Emilie found Jack in the dining room, finishing off a bowl of oatmeal. She smiled, glad to find him there. Instead of questioning Rose about Tommy Ryan, she realized who she should be asking is Jack. After all, Jack was his closest friend, and Rose was just a mere acquaintance. But how to broach the subject without Jack being suspicious of her motives. Not that Jack would mind Emilie's interest...but one could never tell. Jack could decide to be the overprotective cousin for once.

"Hey, Jack," Emilie greeted, sliding into the seat across from him, a friendly smile on her face.

"Hey," Jack greeted, looking up at her in greeting and then turning back to his oatmeal. "What's up?"

"I was wondering about something. Who's coming to the engagement gala? I know that you insisted on Fabrizio being there as a guest…"

"Of course. Fabri and his girl Helga will be there, along with the Cortmells, minus little Cora. I don't think she'd have too much fun at a grown-up party like that, even though I did ask them to bring her so she can see our horses. She loves ponies and I think she'll adore Snowflake's colt."

"Um...how about that Tommy Ryan? Will he be there too?"

Jack looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "Why?"

"I was just curious. I mean...he is your friend, right? You two had made up. And if he does come, will he be bringing a date?"

Jack sighed and placed his spoon back into the bowl, wanting to give his cousin his full attention. "Emilie. What are you up to? Why all of this interest in Tommy? You had just met him."

"You just met Rose and you're getting married to her."

"That's different…"

"How?"

Jack sighed. He didn't want to say it, but he was going to have to. "You know why. I'm a guy and you're a girl. It's different. They care more about who you're going to marry."

"Oh please, you're the precious heir to the fortune!"

"And I'm a guy! It's different, it just is and you know it and I rather Tommy not have to go through all of that!" Jack regretted his words the minute he said them. He sighed and tried to lower his voice, to be more gentle. "Look, you're a great girl and I can see you two together if things were different. But you know why I had to come back to get Rose away from Hockley. It's the same reason why it'd be hard for you and Tommy to be together. I hate it. I do."

"Well then don't be a part of it. Support me in this. You know how hard it is for me, Jack. There are no high-society guys I like. But I like Tommy and I can use your support."

"My support won't even matter."

"You're the heir! Of course, it'll matter! Besides, this is even if Tommy is interested in me. I may be reading him wrong and he's not and this discussion is all for nothing."

Jack looked at his cousin, reading her. She seemed to be so sincere. Did she really like Tommy? Did Tommy like her? What if he did give his support and she ended up with was a broken heart? He didn't want his cousin to be hurt, just like he wanted to protect Tommy from all of the nonsense of trying to court a high society girl. He wanted to give his support...but he needed to make sure whether Tommy wanted this or not.

"Let me talk to Tommy first, alright? Let me see if there's an interest."

"And if there is?" Emilie crossed her arms.

"I'll give you all of my support. I promise. But you do know that if you two marry, you'll be living life the way Tommy lives it. In Philadelphia as a girl from the lower classes. No more galas and cotillions unless family invites you. No more daily shopping trips and fancy clothes and rich foods. No more servants. Are you ready to give that up?"

"You did."

"Yeah, and it was hard. Freeing in some ways, but still hard."

Emilie sighed, giving in. Jack was making sense anyway. He wasn't saying no, he just wanted to make sure that the feelings were returned and that she knew what she was getting into. "I'm ready for anything of course. I'm a Dawson."

Jack laughed. "Yeah, you most definitely are. Alright, let me talk to Tommy and see what he says."

"So he's in town for the gala?"

"Yeah."

Emilie happily squealed and threw her arms around her cousin's neck in an excited hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

"You're welcome. Now let me finish this oatmeal so I can get my day started, yeah? Hey, are you and Rose going shopping again?"

"No. Her mother insists that they tour Boston. She wants Rose to get used to her new home," Emilie rolled her eyes. She didn't really care for Rose's mother and felt sorry for her future in-law for having to deal with such a woman.

"Who said we'll be staying in Boston?" Jack frowned.

"Well, isn't that the plan? You marry and settle down here?"

"Not exactly. Yeah, I'm training to take over the business, but that's for someday when my father is ready to step down. For now, I plan to take Rose on a trip around the world. She deserves to see it, don't you think?"

"Oh Jack, that'd be wonderful! Can I go? I mean...probably not, it wouldn't be appropriate…"

"We'll see," was all Jack could say. "Maybe start talking to your parents about it. Say that after their honeymoon, your cousin will be taking his bride to different educational points of the world and you'd love to accompany us."

"I don't think that has a chance of working, Jack. They are barely allowing me to stay here."

"It won't hurt to try. Besides, if you're not willing to stand up for yourself when it comes to this, how can I be sure that you'll stand up for Tommy? You know that they won't like you seeing a boy from the lower classes. Yeah, they're Dawsons, but my father is the more liberal one of them."

Emilie winced, realizing that Jack was right. If she wanted to be with Tommy, she'll have to stand up for the relationship and it was best to get some practice in by talking to her parents about possibly accompanying Jack and Rose on their future adventure.

"You have a point. I'll talk to them and you go see what Tommy thinks about me. If he even thinks about me at all. I may be misinterpreting his intentions."

Jack just gave his cousin a wink and took her hand. "Don't worry, Emi. Something will work out. I'm sure of it."

…..

Jack had the driver pull up to the train station. It was nearing time for his Philadelphia friends to arrive and he looked forward to showing them Boston. Fabrizio sat beside him, looking forward to Helga's arrival. At last, he was going to introduce her to his father and he couldn't wait. Jack could tell that his friend was nervous by how he couldn't sit still.

"Fabri, relax. Believe me, I know how nerve-racking it can be, to introduce your girl to the family, but you have nothing to worry about. He's going to adore Helga. At least you won't have a manchild trying to derail your attempts like I did," Jack tried to reassure his friend.

"Helga's papa no like me very much. If my papa doesn't like her, what will we do?" Fabri stated his worries.

"Marry her anyway," Jack shrugged. "They can't stop you, not really. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. Helga's a nice girl. Your father will accept her and support you. Just like my father finally accepted Rose. And if he didn't I was going to marry her anyway."

Fabrizio sighed and just nodded his head as if he agreed with his friend/employer and followed him into the train station to greet their friends.

"Fabrizio!" Helga cried out once she spotted him walking in with Jack.

"Helga!" Fabrizio caught her in an embrace. He lifted her off her feet and twirled her around in the air, happy to have her in his arms once again. All concerns about his father's approval disappeared.

"Jack!" Little Cora went running into Jack's arms. He lifted her up in his arms and hugged her.

"Cora!"

"Can I see the ponies now?" The little girl excitedly asked with wide eyes, shining with happiness.

"Just as soon as we get you and your folks all settled," Jack winked at her just as Tommy and her parents approached.

"So no goddess here to greet us?" Tommy grinned, referring to Rose.

"Sorry. It's just us mortals here to greet ya," Jack chuckled, giving his friend a hug. "I am so happy that you guys are here! Maybe this gala won't be so boring after all!"

"Ah, so you rich folk don't know how to have fun, huh? Maybe I can take care of that," Tommy winked.

"An Irish jig in the Dawson ballroom...I think my father would love that! But my maternal aunt will probably have a heart attack, and Rose's mother...a stroke. Both of them already think I'm a heathen."

"You were definitely mailed to the wrong address boy-o," Tommy snorted as they piled into the car.

"I probably was," Jack chuckled, then turned serious as he remembered his promise to Emilie. "Um, but speaking of family...a member of mine has taken an interest in you."

"I take it that it's not your father," Tommy smirked, thinking of the pretty blond that had visited his pub with Jack a few weeks ago.

"Nope. It's my cousin, Emilie. She seemed to have taken a liking to you. What do you think?"

Tommy sighed. He did like the lass. She was a right beauty and she was interesting. She definitely was a lass he could see himself courting. But he wasn't an idiot. He knew how the world worked. So did Jack, obviously since he had returned to his first-class life to rescue the girl he fancied from the likes of Caledon Hockley. "She's a very beautiful and interesting lass. I like her. If things were different, I would definitely court her…"

Jack sighed. "You mean if you were of the same social status, right?"

Tommy's nod was grim. "You had to go back to your life to even have a chance with Rose. What chance do you think an Irish bartender would have to try to court your cousin?"

"Well...you do have something that the poor wandering artist I was didn't have."

"What's that, mate? A sparking personality? A cool sexy accent? I doubt that your family would be impressed by any of that."

"The support of a member of her family. Not to mention that we...well...most of us Dawsons aren't all that uptight and sticklers for society rules. Get my father on your side, he can put in a good word for you to her folks. Plus Emilie is well aware that a life with you would be quite different from how we grew up in that mansion. She's not naive."

"I don't know, mate. I'm a realist when it comes to this kind of thing. First-class girls like your cousin are rarely allowed to even be in the company of a man like myself. What would it look like, me trying to woo her, knowing that I'm not good enough?"

Jack frowned. He did not like his friend to talk down about himself like that. Tommy was plenty good enough. He was one of the best men he had ever known! If it was his daughter, he would be happy to have a man like Tommy call on her. "You're plenty good enough, Tommy. I mean, look at that asshole Caledon Hockley that Rose was nearly engaged to. I would put Emilie in a convent if there was even a chance of her being with someone like that and he is filthy rich in money but poor as dirt as a person. You may not have tons of money but you're a great guy! You're funny, compassionate, protective, brave, have a good head on your shoulders and you know how to treat a lady. You treat her as a person, not as some ornament to be on your arm at parties. You're the kind of guy I want my cousin to marry."

"But that's you, boy-o. What about her parents? Who would they choose for their daughter? Rich Hockley or some poor Irish bloke that owns a bar?"

"Not rich Hockley. I'm certain of that."

Tommy sighed again, not knowing what to think, but he did know how he felt. He liked Emilie. He would love to get to know her better. He just didn't think there was a chance for them, but perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps Jack's family wasn't as uptight as most. But did that mean that they would want Emilie with him? Did he even dare find out?

Really, what did he have to lose?