“What if he guesses? What if he seeks to—”

Leaning across, he took her hand, putting a stop to her words. “Lena, I may not be publicly involved in your life or that of the child, but I will be like that great statue on the front lawn, ever watchful from afar. No harm will ever come to the child. No one will ever question his parentage.” Reaching up, he skimmed his knuckles along her cheek. “I’m very good at keeping to the shadows.”

While she took immense comfort from his words, she couldn’t help but wonder how difficult, how painful, it might be for him to be hovering at the edge of his child’s life. “It will not be easy for you.”

“It is the price I pay. Willingly.”

For you was not said, but he might as well have etched the words on her heart because she felt them all the same.

She had struggled mightily to make her decision to live the remainder of her life without honor. She regretted that her actions would have such a profound effect on his life as well. Perhaps years from now when the child was grown, had made a life for himself, Selena would return to the Elysium Club and find true happiness with the owner. By then who would care? Who would be suspicious? The odds were against that happening, and yet it gave her something to hold on to.

He settled back. The satisfied smile was gone. Now she saw longing—not hunger, not desire—but a pining for something that could never be: quiet conversations before a fire, long walks in the park. A public acknowledgment that they meant something to each other.

She barely noted that they’d reached London, not until the carriage came to a halt outside the club. He made a move toward the door that had not yet been opened.

“I’ll meet you here tonight, shall I?” She could barely stand the thought of a night without him.

He paused and looked back at her, his smile soft, his eyes filled with a satisfaction that came from knowing he meant something to her. “Midnight. Fewer ladies about then, fewer tasks that require my attention.”

Then he was gone, leaping from the carriage, striding into the club, disappearing from her sight.