“I know,” he said. “I think. But the time may come when he knows. How will he feel when he finds out I picked the Church over him? That I asked to be exiled from his life?”

“It’s only a piece of paper,” she said. “If you go back to the Jesuits, they’ll do what they have to even if they don’t mean it.”

“If,” he said. “Even you’re not sure I’ll go back.”

She tapped the toe of his shoe with the toe of hers.

“How are we?” he asked, meeting her eyes again.

A serious question, so she took a second before answering. It deserved serious thought and a serious answer.

“We’re good,” she said.

“Solid?”

“Rock solid.”

“You’re certain?”

Nora smiled. “You don’t think we are?”

“I keep waiting,” he said, “for you to finally get angry at me.”

“I get angry at you all the time. I was highly perturbed at you earlier today when I was horny, and you were not there to do anything about it.”

“Angry about Fionn.”

She knew that’s what he’d meant.

“We’ve talked about it a hundred times. Hard talks. Serious talks.”

“Talked about it, yes. Never fought about it.”

“I love Fionn as much as you do. If you’re waiting for me to be angry that you wanted a kid and I didn’t, so you found a way to have a kid without trying to make me into something I’m not? You’ll have to wait a long time.”

“Still,” he said, “something tells me it’s coming. Storm clouds gathering. I can see them. Can’t you?”

“Stop being so paranoid. You’re as bad as Kingsley.”

She tapped his toe again with hers.

“The next ten months will be hard,” he said. “If I’m going to make it through this, I’ll need you.”

“You have me,” she said. “And Kingsley. Unless you tell him you can’t accept the house. Then he’ll kill you, and I’ll help him bury the body.”

“How can I accept a gift this extravagant? I’d be in his debt.”

“Allow me to explain the submissive mindset to you, Master Søren, because you clearly know nothing about it.”

“Enlighten me, Mistress Nora.” He waved his hand, indicating she had the floor.

“I know you think Kingsley gave you this house because he’s trying to coddle you or something while you’re going through a rough time. You’re worried accepting the house will throw off the balance of power. But that’s not how it works. I’ve had male clients give me tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry, vacations, cars…an Aston Martin…” She crossed herself as she spoke that hallowed name. “That’s what submissives do. They shower their masters and mistresses with tribute—gifts of worship, adoration, and gratitude—as they should.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s so. This house is not the gift of a man who sees a crying child and buys him an ice cream to cheer the kid up. This is the gift of a devoted submissive trying to show—in any way he can—that he worships the very ground you walk on. You turn down the gift of this house, you will be throwing Kingsley’s love and devotion and submission to you in his face.”