Disclaimer: Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte. Newsies. Disney. Me. Broke. Don't. Sue.
Chapter 6
It was breathtaking. In all of her eighteen years, Jane Beck had never beheld such a glorious sight. Stone upon stone upon stone stacked up to form a towering castle-like abode tucked between sprawling woodland. A meticulously groomed lawn provided a stunning blanket around the proudest tree Jane had ever seen. Surely, the carriage driver had left her at the wrong manor! It was far too magnificent a place for such a humbly raised young woman to reside.
She had endured a six hour train ride directly followed by an hour's worth of carriage travel, and now Jane found herself staring at Red Stream Manor wearing a newly purchased gray frock and an awed expression. With a long inhale and a firm grasp on the handles of her carpetbag, she began the substantial trek from the massive iron gates to the entryway of the estate.
As Jane was whisked into the parlour to await Mrs. Sullivan, she surveyed her surroundings with mild disappointment. For such a large, elaborately furnished room, it felt somehow lifeless. She was in the process of searching for the source of this impression when a whirlwind in skirts danced through the heavy doors to the parlour, followed by a chambermaid with a tray of tea.
"Ah, Jane Beck, how welcome a sight you are!" The whirlwind exclaimed, sitting down and motioning for Jane to do the same.
Jane stared wordlessly at the woman. Dressed from head to toe in black, she was nonetheless pleasing of face. Her hair was an undeterminable shade tucked under an old fashioned bonnet, under which a pair of pale blue eyes peered out. She was certainly not as formidable as Jane had imagined, but she looked far too old to have a young child for Jane to tutor.
"I am Mrs. Kaitlin Sullivan, but I presume you already had that figured. Would you care for some tea?" She spoke with few pauses.
"Thank you, Madam." Jane answered softly.
As the maid poured two cups of tea, Mrs. Sullivan continued. "You will get along splendidly here, provided you know your place. You certainly have an intelligent appearance, and I daresay that poor Hannah will benefit greatly under your tutelage."
"Thank yo-"
"I hope you have brought some reading to pass your own free time, spare though it will be?"
"Yes, I have brought a-"
"There is no doubt about your intellect, though I cannot say that I find your face handsome."
"Mrs. Sullivan!" Jane's startled exclamation was thankfully ignored, for Mrs. Sullivan was not quite finished with her appraisal.
"I am most thankful to the Lord for bringing you here. There is nobody here in whom I can converse. Sugar?"
"No-"
"More?"
"No-"
She added two spoonfuls to Jane's cup, and had scarcely handed it to her than she began again.
"The servants are perfectly fine, of course, but then they can be quite uncivilized. Hannah, of course, is very darling, poor soul that she is, but she is but a child and you know how they can behave."
Jane started to ask more about Hannah, whom she presumed would be her charge, but Mrs. Sullivan was quick to enlighten.
"Hannah's mother, poor dear, was sent to the Lord this winter past. The creature was all alone on this earth, but then," Mrs. Sullivan paused momentarily, enough to add a proud smile to her visage before she continued, "Mr. Kelly took her in as his ward."
"Mr. Kelly, who is he?" Jane was astonished by not only the mention of a new name, but also by her ability to complete a full sentence.
Mrs. Sullivan, who has been taking a sip of tea at the time of the question, nearly choked on the liquid. "Why, he is the owner of Red Stream! Were you not told his name?"
Jane blinked, and wanted to remind Mrs. Sullivan that the note she had been sent requesting her employment was nothing short of cryptic. Instead, she sipped her saccharine tea and said calmly, "I was under the impression that Red Stream belonged to you."
"Oh, bless you child! What a notion!" Mrs. Sullivan squealed, more amused than she had been in years. "I am the housekeeper, though I can claim kinship to Mr. Kelly. My late husband, God rest his soul, was the cousin to Mr. Kelly's mother. When Mr. Kelly is gone, I look after Red Stream." As an afterthought, she added, "And he's away most of the time."
"What sort of man is Mr. Kelly?" Jane asked, thoroughly intrigued.
"Well, he is the sort of man who is never here."
"Where does he go?"
"I could not tell you. Here and there. He is quite the worldly man, you know. He's traveled to places I did not know existed! Yes, he is one of a kind, Mr. Kelly. He is the smartest man I ever profess to meeting, and his appearance grows more and more pleasing each year. I declare there is no man so fine anywhere."
Jane digested this information with a hint of skepticism. She knew that kinfolk were fond of glorifying their relatives in manners they did not deserve. Still, she veiled her doubt with a polite smile.
"Go fetch young Hannah for Miss Beck." Mrs. Sullivan mandated to the serving girl nearby.
The girl curtsied and flitted out of the room, leaving Mrs. Sullivan and Jane alone with their tea.
"I must tell you, Miss Beck—"
"I would really prefer it if you called me Jane." She interjected.
"Yes, yes, of course. Now, Jane, as Hannah's governess, you will be expected to—oh, Hannah, dear! Come right over here, love, and meet Miss Beck."
A pretty young girl of indeterminable age stood in the doorway, gazing cautiously at Jane with bright hazel eyes. When she didn't move at Mrs. Sullivan's urgings, Jane placed a warm smile on her face and rose to her feet.
"Hello, Hannah. That is a very lovely dress you are wearing." She had learned from her years in the city that flattery was the quickest way to earn a child's favor.
The girl giggled. "You do not look at all like a governess! You don't have mean eyes or gray hair or anything of the sort."
"Well, I should hope not!" Jane said with a grin. "Gray hairs will come in time, but it is my dearest hope that I shall never possess mean eyes."
"Hannah, give Miss Beck the proper greeting." Mrs. Sullivan scolded.
With a sigh, Hannah lifted the edges of her lacy yellow skirt and offered a brief curtsy. "I am pleased to meet you, Miss Beck."
"As I am you." Jane returned. "Please, Hannah, tell me, how old are you?"
"I am not yet one and ten, Miss."
"And what is your favorite thing to learn about?"
"I don't much care for studies. I would much rather have tea with Robert." The girl smiled coyly, "He is quite handsome, you know."
The corners of Jane's mouth lifted slightly as she held back laughter at Hannah's adult response. "Is he? Who is this Robert?"
Ignoring Mrs. Sullivan's shaking head, Hannah went ahead in full voice, "He is the chef. He makes me tea."
"Which he has been specifically instructed not to do. I shall have to give him a scolding." Mrs. Sullivan shook her head. "Robert is really a dear man, but he indulges Hannah far too freely. He really must learn to say no!"
Hannah sulked, crossing her arms and sticking her lower lip. "I like Robert, he taught me a song."
"Which you shan't repeat here!" Mrs. Sullivan mandated. To Jane, she pursed her lips. "It's a dreadful ditty about a barmaid who gets kidnapped by pirates. He fills her head with such rubbish!"
Jane nodded. "I will try my very best to fill the other part of her head with quite the opposite."
"May the Good Lord help you in this task, Miss Beck."
Had Mrs. Sullivan not seemed so solemn, Jane might have been amused at the comment. Jane could tell from the look on the housekeeper's face that her employment at Red Stream would prove, if nothing else, to be challenging.
To be continued....
Author's Note: Yes, I'm aware that the promised Jack Sullivan Kelly did not appear in this chapter, yet again. I just like dragging the tension out for as looooong as possible. Heh. Really, though, I hereby promise to you all that he WILL be in the next installment. If he's not, you have full permission to hunt me down a subject me to a severe flogging by Master Snyder.
Thank you ever so much, faithful readers. You rock my world. Special mention to the following people: Sapphy, Dewey, Matches, Serina, Newsiesmoseph, and Maverick. Your comments keep me writing!