Added characters:

Lottie (Charlotte)

Lord Wilson

The butler (call me lazy but I didn't actually give him a name)

One: The Old World

The street outside the drawing room window was busy. Carriages bustled, children played, ladies gossiped and merchants shouted, everyone went about their daily routine without any excitement. It was, Sarah imagined, how it had been for hundreds of years. The streets were old, ancient in some parts of the city. Sarah has always loved that about London- the rich tradition; that morning, however, the place seemed rather boring.

Her mother who was seated across the blue room in an elegant French styled chair had taken notice of Sarah's discontent.

"Dear, you're moping again. Do cheer up. You're home. The war is over. And divorce may be uncommon but after your father having been absent so long most people of good breeding hardly pay attention to a small scandal like that. Your father is happier out in the American wilds and we are better suited for a comfortable English life."

Sarah looked at Lady Phillips, who has always been happy in a placid unadventurous life and frowned. She didn't agree with her mother about being better suited for this life. Sarah had lived through adventure and it was thrilling, but her father had insisted she go home to London, so she had.

"There is nothing to do here. I haven't written in weeks. I feel as though I'm just bobbing about with no purpose." She laid back on the couch and twisted at the tassel on a small pillow.

Lady Phillips rolled her eyes and took up her stitching, now ignoring her daughter. Just then the butler entered with the letter tray.

"For Ms. Phillips" He announced. Sarah jumped up and broke the sloppy seal, knowing exactly who had written the letter before laying eyes on his jagged lettering. The contents made her want to scream with joy as her eyes darted across the happy news.

"Well, don't leave me in suspense." Her mother said calmly not raising her eyes from her needlework.

"Henri and James are coming to London!" Sarah had missed her friends so dearly that some nights she had cried herself to sleep. Finally, the three would be united again! She couldn't express her joy enough.

"Mother, we ought to have them here. James writes that they will stay in an inn, but that seems silly when we have plenty of spare rooms. Other than cousin Lottie are we expecting any company?"

"I don't believe so. You should invite them to stay. I would like to meet these boys and see if they measure up to characters you've portrayed in your stories. If so, I should think them dazzling company."

Sarah smiled but began to wonder nervously if she had made them out to be gentlemen. James and Henri were rugged and almost wild. It was commonplace in those United States but in England... they might be seen as rather un-charming.

She tried to imagine Henri at a formal dinner but was only able to produce memories of him devouring meals and licking plates after.

Oh dear, she thought, well at least James- Sarah frowned. Was James really any better?

The memory of James that came to her was one that had been replaying in her head for months. It was the day she left for Europe. He had a smudge of ink from the press along the back of his sleeve….

"James look what you've done to your shirt!" Sarah touched the stain.

"I'm a newspaperman, Sarah, people expect me to be a little-"

"Untidy?" She teased.

He rolled his eyes and then suddenly frowned. It was a real look of sadness and it appeared so suddenly Sarah had been taken aback.

"It was only a joke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"You're leaving today," James said. She nodded, had he really only just realized what that meant or was there something else bothering him? Then James seemed to straighten out his thoughts. He shook his head and said,

"Henri isn't nearly as clever as you. Who's going to tease me? Humble me?" James had said it almost jokingly but Sarah could sense the truth behind his words. Who was going to keep him from taking everything so seriously? Who was going to remind him to be gentle? Who was going to bring out his sensitive but truly lovely humility? He needed Sarah and she needed him too. He forced her to be brave and face challenges she would have never dared to in England. James tested her writing and had elevated her ability through their constant competition. He made her question everything she thought in order to seek the truth. They really were a perfect team.

Sarah had tried to hold back the tears but one had escaped and so quickly others followed.

"Oh, James!" She frowned.

He hugged her tight. "I know."

They stayed like that for a while, embracing, just being together as friends holding on to their last few moments side by side.

…

Sarah glanced at her mother, who seemed unmoved by their brief discussion. Inviting James and Henri to her family home suddenly felt rather strange. She glanced down at the fine blue material of her skirt; it was much nicer than what she wore to go out reporting in America.

What if she had entirely changed and her friends hated the English version of Sarah? James certainly had when they first met. What if they detested everything about England and the life she lived here? It was certainly more extravagant than the small apartments above the Pennsylvania Gazette. It had been so warm and close there, whereas in London, in her family's expansive home with large rooms and wide hallways between- it seemed rather cold. Perhaps it was just the natural climate of England, that is, cold. Sarah had never noticed it until she returned from the states. What if she was growing cold too? What if James took one look at her and saw whatever he had upon their very first meeting. What if they never spoke as friends again? James had come to mean so much to her and to think that his opinion of her might change made Sarah uneasy.

She felt like she was leaving for a new country again. It was the same terrified feeling she had experienced as the boat left towards the colonies. Sarah was utterly frightened but there was also the sensation of knowing that something had started and there was no turning back. The old world for better or worse was miles away, the journey ahead was all that mattered now.