A footman went about pouring the wine. Selena noted that Gillie, the Duchess of Thornley, already heavy with child, gave a quick shake of her head when the footman offered her the Bordeaux. The gossips tittered that she’d been pregnant when the duke married her, but the deep devotion mirrored in his eyes whenever he looked at his wife told Selena that he hadn’t married her because of her condition, but simply because he loved her so fiercely.

Lady Aslyn sipped tentatively at her wine, and Selena thought she, too, might be in the family way, as her husband was particularly solicitous toward her as though of a sudden she was fragile when Selena knew her to be of firmer stuff. Like Selena, she’d lost both her parents in one fell swoop—a railway accident—although at a much younger age. They’d found comfort in lamenting their losses. Aslyn had become the ward of the wealthy and powerful Duke of Hedley—who very much resembled her husband. It was rumored that Mick Trewlove was the noble’s bastard, although Selena couldn’t envision the duke being unfaithful to his duchess.

Lady Lavinia did indulge in the fine wine, a sign she might not yet be with child, but then she hadn’t been married very long. Based upon the way her husband, Finn, continually reached out to touch her hand, caress her arm, tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, Selena was rather certain Lavinia would soon find herself increasing. It was obvious the man adored her, and she him.

These married couples all reflected the sort of devotion she’d hoped to inspire when she married.

Beast smiled indulgently at Fancy, and Selena realized with dawning awareness that his expression of brotherly affection very much mirrored the way Lushing had looked at her. Perhaps the reason he’d apologized when he first came to her bed was because his feelings toward her were more brotherly than husbandly.

She’d not truly understood the intimacy of the act, how it could bind two people. She certainly understood that now as she looked across the table at Aiden, noting the way he watched her as though he were striving to memorize the sight of her dining with his family because it would be a one-time occurrence.