18
Ayame stood still for so long after Hoshi’s departure that I set a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She lifted her face to me and I saw two trails of tears sliding down her cheeks. “How? How can I care for someone so much when I hardly know them?”
I smiled and drew her into a hug. My sparkling eyes settled on Caius and I winked at him. “You’d be surprised how often that happens.”
Ayame returned the hug before she pulled us apart and smiled at me. “Thank you, Jane, for all you have done.” She looked around at the two men. “I thank all of you for your support. Without you I would be nothing.”
The old gardener smiled and shook his head. “You’d still be your father’s daughter, My Lady, and that counts for something in my book.”
“And your kind words mean the world t
