Diplomacy

fists until her knuckles turned white. For a moment he thought she would try and hit him again.
    “Don’t you realize what this will do to us?”
    “Not if we handle it right, Maria. Lots of people get divorced.”
    “You will ruin everything we’ve worked for. All your successes will be forgotten.”
    Jack tried to appease her by smiling. “No, they won’t, not…”
    “All people will remember is the scandal of the Ambassador and his little British boyfriend.”
    “Not if we handle this carefully.”
    “Carefully? Not bloody likely, if you think he’s getting off scot-free you have another thing coming.”
    “Leave him out of it, Maria!”
    “I’ll make sure the right people at the British Embassy hear about this.”
    “Maria, don’t… don’t drag his life through the mud as well.”
    “And I suppose Lucy knew about this?”
    “You mean Lucy wasn’t the one who told you?”
    “No, it wasn’t. Lucy disappeared without a word. But you have two people covering up for you, your ‘secretary’ and your Secret Service agent – only they should learn to get their stories straight.”
    “Why did you have to drag them into it?”
    “Because they think I’m stupid. They think they can pull the wool over my eyes.”
    “Well, I can assure you, Gertje certainly doesn’t think you’re stupid.”
    “Oh, she can’t see beyond her wonderful ‘Mr. Ambassador’.” This wasn’t going anywhere. “Maire, let’s talk about this when we’re both a little calmer, okay?”
    “There’s nothing to talk about. You tell lover boy it’s over and we get back to work. Otherwise neither of you will be welcome in diplomatic circles ever again by the time I’m finished!” 132 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    “Be sensible, Maria. Get out of this gracefully or you won’t have a reputation left either.”
    “Let me know whether you want your little tramp or me. Your reputation is my reputation, you stupid man, and now…” she looked down at her watch “I’m going to bed… alone. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
    “Don’t count on it,” Jack couldn’t help saying.

    D i p l o m a c y | 133

Chapter Seventeen
    IT was way past midnight when Lucas was awakened by the doorbell. There wasn’t a single person he could think of who would have the audacity to buzz him at this hour on a work day, unless the building was on fire or something equally dire. He scrounged around in the dark for a pair of trousers and slipped into them half way between the bedroom and the living room.
    As he opened the door, he covered his eyes with his hand, shielding them from the glare of the hallway lights.
    “Jack, what the…”
    “I told her, Luke.”
    “Well, don’t just stand there. Come in! Did she throw you out?” Lucas was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, trying to make them focus.
    “You want some tea?”
    Jack dropped to the couch and waited until Lucas came back with two steaming cups.
    “She was home already when I got there. She said she knew…
    about us.”
    Lucas, now fully awake, tried to give his lover an understanding look as he sat down next to him on the couch. “Did Lucy tell her?” His voice was barely audible.
    Jack leaned against Lucas, shaking his head as he rested it on the young man’s shoulder. “I asked her for a divorce and she said no.” 134 | Z a h r a O w e n s

    Lucas’s heart leapt at hearing Jack’s confession. He hated to see his lover this sad, but at the same moment, he was almost jumping for joy over the fact that Jack had so clearly chosen him.
    He tried to keep his voice neutral when he spoke. “I’m sure she just needs time to think about it, Jack. Once the night has passed and she realizes she’s truly lost you, she’ll understand it’s better to do this quietly and in some… mutually understanding kind of way. She won’t choose to fight about it and make it a big public spectacle.” He placed his hand gently on Jack’s thigh as Jack curled against him, so he did what his heart urged him to do and wrapped his arms around his lover. They stayed like that for a while, not talking or even looking at each other, just staying close together. Lucas felt Jack relaxing in his arms and started to think he could get used to this. “You can stay here, Jack.” Jack looked up at him. “I need to sort this out, Lucas. I can’t let her turn this into a sideshow. So we’ll need to lay low for a while. Can we do that?”
    Lucas’s heart cringed at the intense sadness in