Lily carried Katherine out of the servants’ quarters, saying her goodbyes to the staff. It took every bit of her self-control not to cry. These men and women were good, loyal people who had helped her settle into a life here, a life that had become a happy dream, at least when she was wasn’t reminded that she was the cuckoo in their nest.

She looked back upon the house before she summoned a coach. The beautiful townhouse looked much like the other houses on the street, but the red door with a lion’s head knocker would always be home for her, and leaving it made her heart ache.

“Mama?” Katherine whispered drowsily and burrowed closer to her.

She stroked a hand up and down Katherine’s head before she climbed into the coach. “Sleep, love.”

When they reached the gambling hell, it was late afternoon. Lily carried her daughter up the back stairs and slipped out a brass key to unlock the door. This time she was careful to check the shadows in the room, half expecting to find Hugo lurking here again.

She set Katherine down on the bed and changed out of her clothes. Removing the bindings around her breasts, she drew in a deep breath. Then she pulled on her stockings, stays, petticoats, and a dark-blue day gown that buttoned up the front. She removed the cap and wig and took some time to brush out her long gold locks, then washed off the colored powder that concealed her more feminine features. It was a relief to look like herself again and not have to spend an hour each morning changing her face to hide.

She finished cleaning her face and then worked her hair into a simple coiffure. She studied herself in the cracked mirror. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do.

She collected her Tom Linley disguise and tucked it under the bed, out of the view of casual eyes in case someone got into the room while she was gone. She glanced at herself once more in the mirror, and it began to sink in that the end was coming. Hugo intended for her to seduce Charles, and then his final plan would be set in motion. There would be no more Tom and no more life in Charles’s home.

No more Charles.

And then what? she wondered. Would she at last be free of Hugo? He had promised her as much. He’d said he would allow her and Katherine to live in the country and to do what she wanted. She would be free, free to carry the guilt of her actions with her forever.

But she also knew how Hugo thought. He had invested time and money into her education, and he hated wasting resources. Part of her knew that she would hear a familiar sound a year or two later, that of a cane being stuck against her door, and a new task would require her attention.

She would never be truly free.

With a heavy sigh, she picked up her daughter and left the room Katherine had been born in, locking it behind her. She hired another coach to take her to the Essex townhouse. There she was let in by a footman, and Emily rushed down the stairs to greet her.

“Lily! You came.” Emily embraced her as though they were cousins and not plotting a deception to fool the ton about her identity. Emily gave Katherine a little kiss on the forehead just as her husband came down the stairs.

Lily had been around Godric many times, but she’d always been somewhat invisible as a servant. Now she was facing him in a dress, holding her daughter and feeling exposed. Would he recognize her?

“Mrs. Wycliff?” Godric beamed at her. His green eyes and natural charm hit her hard. No wonder Emily adored this man. When he smiled, it was like the sun came out after days of rain. Of course, it was nothing compared to when Charles smiled. If Godric was sunshine, Charles was the sun himself. All heat, light, and raw power that consumed her completely. Lord, she’d only just left him, and she already missed him.

“Your Grace.” She dropped into a curtsy, which proved difficult since she still held Katherine in her arms. The child stirred and rubbed her eyes and blinked owlishly at Godric.

“And who is this then?” Godric rubbed Katherine’s chin, beaming at the child. Lily could already tell he would make an indulgent, loving, and protective father.

“Sophia, Your Grace.” She kissed the crown of Katherine’s blonde head. “Sophia, this is Lord Essex.”

“Shush. You may call me Uncle Godric.” He winked at the girl, and she smiled at him, clapping her hands together.

“I have a nurse for her upstairs in the nursery if you would like to get her settled,” Emily offered.

“Thank you, Emily.” She curtsied again to Godric and followed Emily upstairs.

A matronly woman named Mrs. Yorke took charge of Katherine and set her down in a room full of toys. A large wooden crib was prepared, with a warm fire lit in the hearth. It looked so inviting and wonderful that Lily’s eyes burned with tears.

“Emily, it’s…”

“Please say it’s all right. Godric and I have been preparing this for the last two months, and I’m so glad Sophia will be able to use it before our own child arrives.”

Katherine reached for a toy horse and waved it at the nurse, who chuckled and sat down next to her, picking up a doll to join in play with Katherine.

“It’s more than I ever could have dreamed. More than we deserve.” Lily clutched her hands to her chest, her throat tight as she watched her daughter play.

“Nonsense. You deserve this. Everyone does.” Emily hugged her shoulders. “Now, come down and have some tea. I want to tell you about the ball tonight.”

“A ball? So soon?” Lily waved to Katherine as she left the nursery, but the child was completely engrossed playing with Mrs. Yorke.

“Yes. I apologize for the short notice. Lord Sanderson and his wife are hosting one tonight, and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for you to meet some decent gentlemen. I’ve already spoken to Lady Sanderson, and she’s thrilled to have you attend.”

“But I don’t have a suitable dress…” She had left the red gown in the room above the gambling hell, afraid Charles would recognize it if she wore it. But she realized now she should have brought it so he would recognize her. Why hadn’t she? Was she trying to sabotage herself?

“Everly had your first dress and a cloak delivered an hour ago. It’s a ready-made one she was able to tailor to your measurements. I spent the morning shopping for you. There are stockings, slippers, and anything else you might need before Everly can bring you more gowns.”

Emily and Lily came into the drawing room. Godric was reading a newspaper by the fire, and Emily’s foxhound was resting on the cushions of a chair opposite him. The dog lifted her head as Emily approached, wagging her tail furiously, thumping against the cushions. Emily brushed her fingertips over the dog’s head, whispering sweetly to it.

“Did little Sophia like the nursery?” Godric inquired.

“Yes, Your Grace. She was very excited. Thank you for letting us trespass upon your hospitality.”

“Nonsense. You’re family. I was sorry to hear that your husband passed. Emily said Aaron was a good man.”

“He was.” Lily followed Emily as she sat down on one of the settees and poured two cups of tea. The foxhound leapt up and came to sit by Emily’s leg, eyeing the tray of small biscuits hopefully.

“Not now, Penelope,” said Emily. The poor dog sighed and rested her head on Emily’s knee, eyes rolling between Emily and the tray. “Did you remember to invite the League to the ball tonight?” she asked her husband. “Lady Sanderson expects them all to attend.”

Godric frowned as he folded up his paper. “I did, darling, but do we have to go? What if you—?”

“I’ll be fine. You may carry me up any icy steps, and I promise not to dance.” Emily touched her swollen belly. “This little one isn’t due for another month. She will be staying put, won’t you?” She spoke this to her belly with a warm smile.

Godric looked to his wife with amused contemplation. “Emily swears our child is a girl, but I’m not so sure.”

It was clear that Godric did not suspect anything unusual about her. Lily was able to relax in Godric and Emily’s company and laughed as they teased each other about their coming child.

“Did you know Sophia was a girl before she was born?” Emily asked.

Lily shook her head. “No. I had no idea what to expect. I only knew that I loved the child, no matter what.” Having Katherine inside her had been like sharing her heart, her breath. Loving her child was like loving herself. There’d been no question about that.

“I will certainly love a girl if we have it,” Godric said as he opened his paper again. “But Lord, such a child will give me gray hair if she’s anything like her mother.”

“And if it’s a boy who’s anything like his father, I will go gray first,” Emily countered. “Now, Lily, about tonight—” A knock on the drawing room door interrupted whatever Emily had been about to say. Simpkins’s face appeared around the edge of the door.

“Forgive the intrusion, Your Grace, but an urgent letter has arrived from Lord Lennox.”

Godric was on his feet in an instant, taking the letter. “Thank you, Simpkins.” He tore the wax seal open and read the letter. His face paled. “My God.”

Emily watched her husband intensely, as though she could almost read his thoughts. “Trouble, my dear?”

“Ash needs to see me at once. He and Charles retrieved Lord Kent from the tunnels on Lewis Street. He’s been beaten nearly to death.”

“Lord Kent?” Emily’s eyes widened. “What on earth was he doing down there?”

Godric folded the letter up. “It’s an underground boxing ring for those who like to fight and wager without restrictions. Charles has been there a few times. It’s vicious and dangerous. It’s unclear why Kent went in, however.”

Lily’s heart thundered madly against her ribs. Charles had gone back down there to find Kent? Her instinct was to run straight back to Charles to help. But she remembered where she was, and who she was now. Tom was gone forever. She was Lily Wycliff. She was trapped here. A stranger in skirts.

“This has Hugo’s shadow over it, I’m sure of it,” said Emily.

“I fear you are right,” said Godric. “But you are not to concern yourself with this. Not in your condition.”

“Are you going now?” Emily asked.

He nodded and came over to her, stealing a lingering kiss that left Lily feeling envious. If only she could have that with someone like Charles…

“The League will be meeting shortly to discuss this, but I should be home for the ball.” He turned and strode from the room. Emily didn’t speak for a moment. She kept quiet, her head cocked as though listening for anyone who might be close enough to hear her them. When she seemed satisfied, she finally spoke.

“This does not bode well.” She rubbed her temples. “I trust you know from Charles about Hugo Waverly and the danger he presents?”

Lily’s throat constricted. “Yes.”

“This must be his doing. Everything seems to come back to him.” Emily scowled. “But the mystery is why. I wish they would tell me what happened that night.”

Lily leaned forward. “What do you mean? How much do you know?” She’d known for a long time there was a secret, one that Charles kept buried deep. She knew Hugo was at the root of it, but neither Charles nor Hugo had ever explained what made them hate each other so.

“It was long ago, when Godric and the others were at Cambridge. Hugo kidnapped Charles from his room, bound his arms and legs, and dragged him to the river.”

Lily’s blood turned to ice when she pictured Hugo trying to drown Charles so viciously. “That much I know. I’ve heard him cry out in his sleep to that effect. But what I don’t understand is why.”

Emily shrugged. “I wish I knew. I’m not even sure my husband knows the full reason. Charles is a man of many secrets. He is all laughing and teasing on the surface, but when no one is looking he’s a man made entirely of steel.”

That was true. Lily had glimpsed that man of resolve and courage like no one she’d ever seen before. But there were secrets there, ones that left shadows in his gray eyes. She wondered at times if his secrets were as damning as hers. Perhaps they were. She remembered how he’d cry out in the night, shuddering with nightmares and whispering the name Peter over and over until tears coated his cheeks and he slipped back into sleep. Those nights haunted her.

“Does the name Peter mean anything to you?” she asked Emily.

“Peter? Yes…I believe he was a friend of Godric’s at Cambridge, but he died. Godric doesn’t like to talk about it. Why do you ask?”

“It’s something Charles says when he has nightmares—he whispers the name. But he never talks about Peter when he’s awake.”

Emily’s gaze turned distant, as though she was lost in thought for a few minutes. Then she shook her head and looked at Lily.

“The two must be connected, but that’s a mystery for another time. For now, we have other pressing matters. Let’s go up and look at that dress for tonight. I have a feeling it will be splendid.”

Emily was back to business she could handle, the ball and the task of finding Lily a husband. Despite Lily’s anxiety, she managed to turn her focus to the ball as well. After all, she would see him there tonight.

Her heart gave a wild flutter. And then what? Would she have a chance to kiss Charles again? The first time had been so wild and quick that she wasn’t sure she hadn’t dreamed it.

For now, she would try not to think of Hugo or his plans. She would think only of Charles and the way he made her feel whole again.