“Then you are in danger of loving him and you must be careful,” Juliana said, rushing forward to squeeze her arm gently.

Thomasina dipped her head back with a gasp of breath. “I-I do love him.”

She had said it out loud, and there the words hung between them. A wall and a curse and a glorious light. Something and everything and nothing all at once.

All the color drained from Juliana’s face, and for a long moment she was utterly silent. Then she nodded at last. Her tone was carefully neutral as she said, “I see.”

“And now you will scold me.” Thomasina shook away her arm and paced the length of the room. “You will tell me I have no right to tell you not to speak to him when you are correct at what a fool I am.”

“I would never scold you for loving someone.” Juliana looked truly pained that Thomasina would believe otherwise. “It is only that I worry. Does he share these feelings?”

“Of course not,” Thomasina said, throwing up her hands. “He hasn’t pined after me for months, feeling his heart swell with every moment he spent with me. Learning my every quirk and habit until he could identify them without even looking.”

“Oh dear,” Juliana said softly. “That sounds very intense.”

“It is.” Thomasina sighed heavily and then shrugged, dismissing her heart though it wasn’t as easy as the action implied. “Jasper does want me. He makes that abundantly clear.”

“Yes, one would have to be blind not to see your physical connection.” Juliana’s cheeks were pink. “It practically makes the air around you hum.”

Thomasina shivered at the thought. “Beyond that, I think he likes me, sometimes despite himself.” She sighed again. “But he has been nothing but honest in his intentions. He did not seek out love when he arranged this union with our sister. In fact, he chose as he did because love was most definitely not in his plans.”

Juliana worried her lip slightly. “And a man like Jasper follows through on his plans.”

“He does do that,” Thomasina agreed. “Which is a wonderful quality. He will be a dependable partner. And yet I want more than that. And sometimes I think…”

She trailed off, for she couldn’t bear to say what she hoped for, despite all of Jasper’s denials of her desires. But Juliana, of course, was too wise a sister not to see what she meant. “You sometimes think he might be able to care for you more deeply?” she asked.

“Sometimes I think it is only a breath away.” Thomasina ran a hand over her face with the frustration of the situation.

“Perhaps it is,” Juliana said with uncertainty. “After all, not one person since Mother has ever been able to tell us apart. Yet he knows you!”

“Yes, and that gives me some hope. When we talk, I feel like we are forging a path between us. And when he touches me…”

Juliana’s brows lifted. “Is it really so very good? After all the fearful things we heard?”