Looking at Celeste, holding her in her arms, Marina's hopelessness was replaced with frustrated rage.

What had she done wrong in her life, that men were always hurting her like this? Was it so wrong of her to have loved a man, to want to protect her own child, to want to be loved again? Was she so valueless - because of her sex, because of her skin - that she should be punished for existing?

She wanted to fight all of them – Mr. Abernathy, Sir Reginald, Justice Avery, and Philip. All of these men who denied her humanity.

She spent the next few days avoiding Philip as much as she could. It hurt to think about him, to know how disgusted he was by her touch. She couldn't look at the door to his room without feeling a wrench in her gut.

She would stop caring for him, eventually, she was sure she could. Maybe then she could live with him, could share space with him again, without wanting to cry or claw his eyes out.

He found her in the garden, shyly approaching as though she were some rabid wild animal. "Pardon, Marina… Sir Wolseley is here to meet you," he said softly.

Celeste ran over and hugged his leg, and Marina glared at her daughter. It didn't help that Celeste cared so deeply for Philip, or that he cared so much for her in return. It didn't help that Marina knew she was making Celeste uncomfortable with her avoidance of Philip, and she felt terrible about it.

She felt terrible, but not as terrible as she felt when she looked at Philip and she still loved him. And she knew he hated her.

She went to the sitting room with Philip, where an older gentleman stood by the window. He turned and bowed to Marina as she entered. He was well dressed and elegant, with slightly graying hair and a hooked nose that reminded her of a bird of prey.

"Mrs. Crane, it is lovely to meet you, though I do wish it were under better circumstances."

"Indeed, Sir Wolseley, I couldn't agree more," she said. "But please, have a seat, and let us discuss this horrid matter."

"Very well – I appreciate your frankness," Sir Wolseley said, and took a seat across from Marina. Philip stayed standing, hovering behind her chair. "You will need to speak in front of Justice Avery."

Marina's stomach did an unpleasant turn. "I have to go back to London?"

"Yes, but this isn't necessarily going to lead to a trial. Justice Avery is willing to hear reasons to not go forward with the trial. He wants to hear your version of events."

"Seeing as the suit is ridiculous, there is no reason for him to allow it," Philip said.

"Except for who I am," Marina said bitterly.

"I will testify as well," Philip told her. "It is not only your word against Mr. Abernathy's – we can bring the case history with Mrs. Abernathy and her children, our experiences with him, character witnesses…"

"Only, for the incident in question, it is my word against his. No one else was present."

"If this goes to court, it would be a grave injustice."

Marina turned and looked Philip square in the eye. "We both know this country's justice system has committed many grave injustices in the past."

He nodded solemnly. "We can only hope it has changed."

Sir Wolseley cleared his throat. "It is changing – is not Mrs. Patterson's case indication of that? And Mrs. Abernathy's case itself? No matter – we can only work with what we have available to us. Let me hear your version of the events again please."

Philip looked embarrassed, caught criticizing the judiciary in front of one of his mentors. Marina couldn't help a little smirk, feeling a petty satisfaction at getting some small revenge on him for hurting her.

He bowed to Sir Wolseley. "I have some business to attend to. I shall leave you two to discuss strategy. Thank you again for helping us," he told him, and left the room. Marina watched him go, annoyed with herself for wanting him to stay.

At Sir Wolseley's urging she told him the story of meeting Mr. Abernathy in the Crane estate ruins. He stopped her many times to ask for clarifying questions, and she was feeling anxious all over again by the time she finished recounting the story. He had asked for such detail that she felt she had been through the event again, and her hands shook slightly in her lap.

"Very good. It should be something like that, when you give your testimony to Justice Avery. And if you explain yourself as eloquently to him as you did to me, then I believe you will be fine. It sounds like Mr. Abernathy is a true scoundrel, and you were well-justified in your actions."

"Good. Do you think chances are good that the suit will be dropped?"

Sir Wolseley nodded. "I do. It seems clearly to be a vindictive suit, intended to revenge him on the woman who helped secure his wife's divorce. I do not share your and Philip's pessimism."

Marina smiled. She wasn't sure if she believed him, but she appreciated him trying to make her feel better. "Thank you for helping me."

"Certainly. When I learned Philip's dear wife was being accused of battery, I could hardly stand by. The man was quite beside himself, and I can't stand to see him in such distress. I should hate to lose him from the legal field."

"Would he be finished as a lawyer then? If I am found guilty?"

"Not necessarily, only he could never work a high profile case again, and never in London."

"I see." This then, was the reason he was working so hard to defend her – for his career.

"Do not fret. We shall see you through this. We will not allow that villain to prevail," Sir Wolseley said, misinterpreting her silence.

"Good."

"Now, will you show me the documents from the Abernathy's trial?"

Marina took him into the office and handed over the report she had written on Mr. Abernathy's behavior on the farm. "Here is what I wrote, to aid Mrs. Abernathy in obtaining a divorce."

Sir Wolseley read the report. "Mr. Abernathy was present when you went?"

"Yes."

"And you saw him again in London?"

"Yes. And when I went with Harriet to fetch Mrs. Abernathy and the children to go to London for the trial, Mr. Abernathy was present then as well."

"You certainly don't fear putting yourself in danger – no wonder Philip is so anxious these days. As to these previous encounters, was there any violence?"

"No. I didn't tell him why I was there the first time, and when I went to fetch Mrs. Abernathy and the children I brought Harriet with me, and her cousin Edward, who controlled Mr. Abernathy. When we saw him in London it was on a busy street, in front of the courthouses. He didn't approach us."

"Was Celeste with you?"

"Not on any of those occasions."

"Very good." Sir Wolseley paced across the room a couple of times, thinking. "Very well – the details are fine." He stopped and looked at Marina. "We should discuss your presentation when you talk to Justice Avery. You must be demure, lady-like, very proper. There should be no hint that you might do violence for any reason other than to protect your child."

"Should I cry?" Marina asked cynically.

"No, I think not. You should not appear too emotional, too volatile." He paused. "Will Philip be able to manage that, do you think?"

Marina held back a snort. The very idea of Philip being overly emotional... "He should be able to do so."

Sir Wolseley looked at her for a long time before he spoke. "Before he married you, I would have been certain of it. But he has been changed so by your marriage – sometimes I feel I no longer know him."

"Has he really changed so much?"

"I used to wonder whether the man had any feeling at all, and now I… Well, it is obvious he cares deeply for you. That, at least, should work in our favor in front of the Justice."

Marina stared at him, incredulous. "It's obvious…?"

He didn't hear her, busy thinking about his next steps. Marina wondered if all lawyers were like this, or if Philip had learned his style from Sir Wolseley. "Where can I find this Harriet?" he asked. "And Edward? I should get their version of events as well."

Marina told him. When he hesitated to leave, looking around the office, she said, "You needn't wait for Philip. His clients live all over the surrounding countryside – he may be gone all day."

"Very well." Sir Wolseley nodded, and bowed to her. "Please give him my regards. I shall see you both in London in five days."

Marina saw him off and returned to Celeste, but for the rest of the day she was distracted, thinking about his words. To avoid thinking about Mr. Abernathy's suit, she tried to discern what he meant by Philip's "obvious affection" for her. Had they done so good a job of pretending to be a loving husband and wife that they had fooled everyone? Was Philip such a good actor? That, she found hard to believe. Yet, was it not easier to believe that he could deceive the people who knew him, rather than believe that he did care for her when he was so careless with her feelings, so disgusted with her presence?

Philip returned before dinner, and she watched him while he played with Celeste, while they ate together, looking for signs of his affection. It was obvious to her that he had great affection for Celeste, and perhaps that was what Sir Wolseley was sensing, when Philip showed worry about Marina's fate. How could he have such affection for Marina when he had as good as told her he had no feelings for her?

After dinner Celeste toddled off to the sitting room to amuse herself, and Philip stood to put their dishes in the basin.

"Did you get the purchase agreement to Mr. Whitley today?" she asked, an opening gambit, speaking of unrelated, unemotional things.

"Oh good, you're speaking to me again," Philip said, and turned to smile at her.

Marina did not smile back.

"What do you mean by that?"

He seemed to sense that he had fallen into a trap, but had no idea how to extract himself, so he was forced to answer, "I... Are you unhappy with me? I had the sense you were avoiding me, these past few days. I'm sorry I couldn't get the case dropped…"

Marina suppressed the strong urge to strangle him. It wouldn't be good for Celeste, to lose a second father. "It's not about that – that's not your fault at all," she snapped. "If I've been avoiding you, it's only because you asked me to."

"What? I never asked that."

"You told me not to touch you."

Philip flinched. "Well, yes... but that's a different matter."

"Is it? Why would you tell me that, unless you disliked me?"

"I don't dislike you, it's just…" he trailed off, and turned back to the dishes.

"It's just what?" Marina pressed, annoyed with his evasiveness.

"It's just… I know that you are used to society, to friendly social encounters, but I am not. When you touch my shoulder, or hold my hand, I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I… I get confused. I get ideas about… your feelings."

Marina stared at him in silence for a long moment. She wanted to feel hopeful but she just felt tired. "Philip, do you have feelings for me?" she finally asked bluntly. She had no more patience for all this. She just needed to know, one way or another, so she could live her life without this doubt.

His face turned red and he stared at his shoes, sputtering, "I – Feelings? Well, that is…"

"I do. For you," she said flatly.

He looked shocked – downright disbelieving. "You have feelings – for me?"

Marina nodded.

"Romantic feelings?"

"Yes."

"Is… Is this a joke?"

"Oh God Philip!" Marina exploded, fed up with him. "Why would I joke about this? Why must you be so unfeeling – so insulting to me? If you have no feelings for me, simply say so and I will pretend I never had any for you, but don't make my feelings into a joke, into an insult!"

"No, I do!" He said quickly, panicked. When she stopped yelling and stared at him he looked embarrassed, and looked down at his feet again, and said, "I do… have feelings for you."

"Romantic feelings?" she asked.

"Yes."

As always, Marina was filled with a mixture of tenderness and irritation towards him. Irritation won out. "Well why couldn't you just say so?" she yelled. "Didn't I ask you to tell me what you were feeling? Did you think I was not in earnest?"

"No, I... I was afraid. I never thought you would return my feelings! You were trapped in this marriage from the beginning – I didn't think it would be fair to burden you with my unwelcome feelings as well."

"So you decided to let me believe I was trapped in a loveless marriage with no hope of ever being loved again?"

"Well I…"

"Is Mama Papa fighting?"

Marina and Philip both turned to look at Celeste standing in the doorway to the kitchen, pouting up at them. Marina went to her and picked her up. "Hello sweetheart!"

"Is you fighting Papa?" Celeste asked her, bunching her little fists in Marina's hair.

"Mama is only mad because she loves Papa too much," Marina told her, which placated the little girl some. Marina laughed and turned back to Philip, who was standing in shock, a dazed look on his face. Marine pursed her lips and glared at him. "And Papa is too oblivious and stupid."

Celeste frowned and wagged a finger at Marina. "Those are bad words. Don't be mean to Papa!"

"You're right," Marina agreed. "I will try not to be." She walked over to Philip. "Should we hug, to show we have no hard feelings?" she asked, but she didn't wait for Philip's answer before pulling him into an embrace with her and Celeste. Celeste wrapped one arm around each of their necks and squeezed tight, excited to have both her parents holding her at the same time. Marina kept one arm around Celeste and snaked her other arm around Philip's back, pulling him close. He might not be able to handle close contact with her alone yet, but surely, with Celeste as a safety net, he could allow her this much.

Baby steps, still.