Here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it. Thanks so much to Danielle, my beta, and to everyone who reviewed. You're amazing!

The Tea Party

Soon after I awoke the next morning, Mr. Rochester came to my door accompanied by Carter, the physician who had also attended Mr. Mason when his sister, Bertha Rochester, had attacked him.

"I dressed the wound last night, Carter," I heard Mr. Rochester saying as they approached my door. "I wanted to make sure that it would not become infected, but as there was no imminent danger, I let you have your sleep." There was a sharp rap at my door, and I quickly opened it and allowed them to enter.

"Ah, Miss Eyre, it is nice to see you again." said Carter cheerfully, "Mr. Rochester tells me you had a fall and grazed your arm on a knife you were carrying. I have come by to see that it will be alright." I glanced at Mr. Rochester and nodded gently. It would not do to oppose my master, I knew, so I allowed the lie to go uncorrected.

Carter rolled up the sleeve of my gown and looked at the cut on my upper arm. I ignored the doctor completely as he checked over me, focusing my attention on my brooding master. Mr. Rochester stood at my window, looking out across the lawn. His face was impassive and I was unable to decide what sort of mood he was in. When Carter was finished, which was a few minutes after his entrance, he declared my arm perfectly fine and said that he would show himself to the door. Mr. Rochester nodded his assent, and then we were alone.

For the first few minutes, neither of us said a word, but at last I was determined to let him know my mind.

"Sir," I began, "I am quite distressed by the fact that you keep lying to everyone to cover up the existence of your wife. Mrs. Fairfax and everyone else deserve to know the truth. I am not a thrown-off and helpless damsel, nor are you a 'worthless lover.' Besides this, it would be easier for all of us if they were made aware of the truth. It is wrong to lie, and every lie requires another lie to support it." Taking a breath, I was about to continue when he raised his hand in a gesture for me to stop.

"You are mistaken." He said quietly, "It would not be easier to tell the truth. Quite the contrary, it would make everything quite impossible for both of us; I would be treated as a heartless, conniving, Godless man who wants more wives than are his share, but this is nothing to me compared to what you would suffer. You would be scorned, pitied, and looked down on by all of the women in the area, and the men would assume that you were, as they so crudely put it, easy. The honorable men would avoid you as a rule, while the dishonorable ones would give you no rest for the same reasons." He paused and shuddered, but continued, "Perhaps, if I had told you the truth from the beginning, but I never foresaw such disaster from the concealment. When you first came, there was no reason to tell you; by the time you deserved to know, I could find no way to tell you, and as you gave me no reason to suppose my feelings returned, there was no imminent need to inform you. I also knew that if I ever dared to tell you and you did reciprocate my feelings, your sense of honor and duty would lead you to leave me."

"But concealment is wrong, sir." I broke in, "You should have told me when you first declared that you loved me. In fact, you should have told me about her and then shouldn't have told me anything about your feelings! It was cruel to lead me, to tempt me to do something that was wrong in the eyes of men and God!" I turned away abruptly.

A few minutes passed without a sound, and I almost thought that Mr. Rochester had left the room, but then his voice pierced the silence.

"I know that you have invited your cousin to tea today. I have invited our neighbor Mr. Bancroft, as well. It would be much easier for Mrs. Fairfax and Leah if we were to take tea together, so I expect that when you and Miss Rivers are ready to eat, you will inform us." And so saying, he left the room.

I sat frowning at the door for several minutes after my master had passed through it. Part of me was incensed. How could this man think that lying was a better way to get through hard times? Why did not he tell me before any of this had happened, so that much of our pain would have been spared?

Even though my feelings were in turmoil, the rest of Thornfield continued much as it usually did. At the normal time, Adele and I met in the library for her morning lessons. We studied grammar, geography, and arithmetic, which were three of Adele's least favorite subjects. By the time those lessons were done, we were both tired of trying to focus on schoolwork when our minds were elsewhere. Consequently, the moment they were over, Adele and Sophie went outside for a walk, and I went downstairs to Mrs. Fairfax.

The time between the end of Adele's schoolwork and Diana Rivers' arrival for tea flew by so quickly that I was scarcely aware of it, when the sound of a carriage came to our ears.

"Here comes your cousin, Miss Eyre!" I heard Mrs. Fairfax call to me from a nearby room that she was then cleaning. I hastily collected my things and went to the drawing room, which Mrs. Fairfax had insisted that I use to receive my guest. When I reached the drawing room, however, I found it already occupied by Mr. Rochester and Mr. Bancroft. Apologizing, I was attempting a hurried retreat when both gentlemen stood and stopped me.

"Miss Eyre, You must stay." Said Mr. Rochester at the same time that Mr. Bancroft said:

"Please don't let our presence change your plans, Miss Eyre. We have not had the pleasure of meeting for several weeks now, and I should very much enjoy your company, as well as your cousin's. Mr. Rochester was just telling me that Miss Rivers would be visiting and that you had promised that you would have tea with us."

Blushing, I reentered the room and positioned myself as far from Mr. Rochester as possible without seeming too rude. As soon as I was seated, Mr. Bancroft moved his chair closer to mine so that we might converse more easily.

"I have missed our little tea parties very much." He said, smiling as he remembered the aforementioned meetings. "I have seen Miss Varens more than once since Mr. Rochester's return to Thornfield, but you seem to be busy every time I call."

"I was not aware that you called on Adele or I certainly would have come to join you at tea." I answered frankly. I recalled no such thing, nor had anyone ever told me about the visits, which was remarkable and strange for a small group of acquaintances such as the group at Thornfield. Before we could continue however, Leah appeared at the door and presented Diana Rivers.

Diana was duly introduced to Mr. Bancroft, and we all took our seats again. A few minutes of polite conversation between Diana and me followed, until Mr. Rochester began questioning her about her family, her situation as a governess, and several other points. Mr. Bancroft then turned to me and we began discussing books.

Our conversation, though interesting in and of itself, could not hold my attention for long. My eyes were invariably drawn to Mr. Rochester and Diana, who were animatedly discussing one of the most recent publications.

"I don't mean to say that it was horrible," exclaimed Diana, "but his former works are so stirring and emotional that this is poor in comparison."

"I beg to differ," protested Mr. Rochester, "for while his previous poems are sweet and simple, the complexity and intricacies of his more recent poems display greater maturity. The latest poems also portray characters with more depth and development."

Mr. Bancroft, noting my abstraction, followed my eye to the pair that were seated comfortably at the nearby table. His next words can only be pardoned by the fact that he was blissfully unaware of any of the events that transpired before his arrival in the neighborhood of Thornfield.

"The make a handsome couple, don't you think so? I am surprised that such a man as Mr. Rochester has remained single for so long. One would think that he would have found some young lady, one like you or Miss Rivers there." Luckily for me, he was facing Mr. Rochester and Diana and so could not see the rapid change of my countenance and the deep blush that spread across my cheeks. When I did not answer right away he continued.

"Mr. Rochester is a very good man, and I do not see why any young woman would refuse his offer, and as there is no want of fortune on his side, there seems to be no reason at all for his remaining single. But perhaps, as I do not know him well, I may be unaware of some of major character flaw that would explain such a situation." At this point I absolutely had to interject.

"Oh, no, indeed!" I cried, "Mr. Rochester has no faults of character such as you describe!" Then, recollection myself, I modified my statement so as not to seem too forward. "That is to say, Mr. Rochester is no worse than any ordinary man. No fault of temperament or character marks him out as a bad man; I would say, rather, that he is very noble and honorable." I stumbled on for a few moments longer, trying to defend my master without seeming to be defending him too strongly.

When I stopped my blundering, I noticed with surprise that the conversation at the other side of the room had ceased and Diana and Mr. Rochester were watching us intently. Diana had a look of amusement on her face, as well as a slightly questioning look that seemed to ask if there was something more in my defense than I was trying to let on. Mr. Rochester, on the other hand, pointedly looked away when he saw that I perceived him watching me. Before he turned his head, however, I noticed that he looked caught between a sort of desperate hope and jealously.

For a few minutes more I could not bring myself to say any more, but Mr. Bancroft sensed my distress and was kindly keeping up a one-sided conversation. Meanwhile, Diana and Mr. Rochester continued their conversation, though in a more subdued manner than before.

A few minutes later, Leah brought in tea. The division of our groups continued for the rest of the time, despite attempts by both Mr. Bancroft and Diana to bring us all together. Mr. Rochester was clearly bent on avoiding conversation with me, and as is often the case, the will of one person against an event can foil the attempts of many people in accomplishing it.

Tea was soon over, and both Mr. Bancroft and Diana made their excuses and left together. Mr. Bancroft departed from me with a promise to visit again soon, adding that he hoped that I would this time be free to see him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mr. Rochester's expression, which seemed to say that he knew the reason that I had not been informed of Mr. Bancroft's previous visits.

This farewell concluded our intercourse, and as Mr. Rochester showed Diana and Mr. Bancroft to the door I retreated to my room, hoping to and succeeding in avoiding Mr. Rochester completely. In peaceful solitude I was able to muse over the events of the day; but that is not to say that I came to any satisfying conclusion concerning any of it.