Dr. Malachy pushed back in his chair. “I don’t intend to make you uncomfortable, Lilia. I always felt a kinship with Gideon.”
“I know that he was fond of you, Dr. Malachy.”
The professor frowned into his cup. Lilia rose to excuse herself, then he spoke. “It seems plausible that Gideon and I could have shared a similar amorous disappointment. It’s whimsical, of course, but I’m old enough to have license to be whimsical on occasion.”
“You disagreed with your wife?”
“Never had the chance. The lady in question and I did discuss marriage. She shared your skepticism of the Society’s merit and we argued about it. In fact, she broke our engagement as a result of that argument.”
“I’m sorry.” Lilia sat down again. “What happened to her?”
“I don’t know, not for certain.” His next words were so
