Free Her One True Love by Rachel Brimble Page A

venture into town and see if we cannot fill some of these pitifully bare cupboards.”
    Jeannie splayed her hands on the table and heaved to her feet. “I will see to the drawing room fire and lamps on my way up.”
    â€œThank you. See you in the morning.”
    As Jeannie’s footsteps receded along the hallway, Jane exhaled and leaned back in her chair, her gaze falling to the dying embers in the grate. Matthew had looked so angry when she spoke of her irritation with him staying at a hotel so close by. On retrospect, she couldn’t blame him.
    It was her fault she had spent years loving a man despite him giving her little indication of anything more than mutual respect and fondness between them. Was it Matthew’s fault he hadn’t reciprocated her feelings? That he chose to marry a woman far better connected and more beautiful than her?
    A resounding no yelled unceremoniously in her head.
    At the sound of Jeannie climbing the stairs, Jane silently admonished herself, collected their teacups and saucers, and walked to the sink.
    She would do all she could tomorrow to make her and Matthew’s final hours together, for what she predicted to be several weeks, as amicable as possible. He didn’t deserve her brashness or snappish behavior. He genuinely cared about her. Of that much Jane could be certain. She smiled softly as she ran water from the tap.
    It made her heart stumble to see flashes of the old Matthew throughout the day, even if parts of him might have been forever extinguished by Elizabeth’s infidelity. Above all else, Jane wanted him to be happy, and those flashes had given her hope that one day he would be.
    A low flame of positivity flickered in her abdomen, and she quickly washed, dried, and returned the crockery to the spartan cupboards. There would be plenty of time to fill and rearrange the house to make it fully hers, but for now, a night’s rest beckoned.
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    The next morning Jane woke from a somewhat fitful sleep. Dreams of Matthew, both angry and then loving, had harangued her throughout the night. When she wasn’t dreaming of Matthew, she was abruptly woken by the unfamiliar shouts and noises outside her window. It would take her weeks to grow accustomed to the constant stream of city sounds that penetrated her windows after years of living in the quiet countryside.
    Lifting aside the covers, Jane pushed up onto her bottom and stretched her arms high above, breathing deep. Beyond the undraped window, the early morning mist had dispersed to leave a bright, azure blue sky, the sun’s low rays casting a white beam of light toward her.
    This was the first new day of the rest of her life.
    Excitement pulsed through her as she rose from the bed and reached for her dressing gown from the back of a wooden chair. She put it on and walked to the door, tying the sash at her waist before emerging from her room onto the landing. She paused, straining her ears toward Jeannie’s room.
    The clang of crockery and the scuffing of shoes downstairs drifted toward her. Jane smiled. Clearly, it would take time for Jeannie to adjust from her morning ritual of rising at the crack of dawn.
    Humming softly, Jane walked downstairs and along the chilly hallway into the kitchen. A fire burned brightly in the grate and the table was already set for breakfast. The aroma of toast and eggs filled the small kitchen.
    â€œI assume you have been out already today, Jeannie?”
    The young girl flinched before spinning around from the sink, her soapy hand on her chest. “Oh miss. You startled me.”
    Jane smiled and lowered herself into one of the four chairs around the table. “This breakfast looks wonderful. Thank you.”
    â€œYou’re welcome.” Jeannie dried her hands and put the towel on the counter before sliding into the seat opposite Jane. “I just nipped along the road and found a lady selling bread and eggs out of her front door. I suppose now