Yet now she wondered whether she had been wrong about this. Did not the wives of other men find the means to discover their gifts and their talents? Was not the mathematical genius, Ada Lovelace, a fine example of this? Might not the steady support of a man take from her sufficient material worries to allow her the space to commune more deeply with herself, so that The Thing would reveal itself to her more quickly and more completely?

And what of companionship? Like Emmeline, Jane had often had moments of feeling lonely. She pitied her aunt for all the years she had spent in a solitary life. True, that life had been an admirable one, but it had also been difficult, freighted with sadness and mourning. Emmeline had discovered a fine gift in herself and yet, for all that, she had not had the life she wanted.

Jane now tried to remember any moments when Valentine Ross had caused her irritation. He had stared at her sometimes, with a stare which lasted too long, but this had perplexed her more than it had annoyed her. In general, she had been perfectly comfortable and content in his company and it was only the terrible moment at Mrs Morrissey’s which had brought about her fury.

After all this analysis of her memories and feelings, Jane realised that she now felt tired, but not at all sleepy. Her head ached. She had one of those strange moments of wishing that she were not alive at all to face the dilemmas which surrounded her.

She reached for her diary and wrote: ‘Though the image of Julietta’s beautiful face is never absent from my mind for long, tonight I am thinking again about my poor Valentine. But why do I describe him so, as though he might be a little wounded animal I had first rescued and then abandoned? So now I ask myself, are marriage vows sometimes brought to their fatal exchange because one party feels sorry for the other? ’

BELLE ÉPOQUE

The next day, Julietta arrived at Tite Street in a state of hectic excitement. She recounted how Ashton Sims was visiting Paris to talk to a well-known French author, a certain Guy Mollinet, in the hope of acquiring the translation rights to his new novel for Kirkwall & Sims, and had suggested that Julietta come with him ‘to buy herself a new Paris wardrobe for the coming spring’.

‘I told him,’ panted Julietta, ‘that it was a grand idea but that I would be very sad going shopping on my own and he straight away suggested that you come with us, Jane! It was his idea, that you should accompany me. He said he admires your wit and that you might make him smile at dinnertime and help to entertain Monsieur Mollinet. He loves to laugh, apparently, and speaks good English. Ashton will arrange everything. We leave on Thursday for Dover.’

Jane had agreed at once and then sat down and written the following note to her father: