"Of course the judge could not believe Mr. Abernathy – the man is full of horseshit," Gloria crowed, as Philip hurried to cover Celeste's ears.

They were all seated around Gloria's dining table, eating a late celebratory dinner together. After Philip's testimony the judge had allowed the public back into the courtroom for his decision. Marina had been surprised at how many cheers went up when he declared that Mr. Abernathy was the aggressor, and Marina was innocent.

Part of her had been prepared to be hated by the townspeople, no matter the outcome of the trial.

Afterwards, Gloria had insisted that they have dinner at her house, and had sent a carriage to pick up Celeste and Mrs. Crane. "You need sustenance, and we should celebrate the end of this foolishness. Let us mark the beginning of a new chapter together!"

Marina had been feeling lightheaded and giddy, and was unable to articulate a good reason not to go with Gloria, so here she was, feeling absolutely wrung out and relieved, surrounded by a large group of friends. Ms. Hurst was seated next to Gloria of course, and she had also collected the Tuttles, and Harriet and Edward on the way out of the courtroom.

Celeste was seated on her lap, her chubby arms around Marina's neck. Marina had never told her daughter what was going on, but the little girl had sensed something was wrong. And she could tell now that Marina was more relaxed, and was more cheerful herself. She was also very tired – it was well past her bedtime.

By the time dessert was served Celeste was falling asleep at the table, and Marina felt she was at risk of doing the same. She looked over at Philip, who was in discussion with Gloria about something, and he smiled shyly at her. He looked as exhausted as she felt.

"I think we should get home," Marina said, and she could see the relief in Philip's eyes at her suggestion. "Thank you so much for all of this Gloria, but I need to get this one to bed. And Celeste as well."

Gloria laughed and nudged Philip with her elbow. "Of course! This little homebody has been far too social today. I'll have my driver take you home." She got to her feet and went with them to the front door. There she wrapped Marina in a tight embrace. "I really am so glad it is over," she said seriously. "You did not deserve this."

Marina smiled weakly at her. "Who really gets what they deserve?"

"Well, I hope Mr. Abernathy did today," Gloria said, smiling wryly. She kissed Marina's cheek. "And I hope you get to be happy now. You do deserve it."

Marina kissed her back and smiled. "Thank you. Good night my dear."

"Good night my darlings," Gloria said, waving them off. "I'll come talk to you about that matter in a couple of days Philip."

Philip nodded and waved goodbye, helping Marina up into the carriage.

They mostly just sat and stared at each other on the way home. Celeste had fallen asleep on Marina's lap, exhausted by the day's emotions. Philip looked on the verge of toppling over. He never had the look of a man who slept much, but his eyes now looked bruised, they were so dark.

"Can we talk tonight?" she asked. "Do you have the energy?"

"Yes. What exactly do you want to talk about?"

Marina snorted. "I'm not sure exactly. I'll have an agenda prepared for you by the time we get home."

Philip smiled weakly. "Fair enough."

When she put Celeste down to sleep, Marina was sorely tempted by the soft bed waiting for her nearby, but she forced herself to stay on her feet, and knocked on Philip's door. "Are you decent?" She didn't wait for his answer to walk in, though he was disappointingly still mostly dressed.

He stood near the fireplace, where he had just laid his jacket over the arm of a chair. He nodded to her when she came in, and shrugged.

"Well, the trial is over," Philip said, "though it remains to be seen what repercussions it will have."

Marina stood by the door, feeling oddly uncertain. She was thinking of repercussions now, wondering if he thought any differently of her. He had always known most of the bad things about her, but they had never been laid out so openly before, never all in a line like that. She hadn't come out of that looking very good.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, taking one step closer to her.

"Relieved. Infuriated, still," she admitted.

Philip nodded in agreement. "It was a bad trial. The judge should never have allowed so much of that evidence in. Mr. Abernathy's entire case was built on rumours, bad character evidence, and lies. He didn't need to put you through all of that to reach his conclusion."

"Or you." Marina moved towards him, thinking about how horrible this all must have been for him as well. "What you said in the courtroom, that the only reason I would ever marry you was because I had no choice…"

Philip looked away, embarrassed. "I…"

"I just want you to know that I did have other choices," Marina said. He turned to look at her, surprised. "They just weren't good ones," she finished, grinning at him.

He stared at her a moment, then covered his eyes and burst out laughing. Marina felt a tightness in her chest ease, hearing him laugh like that. She reached out and took his hand in hers, tracing the scar on his hand with her fingertips. Their matching scars. To prove that he was hers. She kissed his scar, feeling possessive.

"Oh God… I thought I was going to lose you…" He lifted her face to look at him, touching her cheeks gently. "I couldn't… I'm so glad it's over, and you are here."

Marina pushed up on her tiptoes to kiss him. She kissed him with the assurance that it wouldn't be the last, that they would have time together now. She no longer felt desperation creeping in to her heart – she could take her time and enjoy the taste of him.

Philip pulled her closer, crushing her body against his. She pulled his shirt out from his pants and slid her hands up the skin of his back, feeling the heat of his body under her fingers. He gasped softly and she kissed a trail from his jaw to his collarbone, tasting his skin.

"Marina…"

She paused, her lips touching the hollow of his neck. "Philip?" She gave him a quick kiss there, before he could stop her.

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

Marina stopped running her hands along his back and buried her face in his chest, unable to stop the violent laughter his question caused. This man!

When her laughter had subsided, she looked up at him, staring into his earnest, serious, stupid face. "Philip, I don't actually want to talk right now," she told him. "I just want to hold you. Is that all right?"

His cheeks grew warm, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I see. Well, I…" He took a little step back, but she was wrapped up in him and moved with him, unwilling to let him get away from her. He turned his head to avoid her eyes. "I haven't… You should know that I don't have experience with women," he said.

Marina smiled. "Yes, you have told me so before."

"No, what I mean is…" He faltered, and she pushed herself closer to him, still smiling up at him. She could feel his body responding to hers – she just wanted to know what his mind was doing. "I don't know how to – please you."

Marina's smile turned into a full grin. "You're worried about pleasing me?"

He nodded.

She lifted herself up to kiss him again, and he looked confused. "The fact that you want to please me is already more than most men would give a woman," she told him.

"Well, that's not…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," she said, taking another step forward, forcing him to take another step back, so that they moved closer to the bed. "I don't yet know what pleases you either. The joy will be in finding out." She took another step, and he sat down hard on the edge of the bed. She held his face in her hands and kissed him deeply, easing some of her weight onto him as she did. "We have time now, to find out."

What a pleasure, to have time.