Evan, you know I care for you and I have so enjoyed your company over the summer, but I must tell you I do not hold the depth of feeling for you that you hold for me. I am so very, very sorry to have to say this, but I think it is best for both of us if we break off our attachment. I want you to be free to find someone who can love you as you deserve. I am just sorry it cannot be me.
I know this might injure you beyond reckoning, but it must be done and I beg you to forgive me and please move on. I know you will find the perfect friend and companion for your new life as a printer.
And I send you all my deepest appreciation for your care and concern, and I wish you the very best in your life to come.
Your true friend,
Jenny
Jenny had to wipe the tears from her eyes as she sealed the letter. But she knew this was for the best. However, she was surprised to find it left a huge, gaping hole in her heart. A hole that, she realized, might never be filled.
She knew the post office was still open, but she could not bring herself to post this letter today. It would have to wait until tomorrow.
In her sadness, she sought out Claudia who was braiding their sister, Sally’s, mop of hair. Now that she was handling the business of the shop Sally needed to be less wild looking and more professional.
Sally looked up at Jenny as her hair was being done, and said, “Mama tells me you will be leaving us one day and that I shall need to become a baker as well. Will you teach me how to make pastries like you do? I should love to become as good as you.”
This question took Jenny out of her sorrow for the moment, and she replied, “Would you really like that?”
“Oh, yes. I may never be as good as you are, but I would love to try.”
“What do you think, Claudia? Might our Sally become a pastry cook one day?”
“Well, someone has to. Both you and I are destined for other lives. Me as a wife, and you as a pastry cook at some grand estate. Someone has to take over from us.”
Jenny laughed. “I think we are both getting ahead of ourselves. No one has offered me employment, and you are several years from marriage yet, as your young man is still at university.”
“But it will take time to train her, and I think she is ready to learn.”
“Then who is to mind the shop with Robert gone?”
“Hmm. Perhaps we will need to hire someone. We best talk to Papa about that,” Claudia said.
* * *
The snow had mostly melted as a bright sunny day followed the storm. George made it to Pemberton, and he and Thomas were sloshing through the mud of the developing racetrack directing the workers who were installing the fencing.
“I knew I should have worn my boots,” George said as he tried to wipe the mud off his shoes in the grass.
“We are no longer in London, George. You should know country conditions by now. We are horsemen… men of the stable. We must live with rain, snow, mud, wind, and smell like the stables half of our lives from here on out.”
“Oh, Helena will love that…”
“Buck up, George. You are no stranger to horses. And you, of all people, should be up to the challenge.”
“Yes, yes… but I will feel a lot more comfortable when we have finally raised the rest of our investment. Have you any new leads or ideas? Has Miss Prunella come through with any new thoughts?”
Thomas did not respond, and George looked at him and asked, “Is something wrong? Are you two not getting along? I thought you two would be engaged before too long.”
Thomas frowned. “That is not imminent. Lady Alderman—both the younger and the elder—do not seem to take to country living.”
“Oh, Thomas… I had no idea.”
Thomas nodded. “And not only that, but she is very opinionated and disparages much of our lifestyle. I believe she is only suited to living in London, and that is an impossible situation for us with our new business. We are country folk now and bound to remain so if we are to be successful.”
“I am sorry, Thomas. What are you going to do?”
“Grandmamma keeps reminding me of the forty thousand a year but, even she seems to find her less than engaging.”
