It took a few days to convince Celeste she was safely back home, before she would settle again. Philip would sit in the rocking chair with her at night, which became the surest, fastest way to get her to sleep.

Marina worried Celeste was growing too dependent on Philip. What would she do when the time came for them to leave this house?

She was playing in the living room with Celeste one day when she heard a knock from Philip's office. Hefting Celeste into her arms, she went to see what was happening.

Mr. Locke was on the other side of the door, smiling awkwardly. "There is a young gentleman here to see you Mrs. Crane – a Colin Bridgerton."

Marina stared at Mr. Locke in astonishment for a long moment, her brain refusing to comprehend his words. She had not expected to see Colin Bridgerton ever again, let alone have him show up at her home unannounced.

Mr. Locke squinted at her in concern. "Are you alright my dear? Shall I send him away?"

She was strongly tempted to have Mr. Locke turn him away, but she swallowed the urge and told him to let Colin in. It was too late to pretend she wasn't home at this point. "Let him come in. Is Mr. Crane not in the office today?"

"No, he has gone to the Fairley's."

"I see." Marina wasn't sure if she was relieved that Philip was not around to meet Colin, or disappointed that he wouldn't be there to mediate between her and Colin. She looked down at Celeste and sighed. "Well, you shall have to be my shield instead."

And then, there he was, back in her life again. Colin Bridgerton himself, standing in the entry to her new home, looking as handsome as ever, and not nearly as embarrassed as he should look, barging in unannounced on a married woman.

A woman he had spurned two years ago.

"Good day Marina," Colin said, taking off his hat and bowing to her. He flinched. "I mean, Ms. Thompson... Lady Crane."

"Philip is not here…"

"No, of course – I must offer my apologies for the surprise, but I just… I wanted to see you."

Marina grit her teeth and fought back an exasperated sigh. How like Colin, to just decide to show up in her life again, for no reason other than his own desire. "Come in Colin," she said, showing him into the sitting room. "Would you like some tea?"

She poured the tea and then sat down across from Colin, waiting for him to explain himself. Celeste, sensing Marina's annoyance, wouldn't settle, and writhed in Marina's arms.

"This is your child?"

"Yes."

"He's rather... squirmy, isn't he?"

"She. Her name is Celeste." Marina wondered if Colin had come just to annoy her.

"Ah – apologies. The name is French?" he asked. Marina nodded, but didn't elaborate. He had never asked her about her family before – she doubted he really cared about it now.

"I was recently in France in fact…"

"Oh?"

If Marina hoped Colin would get to the point of his visit, she was being a fool. Colin started to tell her about his trip to the Continent, and went on at some length, until Marina wasn't sure if he genuinely thought she was interested, or if he was just trying to avoid talking about some other subject. She was inclined to think it was the second – because why had he come to see her? Surely not to tell her about his travels.

He was in the middle of talking about Greece when Philip poked his head in. Marina didn't think she had ever been so happy to see Philip before.

"Ah Philip! Mr. Bridgerton has stopped by for a visit!"

Philip walked in warily, stepping slowly, like he was afraid he was walking into a trap. Marina thought perhaps he was – but the trap wasn't meant for him, it was meant for her. Colin got up and bowed to Philip, who bowed stiffly in return.

"Good day to you Lord Crane," Colin said. Marina started, realizing that Philip really was a lord. She had never thought of him as such – his family wasn't rich anymore, and he never laid claim to the title – but his family was a noble one, though fallen aristocracy. She looked down at Celeste, who had fallen asleep at some point during Colin's speeches, and smiled, thinking that she was in fact a Lady.

"Lord Bridgerton," Philip returned, shooting Marina a look. She smiled, aware that Colin was also watching her.

"Lord Bridgerton has just returned from a visit to the Continent," Marina said, filling the silence.

"Ah. Truly?" Philip turned back to Colin. Colin sat back on the couch, but Philip remained standing, rather than sitting next to Marina. Marina frowned at him, that he was doing such a bad job pretending to be her husband.

"Yes indeed, I spent several months traveling. I needed to leave England – to get some perspective," Colin said.

"He was just telling me about his time in Greece," Marina supplied.

"How did you find it?"

"Fascinating – the weight of history in that country is incredible," Colin said.

"Indeed," Philip replied drily.

"It is the birthplace of so many of our ideals – of democracy, for one. And so many great philosophical schools were born there."

"Mm. And all while enslaving women and strangers," Philip added mildly. Marina had been sipping her tea, and fought not to spit it out at the look on Colin's face.

"What?"

Philip shrugged. "I suppose it goes to show that we are not so different after all."

"Indeed, I suppose not…" Colin laughed nervously, clearly unsure of what to make of Philip.

"Ah, your teeth are quite nice," Philip said quietly, so Marina wasn't sure if Colin had heard him. Still, she certainly had, and she noticed the venom in Philip's even voice.

She got to her feet. As much as she would enjoy watching Philip and Colin rip into each other, she thought it might not be good for Philip's career in London. And really, there was no good reason for Philip and Colin to be enemies. Part of Marina wished Philip really would hate Colin, that he was mad on Marina's behalf, upset for her injured reputation, but she pushed that down.

"Philip, will you take Celeste to bed please?" she asked, smiling sweetly at him. He looked slightly disturbed by her expression, but he took Celeste in his arms.

Colin stood up again and bowed to Philip. "It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Indeed. Good day Lord Bridgerton." Philip left, and Marina heard his footsteps going up the stairs. She turned back to Colin, who was still standing near her.

"Colin, what are you doing here?" she asked finally.

"I… I just thought I should come to see that you are well, after… well, everything."

Marina fought the urge to roll her eyes. Of course. He was only concerned for her well-being - a likely story. "I am well. Very well in fact," she said firmly.

"Good. Still, I… I came to apologize, really. Throughout my travels I kept pondering – all those terrible things I said to you."

"Colin, there is no need-"

"I am sorry for what happened. And I forgive you as well."

Marina's hands clenched into fists at her side. "I do not need your apology Colin, nor do I want your forgiveness," she said, fighting not to start screaming. "All of that is in the past. Leave it there."

"Do you not wonder?" Colin asked, taking a step closer to her. "Do you never think of what may have been, had we conducted ourselves differently?"

"Had we...? I'm not some ruined woman, regretting her past. I do not need saving. What I need is to make my own choices." To be allowed to make her own choices, and not have a man tell her she had made the wrong choice.

"So you choose to be unhappy?" Colin asked. Marina's shock must have shown on his face, because he took another step closer, holding out his hand to her. "Marina, I can see you do not care for him."

Marina took another step back, as much to protect him from her anger as to avoid his touch. She squeezed her hands together behind her back to keep from punching him. "Philip and I have a life together. It is real. I – we – have a daughter. I am a mother now. You are a boy, caught up in his own fantasies – whatever you are imagining between us, it is not there. You need to wake up Colin."

Colin stopped, took a deep breath in. He looked down at his feet and sighed. "Perhaps I have been a fool…" he muttered.

Marina said nothing. Let him figure it out himself.

"Forgive my intrusion today," Colin said, bowing to Marina again and moving towards the door. "Good day, Lady Crane."

"Good day Colin."

She felt her shoulders relax as soon as Colin left the room, and collapsed onto the couch, sighing loudly. She punched the cushion under her, letting herself feel her anger now. She was angry for her own pride, for the thought that Colin, the stupid boy, had been going around this whole time, thinking she was still pining over him, still thinking about him at all. She was angry for Philip, for the insult Colin had given him, for the assumptions he made about their relationship. "What a child," she muttered, "What a self-obsessed, idiotic little boy!" She would never understand what Penelope saw in him.

She heard laughter from upstairs, and took three deep breaths before going up. She took the stairs slowly, hoping to push away all her anger before returning to Celeste. There was no point in letting Colin Bridgerton get to her. That part of her life was over and done with.

Or, she had hoped it was.

Celeste had woken up, and Philip was bouncing her on his knee, sending her into fits of laughter. Marina felt the rest of her anger leave her body, watching them together. Colin was wrong about her life – she did not regret her choices.

"Was I too much?" Philip asked her.

"No, you were just enough," she said, grinning. "He was… well, it doesn't matter. We shall never see him again."

"He… I know who he was," Philip said. "When Mother found your letters to George, she went looking for you. When she found you, there was talk of you being engaged to Colin Bridgerton…"

Marina stared at him, feeling sick to her heart. Why did he have to know these things about her? What did he think of her for the things she had done? "I was desperate," she said. "I didn't know what to do…"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," he said softly.

Right. He didn't care what she had done – he didn't care what she did. It was none of his business – after all, they weren't really married.

He looked at his pocket watch, holding it out of Celeste's reach. "I really should return to work," he said. Marina took Celeste from his arms and stood aside so he could get down the stairs.

"Philip," she called, as he reached the bottom step. He stopped and looked back up at her. "Thank you."