“No, no, no,” Mr. Nasri said, his lips pursed as the last no drags out and then turns into a series of tsks. “My grandparents were from Algeria. I was French, I am French, and I will always be French. I would never want to be something else. No.”“Then what,” Theo asked, “and please forgive me if this comes across as rude, but if you are so enamored with your France, then what are you doing here in London?”Mr. Nasri shrugged and said, “I suppose it was just time for a change of scenery.” Theo nodded; he understood that feeling.And then suddenly, from one of the back rooms, a very English voice yelled out, “It’s because he’s a dirty dog killer!”Mr. Nasri paused at that and then said to Theo, “Just one moment, please,” before turning away to face one of the side doors and yell, “Excuse-moi, young Jack, but I do believe that you are not a part of this conversation, and I do believe that if you are quite finished washing all of those beakers, I have more for you to clean!”There was silence for a minute and then young Jack replied with a sullen, “No, I’m not finished.”Mr. Nasri turned back to Theo and shrugged, a small smile on his face as if to say, What can you do?“I apologize,” he said. “Monsieur Wilshere is my apprentice—well, not even really that, I won him from a friend of mine in a game of cards—”“Can you do that?” Theo interrupted yet again. “Bet an apprentice like that?”“Well, I didn’t think so,” Mr. Nasri answered, “but this only goes to show that if you ever meet Francesc Fabregas and he offers you a hand in a round of cards, saying no is the best option you have. Otherwise, if you lose, you lose, and if you win, you also lose.” He waved his hand towards the room where Mr. Wilshere was attending to his cleaning duties in an effort to explain what he meant.“I see,” Theo said, although if he were to be honest, he did not. “And what does the dog have to do with this?”Samir remained quiet for a minute and then muttered something under his breath in French before saying, “It really is nothing. I wished to remain in France, and because of a dog, others wished otherwise.”“Yes, but why?” Theo asked. Samir looked up towards the ceiling.“I may or may not,” he said slowly, “have injured the prize poodle of Franck Ribery, Duke of Burgundy.”