On the train ride back to her home town, Emma comes across a sweet and talkative young woman who is traveling with her mistress. Before she knows it, Emma finds herself with a new job. Overwhelmed with new rules and a more numerous staff (used to being the only servant), along with being sick for her old life, Emma must learn to adjust. Meanwhile, William is throwing himself into the "correct" life of the rich, working harder, attending things his old self would scoff at, in an attempt to forget Emma. Both are struggling, and both would never dream of ever finding each other again. But one person our young maid meets may just be a fateful connection.
I felt so sorry and sad for them in this volume. I don't think Kelly would approve of Emma running away and finding herself in an endless loop of living the "downstairs" life. She would be sad that her poor almost-daughter had been seperated from William and would probably never see him again. And William... I understand his anger, his giving them what they want but doing so in a "I don't really mean this but I'll act like it to shut you all up, because, dammit, I'm sick of it" way. You can imagine him getting stuck in a loveless (on his end) marriage, smiling for people but crying behind closed doors, reaching old age and very much ready to go with a weary heart.
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