If she was looking to be absolved of guilt, he very much doubted she wanted to hear the truth of that, the many nights he went to bed with his gut gnawing at his spine for want of food, how callused and rough his soles became for want of shoes, how often he shivered until he feared his teeth would loosen for want of coal or a proper-fitting and less frayed jacket. “Under the circumstances, I should think you could call me Aiden.”

Her mouth curled up slightly. “Luke. I thought of you as Luke. The first was Matthew. Then Mark. Luke. John. Johnny. I was able to keep Johnny, Viscount Wyeth, because I was Elverton’s wife by then.” The words came slowly, a breath taken between each one.

He squeezed her hand. “Save your strength, my lady, and rest easy. We’ll talk later.”

“I need to make things right with you. I don’t know how much longer I have.”

“The earl told me you were unwell,” Selena said softly. “Do you know what ails you?”

“A husband who wishes to be rid of me. He favors young and beautiful women. The years have taken their toll on me and my looks have faded.” Her eyelids struggled to lift as though she found them heavy as irons. Slowly she turned her gaze toward Lena. “Take care, Duchess. He’ll have his eye on you.”

Selena had never known her bones to feel so cold as she stood before the fireplace in the front parlor, striving to find some warmth in the dancing flames, while Dr. Graves, who had arrived only a short time ago, was examining the countess. Aiden sat in a nearby chair, his forearms pressed to his thighs, his head bent.

“Why didn’t you leave?” he asked somberly.

As harsh as his earlier words had been, as much as they’d bludgeoned her heart, she found that she couldn’t dismiss him easily, couldn’t simply walk out of his life as though he meant nothing at all to her. She suspected in the future, on rare occasions, she would come to the club, simply to catch a glimpse of him. She would look forward to sharing whatever time he spent with his child. Although she’d never been comfortable with the scheme Winslow had cooked up, she hadn’t fully understood the extent of its costs, hadn’t realized what Aiden would come to mean to her. “The way you rushed out of here, I feared trouble was afoot. I remained in case you had need of me.”

He raised his eyes to her. “Thank you for helping me with her.”

“I’ll just stay until the doctor is finished examining her, in case there’s more I can do.”

He merely nodded.

“Do you know why she came to see you?”