Jane had been unsuccessful in getting Airey Flamsteed to allow her a private workspace last year (though she had managed to get a good look at the man at last and was rather startled to see how much he'd changed since their first meeting earlier in the year in the Hall of Prophecy). So she'd done what had been suggested to her--commandeered a corner of a potions workspace in the Love Chamber.

Jane carefully lowered the flame under the Bain Maria containing her latest working and leaned over to watch carefully the reactions that might be taking place inside. She'd been warned that the atmosphere in this chamber might be distracting, but was pleasantly surprised to find that was not the case. The odors that reached her from the central fountain merely smelled like fresh breezes, old parchment, and the embers of a low-burning fire, just the sorts of smells that usually surrounded when she worked. And this was not surprising, because though she cared deeply and fondly about a number of people, Jane had always been rather indifferent to romance.

She finally thought she saw something beginning to form in the globe of the Bain Maria and watched closely until she was sure the next step was properly underway. Then she leaned back again, stretching and rubbing her lower back with one hand. How long had she been working here? And was she still alone? She realized that her work kept her isolated for a great deal of the time, not leaving her much opportunity to meet many of the other Unspeakables, or any Ministry employees at all, for that matter. She hadn't see the Unspeakable she'd met last year form the Hall of Prophecy--Catherina her name was?--since that strange incident with the rock golem, and no one had seen Dr. Nykto since the commotion he'd caused at the opening gala this year. The last Jane had seen of him, he'd been being marched off by Mr. Bain, presumably to receive a reprimand. But he seemed to have disappeared since then, and Jane was worried about him.

Jane decided that she really needed to get out of the lab and meet more people if she was to function in this new setting properly.