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“You have found the troops,” she said, coming over and kneeling down beside the trunk. “They belong to my nephews, Teddy and Arthur, but they are shamefully neglected when they are not here. May I trust you and Hugo to play with them?”

Felix was holding three soldiers in his hand, but he turned to Selina and regarded her with the somberness of a knight given a quest by his queen. “I give my word.”

Sebastian couldn’t help a smile.

Much as he disliked being beholden to Selina, there was no doubt his siblings would be happier here than perhaps anywhere else. He could swallow his pride—an increasingly large mouthful, it seemed—for their sakes.

While part of him wanted to stay to ensure everything went smoothly and the children minded their manners, he needed to leave. Their sudden arrival and the developments with Selina had thrown everything into upheaval, and he desperately needed to find a new path forward.

The futures and the happiness of his siblings relied upon it.

If the Court of Chancery made their decision in favor of Edward Hollis, there would be no recourse for Sebastian. Perhaps if he had been wealthy, he could have afforded the appeal to the House of Lords, but his lack of money was precisely why he was in this situation to begin with.

The children, who had already partaken of food at Sebastian’s, were happily munching upon an inordinately large platter of sandwiches when Selina walked Sebastian to the door.

The two of them stopped in the entry hall and faced one another, Sebastian’s heart thumping uncomfortably, for he knew what he needed to do now .

The words stuck in his throat.

“Do not worry,” Selina said. “I will ensure they are happily engaged.”

“I am not worried. You could lock them in any one of the rooms in this house together, and they would be more happily engaged than they have been in some time.”

Her brow pursed. “Has life been so cruel to them?”

He nodded.

She searched his eyes. “Why did you not tell me?”

His brow bunched together. “Tell you what, precisely? That I needed your fortune to care for my siblings?”

She was quiet, and when she spoke, her voice was soft. “I merely thought the subject of them might have come up—particularly when my nieces and nephews arrived.”

He shook his head firmly. “Almost no one is aware of Margaret, Hugo, and Felix, and I prefer to keep it that way. They have been through enough; they do not need a haze of ton gossip following them so early in life. Their connection with me is already likely to do them more harm than good.”

Selina’s lips pressed together in something between sympathy and a grimace.

Sebastian straightened. “Thank you.” The words came out stiff and rigid. He forced out a breath and relaxed his shoulders. “Thank you for the kindness you are doing them. They will not soon forget it.”

What he meant, of course, was that he would not soon forget it.

He had a sneaking suspicion that he would not soon forget anything about Selina Lawrence, for good or ill.

“I am only glad to be able to assist,” she replied.

Sebastian found that difficult to believe. The two of them had been fighting like dogs just before the children had arrived, after all. And yet, she seemed sincere.

Perhaps this was her way of softening the blow she would deal him when she informed Society their engagement had ended. Would she tell everyone the real reason: that he was a fortune hunter?

“None of this changes what we discussed before,” he said. “You may spread word of the end of the engagement immediately.”

She was shaking her head before he had even finished. “We can discuss all of that later.”

“What discussion is required? We have settled things well enough. There is no sense in waiting. I will inform the children myself, but as I said before, you may tell whatever story suits you, and you are at liberty to do so as soon as you wish.”

She met his gaze but said nothing.

He took the door handle and opened it. “I am but a note away if any need arises,” he said, stepping outside. “I will plan to call tomorrow at eleven if you have no objection.”

“You may call whenever and as often as you wish.” Her cheeks turned pink. “They will be more at ease if they see your face here frequently,” she added.

He nodded, but his greater concern was the effect upon himself if he saw her face too frequently.

The arrival of his siblings had thrown the two of them into an intimacy with which Sebastian was supremely uncomfortable.

It had shifted the dynamic between them in a way that left him scrambling for a firm hold.

Since learning she had been leading him a merry dance, the last thing he wanted was to let her into the difficult parts of his life that he chose not to show even his nearest friends.

Worst of all, Selina had not used her newfound knowledge against him.

On the contrary, she had thrown herself into his difficulties, ready and willing to take on tasks that were not hers to fulfill.

She had been understanding and kind to the children, going so far as to welcome Pip into her home when Sebastian was certain she had no desire to reclaim the monkey.

She had gone from adding burdens to his back for the mere pleasure of seeing him struggle to taking on his most taxing and important one with willingness and a smile.

She was providing a soft place for him to land in a world of unrelenting hardness, and he wanted nothing more than to rest in that softness.

This was a Selina that Sebastian did not know how to resist.

But resist he must, for she was not his—and never would be.