“It’s our shared plot at the cemetery, you see. I love Aiden with all my heart and want to be with him through eternity. I want to lie beside him when I sleep at night and when I drift off into my eternal sleep. I realize you might marry—”

“I’ll never marry.” His voice held such certainty.

“You need an heir.”

“Unlike Lushing, who had no one waiting in the wings, I have a brother who is next in line to inherit the title and properties. He’ll do well by them, has already married and produced a son. So if he goes before me, the line is secure.”

With his words, she was more certain than ever she had the right of things.

“In that case, perhaps you’d consider purchasing the plot next to Lushing in Abingdon Park, the one he’d designated for me. Before he died, he told me I wasn’t obligated to make use of it, but I don’t want to leave him there alone, and as the two of you were such dear friends—”

“How much?”

“I was thinking a shilling.”

He stopped walking and faced her, his eyes soft. “Selena, he paid much more for it than that.”

“I know. And perhaps I have the wrong of it, but I always felt he was happiest when you were about. As a matter of fact, it once occurred to me that if the law allowed it, he’d have preferred to have married you rather than me.”

Abruptly, he dropped his gaze and studied his boots polished to a shine. Finally he lifted his gaze to her. “He was the love of my life.”

“I’m glad, Kit, I’m glad he had you, that he knew what it was to be so loved. I cared for him, loved him even, but I was not in love with him.”

“Few among the aristocracy marry for love. He felt an obligation to his birthright to provide an heir. Having been raised in an atmosphere where duty is everything, I couldn’t fault him for his decision, even respected him more for it. Although he did worry that he’d done you a disservice.”

“Our reasons to marry all involved responsibilities. I think we made the best of it.”

“As I told you before, after you married, he was never unfaithful to you. Our relationship became one of deep abiding friendship, but nothing more. I was always grateful that you welcomed my intrusion in your life and allowed me to be part of your adventures.”