My Plain Jane (The Lady Janies #2)(96)

To give the king credit, he hid his surprise well.

“You can come with me,” Jane said to the ghost. “I can help you move on.”

“Why is moving on so good?” Helen said. “Especially if you don’t even know where moving on goes?”

“Helen,” Jane whispered.

The king waved his hand again. “Because it’s supposed to happen that way. We must believe that the god who put us here, with families and companions and food and beauty . . . he has a place for us when we are no longer living. We must have this faith. The faith that we will again be with those we’ve lost. But you won’t discover this promise if you linger here among the living.”

Jane relaxed. She hadn’t had an explanation for what awaited the spirits moving on. She hadn’t wanted to dwell on the thought.

Then she looked at Helen, who was staring at her with a pained expression.

Perhaps she was looking at the why.

“Ghost,” the king said. “Would you like to say farewell now? And follow Miss Eyre? She will take you where you need to go.”

The ghost frowned but then bowed. “I shall follow the instructions of my top advisor. Thank you, good fellow.” He went to pat the king on the back, and actually made contact, his emotions were so strong.

“Excellent,” the king said with a cough. “Miss Eyre, you will guide him from here?”

“Yes, Sire.”

Jane spared one last glance at the ring on the king’s desk, and figuring her mission was accomplished, walked out with the tree ghost and Helen in tow.

Once in the hallway, Helen stood in front of Jane, and had she been a solid human instead of a ghost, she would have prevented Jane from walking. Still, Jane stopped.

“Why am I here?” she said, her hand on her hip.

“Because you wanted to come to the palace with me,” Jane said.

“That’s not what I mean.”

Jane had a sinking feeling she knew what Helen meant.

“Why are you helping ghosts to move on to the place we are supposed to move on to, and yet I stay? With you?”

“I don’t know, dear,” Jane said. “But maybe it is because I need my closest friend, and she needs me. Are you not happy?”

Helen frowned and her lower lip trembled. “I don’t know. I don’t know if happiness exists for ghosts here.”

“That can’t be,” Jane implored. “I’ve seen you happy.”

Helen sniffed. “But what if that’s simply a reflection of you? You’re a Beacon. I’m a ghost. Is that why I have stayed?” She raised her voice. “Is that why I linger?”

Jane glanced around to see if they had drawn attention, but there were only uninterested guards in this corridor. And, also, Helen was a ghost.

“Helen, please. You saved me at Lowood. You are my kindred. I can’t imagine a life here without you.”

Helen frowned. “But maybe you are meant to live it without me.”

She turned and ran down the corridor, and Jane would have followed but it was definitely against royal protocol for a woman in a dress and heels to run. And she had the tree ghost now.

“Follow me,” she said.

It was a long walk back to the ballroom and then down the stairs and then to the entrance of the palace, and during the walk, all Jane could think about was Helen. She would not leave Helen. Helen needed Jane as much as Jane needed Helen. Helen was an anchor. A lighthouse. A compass, showing Jane the better way.

Sure, she was still a bit na?ve. And she hadn’t progressed emotionally or intellectually, as Jane had. But she was a ghost. And that was fine.

But what if she left?

The tree ghost stayed close by Jane’s side as they approached the grand doors. Jane held the talisman at the ready if he suddenly decided to bolt, but he didn’t. “Where did your friend go?” he said.

“I don’t know,” Jane whispered, not moving her mouth because there were people around.

“Is she coming back?”

Jane didn’t answer. She didn’t want to think about the possibility that she would never see Helen again.

The guards heaved the doors open, and suddenly Helen came rushing in.

“Jane!” she said.

“Helen!” Jane replied, causing the guards to look at her with confusion. Jane quickly turned around and motioned Helen to follow her. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”

“It’s not that,” Helen said. “I saw Mr. Blackwood!”

“His ghost?” Jane said.

“No, him! He’s alive. He said the duke is bad. He has a message for you.” She ticked off her pointer finger as if she wanted to get the message perfectly correct. “He said don’t put the ring in the king’s study, because the duke wants to possess him. Phew.” She put her hand to her stomach and took several deep breaths in. “That’s it.”

“Wait,” Jane said, not even bothering to keep her voice quiet. “Wait. Mr. Blackwood is alive?” Jane felt a moment of relief that Mr. Rochester hadn’t killed him.

Helen nodded, wheezing. “And don’t forget the other part I told you.”

“The duke is bad, and don’t put the ring in the study because he wants to possess him?” Jane said.

“Oh, good, your memory is so good.” She smiled. “We did it!”