The Promise by Kate Worth Page A

there a pianoforte?” It was presumptuous, but Jane made the suggestion anyway.
    “What a splendid suggestion!” the duchess said.
    Jane and Pip rubbed noses before Jenny escorted her from the room. She found herself alone in the room with people who had the power to separate her from the one person she loved more than any other. She took a si; of water then looked at the Duke.
    “I’ll do whatever is best for Pip,” she said softly. “She deserves a life such as this.” Jane pressed her fingertips to her eyes, but tears spilled over anyway.
    “Miss Gray, please.”
    Jane felt someone press a handkerchief into her hand. An arm encircled her shoulder and she realized Lord Wallace was kneeling beside her chair. “There’s no need to be upset. We respect your place in Pip’s life,” he said.
    “Finn is right. We owe you a deep debt of gratitude, one we’ll never be able to repay. We have no intention of severing your ties with Pip. It would be cruel to both of you.” The words, spoken in the Duke’s low, sedate voice, calmed her.
    Jane sniffled and smiled wanly. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
    The duchess came to a spontaneous, emotional decision. “Miss Gray, as Pip’s de facto mother, you will always have a place in her life. It is an odd situation we find ourselves in, but I have every confidence that we’ll work it out in time.”
    Finn’s chest tightened. He was relieved his mother and brother felt as he did, that Miss Gray should have a role in Pip’s future.
    “Would you like some time alone to compose yourself?” Cameron asked.
    “No. I’ll be fine in a moment,” Jane said, sniffling quietly. Several moments passed then she dried her eyes, breathed deeply, and launched into a speech she had been preparing all day.
    “It’s best to speak plainly, I think. If I had known about you, I would have brought Pip here right away, but Maura refused to tell me anything about her family. I confess that I never pushed because I believed she would confide in me when she was ready. Had I thought for one single moment that… that what happened would happen… I would have tried harder to gain her trust,” Jane began.
    “We don’t blame you, Miss Gray,” Finn assured her. “You gave our sister and her child shelter. We are grateful she had you to turn to in a difficult time.”
    “Thank you, my lord. We can’t change the past. Now we must turn to the future.” Jane forced herself to make eye contact with Rutledge.
    “It seems you have accepted that Pip is your niece. Am I also correct in assuming you wish her to live here… that you wish to assume guardianship?”
    Cameron nodded solemnly.
    “There is no doubt that Carlisle House is the better home for her, but I believe it would be frightening for Pip if I left her here tonight with strangers. I’m the only mother she has ever known.”
    “You’re right, of course,” Finn agreed, even though she had been addressing her words to Cameron.
    Jane turned to him in relief. “Thank you.” She closed her eyes and exhaled, relaxing against her chair. “We must discuss how we can work together to make it less confusing for Pip. She is young enough to accept this new situation with few questions. If you prepare a room for her and invite us to stay, she won’t think it unusual if I do not. I’ll convince her it will be more fun to spend tomorrow with her new family while I work. I’ll return at the end of the day to spend a few hours with her. What do you think of this plan?”
    “I think it would work quite well, Miss Gray,” the duchess said quietly.
    Finn was impressed by Jane’s calm manner, the way she put the child’s welfare before her own.
    “Miss Gray, I know this must be very difficult for you…” Finn began.
    “Do you have children?” she interrupted.
    “No,” Finn answered.
    “And you, Your Grace. Have you children?” she asked the Duke.
    “I do not.”
    She turned to the duchess, a woman who had experienced the pain of