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“Why? No one knows you are here.”
“He will find me.” Jane’s shoulders quivered and the color drained from her cheeks. “He always finds me.”
“Who?” Alice asked. “Who will find you?”
“My husband,” Jane whispered.
A chill swept over Alice. The way she said those words was horrible to hear. “You fear him.”
“He’s the one who had me declared insane and committed to the asylum against my will. I was... inconvenient to him. Insubordinate, was his word for me, among other, less polite epithets.”
“But, I don’t understand. If you are highborn, was there no one to save you from such a fate?”
“I’m an orphan.”
“Who is your husband?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“You must. Lord Hatherly will be able to help you if he knows the details. Tell me, Jane. Tell me your husband’s name.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t risk it. I don’t even want to say his name aloud.”
“I understand.”
Her violet eyes burned with hatred. “That shivering woman still chained to the bed in the Yellow House is married. Not me.”
“You’re not even alive,” said Alice.
Jane frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Lord Hatherly told me that he and Captain Lear planted evidence of your drowning in the canal near the Yellow House, as if you had escaped and taken your own life out of desperation. I think they mean to help you begin a new life.”
“If that is true, if they have given me this opportunity, I should leave immediately.” Jane tried to push herself upright.
Alice placed a hand on her arm. “You’re not strong enough yet. You’ll have to stay here until your strength returns.”
“I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re not.” Alice settled Jane’s pillows more firmly behind her back. “Now have some more soup, before it goes cold.”
Jane relaxed against the cushions. “You’re right. I’m too weak.” She finished her soup with relish. “It’s very good.”
“Only a simple chicken soup.”
“But it tastes like home. I grew up in the countryside. We weren’t too elegant there.”
“I grew up in the countryside, as well.”
“Did you?”
“In Yorkshire.”
Alice waited for Jane to reply and tell her where she’d been raised, but she remained silent. She truly was on edge.
“And how long have you been married?” Jane asked.
“Only a few days.”
