Lucas did not know what he was thinking when he directed his coachman to drive to the Royal College of Surgeons instead of taking Edwina directly home to Bridgerton House. All he knew was that he didn't want the night to end, not quite yet. The moment of insanity on the balcony at the Orpheum theater had passed, but another one was upon him in an instant. When Lumley asked Lucas to take Edwina home, Lucas leapt onto the opportunity to be alone with her. His first thought was to take her somewhere private to do...what?

Oh, he knew what his body desired to do to Edwina, what he fantasized over for months on end. And what that one erotic night in Edwina's bedroom only inflamed. But, what he could not reconcile was how his mind felt for her.

He did not know what he had intended to say to Edwina there on the balcony at the Orpheum theater. Even now as silence fell between them and he had no words.

What was he about to confess? That he wanted her? Wanted her more than anything else in his life? That she was a drug he could not refuse?

He asked her if she wanted to come with him to the College, to be alone with him. His words danced around his intentions. This was not seduction, but a mutual decision between them both. To be alone together, truly alone, and see where the night took them.

The carriage rolled to a stop and Lucas waited until the footman opened the door before stepping down and offering Edwina his hand.

"Return to Greymoor House," Lucas said to the coachman. "We will find our own way home." The elderly man nodded at Lucas and the carriage pulled away, disappearing into the fog that settled onto the street.

Lucas laced his fingers through Edwina's and pulled her close.

***

Edwina took Lucas's hand as he assisted her out of his carriage. Instead of letting go, he held onto it tightly as he told his driver to return home to Greymoor House. She felt a rush of anticipation at his words.

A massive stone building stood before them, two stories tall and the length of half the block on the street where they stood. Six large white pillars constructed of sandstone held up a wide portico with the inscription: Collegium Regale Chirurgorum. The Royal College of Surgeons.

The building opened last year and the stone was still a bright white despite the thick coal smoke that seemed to permeate the air in London.

Edwina followed Lucas as he passed through the iron gate and up towards the dark building. The only light shone from the lamps lining the street, but the fog was rolling in thick, dampening their glow. She could hear horses and carriages passing by, but saw nothing except Lucas's broad back as he pushed open the front door into the College.

“It is very quiet,” Edwina whispered, their movements echoing off the walls of the chamber.

“Like a tomb.”

Edwina felt a shiver run down her spine at his words. There were certain to be cadavers on the premises. As eager as she was to witness a dissection, there was something unsettling being amongst the deceased in the dead of night. Ghoulish . She unconsciously stepped closer to Lucas.

"How do you know the College is vacant at this hour?" asked Edwina. If they were caught alone together, even in the most innocent of circumstances, she would be ruined. And, Edwina was holding out hope that Lucas did not have virtuous intentions towards her.

"I often come here at night to work when I cannot sleep. I find the quiet soothing." He dropped her hand briefly to withdraw a matchbook from his pocket, and lit one of the candles on a small candelabra near the entrance. "On a warm night like this, where there are balls and routs to be enjoyed, no one would choose to come here instead."

"The doors were unlocked. How can you be certain?"

"The doors remain unbolted for emergency purposes. There is a nightwatchman that comes through every hour, but otherwise, we will not be disturbed." Lucas paused, as if remembering something. "A thief did break into the College a couple of weeks ago, but took such a fright when he stumbled into the morgue that the watchman found him unconscious on the ground after he ran headlong into a stone wall." He smiled at her. “I doubt there will be a second occurrence.”

Once the candle was lit, it threw a soft glow illuminating the room. Lucas reached down for Edwina's hand once more and laced his fingers with hers instead of offering his arm. "Come," he said, as he gently pulled her down the cavernous hall.

Edwina followed Lucas down the hallway, their footsteps echoing off the walls causing a discordant and eerie sound that only emphasized how alone they were. He passed by several closed doors. “Classrooms,” he said, “and laboratories.” He stopped before one door and opened it. Muted light from the outside street lamps shone into the room. Lucas held the candelabra aloft and Edwina saw the room crowded with heavy wooden tables and chairs. Strange scientific devices sat on top of each table surrounded by glass bottles and metal instruments. A sharp chemical smell lingered in the air. But, what caught her eye were the rows and rows of books that lined bookcases along the walls that rose up two stories.

“Our medical library,” Lucas said, stepping into the room and gesturing for Edwina to follow. “Every tome on medicine can be found here.”

Edwina ran her fingers along the spines of the books on a nearby shelf as she examined the titles. Lucas followed the movement and said, “The library possesses books and translations from times long past.” He pulled a book free and handed it to Edwina. De materia medica by Pedanius Dioscorides. “And as far away as China.” He handed her another book . “This one is believed to be the oldest known medical text in existence. The Nei Ching or Canon of Internal Medicine. Of course, the copy you hold is a translation of the original text, though still an old one. This one book influenced eastern medicine for over two millennia.”

“This is incredible,” Edwina replied, flipping through the pages. To hold such history in her hands. Lucas watched her closely as she admired the book.

“If you wish, you may take the book home with you.”

“How can I? I am not a member of the College.”

Lucas shrugged. “I will take the loan out in my name. None will be the wiser. I hold that particular book in high regard, despite the inaccuracies present within.”

Edwina chewed her lip with uncertainty. She did not know what to make of Lucas’s generosity. She was sure he would be disciplined if the directors of the College discovered that he had loaned out a book as precious as the one she held to a nonmember, much less a female.

“Because of your mother?”

He nodded, taking the book from her hand and examining it. “My mother came from a family of tea growers and herbalists. From all accounts, they are very successful in their trade. They even created new medicinals from tea leaves and other herbs that focused on respiratory health.”

“Have you ever met them?”

Lucas shook his head and placed the book into his pocket for safekeeping. “I never met anyone from my mother’s side of the family. They did not approve of her marriage to my father.”

Edwina remembered at the dinner Kate and Anthony hosted that Lucas mentioned that he had sent his mother home to China alone over a decade ago. And, that he had not heard a word from her since.

She could not imagine being estranged from her mother or her sister. Despite the quarrel she had with Kate last Season and the days of hurt silence afterwards, she loved her family dearly, including the new addition of the Bridgertons. Edwina shuddered at the thought of losing any one of them or to know that her love was disregarded and rejected. To be completely alone in the world.

Edwina felt a pang of tenderness in her chest for Lucas as she realized how lonely he must have been for years. “Lucas…I am sorry.”

“For what?” he said, though there was a look of understanding in his eyes.

“I am sorry your mother did not choose you.” Because, that was precisely what she had done. Lucas’s mother abandoned him when he was young, not a child yet not a grown man. She did not ask him to come with her to China. She left him behind.

He looked down at her, his eyes soft and resigned. “Circumstances would have made it impossible.”

Before she could puzzle out his statement, Lucas took her hand again. “There is one more place I wish to show you before I return you home.”

Edwina sighed inwardly. There was nothing she could do in regards to Lucas’s past and all the hurt he must have suffered from his father’s and brother’s untimely demise and his mother’s rejection, but perhaps she could help him with his future. Perhaps if he married Miss Ursula, he would not need to be alone ever again.

Though the idea of Lucas married to Ursula filled her misery.

***

After they left the library, Lucas took her to the second level of the College where along the outer wall were several smaller rooms. “My office is at the end of the hall,” he said, indicating to the last room tucked away in the corner. But, Lucas did not stop there. He turned and pushed through two adjoining doors to his left.

“The piece de resistance, as it were.” Lucas’s voice echoed up into the chamber.

They stood at the upper level of an enormous auditorium. Rows upon rows of tiered seats were positioned in a concentric pattern around the stage below. Above them, a glass ceiling allowed faint moonlight to trickle through the pane.

The moonlight illuminated the exquisite mural painting that surrounded the glass ceiling. They reminded Edwina of those found in the oldest of churches, but instead of depicting biblical scenes, there were images of notable physicians and philosophers from the the past working at their craft. She recognized the balding and bearded visage of Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, wearing a Greek tunic and bending over the prone form of a patient.

Mirrors were positioned strategically about the room. Lucas pointed to one. “During the day, the mirrors are used to catch the sunlight and direct the light below.” Edwina followed his movement to the recessed stage. There was a single stout table, long and rectangular, and a blackboard. She understood instantly that this was where Lucas performed his dissections.

“This is where you give your lectures,” Edwina murmured.

Lucas nodded. “Come.”

Edwina peeled her eyes away from the splendor and followed Lucas down the wooden steps to the recessed stage below. He released her hand, leaving Edwina standing alone in the center of the floor. The room was too large to heat and without the warm bodies of students pressed close to one another, a chill permeated the air. Edwina shivered.

“This lecture hall was designed so that even a whisper can be heard as far back as the last row.” Lucas circled the floor, lighting the candles spaced evenly apart along the curved walls. The candlelight brightened the stage, illuminating the large blackboard behind him, but cast the rest of the room in dark shadow. Edwina looked up at the rows of seats in the auditorium that disappeared into blackness after the third row.

“There are 206 bones located in the human body,” Lucas said as he lit the last candle. “Do you know them all?”

“Yes,” she replied, surprised at the question. Her answer echoed off the walls. Did Lucas truly wish to simply show her the College? She should be elated to step into the halls of such a prestigious institution, but her body burned for something more. And, now, he was going to lecture her on how many bones were present in a human body?

“Show me.”

Edwina hesitated. What did he mean…show him? She watched as Lucas placed the candelabra on the lectern and turned to face her. He approached languidly, his motions slow and fluid, his face cast in shadow except for his eyes that watched her with hunger. She instinctively backed away from him until she felt a ledge hit her behind her lower back. She had run into the dissection table.

“What do you mean–” Edwina closed her mouth abruptly as Lucas reached out and traced a finger down the length of her nose.

“What bone is this?”

Edwina swallowed. “Nasal. But that is a trick question.” She reached up and touched the bridge of Lucas’s nose and drew her finger down part way. “It is only bone until this point, from there it is cartilage.”

Lucas broke into an impressed smile. “You are correct.” He closed the distance between them until his face hovered above hers. He reached out again, only this time cupping her cheek, his thumb stroking her skin just above her lips. His hand felt deliciously warm against her skin. “And this?”

“Maxilla.”

Lucas watched his hand intently as his thumb moved up and against her cheekbone. He looked at her expectantly.

“Zygomatic bone.” Lucas’s fingers dropped to her chin. “Mandible,” Edwina whispered as his fingers traveled lower until they stopped at her neck. He reached behind her, brushing his fingers up and down gently against the base of her skull, into her hair, and down the back of her neck. Her skin began to heat all over. “Occipital…vertebra.”

Lucas stilled. “Which one?”

Edwina shifted through the sensual fog that settled on her mind. It was difficult to think, to breathe, with Lucas touching her. He lifted his hand as if to withdraw it, before Edwina sputtered out, “The atlas…the first cervical vertebra.”

Lucas nodded, satisfied. His hand moved to her front, lightly brushing alongside her chest. “Clavicle.” How much further would he go? Her chest rose rapidly with each breath and she could see that Lucas was similarly affected. His face was flushed, his eyes dark with desire.

Lucas hesitated for a moment before his fingers dipped between her breasts. She felt his fingers press directly above her heart, which beat in a staccato rhythm. “Sternum,” she said, her voice catching on the word.

He hooked his finger and tugged gently at her bodice and Edwina closed her eyes, steeping in the sensual sensation of his bare hand between her breasts. “May I?” he whispered. Lucas watched her and she knew he was waiting for her consent. She could stop this now, this madness roiling inside her, but she knew she never would. She wanted everything that Lucas was willing to show her.

“Yes,” she rasped out.

Lucas exhaled slowly as if he had been holding his breath. He wrapped his arms around her. Edwina closed her eyes as she felt his short, hot breath against her throat, his lips grazing the soft skin there.

Without looking, Lucas expertly undid each hook down the back of her ballgown until her dress fell loose in a pool at her feet. She stood before him in her corset and petticoat, both of which he undid quickly and fell aside. Only her chemise remained.

“Shall we continue?” he asked, his voice ragged.

Edwina nodded. Lucas reached down between them and pulled free the knot that held the front of her chemise closed. Edwina felt the cool air against her naked breasts. Lucas’s jaw tightened at the sight.

Lucas stilled, staring down at Edwina, clear lust and appreciation in his eyes. “You are glorious,” he said, as he knelt down before her. Edwina gasped as she watched as Lucas pressed a kiss under her right breast. “What bone is this?”

“Vertebrosternal.”

Lucas moved lower, kissing down each rib on her body. Her skin tingled under his lips. “And this?”

“Vertebrochondral.”

He moved lower still until he pressed his lips against her hips over her chemise. Her sex ached at his touch.

“Pelvis,” Edwina said, the words fading into a soft moan.

Lucas pushed the hem of her chemise over her hips until she was completely exposed to his gaze. He fell silent, staring her her sex, and Edwina felt a liquid warmth course through her. She pressed her thighs together in an attempt to relieve the sudden onslaught of desire. Lucas grunted and shook his head as he ran his hands up her thigh, gently pushing them apart. He looked at her, his eyes heavy-lidded with desire.

“Last one,” he said. Edwina watched, wide-eyed, as Lucas leaned forward and pressed a kiss directly on her sex.

She gasped out in surprise. “Pubis.”

***

Enough, Lucas thought, as he impatiently undid the buttons on his coat and threw it aside. He rolled up his shirtsleeves. Despite the coolness of the lecture hall, his body felt as if it was on fire. He pulled his cravat free, loosening the collar of his shirt.

Edwina stood before him on shaky legs, her back pressed against the table, her chemise pulled up to her waist. The image should have been obscene, her bare breasts exposed to the cold air, her nipples hard, and her sex swollen and slick with desire. Both of her hands clutched, white knuckled, to the edge of the table as if she feared collapsing. She looked down at him with glassy eyes. She wanted this. She wanted him.

Lucas had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.

Lucas straightened, groaning against the strain of his hard cock against his breeches. He reached down and quickly undid the falls in an attempt to relieve the discomfort. His cock sprang free. He resisted the urge to stroke himself, to relieve the pressure that was building in his cods, and turned his full focus on Edwina.

"Do you think of me when you touch yourself?" Lucas asked as he pressed a kiss onto her soft belly, his tongue flicking the small indentation of her navel. Edwina moaned above him as he trailed his kisses lower. "Answer me."

"Yes. I think of you."

"And, what am I doing when you think of me?" One of his hands reached up and cupped her breast, his thumb flicking across her nipple. It was as he remembered from last time. Her breast fitted perfectly in his hand.

Edwina shuddered out a moan. "Touching me."

"How? You need to be specific." Lucas dropped his arms to his side and looked up at her. Edwina growled in frustration, her eyes fell to his face. Her face was flushed with desire, her legs trembling as his fingers climbed up her legs, hovering close to her sex but refusing to touch her.

"You touch me...there."

Lucas raised an eyebrow in question. "There?" He withdrew his hand and placed it on her hip. "Do you mean here?"

Edwina shook her head. Lucas smiled and moved his hand to her elbow. "Here then?"

Edwina frowned past parted lips. She exhaled short breaths that Lucas wondered were the result of desire or frustration at his teasing.

"No! You know where."

"Tell me then." His hands returned to her thighs. He kneaded them gently and kissed her, tasting her skin under his tongue. She smelled of lavender and the sweet saltiness of a woman in the throes of passion. He moved upward, stopping only when his lips were a touch away from her sex. A quiver ran through her body.

"My...cunny."

He felt Edwina tighten with embarrassment, the blush darkening her skin from her cheeks down to her thighs.

A shot of pleasure raced through him straight to his stiff cock. He was shocked and delighted that Edwina knew the obscene word. She was full of surprises. Lucas hid a smile into the kiss he placed on the inside of her thigh.

“How do I touch your cunny?”

“With your hands. Like last time.”

Lucas placed a single finger at the seam of her sex. Edwina pressed forward, forcing his finger against the nub of her sex. Lucas instantly withdrew his hand. “Stay still. If you want me to touch you, let me touch you.”

Edwina growled out in frustration but stilled, her eyes closed, only the quick rise and fall of her chest any indication that she wasn’t asleep. Lucas parted her thighs, forcing her to sit back on the table. He hooked each of her legs over his shoulders, opening her wide to his gaze. Edwina’s breathing quickened to an alarming rate.

Her snatch was deliciously reddened and swollen with arousal, like a ripe plum waiting to be picked. His heart thudded with anticipation. Finally…finally, he thought.

Lucas brought his mouth over her and ran his tongue up and down her sex, relishing in the soft sweetness and the taste of her arousal. Edwina yelped out in surprise, her cry echoing throughout the hall, as she clutched her thighs tight and trapped Lucas’s head between them.

“Relax, Edwina. Let me pleasure you.” He felt her force her thighs apart until she was opened and spread widely before him. He returned to her snatch, kissing and licking, parting her folds with his fingers until he found her hard and swollen clitoris. He sucked at it gently, causing Edwina to cry out as her thighs reflexively tried to close around him again.

“You do not know what you do to me,” Lucas said. “You have no idea the torments I have suffered for months. It is only fair that you experience them in return.” He slipped a finger into her sex and felt her vaginal walls tighten around the intruding appendage. He groaned. She was so tight, so slick and warm. His cock twitched and he fought against the urge to drive deep into her out of his mind.

Edwina writhed above him, having now fallen onto her back. Her eyes were clenched shut and her fingers sank into his hair, pulling it free from its queue until it fell around his face. He suckled her, added another finger and waited until she adjusted to the new sensation, before he started thrusting in and out of her body.

“Lucas, please, Lucas…Lucas.” Her hips gyrated against his face and her hands clutched his hair, forcing his face closer. He pressed his tongue flat against her nub and hooked his fingers slightly inside her until he felt the slightly spongy ridge.

Edwina cried out as her body shattered around him.

***

Edwina blinked her eyes open and found herself laying flat on the table, staring up through the glass ceiling at the stars sparkling above. It took a moment for her to realize that she was looking up at real stars and not the white sparks of pleasure that blinded her seconds before. Her blood thundered in her ears so loudly that she barely caught what Lucas was saying.

“Are you all right?”

Edwina forced herself onto her elbows and gazed up at Lucas. He hovered over her, his face filled with concern and a slight smugness at the pleasure he wrought through her body. His breeches hung loosely on his hips.

“Yes, yes…My God, Lucas. I cannot describe in words…I do not understand…” She felt hot, her body beaded with sweat. She could barely breathe.

He hushed her. “Do not think.”

Edwina nodded, slightly dazed, as she reached up and wrapped her arms around him and drew him down. He came willingly, laying his entire weight against her body. He felt so solid and warm that she began to feel an arousal course through her again. Her hands pulled his shirt free from his breeches and disappeared under his waistcoat and soft dress shirt until her palms laid flat against his bare chest.

“Edwina…” he whispered, as she explored the hard ridges of his body. She tore at his clothes, until Lucas sat back and helped her frantic fingers find the buttons until both his waistcoat and shirt were undone.

“I need you closer,” Edwina said, as her hands moved lower until she felt Lucas’s member hot against her hand. She hesitated, before looking down between them.

Her first thought was that the novels she read did not prepare her for this moment. Lucas was much larger than she had imagined. She understood, especially after the past week of study, that when a man became aroused, his organ swelled with blood and became stiff so that he could perform sexual intercourse. But, to see it in person, to touch something that was both silky and hard as steel…

Edwina shook her head with incredulity as she ran her thumb over the head of Lucas’s cock. He shuddered, a ripple of pleasure vibrating through his body.

“Edwina,” he gasped out. Lucas wrapped his hand around Edwina’s as she held him firmly in her hand. “Like this,” he said, as he tightened his hold on her and led her hand to stroke up and down his length. He released her as she stroked him and he thrust repeatedly into her closed hand.

“Edwina. Fuck.” He kissed her hard, his tongue pushing past her lips, as a warm liquid suddenly hit her stomach. She felt his cock pulse in her hand and as she looked up at Lucas’s flushed face. His eyes were hooded with spent lust, but gleamed with something else…something intangible.

And her heart leapt.

***

Lucas dropped his head against Edwina’s shoulder. He knew his weight was crushing her, but exhaustion pulled at him. All he wanted to do was roll over, tuck Edwina into the crook of his arm, and succumb to sleep. Instead, he pushed up on his elbows and pressed another kiss against Edwina’s lips. She murmured in pleasure beneath him and Lucas felt the renewed stirrings of arousal. He did not take her, he held back just by the thinnest thread of self-control. But, if he stayed here with Edwina, he could not promise himself that he would not bed her in all the ways he fantasized.

Lucas pushed to his feet, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief to clean up the mess he made across Edwina’s stomach when a movement caught his eye.

Dorset stood a few feet away at the door, his face white with shock.

A chill passed through him as he glanced down at Edwina’s near naked form. When he looked back up, Dorset was gone.

Fucking hell, Lucas thought. He moved quickly to right Edwina’s dishabille state. Wordlessly, he retied her chemise which plastered against the seed he spilled against her skin, the handkerchief forgotten. He pulled up her petticoats, corset, and gown until her nakedness was hidden once again. He turned her over and with deft fingers, relaced her corset and flew up the back of her gown closing each and every hook. Lastly, he buttoned up his shirt and waistcoat and redid the buttons on his falls, wincing as he tucked his sensitive cock back within its confines.

“I should employ you as my lady’s maid,” Edwina teased. Lucas turned her over until she faced him again. The smile fell from her face. “What is wrong, Lucas?”

“We’ve taken this too far,” he said, gently placing his hands around her waist and tugging at her gown. The action was futile. Though Edwina was dressed, her gown was wrinkled beyond repair. And her coiffure was a tangled mess. He held her a moment longer, her body pressed up against his, knowing it would be the last time he would ever hold her in his arms again.

Edwina stood unsteadily on her feet. “What–”

“I need to return you home. Now.”

Edwina looked up in surprise, before the light in her eyes shuttered. Lucas swallowed a curse. He could see the rejection plain on her face. He had hurt her.

But, he needed to find Dorset quickly before rumors of this evening ruined Edwina’s chance for happiness. He could not live with himself if he knew his selfish act had changed the course of Edwina’s life for the worse. To be ruined, shunned by Society, by her family, all because he could not keep his hands to himself.

***

It didn’t take long for Lucas to track Dorset down. He found his friend and colleague sitting at a lone table tucked in the back of Mondrich’s nursing a glass of whiskey. Despite the late hour, the club was packed to the walls with men who had dropped off their wives at home from whatever obligations of the evening and retreated to a space designed specifically for them. Gentlemen who were free to drink, smoke, game, and swive the night away from the censorious eyes of their loving spouses.

Lucas ignored the clouds of cigar smoke as he made his way to Dorset. With a quick glance, he noted that none of the Bridgerton men were present. Thank God.

“Dorset,” Lucas said, as he pulled out the empty seat and sat down. For one regretful moment as he looked at the disappointed look on Dorset’s face, Lucas wondered if he jeopardized more than just Edwina’s reputation but also the regard of the only man Lucas held in esteem. His only true friend.

A waiter refilled Dorset’s glass and set a full one before Lucas. He was tempted to throw it back, but restrained himself. The only instance of self-restraint he possessed all evening, Lucas thought bitterly.

Dorset began, not bothering to greet Lucas, “What I saw…” He shook his head in disbelief at what he would say next, "What I saw–"

"Nothing," Lucas replied curtly. "You saw nothing." As if saying it out loud could turn back the hands of time and keep Lucas from touching Edwina, from kissing her, from feeling her shatter in pleasure around him. Of finding his own pleasure with her. He closed his eyes in frustration. He was a fool.

Dorset's eyes widened. "I may not be observant as you are, but I know what I saw. You are my friend as much as Anthony Bridgerton is. You were... indiscreet with the sister of his wife. The wife that he loves more than life itself. Do you understand the position you’ve placed yourself in? Anthony dueled his best friend two Seasons ago because the man was caught kissing his sister in the garden at a ball. Kissing! You–"

"You do not need to tell me what I did, Dorset. I was there."

Dorset's lips pinched shut in agitation. “You have ruined the girl. You must marry her."

"I cannot."

"You will not, you mean."

"You do not understand the dangers I’d place her in if I marry her."

Dorset looked back at him astounded. "And, you do not understand the dangers you place her in if you do not. She will be shunned from Society. She will have no future."

Lucas only stared at his drink grimly.

"If you do not intend to marry Miss Sharma, then do not toy with her affections," Dorset said. "You were not out in Society last year. You do not know the embarrassment she endured after her wedding to Anthony Bridgerton failed. Rather publicly, I might add. She ran from him as they stood at the altar. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided over the vows. The queen, herself, hosted the wedding at the palace. Do you understand, Greymoor? Her heart was broken once. Do not do it to her again."

"You are right, of course," Lucas conceded. “But, I cannot and will not marry her."

Dorset looked flabbergasted. "Whyever not?"

When Lucas did not answer, Dorset looked away with dismay. "I always thought you were an honorable man. It saddens me to be mistaken. But, you need to know that I wasn't the only one there tonight. When I was leaving, I saw another man leave the College. You were seen. I will keep my mouth shut for your sake, but mostly for Miss Sharma's, but I do not know the man's identity. I do not know what he intends."

"It is a risk I will have to take."

Dorset shook his head with disgust and stood, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.

Lucas could not explain it to Dorset. He would not understand. By not marrying Edwina, not caring for her, he was saving her from danger and potentially a greater humiliation.

If only he knew for certain what the runner would find in America.