Jane looked out of the window, relieved to see her childhood home looming up over the hill. They were nearly there. Sitting in a carriage trying to distract a small child was not easy. Especially when that child wanted to climb up and look out without any help. Alexander had given up a long time ago. Jane had made a mental note to make him uncomfortable for letting her look after Judith on her own.

Once they were at Crawley Manor, Alexander was going to look after Judith by himself. It was Jane’s family home. She was going to enjoy seeing her family while her husband tended to their daughter. Jane bit back a smirk as she thought about it.

It had only been a few minutes since Judith Harrison had finally decided to calm down enough to curl up beside her mother, sucking her thumb. Now she was aware that they were nearly there, she was jumping up and down in excitement with many squeals. Jane sighed, but she couldn’t help smiling. Judith loved coming to visit her Uncle Anthony. Her brother – she couldn’t see him as an uncle – had softened considerably in the last year and a half, and he adored his niece. The new Earl of Crawley was a different man.

His new wife had seen to that. Jane couldn’t thank Mary enough for pulling Anthony out of his dark depression nine months previously.

“Honey?” Alexander touched her hand. “You all right?”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Now you’re paying attention. I thought you had forgotten we were here.”

Alexander flinched. “I thought you were doing fine without me getting involved.”

“Well, I wasn’t.” Jane shot him a glance, losing the fight to hide her grin. “When we get there, Judith is your responsibility.”

“How is that fair?”

“Because I’ve been wrangling our little lady the whole journey down.” Jane wrapped an arm around Judith’s waist as their daughter leaned towards the window. “It’s your turn.”

Alexander groaned. “You do drive a hard bargain, My Lady.”

“It’s only fair.” Jane giggled. “Then you will see how hard it is looking after a precocious eighteen-month-old.”

Alexander pretended to grumble, but Jane caught the smile before her husband turned away. He loved his daughter, so there wasn’t going to be any problem with Alexander seeing to Judith. The two of them were so alike, it was scary.

Their carriage pulled into the drive, stopping outside the front door. Anthony was already waiting outside, his arms folded as Jane and Judith were helped out of the carriage by one of his footmen, Alexander close behind.

“Finally,” he declared. “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t get here.”

“Someone dropped her favorite toy out of the window.” Jane gave her daughter a tickle, which had Judith squealing. “We had to stop and rescue it, or we would have a very stroppy little girl on our hands.”

Anthony laughed. He leaned towards Judith, who squealed again and reached for him. Jane neatly passed her daughter to her brother before she ended up on the ground and stepped back as Anthony propped his niece on his hip.

“Oh, you weren’t any trouble, were you, Judith?” Anthony pretended to sound shocked. “Surely not?”

Jane groaned.

“No wonder she’s spoiled. You and Alex are the same.”

“She’s not spoiled,” Alexander protested. “We just mother her more than you do.”

Jane rolled her eyes, but she didn’t stop smiling as Alexander wrapped an arm around her waist. Anthony kissed Judith’s cheek.

“Let’s get you inside. Mary is looking forward to seeing you again, Miss Judith.”

He headed into the house, Judith chattering away in her baby babble. She was just starting to learn her words, and Jane knew it was only a matter of time before Judith was talking as much as her husband did. She was a fast learner, and it was almost impossible to keep up with her.

When she was with her cousin Louise, the two of them were unstoppable. Anna and Jane had laughed over their daughters and their antics, but neither of them would change anything. Certainly not their closeness, which suited Anna and Jane just fine. After settling everything between them, the two ladies had gotten close. Anna was a really decent lady. Jane was stunned she hadn’t noticed that before.

Sometimes, you needed something big to make you realize how silly you were being, and you needed to move on. Anthony had discovered the same nine months after losing the woman he had loved for nearly thirty years. Megan White’s sister Mary had arrived to deal with Megan’s possessions and to help Anthony out as he mourned. They spent a lot of time together, and soon fell in love. Jane was not surprised at all when Anthony invited her and Alexander to his wedding six months previously.

Mary was good for him. She kept him grounded, made him more relaxed. She was just what Anthony had needed in his life.

“I’ll go in and make sure they’re not causing havoc inside.” Alexander turned to his wife. “You coming?”

“I’ll just check that the luggage is being sorted.” Jane glanced towards the carriage as the footmen struggled with the two trunks on the back. “Make sure it’s all in order.”

“You packed them and checked them twice when we were at home.”

“Even so, I just want to be sure.”

Alexander shook his head with a smile.

“Honestly, you need to relax a little. We’ve got everything.” He cupped her chin and kissed her. “I’ll see you inside, then.”

Jane turned to the carriage as her husband went inside. He may have thought they had everything, but Jane’s mind was always niggling that something had been left behind. Maybe it was her overly-cautious nature that had sprung up recently, but Jane just wanted to be sure.

Jane checked that her trunk had been taken off the back of the carriage before it was taken off to the stables. She was about to go into the house when she heard a horse galloping behind her. She turned and saw a magnificent stallion slowing to a trot as it approached the house. Lee Wilkes was sat astride.

Jane smiled and walked out to him as Lee dismounted.

“Lee.”

“Jane.” Lee took the reins of his horse and approached her, kissing her cheek. “I heard you were going to be here.”

“Just for a few weeks.” Jane looked up at him. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here? I didn’t think you had any business yet over in this part of the county.”

“Lord Crawley invited me to dinner.” Lee shrugged. “I thought I would get here early.”

“Oh, did he?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Jane folded her arms. “I know you, Lee Wilkes. You’re not normally on time for things. I bet you would even be late to your own wedding. What’s going on?”

“Well,” Lee glanced towards the house, “Let’s just say I have an ulterior motive.”

Jane looked over her shoulder, and saw Claire in one of the upstairs windows. Since Jane had left to become Mrs. Harrison, Claire had been promoted by Anthony to housekeeper. She was young for the job, but she was very efficient. It was a role that suited her. Jane had been proud of her friend to get this promotion.

Then she realized. She had suspected it before and teased Claire about it, but Claire had always denied anything. If she hadn’t blushed at the denial, then Jane would have believed her. From the way Lee behaved around Claire, the feelings ran both ways.

If their social stations were the same, there wouldn’t be anything holding Lee back. Jane knew that much.

“Ah. I see.”

“I figured you would.” Lee sighed. “I’m a fool, aren’t I?”

“You’re not a fool if you’re in love.”

“In my position? I’m almost thirty. I should be getting married to someone of my own social standing, not fawning after a housekeeper.”

“Love doesn’t discriminate,” Jane pointed out. “And her position doesn’t matter.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Jane paused. She was sure about it, but Society certainly wasn’t. They would create such an uproar that Lee would be driven out of London. He wouldn’t be able to show his face if he married a housekeeper. That would be painful on all levels.

Claire had disappeared from the window and Jane turned to Lee.

“Why don’t you tell her? I’m sure you would be pleasantly surprised by her answer.”

“I’ve already told her. She rejected me.”

Jane blinked. “When did you do that?”

“At Christmas.” Lee grimaced. “Not exactly the best Christmas gift I’ve ever had, I’ll say. I should be keeping my distance but…I can’t. That’s what is foolish.”

It was foolish. Jane felt pity for the Marquess. Nobody could help who they fell in love with, and he was stuck in the position where he couldn’t openly declare his love. Claire knew her place, and Lee wished he didn’t.

“I wish I knew what to say. But I can’t answer for Claire. I thought she felt the same.”

“She’s just more aware of the social barrier than I am,” Lee grunted. He shook his head. “And I’m getting to the point of not caring anymore.”

Jane could tell. It was eating him up inside. And constantly coming to the house to see her, even if they couldn’t interact as Lee wanted to, had to be hard.

An idea began to form. Jane smiled.

“Maybe you can work it to your advantage.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“I’m sure we can think of something.” Jane walked beside her husband’s friend. “I’ll have to have a word with Anthony first, but it could work.”

“What could?”

Jane giggled and led Lee towards the stables.

“Come with me and I’ll explain.”

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