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Selena grimaced. “I don’t care what happens to him. I just don’t want to see him anymore.”

Jo stifled a grimace. She wished they could do something about Mick. She wished she could make him suffer and feel afraid of losing everything just like Selena had felt. But she didn’t want to bother Selena with her thoughts. Not now. Perhaps not ever. But the truth was simple. There was nothing they could do to get rid of Mick. Unless they left the theater. And with every passing day, she thought it was less and less possible.

“Can we go home now?” Selena suddenly asked.

Jo nodded. “If you feel up to it. Yes. Of course.”

Selena nodded as she looked around. “I like it here.” She paused before meeting Jo’s gaze. “But we don’t belong here.”

Jo lowered her eyes. She had nothing to say to that. She knew that Selena was right. And yet, her heart cried from this knowledge.

She didn’t care about the richly decorated bedrooms, or the soft beds and blazing fireplaces. She never yearned for the world’s riches. But her heart yearned for the man in the next room. And with him, she truly wished she could have belonged.

When they entered the adjoining room, Richard was already awake, speaking animatedly with the doctor. He paused and turned his entire attention to Jo the moment they walked in.

“We are going to leave,” Jo said simply.

Richard stepped closer. “You can stay however long you wish. Both of you.”

Selena weaved her hand through Jo’s. “Thank you for helping me. But we truly should go.”

“I am going toward Covent Garden,” the doctor offered. “I can escort you if you do not have the means of getting home.”

“That would be lovely,” Jo agreed.

They all walked through the servants’ exit and toward the doctor’s carriage. It was a simple black coach, and it was perfect in that it didn’t draw any attention to itself. The viscount’s glittering carriage would be out of place in the wee hours of the morning in the city.

The doctor handed the still weak Selena into the carriage and offered his hand to Jo.

“Wait a moment,” Richard said and led her a few steps away from the carriage. His jaw was set in a hard line, his brows were furrowed. “Tell me,” he said as he took her hands in his. “What do I need to do to get you back?”

Jo’s eyes widened, and her heart started beating violently against her chest.

“That’s impossible,” she whispered, although her heart cried for him.

“Nothing is impossible,” he said vehemently. “If you could ask for anything, what would it be?”

“You are still betrothed,” she protested.

“Just tell me,” he begged. “What do I need to do to get you back into my life?”

Jo let out a breath and looked away, but he pressed his finger to her chin, forcing her to look at him. She licked her lips. “I only ever asked two things of you. First is to accept me the way I am, no stipulations and no requirements.”

“Fine,” was his immediate answer.

She let out a chuckle. “Fine? You shall accept me as a working actress, with my schedule, travel, and everything that comes with it?”

“What’s the second thing?” he asked without answering her question.

Jo took a deep breath. “You have to be unattached to another woman. In any way.”

A small, secret smile appeared on his lips as he nodded. “Very well.”

She gave him a pitying look. “You can’t promise me that. You are a viscount. You need heirs.”

He shrugged. “I can have my heirs with you.” His gaze turned hard. “Unless your first stipulation means you never want to have children.”

Never? No. She did want children. But this argument was useless.