t want to speculate on what the connection was between the two, but sooner or later she would have to find out. Perhaps they had met through Herr Schick. Perhaps Asher had conferred with the German on some mathematical problem. It was possible, and certainly more palatable than any other explanation.
    “And you share Herr Schick’s passion for mathematics?” Minerva asked. “I never knew you were so inclined.”
    “Child, there’s much you do not know about me.”
    For the first time Minerva took in her surroundings. The room, which she’d assumed was her mother’s private sitting room, wasn’t furnished in the usual way for a lady. Certainly there was a fine escritoire by the window and a velvet chaise longue with many cushions for reclining on, but the shelves were crammed with heavy tomes on botany, astrology, chemistry and alchemy, a side table held a collection of jars, glass tubes, slides and a microscope, while on the desk were numerous papers covered in detailed writing.
    “Are you pursuing studies of your own?” Minerva looked at her mother with some awe. Not only did Herr Schick trust her with his analytical machine, it appeared she was also a serious scholar. “I would love to hear about it.”
    “No, I’m sure you’d find it tedious.” Mrs. Nemo drew Minerva towards the door. “But come, you must be on your way now, and I have work to do. Give me the address of your lodging, and I will send round a note when I’m available.”
    Minerva left the terrace, her mind still swirling. She might have uncovered the truth about her mother’s “death” but that was only the start of the puzzle. So much was unknown about Mrs. Nemo, but one thing was clear—she was concealing a great many secrets.
    * * *
     
    In a ferment of agitation, Asher of the future followed Minerva back to her lodgings. His entire body had vibrated in shock when he’d spied her emerging from Herr Schick’s terrace. And the sight of Mrs. Nemo waving her off had sent dread lancing through him. He’d barely had sufficient brainpower to instruct the driver of his cab to follow the carriage Minerva had stepped into.
    What the devil was she doing here in London? Throughout the awfulness of the past fortnight, his one consolation had been the belief that Minerva was, for the moment, safely tucked away in Manchester. Every night, as he learned more and more of what he was up against, he found release in penning her letters, expressing all he’d felt for her in the past but never conveyed. She was both his anchor and his salvation.
    But now she was here in the very thick of things,