“I wanted that for you. After we married, I asked him if he would bring my children back to me, but he couldn’t remember where he’d taken you all. There were other mistresses you see, other babes. I always made excuses for him. He was a man of strong needs and urges. He had such vitality. How could one woman satisfy him?”

“You told me you loved him.”

“I did . . . when I had a young heart. Then he broke it too many times. It is naught now but cracks and fissures into which regret takes root.”

Selena wondered if a time would come when she would regret the bargains she’d made, the deception she would perpetrate. Already she was feeling a tiny crack in her heart because Aiden would not be in her life.

“You’re not going back to him,” Aiden said quietly. “You’ll stay here until you’re strong enough and then I’ll find accommodations for you elsewhere.”

“I need to let Johnny know.”

“I will handle the matter. Don’t worry yourself. Try to sleep.”

“You’re such a good boy.”

But Selena knew he was an exceptionally good man.

When the countess finally drifted off, Aiden looked across the way at Selena and jerked his head to the side. She followed him into the front parlor.

“You need to be getting home,” he said quietly. “Dawn will be arriving soon.”

“I don’t understand how Elverton can be so callous, so vile. If your mother hadn’t come here, she might have died. And who would have been the wiser regarding the circumstances behind her death?”

“She’s with me now. And I will keep her safe.”

She didn’t doubt his words or his ability to do just that. “When are you going to confront Elverton?”

“Tonight. I’ll keep the countess here until that matter is done.”

“When all this is behind you, perhaps we can discuss our future.”

“We don’t have a future, Lena. We never did.”

“I can’t just cast you aside.”

“You are too vibrant a woman to live your public life alone and without escort.”

“Perhaps there’s another way.”

He shook his head. “You need to leave.”

“Will you at least give me one last kiss?”

She shouldn’t have asked but as he joined his mouth to hers, she was ever so glad she had. It was bittersweet to know it was the last and to know it would never be enough.

When he drew back, she gave him a soft smile, then turned on her heel and walked out of his life and into the one she had thought she wanted.

Chapter 23