Juliana might as well have slapped her, for it wouldn't have hurt any less. She was right, of course. Jo was acting the part of a coward in her fleeing the country, but what else was there to do? Too much had happened, too much was both said and unsaid, for her to be able to return to Zach with any optimism for a future. More than that, Jo didn't want a future. She wouldn't be a mother or a bride or anything other than the adventurer she was. Asking her to sacrifice that piece of herself — however mildly — might as well have been a mortal sin.

"I think that's between he and I." She retorted heatedly. "Unless you've been eavesdropping where you weren't invited again you really shouldn't speak on subjects you nothing of."