“Precisely. My family includes a lot of former soldiers, one of whom happened to hear that you and Tommie were taking the Dover packet. I did not know Corporal Shores numbered among my relatives, but there he was, wishing me well and aiding my cause as any brother would have. My family includes Nanny Winklebleck, who never let me get too familiar, and Cook, who never allowed me to go hungry.

“MacKay is a self-appointed Scottish cousin,” he went on, “and even Michael Delancey offered to listen to my brokenhearted maundering for the length of a midnight stroll. These people are my family. Their opinions of me matter. Your opinion of me matters. They will not judge Tommie for his origins, and they will not judge us either should we decide to marry. Those who do judge us are of no moment.”

“You have been doing some thinking.” Still, she did not come any closer. “So have I, mostly along the same lines. Madame Howard, who never saw me before tonight, is more protective of me than either my father or my so-called husband ever was. Dorcas MacKay, MacIvey, you… You all wished me well and aided my cause, as you put it. I set my sights on France because that much distance was intended to guarantee I would not beg you to keep me as your mistress. I did not want Tommie to be ashamed of me, or so I told myself.”

“And now?”

“Tommie—a grown-up Tommie, or even half-grown—will be more upset with me for turning my back on those who care for us than he will be for turning my back on blasted propriety. I’m not saying I should have become your leman, but I behaved precipitously, again, and I fear some stubborn element of evading my father’s judgment once again drove my actions.”

She took a step closer. “I was evading Harry, too, make no mistake about that. I wasn’t evading you. Am I making sense?”

“Some, though I can’t pretend to grasp the nuances in my present state. Are we to be married, Matilda? There will be talk and scandal, and Tommie’s path won’t be easy. Harry Merridew-Merriman-Merri-whatever will not face pillorying in the press if the marriage is quietly declared void. Harrell Merchant can walk away from his past relatively unscathed.”

“I do not care that,”—she snapped her fingers under Tremont’s nose—“for the fate that befalls Harry. Can he stop this voiding of the marriage?”