Good morning, loves!

Thank you to Mel and Pamela!

XXII

JASPER

October 22, 1897

London, England

Today is my last day in London.

Tomorrow, I will depart for my new teaching post at the Bedford School in Bedfordshire. It is my first official job in nearly a year, and though I am sad to be leaving London, I am desperately looking forward to a stable income and regular post once again.

Mrs. Cope has cooked up a feast for me, seeing that it is my last day in her house. She has gone out of her way, but I can see that it pleases her to be so productive, so I have not complained.

Sam and Emily join me for breakfast, as does Mrs. Cope. It is a pleasant morning filled with light conversation. One thing I shall surely miss when I am gone is Sam's sharp sense of wit. He makes for a wonderful conversationalist.

Our breakfast is peaceful and easy, until Mrs. Cope's front door bursts open.

Mrs. Cope stands quickly, and I get to my feet to join her. If an intruder is rushing into her house, I shall not let her face such a scoundrel alone, even though I believe her more than capable of handling the situation without me.

We hurry to the front room, where we find not a stranger, but Alice.

"By all the saints!" Mrs. Cope shouts. "Wha' ye doin' burs'in' in here, lassie?"

But I realize as Mrs. Cope is speaking that something is terribly wrong. Alice has tears streaming down her face, and she looks as pale as death.

Immediately, I move to her side.

"Alice, what is it?" I ask, my hands landing on her shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

Her large eyes lift to meet my gaze, and she bursts into tears again, moving into my embrace so that her face is buried against my chest.

It is a far more intimate position than we have ever been in before, and some part of me realizes it is inappropriate for me to embrace her as such, but I do not have the heart to turn her away.

"Wha'ever is the matter?" Mrs. Cope huffs. "Such a fuss!" Her hand lands on my back, and I can feel her shuffling Alice and me along to the parlor. Gently, I extract Alice from our embrace, though I keep an arm around her shoulders to guide her to the parlor. Alice is still sobbing, and quickly, I yank out my handkerchief and hand it off to her.

She takes it, dabbing at her eyes as I move her to take a seat.

"Alice," I say, my voice gentle as I sit beside her. "What is the matter?"

Mrs. Cope makes some comment about fetching tea, and as soon as she's gone, Alice looks up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes.

"Jasper, I have to tell you something." She's never addressed me so informally, that for a moment, it's all I can hear, my name ringing in her voice. I quietly shake myself out of my surprise and force myself to focus back on Alice.

"What is it?"

Alice looks torn. She sniffs hard, gazing down at her hands where my kerchief is twisted between her fingers. "I have a secret," she says softly. "A secret that no one knows."

"Alice," I say, trying to choose my words carefully. "You can confide in me." It is a surprising truth, one I did not know until I said it out loud.

Alice looks up at me, appearing surprised. She sniffs once and brings the kerchief to her nose. "Ever since I was a little girl," she says softly. "I've had a sense of the future."

I am immediately wary. I wouldn't put it past Alice to play some sort of trick on me. She's done so plenty of times before, though usually it is harmless.

"You've had a sense of the future?" I can hear my own skepticism in my voice, and Alice must too because her eyes harden.

"You don't believe me," she accuses.

"Tell me more," I urge her, not wanting to admit she's right.

She huffs and scowls at me. "I don't know how it works," she says after a moment. "But sometimes, I will say or know things that are going to happen. At first, it was hard to tell that was what I was doing. I thought about playing with my friends, or the supper we'd have the next night, and then those events would transpire just as I pictured. I thought I was just remembering the last time that they had happened." She shrugs and lets out a small sniff. "Then, stranger things started to occur." Her eyes grow wet again, and a look of complete sorrow crosses her face. "I knew that my parents were going to die even before they contracted their illness." My heart squeezes in my chest at this. "And I knew that I had to make my way to London." She glances up at me, and for the first time since I have known her, she looks shy. "I knew, even when I was little, that one day you'd come."

I don't know what to make of that. No one can know what is not yet passed, and yet, I can see complete honesty and sincerity in her eyes. Either Alice is truly mad, or she is experiencing miracles of the divine.

"All right," I say slowly. "What sense of the future have you gotten that has brought you here in tears?" I cannot be certain she is being forthcoming with me, but I find that I am moved to at the very least hear her out.

Alice sniffs again. "It's about Bella," she says softly. "I think she's in terrible danger."

I frown. "Bella?" I ask, surprised. No one has spoken about her since her elopement. "What sort of danger?"

Alice shakes her head. "I don't know,." Alice sighs. "It's like death is following her."

Her words send a chilled hand down my spine.

"Bella is safe," I say gently, trying to soothe the frantic worry I can see in Alice's eyes. "She's in India with her husband."

Alice shakes her head. "No, Jasper, you don't understand. Something terrible is coming. We have to save her."

I am taken aback by her use of we.

"Alice, what are you saying?"

She huffs and turns toward me on the seat. "I am going to India. I want you to come with me."

I lean back from her, stunned. I don't know how to respond to this. What is there to say to this madness?

"Alice," I say slowly. "I'm leaving tomorrow for Bedfordshire, to start my new teaching post."

"Jasper, this is serious," Alice says, her hand reaching out and wrapping around mine. I don't know why her touch surprises me so, but I find my gaze dropping to our entwined fingers, unable to look away from them. "Bella is in danger. She needs our help."

I force my gaze back up to her face. "We cannot just run off to India together," I protest. "For one, you would need a chaperone, and for another—"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Alice shouts, startling me. "Don't you see what I am trying to tell you? I don't care about any of it! The only thing that matters is that we get to Bella before it's too late. I need your help. I can't make this trip alone."

"But we're unrelated," I protest, thinking of the impropriety of it all.

"Oh, God," Alice groans. "Fine, we can get married if that will make you shut up about it."

My mouth snaps shut, and I am too stunned to speak for a long moment. It doesn't seem to matter to Alice because she continues on. "I need to get to Bella, and the only way I can do that is with your assistance. No one will take me seriously on my own." She scowls at the thought. "Jasper, please."

She turns toward me and unleashes the full power of her pleading gaze on me. I've been caught in it before, and I have always been susceptible to her begging. I cannot say no to her, and she knows it.

"Alice, we can't get married." It's the only thing I can think of to say, and Alice rolls her eyes.

"Is that all you heard?" she asks, an amused twitch at her lips.

I shake my head. "I am your tutor."

Alice shrugs. "You're an intelligent, kind, good-looking man. Who wouldn't want to marry you?"

I'm growing dizzy from this conversation.

"Alice," I say, standing and pacing away from her. I need space to think, to breathe. "What you are asking of me… It is no small thing."

"No it's not," she agrees. I glance at her. "I do intend for us to both live very long lives. Marriage certainly would be a long endeavor."

I scowl at her and see her grin as I turn away. "I mean going to India," I say, shaking my head. "The voyage alone would cost my life savings, and there is no certainty that Bella is even in danger."

Alice stands and crosses the room until she's right before me. I gaze down at her in surprise, and she reaches out, taking my hands in hers. "Please, Jasper. I know I am asking a lot, but you need to trust me. If we don't save Bella, something bad is going to happen."

"What?" I ask, my voice soft.

Alice shakes her head, and I can see in her eyes genuine fear. "I don't know," she says softly. "But it feels like the fate of the world hinges on what happens to Bella next."

Her words sink like stones through my mind. It is madness, absolutely ludicrous, to run off to India the night before I am meant to begin a brand new job.

But I know Alice. She may be impulsive and impish, but she's honest and her heart has always been in the right place. She has no reason to lie to me, to invent such a story.

I let out a long breath. "When can we leave?"