Becoming Jane

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Little J let the tears flow freely once she was safely confined in the small carriage. Pulling off her wig, she let her long, blonde locks surround her face completely as if it were a curtain shielding her from her world of woes.

She knew she wasn’t a horrible person. Had she not broken the rules both Kitty and Millie would be dead. But the way Harrison looked at her, she felt as though she had done evil.

One thing had come of it. He’d told her that he would not turn her in. She could complete her education without the fear of punishment.

Heartbreak would not last forever. Sooner or later her pain would heal. All pain did. Soon it would just be a memory, a painful memory that she would store deep down inside. A memory that she would never let surface.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to put on a brave face. She wiped her eyes with her cuffs until they were dry and then proceeded to change her clothes. Once in a clean, blue gown that matched her eyes, she folded her male attire and put it away neatly.

She concentrated as hard as she could for the rest of the journey, trying her best not to cry once more. She hoped her eyes were not red, she didn’t want to give her family leave to inquire after her. As much as she would like her mother’s comfort, it was a subject that she simply could not discuss.

When the carriage pulled to a stop, she quickly climbed out and tossed a coin at the driver, wanting to be away as quickly as possible. Looking around, she could not see James, but she presumed he expected her to be with Harrison for the afternoon until it came time for him to meet her. He wouldn’t be home as it was still time for him to be at university … of course it was not he who attended.

Clutching her bag to her side, she set off in the direction of Ethridge Manor. Her hair swayed in the wind around her hips and she was grateful that it shielded her face.

As she came to the cobble street that led to her house, she heard her name being called by none other than her brother. He was behind her. She turned around and saw him standing twenty feet from her with Miss Sarah and her chaperone. He said something quietly to Sarah and she and her chaperone departed in the direction of town.

“Little J?” he said in a concerned tone as he approached her. Once he reached her, he enveloped her in a tight, comforting hug.

With the security she felt, she let out the tears she had been holding back since she exited the carriage, allowing her heartbreak to be apparent.

“Little J, what has happened?” he demanded to know sternly. “Tell me and I’ll right it.”

Little J’s sobs shook her body and she wished she was in the privacy of her own home and not in public. “Nothing,” she managed to get out. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Is it him?” he questioned tensely. “What has he done?”