Whilst writing my Elsie/Ella/Downton fic, I started thinking about them and what would have happened if things had been different for them, as in, what would have happened if Elsie had worked somewhere else and how would Ella have reacted. But as I was imagining the scenes in my head, Lady Jane kept floating into my mind, so, after some persuasion, I've decided to post a Lovejoy fic. It's similar in some respects to my DA fics, but explores a different relationship. I hope you all enjoy it =)

Jane slammed the phone down on to its cradle and silently pinched the bridge of her nose, inhaling and exhaling furiously. Lovejoy was in some sort of difficulty, again, and needed her assistance, again; but there was no cash in the house on this occasion, which meant that Jane now had to travel into town, go to the bank and then bail him out. It wasn't that she minded helping him, because she didn't really, it's just that he had a way of always picking the worst moments.

Alexander was in Hong Kong on business, as per usual, for the fifth time in as many months. Jane appreciated that it was business and that he needed to travel, but he'd spent that long away from her, that she was beginning to forget she was married. So they'd had yet another row about it, during his phone call to her in the morning, after he had announced that he'd extended his trip; that's what had put her into such a bad mood in the first place and then Lovejoy had phoned her from the police station.

He'd spent the night there and was due in court that afternoon, on some jumped up charge apparently, but then again it always was. Jane was getting sick of the men in her life taking advantage of her.

She grabbed her bag from the counter in the kitchen, her keys from the key hook, slammed the door on her way out, and almost shattered the stained glass panels. The gravel crunched loudly under her feet as she marched towards her green land rover, where she tried stabbing the key into the ignition, but she missed each time and she huffed with frustration as she threw the keys onto the passenger seat. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and thought about how tired she looked.

Her normally pale complexion was flushed red with anger and she had a blob of mascara on her brow bone from where she'd caught herself earlier, after trying to put it on too quickly. She closed her eyes and took a very deep, calming breath, then another and another after that. When she opened her eyes again, she felt a little better, but her knuckles had still gone white from clutching the steering wheel so hard. She loosened her grip gradually and then licked her middle finger, running it over the blackened mark above her eye until it vanished. Now she looked and felt much better and more human.

Once she was calm, the key slotted easily into the ignition and the engine turned over with that familiar rumbling hum. Putting her foot down on the accelerator, she slowly drove out of the driveway and began the drive through the country roads to town. She rolled down the window and allowed the breeze to whip through her short hair and it blew away the cobwebs, that and the twenty-minute drive.

Kinley was crammed with people as Jane drove into the centre. Finding a parking space was a nightmare, as usual on a Monday afternoon, so the little improvement in her mood soon dwindled. She felt rushed and under pressure, which she hated being; she thought it made her act in a very unladylike way which was particularly unbecoming to someone of her stature, but sometimes, it just couldn't be helped. When she eventually did find a parking space, she breathed a sigh of relief and walked swiftly towards the bank.

'I need to withdraw four thousand please.' She said smartly in her crisp, English accent to the bank cashier, who was clearly new to the branch as he felt astounded by such a large request and he began to make objections.

'I'm sorry miss…'

'Now look here; I need to withdraw four thousand pounds, I need it in cash and I need it now and finally I am not miss, I am…'

'Lady Felsham, how lovely it is to see you.' Derek Paterson, the bank-managing director said as he entered the bank floor from the elevator to Jane's right. 'I shall take over from here and look after Lady Felsham personally.' He said with distain to the young cashier whom Jane had been taking out her frustrations on, leaving her with this man, who was usually slimy and particularly obnoxious at the best of times. She couldn't stand him, but often had to endure his company at dinner parties held at the house by Alexander.

'Mr Paterson I am somewhat in a hurry and I urgently need four thousand from my account.' She said quickly, trying to prevent him from starting up any kind of conversation.

'Certainly your Ladyship, I will get that organised for you right away.' He said as he began to fill out some paperwork, whilst constantly glancing up at her and looking her up and down, which she noticed and it annoyed her even more, but she chose to ignore it, this time. 'How's that son of a gun husband of yours? Still teeing off on the old green is he?'

'Not for some time actually, he's currently in Hong Kong and won't be back for at least another three weeks.' She explained tersely.

'How interesting Lady Felsham. So how does the mouse intend to take advantage of the cat's absence?' He said rather suggestively, which made Jane flare her nostrils, a dangerous sign in its self, but his next comment really took the biscuit and every ounce of strength Jane had not to chin him. 'It must get terribly lonely up at that big house, all on your own.'

'Mr Paterson, please don't try my patience today of all days; like I said, I am in somewhat of a hurry and I need my money now.' She said slowly, but with a deep tone and with fire burning in her eyes, which certainly did the trick and had Mr Paterson running for the safe in next to no time. 'Goodbye Mr Paterson.' She said sharply as he eventually handed her the money she had requested and apologised for the inconvenient wait.

Finally, she stepped out on to the pavement outside, the sun shining on her face and the heat of early summer beating down on her. At least that seemed to brighten her mood a little bit and it made her walk to the courthouse far more enjoyable.

She quietly walked into the stone and marble building, which felt cool in comparison to the heat outside, and sat in the public viewing gallery once she found the appropriate courtroom. She peered round for sight of Lovejoy amongst the other men and women up on charges, most for drunk and disorderly behaviour, but he was in court charged with a much more serious charge.

'Next, Crown vs Lovejoy,' the court clerk shouted and Jane watched as Lovejoy was escorted to the dock.

'Mr Lovejoy, you have been charged with breaking and entering, trespassing and robbery. Mr Keenan, the owner of the garage in which you were found, has agreed to drop the first two charges, but Detective Sergeant Messer wants to pursue the charge of robbery on the basis of new evidence…'

'What new evidence? There isn't any evidence to begin with; I was banged on the head…'

'Mr Lovejoy you will remain quiet or else I will change my mind about granting you bail and I will have you remanded in custody,' the Justice of the Peace said sternly as he looked at the scruffy, unshaven form of Lovejoy, over his half rimmed glasses. 'I will grant you bail, set at three thousand, eight hundred and fifty pounds, that is, if you have a guarantor Mr Lovejoy.'

'I am his guarantor Your Honor,' Jane said as she stood up from the viewing gallery and walked up to the bench. 'I have the bail money here.'

'Very well Lady Felsham, I hereby bail Mr Lovejoy into your custody; he is to return to the station every morning this week at nine am.'

At the sound of the JPs words, Jane looked up at the dock towards Lovejoy and gave him a glare of disapproval, but inside she was smiling; at least Mr Paterson wouldn't have to worry about her being alone in that big house anymore.

'Ah, can you smell that Janey? It is the smell of freedom, of fresh air, of…'

'…of that's now five and a half thousand pounds that you owe me Lovejoy.'

They were standing on the steps to the courthouse and Lovejoy knew that he had upset her. He hadn't meant to, he could never hurt her deliberately, but he had sensed that there was something bothering his friend for a long time, but she never wanted to talk about it; perhaps today would be the day.

'I am sorry Janey, you will get your money back, I promise you and with interest too; but I get the feeling that that isn't what's really troubling you, is it?' He asked as he faced her, his hands resting on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. She gazed up at him for a few moments and it looked like she was possibly about to tell him, when some young thug wearing a dark hooded top and ripped jeans, came running out of nowhere and snatched her bag from her shoulder and pulled her down the stairs in his haste to get away.

Lovejoy was torn between running after the little bastard or staying with his friend, but the decision was quickly taken out of his hands, as a young woman, who had been standing nearby, began to run after him. She was very quick on her feet and made it look effortless and graceful. As Lovejoy helped Jane up, they watched as the young woman caught up to the guy, about a couple of hundred yards or so from where they were standing, and she launched herself at him, dragging him to the ground. He tried to fight her off, giving a swift kick to her face as he tried to shake off her hold of his leg, but she was tough and wouldn't let that stop her. She quickly staggered up and grabbed the bag dangling from the arm of Jane's attacker, and then the mystery woman punched the bloke in the face, clearly breaking his nose and sending him flying.

The strap of the bag snapped, releasing it into her grasp and with nothing left to fight for or to hold him back, the man ran off with blood running down his face, staining his hoody and his white trainers. The young woman was tempted to pursue him again, but since she now had the bag, she had what she wanted and it was time to return it to its rightful owner.

'I believe this belongs to you,' the young woman said as she returned to where Lovejoy was with Jane, whom he had forced to sit down on the low wall outside the court. 'I'm sorry the strap broke and I'm sorry that he got away. Did he hurt you?'

'I'm quite alright, thank you; did he hurt you is more the point?' Jane asked as she shook slightly from the shock of what had happened. She rubbed at her arm from where she had hit the hard concrete of the steps; her tweed jacket had a small tear in it at the seam and her tights were ruined on the right leg with a massive ladder and a large patch of red staining where her knee below was bleeding.

'Oh don't worry about me; I'm tougher than I look.' The young woman said as she brushed back a dark brown curl from her face.

'I don't doubt it for a second,' Lovejoy commented with admiration. 'You put up quite a fight against that bloke, although it was a foolish thing to do. He could have had a knife or anything; you could have been seriously hurt.' He added with a greatful, but stern fatherly tone.

'A simple thank you would have been nice; honestly, I would have thought that you would have been most greatful that I got your wife's handbag back!' The young woman replied rather defensively.

'Oh, no, no, no, no, Lovejoy isn't…I mean we're not…my husband is away in Hong Kong on business; Lovejoy is a dear friend and my business partner.' Jane explained with a flustered tone, which amused Lovejoy immensely. 'I do apologise, I haven't even introduced myself; I'm Lady Jane Felsham and this,' she gave a disapproving jerk of her head in his direction, 'is Lovejoy.'

The young woman shook both of their hands with a lovely smile and for the first time Jane felt a small familiarity about the young woman, but couldn't quite place her.

'I'm Jessica Carter, but you can call me Jess.' She said, but as she spoke, she smacked her lips together and screwed her face up in disgust as she felt and tasted blood. The man had obviously broken the surface of her lip, which began to swell and bruise.

'Perhaps we should get you to the hospital and get that looked at.' Jane said as she passed Jess a tissue.

'There's no need for that, honestly; I'll be absolutely fine and it'll be gone within a few days.'

'Well at least let me take you back with us so that you can get cleaned up and let me say thank you properly.' Jane said kindly as Lovejoy helped her to stand.

'That's very kind of you Lady Felsham, but I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience to you.' Jess said and she did seem a little uncomfortable with the idea, but Jane wouldn't hear no as an answer.

'It is no inconvenience I can assure you; you did something kind and noble for me, so please, let me repay you.' She replied with kind determination.

'Alright then, it would be a pleasure.' Jess responded with a hesitant smile as they began to walk down the street towards Jane's car. 'My car is parked just up ahead, so I'll get it and follow you if that's alright?' She explained as they eventually came to a stop at an old 60s Morris Minor Traveller, complete with the traditional green paint and wooden panels.

'I'll tell you what might be easier; Lovejoy can take my car back to the house and then I can ride with you and then I can direct you, that is, if you don't mind?' Jane suggested.

'I don't mind at all your Ladyship as long as you don't.' Jess replied politely.

'Oh please, I would much prefer you to call me Jane and I don't mind coming with you in the slightest; the roads around here can seem like a real rabbits' warren if you don't know them.'

'Keys then please Janey,' Lovejoy said as he clapped his hands together and then held one out in anticipation.

Jane dropped her keys into his hand and watched as he trotted off in the direction that they had been walking originally, until he turned the corner and was out of sight. Jess then unlocked her car and looked awkwardly around it.

'I apologise for the state of my car,' she said once she was inside, as she moved some paint brushes and a couple of pallets from the passenger seat, whilst Jane waited patiently on the pavement. 'I would like to say that she is not usually like this, but that would be a lie. Unfortunately I am terribly messy.' She added with a laugh

'That's quite alright, you weren't exactly expecting guests. Are you a painter?' Jane replied politely once she was sat and had put on her safety belt.

'I'm an artist; landscapes mainly but I do paint the occasional abstract and I love to sculpt.' Jess explained proudly. 'So what made you think I wasn't local?'

'A lucky guess really; I pride myself on knowing most of the people around here and I certainly don't recall ever having the pleasure of meeting you prior to this afternoon. So what is it that brings you to Kinley?' Jane asked as the shops and houses of the town soon evaporated and gave way to the trees and green fields of the countryside that surrounded the village.

'Oh, well, I'm doing some family research and it brought me here.' Jessica answered, but she seemed a little flustered in her reply, so she was delighted when Jane eventually instructed her to slow down and make the right hand turn into Felsham Hall, where Lovejoy was already waiting for them.

Jessica had never seen a house as beautiful and she felt awe inspired as well as a little intimidated, staring up at the beautiful red-bricked house and its expansive grounds. Mrs Cameron, the housekeeper, was there to greet them on Jane's return, but she was very disapproving when she saw Lovejoy and most dismayed to see the state Jane was in. She feared that Lovejoy had dragged Jane into something dishonest, yet again, something that Lord Felsham wouldn't be best pleased about and when she saw the sight of the young woman, this seemed to confirm Mrs Cameron's concerns.

'Is everything alright Milady, what have you done to yourself?' She asked.

'Yes thank you Mrs Cameron; unfortunately I had a run in with some thug or other in the village. Miss Carter here helped me. Could you perhaps make us some tea and bring it into the parlour.' Jane asked smartly as she tried not to feed into the housekeeper's disapproval. She knew that Mrs Cameron didn't like Lovejoy and she knew that the housekeeper often spoke to Alexander about some of the incidences that they got into; she also knew that, despite Jess's good deed, Mrs Cameron wouldn't approve of her Ladyship associating with her, because of the young woman's unusual style of dress.

Jess loved to wear clothes with the most outrageous colours, so her tie-dyed dungarees, covered in old paint splashes and dried plaster, didn't exactly fit in with the splendour of Felsham, in Mrs Cameron's eyes at least. The housekeeper looked Jess up and down, pursed her lips together and then walked off in the direction of the kitchen, but Jess noticed her actions and disapproving look, which made her feel even more uncomfortable than she had already.

'I am terribly sorry Lady Felsham; I'm not really dressed appropriately.' Jess said quietly, which made Jane a little angry with the housekeeper.

'Please don't apologise; there is absolutely nothing wrong with the way you are dressed. If I stopped everyone from coming into the house who wasn't dressed to Mrs Cameron's standards, then Lovejoy would never be allowed near.' Jane joked which made Jess release a relaxed little smile.

'And what exactly is wrong with the way that I am dressed?' Lovejoy said indignantly, but Jane wasn't going to take him up on his challenge, so for the first time that day, she gave a genuine laugh and walked them all into the parlour room.

Of course, Lovejoy was very comfortable in his surroundings, having spent many years in Jane's company and in her home, but Jess wasn't used to any of this. Jane could see that the young woman, who she guessed was about twenty-one or twenty-two at the most, was very uncomfortable and she wished that she could say or do something that would make her rest at ease.

'Lovejoy, you may be interested to know that Jess is an artist, landscape and sculpture I think you said?' Jane said as she tried to get Jess to talk about a subject that she would feel familiar and comfortable with.

'That's right; I love to work with oils. I wish I had the skill to work in watercolours, but I don't I'm afraid. I can never get my work to look as delicate as some of the better known watercolour artists, believe me I have tried.' Jess explained to them both as they sat down together on the sofa, whilst she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the fire, which received yet another disapproving glare from Mrs Cameron when she walked in with the tea tray.

'Is there anything else that I can get you Lady Felsham?'

'No thank you Mrs Cameron, that's everything for now.' Jane replied as she then proceeded to pour the tea into the three cups, once Mrs Cameron had excused herself from the room. 'You must excuse my housekeeper; she's a lovely woman really, but she's very old school and likes things done a certain way. She remembers the days when her mother had been in service here for the Felshams and I believe her grandmother had also been in service before that.'

'You get used to her disapproving glares and she hasn't yet turned me to stone.' Lovejoy laughed heartily.

'What is it that you do Mr Lovejoy?'

'Oh there's no Mr, just Lovejoy. I'm an antiques dealer, Lovejoy and associates, although my associates rather let me down last night.' He replied and added the latter half of his sentence with a clipped tone, which made Jane sigh loudly.

'Lovejoy you have to learn to take responsibility for your own actions. You were the one who went off without telling us exactly where you were going.' She argued.

'Without telling you where I was going? Without…? Janey, I was in the workshop one minute, next thing I know I've been clobbered from behind, stuffed in the back of some van and dumped on the floor of that lock up!' He protested loudly.

'So how exactly did your "associates" let you down then Lovejoy?'

'Because Tinker and Eric were supposed to meet me at the workshop, half an hour before I was attacked; instead, I bet they were in the bloody pub weren't they?' He shot back.

'That's quite enough of that; I don't think Miss Carter needs to hear about your adventures.' Jane replied with raised eyebrows, just as the telephone in the hall began to ring.

'Oh I don't know, it sounds like the antique business is far more exciting than I imagined.' Jess laughed, trying to ease the tension between the two friends, who were now glaring at each other.

'Milady there is a telephone call for Mr Lovejoy.' Mrs Cameron announced as she entered the room again.

'What's the betting that this is either Tink or Eric?' He asked rhetorically as he leapt from his seat, nearly knocking the cup from Jane's hand, and practically skipped into the hall.

'I'm terribly sorry about all of this; here was me trying to offer you my thanks and all I seem to have done is insult you and made you feel uncomfortable.' Jane said apologetically to Jess.

'Please don't apologise Lady Felsham; your thanks is truly welcomed. Most people probably wouldn't have bothered to have gone to this much trouble.'

'I wish you would call me Jane, I don't like to be as formal as some of my peers, especially not after what you did for me. You put yourself at great risk you know and I certainly don't know of many people who would have been so brave.' Jane replied with a wince of pain as she tried to stretch her legs out. The hole in her tights was now much bigger and revealed a rather nasty looking cut on her knee.

'Would you like me to take a look at that for you? My mother was a nurse, so I'm quite used to patching people up.' Jess said kindly, just as Lovejoy returned.

'Janey that was Tink; he says that he thinks he knows who it was that attacked me last night. I'm meeting them at the Felsham Arms just now to find out more.' He said as he grabbed his coat from where he'd dumped it on the back of the sofa, kissed Jane on the cheek and then ran off.

'Goodbye then,' Jane said with quiet annoyance at his rudeness, but she very quickly forgave him.

'Do you happen to have a first aid kit in the house?' Jess asked which brought Jane round from her thoughts.

Jane gave Jess instructions as to where to find the first aid box, so that she could avoid asking Mrs Cameron for it. The young woman then walked out of the parlour room and followed Jane's directions. Whilst she was gone Jane thought about how familiar Jess seemed to her, but she couldn't quite place her or fathom why it was the case. If she wasn't local to the area then she must have seen her somewhere before, but her thoughts were interrupted when Jess arrived back with the large green box in her hands, which she placed onto the coffee table.

She flicked the two catches up, which made a loud resounding snap and made the top of the box spring open, to reveal bandages, plasters, thermometers and a whole manner of other items. Jess rummaged around until she found some cotton wool and antibacterial spray.

'This is probably going to sting, I'm sorry.' She said as she gently began to clean the wound from the congealed blood that was starting to form and wiped away the fresh blood that was oozing from a slightly deeper cut. Jane watched her with fascination and appreciated how gentle she was being.

'I think you would make a very good nurse yourself Jess.' She said as she continued to watch her, which made Jess smile and give a small laugh.

'I think my mum always hoped that I would go into nursing rather than art, but it's my passion and I couldn't really imagine doing anything else.'

'You mentioned that she's no longer a nurse herself; what is it that she does now?'

Jess paused awkwardly for a few moments, trying to pluck up the courage to say the words that pained her so deeply.

'My mum died last month I'm afraid, cancer; she'd battled it for five years but it finally beat her I guess.' She replied quietly, focusing her attentions on Jane's knee rather than looking up at her.

'Oh I am so sorry, I didn't realise; that must be terribly hard for you.'

'Thank you for your condolences, but if I'm honest it's a relief now. I lost my mum a long time before she died, I no longer recognised her for the wonderful, kind, caring person that she was before she became ill, so at least I know she's at peace now.' Jess replied with the tiniest of smiles.

'What about your dad? How is he coping with it all?'

'Unfortunately my dad was killed in the Falklands War when I was six. He was a sergeant in the army.'

'I am so sorry, that must be terribly hard for you to deal with on your own and I fear I've rather put my foot in it.' Jane said as she cursed herself.

'Not at all, it's nice to be able to talk about them. Usually people just tell me that it gets easier or that I'll soon get over it, but that's sort of what brought me here, to Kinley I mean.' Jess replied as she stopped cleaning Jane's wound. 'The cut isn't as deep as I thought it was, thankfully. It'll need more than a plaster, but it at least doesn't need any stitches.' She explained as she returned her attentions to the first aid kit and Jane distinctly noticed that she was avoiding looking at her.

'Oh that is a relief.' Jane replied as she looked down at the angry looking cut, which at least looked better than it had done before. 'Were your parents from Kinley then?'

'Yes and no,' Jess said cryptically which confused Jane all the more and the comment was then followed by silence, as Jess concentrated on applying gauze wadding and a bandage to Jane's knee. Finally, once the bandage was in place and Jess was satisfied with her work, she began to open up and elaborate on her previous comment. 'I wasn't going to tell you any of this; then again, nothing that has happened today has been exactly as I planned it.'

'What do you mean? What weren't you going to tell me?' Jane asked with concern as Jess raised herself from the floor and sat next to her on the sofa.

'Well, when mum died I was going through some of her belongings, paperwork and that sort of thing and I came across some documents pertaining to me. My mum never told me, but I'm actually adopted and I only realised this when I discovered my adoption and original birth certificates.' She explained tearfully and Jane could see exactly where this was leading. For the first time in years, she was going to have to face the truth about something she had done a long time ago, something that she had forced herself not to think about for twenty years.

'I'm not entirely sure I want to hear the rest.' She whispered with her own eyes now brimming with painful tears.

'Well you must, because all of the paperwork details you as my biological mother.' Jess replied, her previous warm tone completely gone now, replaced by something that sounded much harsher.

Jane was speechless, as if the wind was knocked out of her and she felt worse now than she had done at any other point during her crappy day. She felt fear and shame rise from her stomach like bile and she suddenly couldn't cope with this, she wasn't ready to face it; not today and possibly not ever.

'I'm sorry but I can't do this, you need to leave.' She said in a harsh tone that matched Jess's and the change of attitude slightly shocked the young woman, making her hesitate, but she'd already been through so much heartache in the last month, that the pain of her birth mother's rejection didn't really make much of a difference. 'I have asked you to leave, now go please!' Jane repeated, this time a little stronger.

'Fine!' Jess shouted as she grabbed her bag and practically ran, in floods of tears, out to her car.

Jane watched her from the window as Jess fumbled with her keys, trying desperately to get them into the lock. When she was eventually able to wrench the door open, she threw herself inside and thumped the steering wheel a couple of times, angry, upset and defeated. Jane watched as the car drove away from the house and away from her. She placed her hands to the back of her neck, threw her head back with her eyes closed and cried silent tears. How had her day gone so badly wrong?

'Is everything alrig…' Mrs Cameron began to say as she entered the room, curious as to what had gone on between Lady Felsham and the young woman to cause her to run off in such a hurry.

'Why is it Mrs Cameron, that I always feel that I have to answer to you, every time something happens in my life?!' She said with a raised voice. 'What has gone on this afternoon is not the concern of you or anyone else for that matter! I will be upstairs in my room, if anyone phones then tell them I am unavailable and take a message.' She added as she then stormed out of the room and marched up the stairs, leaving Mrs Cameron to feel thoroughly chastised.

Jane flung open her bedroom door and then slammed it angrily behind her, allowing her tears to flow freely down her cheeks as she sank pitifully onto the edge of her bed. She covered her mouth as she tried to soften her wails of grief, but she didn't really care if anyone heard her.

She allowed herself to sob uncontrollably for a long time until she began to feel sick. All of the pain that she'd supressed for twenty years resurfaced and felt about ten times worse than it ever had done before.

When her sobs eventually began to slow, she pulled her feet up onto the bed and laid back against the cool pillows. She stared up at the high ceiling and traced the couple of cracks, which snaked their way out from the base of the chandelier. She felt so very alone and empty; she hated herself for the way she had dismissed poor Jessica, her own child. Her thoughts of the afternoon's events made her sob again and she just wanted someone to come and hold her, tell her that everything was going to be alright and then decide what they were going to do. There was only ever one person who made her feel like that and she needed him, now, more than ever.

She picked up the receiver of the phone on her beside cabinet and pulled the ring round to dial Lovejoy's number, but as it rung out, she suddenly remembered that he wasn't there; he'd probably still be in the pub. She pressed the buttons at the top of the phone to cancel the call, waited to hear the dialling tone again and then dialled the number for The Felsham Arms.

When the landlord answered it sounded like there was a riot going on in the background and he could barely hear Jane for the shouting going on.

'I need to speak to Lovejoy,'

'Who?'

'LOVEJOY!'

'Oh, he's right here, hold on.' He said. 'Lovejoy, it's for you.'

There was a pause for a few minutes as Lovejoy pushed his way through the crowd of people, grabbed the handset from Gregory, who he nearly garrotted with the cord, before he could eventually put it to his ear.

'Yeah, Lovejoy?'

'Lovejoy, please come, I need you.' Jane said weakly as she began to cry again.

'Janey? Janey, what's happened?' He said with dread as he heard her distress, but she hung up before she answered him.

Jane was his dearest, sweetest friend and love of his life if he was truly honest; she didn't really need to give him any more of an indication that she needed his help. He grabbed his things from the table he'd been sat at with Tink and Eric and left as quickly as he could, completely ignoring his friends' objections.

'Where do you suppose he's off to in such a hurry?' Tinker asked.

'Bet he's got a booty call,' Eric replied coyly.

'No it can't be, no one would know that he was here; well, no one except for Lady Jane…'

'Well that's it then isn't it? He and Lady Jane must be…you know…' Eric suggested excitedly, much to the doubt of Tinker.

'Eric, do us both a favour, shut up and get another drink in.' Tinker replied drunkenly.

As Tinker and Eric were getting more pissed at the pub, Lovejoy drove as quickly as he could to Jane's place, although Miriam was proving to be a little uncooperative. It had taken her several attempts to get started and then she had stalled several times on the way. He didn't care what she did after he arrived at Felsham Hall, she could conk out altogether and never start again for all he cared, just as long as she got him there to see to Jane.

He was very worried about her, as he had never heard her so distressed before. She'd seemed fine when he'd left her earlier; pissed off at him perhaps, but there was nothing new or unusual there, that was how their relationship worked, but for her to sound so hurt, that wasn't like his Janey at all. As he thought about the call in more detail, he slammed his foot down further on the accelerator and forced Miriam to fly round the bends of the quiet roads.

When he eventually arrived at Felsham Hall, he didn't bother to ring the bell or knock on the door; he barged in and shouted her name.

'Janey?!' He shouted. 'Janey are you here?' He shouted again and then listened for a response, but was dismayed when Mrs Cameron came shuffling towards him looking outraged.

'That's enough of that Mr Lovejoy. How dare you come barging in here, shouting the odds; her Ladyship is upstairs and isn't feeling well and has asked not to be disturbed. I'll be damned if I will let you ruin her peace and quiet!' She said.

'Upstairs you say? Thanks.' Lovejoy replied as he then began to rush up the staircase, which outraged Mrs Cameron even more.

'Mr Lovejoy this is very inappropriate!'

'It's hardly inappropriate when I've been invited by Lady Jane herself, is it?' He responded as he then disappeared. No doubt Alexander would be hearing about this late night rendez vous though, but Lovejoy didn't really care. If the man was fool enough to leave a gorgeous wife behind like Jane all of the time, he had to expect someone else to come and help her when she needed it.

As he arrived on the landing outside Jane's bedroom, his footsteps began to slow. He could hear her crying and his heart broke when he heard her distress. He knocked lightly on the door, but he didn't wait for an answer, he just pushed the door open slightly and walked quietly in. He sat down beside her on the bed, as she sat up and forcibly cried. At this stage, he didn't need her to tell him what was wrong, he just needed to be there for her, as her obvious form of comfort until she was ready.

He put his arm around her and she instantly placed her head against his shoulder. He rested his head against hers and her sobbing grew even stronger as he held her tightly to him. They must have sat in that position for ten minutes or more as he tried to comfort her and tried to make sense of what had happened to distress her so much, but, eventually, her cries did become less as she exhausted herself. Once she had stopped crying altogether he sat and waited for her to give her explanation.

'Oh Lovejoy, I've done something so terribly stupid; it's so awful that I fear you will despise me for it when I tell you.' She said quietly as she lifted her head to look at him.

He gazed into her reddened, puffy eyes and wiped the tears from her face with his thumb. He gave a very gentle kiss to the tip of her nose and then to her forehead, before pulling her head back down to his shoulder.

'Whatever it is that has happened Janey, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think, or nothing that we can't fix and you are most certainly wrong about one thing; I could never despise you, no matter what you have done, I could never despise you.'

'Well you might not, but Jessica certainly does.'

'Jessica? You mean the girl from this afternoon; but what has she got to do with all of this?' He asked with astonishment.

Jane lifted her head from Lovejoy's shoulder again and adjusted herself so that she was facing him more comfortably, all the while trying to find the words to begin her sorrowful tale.