It was a serious question that deserved a serious answer, so Kendra thought hard about what she would be facing. Walking into the ball the night before had taken all her anger and resolution. She’d almost turned away from the front door, and she would never forget the searing humiliation of standing in the middle of the dance floor being treated as a monster, with loathing stares and whispered insults.

But daring to attend that ball had brought her an amazing ally, and Lucas had brought her here, where she had found kindness and understanding and hope. She raised her chin. “For the last months, I’ve been hiding like a fox gone to ground. It is time for me to come out and fight for justice. I know it will not be easy, but I am prepared for what will come.”

“You’ll need an escort,” Lucas said thoughtfully. “I’d be happy to take on that role. I’m not welcome everywhere either, but at least we can face cuts direct together.”

Suzanne smiled, but said, “People will assume you’re lovers. I don’t think that will help rebuild Kendra’s reputation.”

“But we’re not lovers.” Kendra looked at Lucas and their gazes caught with a force that startled her. She had no interest in remarrying, even if she were legally free to do so, but she was suddenly, sharply aware of Lucas’s physicality. He had the lean masculine strength of a warrior and the compassion of a healer, and for the first time ever the idea of taking a lover was appealing.

Startled and uneasy at her reaction, she jerked her gaze away from him. “Perhaps we can be cousins. Not first cousins, but close enough that it would be believable for Lucas to wish to support me. Second cousins, perhaps. Once removed.”

“We’ll have to work out how we’re related,” Lucas said. “Who knows? We might actually be cousins of some degree. I have some Scottish ancestors who might be connected to your Scottish family, and that would be harder to disprove.”

Kendra felt some of her tension unwinding. The challenges ahead would be easier to face if she had Lucas at her side. How did that come to seem so natural?

Suzanne stood. “I shall leave you three to your strategizing. It’s time I fed Madeline.”

Many women of rank preferred to use wet nurses, but Kendra had chosen to nurse her child, and obviously Suzanne was doing the same. She asked, “May I meet her?”

“I should be pleased to introduce you,” Suzanne said with a smile. “Though I warn you, she hasn’t much conversation!”