Unease prickled the back of Faith’s neck. She pushed from her desk to go peek in on her daughter, just as she’d done every half hour all morning long. Ever since the disastrous revelations to Hawkridge two nights before, she hadn’t been able to allow Christina out of her sight for more than a few moments.

Not that he would just take Christina from her, Faith told herself firmly. He might be a marquess, but he wasn’t the devil.

Probably.

Faith stepped out into the school’s corridor and let out a deep breath. The truth was, she was no angel either.

Christina would feel incredibly hurt to discover that her “aunt” was actually her mother. She might think Faith had been ashamed of her all this time. Unwilling to admit the connection publicly because Christina was in some way unworthy. Faith couldn’t bear to put her daughter through such unnecessary self-doubt.

And that wasn’t even the worst.

Christina would feel utterly betrayed to learn her father wasn’t dead. That he had been living in the same town. Volunteering his time at the same school. She would never forgive Faith for keeping him from her all of these years.

Even if it truly had been out of love for her daughter.

She rubbed her temples. A secret this big would not get easier with time. But although Faith hadn’t given up the idea of one day telling Christina the truth, this was not the moment to confess her sins. There was too much happening at once. Hawkridge had just come back in their lives. There was no way to know whether this time, he’d stay.

Or whether he’d do as his father had done and decide a lord’s attentions belonged elsewhere.

Faith tiptoed down the hall toward the unfurnished dormitory Chris often used as a playroom. There was no reason to be so jumpy with fear. Everything would be fine. At least for another day.

Hawkridge could be impulsive, but he wasn’t rash. Wasn’t destructive.

But when she peeked through the crack in the doorway at the bare stone floor Christina shared with her toys, her daughter was not alone. Lord Hawkridge sat across from her on the dusty floor in his nankeen trousers, a doll in his hand.

Faith’s heart skipped in alarm. When had he arrived? Who had allowed him in?

She swallowed her anger. Most likely, it would not have occurred to whichever student was on duty as butler at the time not to allow admittance to the school’s dancing instructor. By now, Hawkridge was a familiar face. He had helped mend windows and hang shelves. Of course he would be welcomed in without question.

After all, it was not as though Faith could confess her reasons for wishing to keep him out.

Christina pointed at her toys. “And this one is Grandmother Doll and this one is Grandfather Doll and that one is Faith Doll.”

Hawkridge held up his doll. “Which one is this one?”

“Me!” Chris laughed. “That’s Christina Doll. This is my family. We love to play together.”

Faith burst into the room. “What are you doing here?”

“Playing,” came Christina’s sunny reply as she bounced her grandmother and grandfather dolls from knee to knee.

Lord Hawkridge laid down the Christina Doll and jumped to his feet. “I came by to bring her a gift.”

Faith glared at him. “She doesn’t want a gift.”

“I want it!” Christina clapped her hands and scrambled to her feet. “Is it a surprise?”

Hawkridge tore his gaze from Faith’s and reached for a rectangular package on the windowsill. It had been wrapped with brown paper and tied with a blue ribbon, neither of which had been performed with a practiced hand.

He had wrapped the gift himself.

Faith scowled. She wasn’t prepared to watch him do sweet things for her daughter.

Their daughter.

Christina tore open the paper with an abandon that would have shocked the other students at the school. In situations like theirs, paper was very dear. A luxury to be treated carefully and reused as many times and in as many ways as possible.

Even in Lord Hawkridge’s house, this was likely the case. What must he think of a daughter who took such things for granted?

“A book!” Christina squealed. She eagerly flipped through the pages and clasped it to her chest in delight. “There’s a drawing on every page with every kind of animal in England!”

Before Faith could so much as take a step forward, Chris launched herself up and into Lord Hawkridge’s arms for a spontaneous hug and then danced her new book about the empty dormitory as if she were twirling in the arms of a prince.

Hawkridge was frozen in place, his expression stunned, his eyes glassy.

Faith tried not to think about what it might mean to him that her affectionate child had hugged him. She tried not to think about what it meant to herself.

Seeing the two of them together was something she had always dreamed of, yet always dreaded. The specter had always followed over her shoulder like a dark cloud capable of portending either a thunderstorm or a rainbow.

It was far too soon to tell which.

“May I please speak with you in the corridor, Hawkridge?” she asked tightly.

He remained encased in stone for another moment, then nodded jerkily and made his way to join her out in the hall.

“She’s wonderful,” he said in awe.

“I know,” Faith said. “That’s why I want the best for her. Not the best for you. Not the best for me. The best for Christina.”

“I just want to be part of her life,” he said, his voice tinged with regret.

“You should not have come today without informing me first,” was all she said in reply.

She could not trust herself to say more.

“I’d like to make a schedule,” he announced. “With Parliament in session, my time is limited but the hours are predictable. I should be able to spend a significant amount of time with Christina starting as early as today.”

Faith shook her head. “Regardless of your schedule, once she begins finishing school, you cannot drop in unannounced to bother her. There will be specific days when she is free to spend time with her family.”

“Finishing school?” Hawkridge took a step back. “You mean to send her away?”

“Not far,” Faith admitted. “Just outside the city limits.”

Frustration flashed in his eyes. “Now that she is finally part of my life, you’re trying to keep her out of my reach?”

“I said just outside London,” Faith repeated irritably. “Not the moon.”

“It might as well be. I don’t live in London.” Hawkridge glared at her as if she were being purposefully dense. “I let an apartment while Parliament is in session, but as soon as it ends I must return to one of the entailed estates.”

“And that is not my fault, but rather your decision.” Faith tried to make him see reason. “Regardless of where you live, Christina needs an education.”

“And so she will have one. But if I never see her, it will be as if nothing has changed. Yet I have.” Hawkridge’s gaze was wild, his face ashen. “Now that I know she exists, I cannot relegate her to sporadic visits once or twice a year when I happen to be in town for other reasons.”

Faith winced. The situation he was describing was painfully familiar. His father had done exactly that. With Simon. Hawkridge was horrified at the idea of repeating the pattern.

“I won’t stand for it,” he said stubbornly. “It will not happen.”

“You will not ruin this for her.” Faith glared at him. “This is one of the best finishing schools in England. Garnering an interview with the administration was difficult enough. She does not need to count you as a liability.”

He drew himself up taller. “I am not a liability. I am her new guardian.”

Faith’s heart dropped. “I won’t allow it.”

“I don’t want to have to force you.” His expression was as hard as stone.

She crossed her arms. “Without proof of parentage, you have little power over me. You cannot force me to do anything.”

“A word from me can do a lot more damage than you realize,” he said grimly. “Don’t back me into a corner. The right to see my child is nonnegotiable.”

Faith hesitated, her hands shaking.

While this threat was nonspecific, he did not require details to make his point. He was a man and a marquess. Those traits alone gave him plenty of power.

He could ruin Christina’s chances at every finishing school in the country. He could ruin this school’s chances at raising even another farthing for their students.

Now that she’d told Hawkridge the truth, there was no choice but to live with that decision.

Perhaps if they reached some sort of compromise…

If Lord Hawkridge were Christina’s legal guardian on paper, he would not have “abandoned” her. Hawkridge could then allow her to attend school, and make friends, and live her life.

Decision made, Faith nodded and forced herself to meet his eyes. The courts might well side with him, regardless of pesky details like proof. She could not allow him to ruin their lives.

“Very well. You can foster Christina on one condition.” She took a deep breath. “Where she goes, I go. You cannot take her anywhere without my knowledge or permission.”

Hawkridge laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “No, Faith. I’m taking both of you. You will come as my wife.”