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Nor should she. A lot of things started to make sense about his darling actress. Her debonair name wasn’t just for vanity, it was to save her from unwanted advances. Her insistence on not being a mistress wasn’t just her pride, but it was her attempt to not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Jo sobbed against his chest, crying her poor heart out. And now she’d rushed back to the man who’d treated her poorly so that her dear friend wouldn’t suffer the same fate.
How brave, how wonderfully resilient she was.
He held her close to his chest, running soothing circles down her back. Eventually, she went silent, and her breaths slowly evened out.
Was she falling asleep? Richard peered at her, but she stared ahead with an unseeing gaze. He wanted to lighten the mood, but after the recounting of the most terrible part of her life, how could he?
“What was your name?” he finally asked.
It seemed to have worked because she smiled as she looked up at him, although tears still glistened in her eyes. “Hattie. But I haven’t been called that in ages.”
“Hattie. Hm…” Richard stroked her hair as he tried out her real name on his tongue. “I think Josephine fits you better.”
Jo chuckled and settled back into his arms. “I think so, too.”
