The Heiress Effect (Brothers Sinister #2)(67)

She wasn’t sure who she was any longer. She seemed both bigger and colder than the person she had been even a few nights ago.

There was only one certainty in her life.

Even though Jane was tired, she waited, fighting the waves of weariness that threatened to drag her down into sleep. It took almost fifteen minutes before her door swung open.

“Jane?” Emily’s voice was small in the darkness.

Jane turned to the sound.

“Can I—”

Jane didn’t even wait for her sister to finish her sentence. She pulled back the covers, and Emily ducked under them and joined her. Her sister made a mass of warmth under the blankets.

It had been a long time since Emily had climbed into bed with Jane. Not since she was eleven and afraid of thunderstorms. Back then, she would have made her sister a little cocoon out of coverlets to try and keep her safe.

She wasn’t going to be able to keep her safe any longer. She’d done her best, but she knew what Titus was.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get you sent away. I just wanted to—needed to—get away. And I kept going. Twice a week, and then three times… I’m so stupid.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“How can I not? It’s my fault that this is happening. I knew what Titus was, what he would do, and I still—”

Jane tried to put her finger over her sister’s mouth. In the darkness, she missed and jabbed her cheek instead.

“Ow.”

“Oh, dear.” She converted the motion into a shoulder pat instead. “It’s not your fault, Emily. It’s Titus’s fault.”

“But—”

“He’s an adult. All his mental faculties are in functional order, no matter how flawed they might be. He doesn’t have to be unreasonable; he just chooses it. You didn’t force him to act irrationally. It’s ridiculous to say that you are at fault when he’s the one making demands.”

Emily let out a long breath. “I’ll try to be good,” she finally said. “To reach him with reasonableness.” She laughed. “I’m not sure it’s possible.”

“I’ll visit,” Jane said. “I’ve worked it out with him. I’ll still see you. I’ll be able to slip you money, so that if you ever need it—if you have to bribe physicians yourself—you’ll have it. You have a little more than a year until he’s no longer your guardian. Once you turn twenty-one, there is nothing he can do to hold you here.”

“I know,” Emily said. “I love you, Jane, but…” She swallowed. “Don’t worry for me. I shall manage on my own.”

Jane smoothed her sister’s hair. “Who knows? Maybe Titus will get better.”

Emily laughed. “Maybe. And maybe he… But no. I won’t make fun of him.”

“There’s a plant on my desk,” Jane said. “A cactus. I want you to keep it while I’m gone. So you’ll have something of me.”

“Oh, God, Jane. I always forget to water plants. I’m going to kill it.”

“Forget to water this one.” Jane smiled. “You’re supposed to.”

Her sister nodded and curled up against her.

“Was it worth it?” Jane asked. “This man you were slipping out to meet… Was he worth it?”

Emily paused. “He’s going to be a barrister. He asked me to marry him. I’ve not given him my answer yet. I was waiting for some kind of a sign. And now this thing has happened with Titus.”

“Titus is never a sign of anything but Titus,” Jane said. “Does your barrister love you?”

Emily waited even longer before answering. “I don’t know,” she finally said. “It’s hard for me to read him. He says that I’m pretty.”

“Anyone would say that, silly. You are. But he was meeting you in secret. I can’t like that. Is he a rake?”

“He’s the farthest thing from a rake. I told you, he’s gentle. Except when he’s not. When he’s angry, he speaks his mind quite clearly.”

“Does this not-rakish gentleman have a name?”

She could feel her sister stiffen beside her with some inexplicable tenseness. “He does.”

Was it someone Jane knew? Someone she had mentioned? Not the Marquess of Bradenton, she prayed. Let it not be him. But she didn’t ask. She didn’t push. She simply waited. And after about half a minute, Emily continued.

“It’s Anjan,” Emily said. “Anjan Bhattacharya.”

Jane’s eyes widened in surprise. There were a thousand responses she could give. She mulled them all over and finally settled on one.

“Tell me,” she said sleepily. “Tell me all about him. Does he say your name the way you say his?”

Her sister pondered this. “He told me once that my guardian should hold me precious. But Mama didn’t. Papa didn’t. Titus, oddly enough, has come closest, and he, well….” She sighed and turned in the bed. “That leaves only you, Jane. You’re the only one who has ever thought me a treasure.”

Jane gathered her sister in her arms, holding her close. “Of course, Emily. Of course I do.”

“So who did you have?”