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It was a risk. Nicholas might not want her any longer. He was a loyal man. Sometimes broken loyalty can’t be pieced back together, but Jane would rather know if there was still a chance for them than go through her whole life remembering how she’d ruined her happiness because she’d been afraid of what people would say and what his sisters might think.
Jane was tired of living a small life. She needed to start believing that she was worthy of all the things she secretly desired: companionship, excitement, love.
They all climbed down from the carriage, and Eric secured a porter to see after the ladies’ luggage. Elizabeth and Mary stood on either side of Jane, looping her arms through theirs and holding her tight.
“You’re shaking,” said Elizabeth.
“I’m nervous,” she said.
“Don’t be. We’ll be right there with you,” said Mary.
“What if he says no?” she asked.
“What if he says yes?” countered Elizabeth with a raised brow.
If he says yes, I’ll fall to pieces in the best way.
The huge redbrick building was a crush of people, but her friends never let go of her. Her heart pounded in her chest, but they kept her grounded as they found their track.
“We have some time,” said Eric as the passengers from an arriving train spilled out into the main station hall. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
They all looked to Jane, who shook her head. She couldn’t stand the thought of eating or drinking anything.
“Quite right,” said Mary. “We’re at the start of a journey. We can’t be stopping off for cups of tea already.”
Jane gave her a small smile.
“I think I might visit the bookstall,” Elizabeth announced. “How I managed to walk out without packing a book, I’ll never know.”
“Are you feeling yourself?” Mary teased.
“I was just wondering the same,” said her friend with a smile, her hand making a quick protective pass over her stomach. “Jane, would you like to come with me?”
“I—” But the words froze in her mouth. Coming off the platform of an arriving train and flanked by two ladies was Nicholas.
Her feet surged forward before she could even think what she was doing. He was here. Not in Kent but here in London.
“Nicholas!” she cried out, breaking free from her friends.
He turned slowly, scanning the crowd, but she knew the moment he saw her. His eyes widened and then warmed, and it was as though she were back home again.
She stopped in front of him, breathless from surprise and anticipation and desire. “You’re here. What are you doing here?”
His face fell when he saw the case she held in her hand. “You’re taking a trip.”
She grasped the handle with both hands, holding the bag in front of her the way a child holds a blanket it loves in times of distress.
“Is this her?” A woman’s powerful voice cut through the buzz of the crowd.
“This is Miss Ephram,” said Nicholas, never taking his eyes off her even as two women moved a protective step closer to him. These must be the sisters who were staring at her so intently. Jane wondered whether they knew what she’d done in their name. If they would resent her for becoming involved with their brother.
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” The younger looking of Nicholas’s two sisters poked him unceremoniously in the side.
“You’ll have to forgive me, Helen. I’m trying to remember how to speak,” he said.
The slow trickle of relief began to fill her chest. She didn’t know if she should dare to dream that there was a possibility that maybe—just maybe—he might forgive her.
Clearing her throat, she said, “I’m Jane Ephram, and these are my friends Lord and Lady Asten and Mrs. Fellows. Your brother—”
