Jane Actually

at making fake documents.”
    “How exciting,” Jane said. “That certainly adds a level of intrigue.”
    “So you think …”
    “We might never know. A lot of what they did is still secret so it might be difficult to find out anything about this Gorrell-Barmes, but I guess the Austen society must have known there was something hinky about the journal.”
    “Hinky?” Jane asked.
    “How do you know all this?” Mary asked, impressed despite her anger.
    “One of the romance thrillers I wrote is set in World War II.”
    “Oh, that’s … that’s very clever.”
    “He’s a writer, Mary? You never mentioned this.”
    “So am I forgiven?”
    “I don’t know. You still should have said something to me.”
    He looked down at the floor as she made this accusation.
    “Yeah, well I should have. It’s just … well I didn’t think you’d exactly warm to me if I told you I was working to expose your boss.”
    “That is a very valid point, Mary.”
    “And I didn’t find anything. Everything Dr Davis did, she did on her own. I never even knew she had … an accomplice.”
    “Oh, I suppose … how do you think things stand with you and her?”
    He pushed another one of the chairs against the conference table. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I want her as my advisor anymore. It’s funny, you know, because she really taught me how to be an academic, how to not take anything at face value, and then she goes and falls for this journal.”
    “I guess people believe in what they want to believe,” Mary said. “And I guess I believe in Jane.”

Not just a river in Egypt
Albert suspects his Jane is the Jane
    A lbert watched as the woman who seemed to be the target of everyone’s anger left the room, followed by a man whose part in the silent drama he couldn’t fathom. They had taken with them the extraordinary documents, or pictures of documents, that they had earlier produced.
    Austen’s avatar, his roommate Stephen, the elderly man, the woman he recognized as the current JASNA president, a tall woman he didn’t recognize and a short woman he thought must be Austen’s agent remained behind. They appeared to be mutually congratulating each other, but for what he was uncertain.
    The whole thing was a mystery, from the time earlier in the day when Stephen received the phone call that made him seem so queer. He’d been talking with Stephen when his friend got the call and Stephen pretended it wasn’t anything important. Later when Stephen excused himself from the country-dance workshop, Albert followed him to the conference room.
    The mystery of the meeting, however, was nothing in comparison to the documents the large woman and her friend had produced. The title of the one was so shocking that he was surprised no one heard his gasp. And when the large woman and her friend had left with the documents, there was visible relief among those remaining.
    Journal of Jane Bigg-Wither? What could it mean? I must have read it incorrectly.
    He wished for another look and then saw that Austen’s agent had taken photographs of the documents with her phone. He moved closer to get a better look, but then the woman sent the photos as attachments to an email. He watched as the woman quickly addressed the email to [email protected].
    The surprise of seeing that address eclipsed every thing else he’d witnessed.
Why would she forward an email to my Jane?
    Soon the meeting appeared to end. There were some handshakes and smiles and people began to leave. He followed Austen’s agent out the door when he realized that Austen’s avatar and his roommate remained behind. He briefly considered remaining, but then thought he’d already intruded enough.
    He left the conference room and slowly made his way toward the lobby area. Judging by the bustle, the breakout sessions must have just let out and the lobby was filled. He needed a place to sit and thought of the walkway to the hotel one floor up and the chairs along the windows. He looked at the escalators and decided he had no desire to negotiate them and resigned himself to riding in a lift.
    He found six women waiting for the lift and entered with them when it arrived. Fortunately the women were all engaged in a conversation and stood closer than usual, affording him enough room in the lift that he wasn’t buffeted. The lift quickly travelled the one floor and he tried to exit but was confronted by the crowd of women awaiting it. He only just made it through