move and countered smoothly. Taking his hand back, he ducked under my swing and danced out of way.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Brushing some of my brown hair out of my eyes, I glared at him. The fact that his weird smile had grown made me even more irritated.
“Nicely executed, Miss Rousseau. You almost had me.” Authority Dude nodded his head at me. I clenched my fists at my sides to keep from trying to cream him. What a snide little…
“Here is my card. My name is Duvall. It would please my boss a great deal if you could meet us for dinner tonight. She is staying at the Parallel and has dinner reservations set for eight thirty at the restaurant downstairs.” I looked at his card and then back to his face. What on earth could this be about? The Parallel was the nicest hotel in town. I looked back at his card and noticed the odd crest at the top. A small bird rested on a branch that wrapped around a blue shield. Who was this weird little dude wearing an earpiece?
“Who’s your boss?”
“The Duchess Rose Sverelle of Dollange.”
I looked at him for a moment to see if he was joking. Nope, his face was still set in that frosty, serious expression. I blinked slowly and looked back at his card before returning my eyes to his face.
“I think you have the wrong Samantha. There is no reason a duchess would be looking for me.” I climbed into the driver’s seat and he closed the door once my leg was in, attempting a smile. It looked weird on his face, as if he wasn’t used to doing it very often. I rolled down the window and tried to hand him back his business card, but he waved a hand to signal I should keep it.
“You are Samantha Rousseau, wildlife biologist specializing in raptors? Graduate student, daughter of Martha Rousseau?”
“Uh, yeah, but—” I shook my head when he stepped a little closer to the window.
“I am very good at my job, Miss Rousseau. I was told to find Samantha Rousseau, and I have. The duchess’s reasons are her own.” He shrugged. “Of course, falconry is a large sport in our country. Perhaps it has something to do with that.”
“And what country is that?” I looked back at his card as if it might offer some answers.
“Lilaria.” He stepped away from the car and nodded to me. I looked at him for a moment in confusion. Eventually I threw the business card onto the pickup bench next to me and stuck my key in the ignition.
“Okay, Duvall. I might be there, but I’m a pretty busy person. Got to check the calendar first.” With that, I threw the truck into reverse and backed up.
“Of course.” He nodded at me as I switched to drive and pulled out of the parking lot. From the way he smirked at me, I was pretty sure he knew I was lying about being busy.
I watched him get into his black sedan, noticing for the first time the little flags on the hood. What on Earth would a duchess want with me? How had I ended up on some royal’s radar? I hit the switch for the radio and leaned back into the old driver’s seat. My mind worked through reasons that someone from a country I barely knew existed could possibly want to speak to me about. Maybe she was interested in the research center. But why would she come to me? Wouldn’t it make more sense for her to contact Dr. Geller? He would be the one to handle donations or any sort of involvement on her part. He was out of town; maybe he forgot to tell me this lady was coming.
The truck coughed as it switched gears and I entered the on-ramp for the highway. The clock on the dashboard said it was almost five thirty. Dr. Geller would still be in the field, so there was no point in calling him to find out what was going on. I’d just have to wing it. I snorted and sped the truck up. I didn’t have much time to change and make it back downtown.
It wasn’t like I had anything else to do and she might be able to help the research center. The staff was making do with half the supplies they really needed to rehabilitate the injured raptors in their care. The cages were much smaller than