He raised offended brows, but replied quietly enough. “I have applied to Rome for an annulment.”
She laughed curtly.
“Do you think there is a chance of its being granted?”
“Perhaps not. But I have stated the facts and hope to get justice.”
Her lips curled disdainfully. “There isn’t the slightest chance for you, Alexis. Claire is a devoted daughter of the Church, and they won’t risk losing her for an agnostic like yourself. If I were you, I shouldn’t lay any hopes upon it, but put all my energy into procuring a divorce.”
“But Claire refuses to divorce me. It would be easy enough for her, God knows, if she wanted to!”
“On the charge of desertion, I suppose!” A smile played about the tiny mouth.
His anger disdained subterfuge. “On the charge of infidelity.”
She shook her head, mandarin-wise. “But that would ruin your career.”
“Why should it? People don’t go to hear an artist because he’s a woolly lamb. Music isn’t dependent upon the blue laws. If Puritans were able to interpret it, I know many a Symphony that would have to be discarded.”