Jane lay wrapped in a blanket in her room. She had locked herself away after she had found out about Mrs. Rochester. She had cried until she couldn't cry anymore while Edward screamed at her door.
Jane had worked herself up enough to make herself sick. She had a fever and a cough. She was delirious. She dreamt that she was back at Lowood School and Helen was still alive and well. She dreamt that she was back in the red room and her uncles' ghost was screaming at her. Then she dreamt that Helen was dead and she was standing on the stool in Lowood's main hall again as everyone whispered about her.
And then she dreamt that she was in a fiery hell and she couldn't breathe. She dreamt that some unknown person was carrying her out of it. She heard screams and could smell burnt flesh. She yelled and tried to get away from this hell.
She fell into a deep black sleep and didn't dream for a long time. She was lost in a black void, an abyss so bleak as to be painful.
She actually awoke some time later to a dark room. She felt a hand holding hers and knew someone was asleep at her side. She looked and found Mr. Rochester sitting in a chair at her side. She grimaced and turned away from him before he could wake.
She felt him stir beside her. She felt his other hand move to cover her hand with his other one. She decided to feign sleep so as not to have to talk to him about his wife.
"Jane?" It was barely more than a whisper. Her name sounded so sweet from him. She couldn't help but let out a sigh.
She realized then that she actually loved him. Love was something she couldn't push away from her. She turned and faced him she knew there were tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Jane, I was so worried." He said quietly. "You became so ill. And then the fire."
"The fire was real?" She couldn't help but ask it. She had thought it her dream.
"Yes. Thornfeild is gone. All I have now is a small manor house in the woods." He said. "She died in the fire."
"Your wife?" She said quietly, though she didn't need and answer.
"Yes, she jumped off of the ramparts to the roof below that was afire." He said.
Jane turned away from him and looked out the window. It was almost dawn. She didn't think she could trust him again. She would have to Advertise again for another position.
"Jane?" He used the same tone he had earlier.
"Hmm?" Was all she replied.
"Will you at least think about what I have told you before you make a decision?" He asked. It was almost as if he had read her mind.
"Yes." She replied.
"Do you promise? I am no longer a very wealthy man, but I do still love you. We could live comfortably." He said.
"I will think about it." She replied. She turned then and did fall asleep.
This time Jane did not dream of nightmares in her past, instead she just dreamt that she was living happily in a small manor house with Edward in the woods near Thornfeild. She dreamt that she married him in a small chapel. She dreamt they traveled to Venice and Rome and Antioch and even Jerusalem. And then she dreamt of seeing small children running through her home, and she knew she could never give her love for Edward up. She knew the choice she would make. She slept lightly for the rest of the morning.
Jane woke sometime around midday. She ate some bread and broth and bathed. She had just begun to read a book when she heard a rapping knock on her door.
"Come in." She said, thinking it was just the maid.
Instead, Adele came running into the room and leaned over and hugged Jane. She then proceeded to talk in rapid French about how worried she had been.
She smiled at the girl and told her to calm down and take a seat. Adele did so. Jane looked past her to Mr. Rochester, who now stood in the corner leaning against the wall. He gazed at her with a fierce passion that made her face hot.
"Oh Madame. I was so worried. You were so ill. But you are well now." Adele said. "And Mr. Rochester had promised to take me for a carriage ride in the park, would you like to join us?"
"Yes Jane, would you like to join us?" Mr. Rochester repeated.
"Well, I would like to take some air." She said with a smile.
"Oh, la, we are going to have so much fun." Adele said happily.
"Yes, I suppose we are." Edward said with a grin.
And so they all went downstairs to the lobby of the hotel they were staying at and headed for the park that was across the street. Edward paid a coach driver to take them around the park. Adele talked on about her school while Jane listened.
And all the while Edward Rochester was staring at the one woman he loved most in the world as she laughed and smiled at Adele's foolishness. He felt something in his heart flutter as she turned her gaze towards him. He looked at her in an unspoken question and she answered with a tiny nod of her head. He started to laugh uncontrollably, which caused them both to laugh with him. This was definitely a new beginning.