Now I was more certain than ever of my decision. I could not love a man who did not love Jane Austen.

I hesitated for all the right reasons. And I accepted for all the wrong ones.

She left me then, surrounded by my extravagantly simple finery and I sat for a long time, uncomfortable both with the person I had been and the person I was finally becoming. Caught between the two of them, I felt rather lonely, as one often does with a new acquaintance.

If one has a purpose, life is bearable enough, do you not think so?

....Only you mattered in that moment. Only you. And I would have done anything to save you. I would have paid any price committed any sin sold my very soul to do it.

Now I was more certain than ever of my decision. I could not love a man who did not love Jane Austen.

Without an expectation of success, one is rarely successful.