A/N: I have adjusted the novel's timeline somewhat for this story, changing it so that Jane is preparing to move in with the Rivers as their cousin in summer rather than at Christmas.


CHAPTER I

Morton School for Girls, June 1809

The summer afternoon had been warm but temperate, with a light breeze swirling through the open window, distracting several of the girls at their desks, causing them to look up from their times tables.

'Settle down, girls,' I told them, smiling. 'Only a few minutes more and you will be free to run to your hearts' content.'

It was now drawing near to three o'clock p.m. As usual, during the final ten minutes I went from desk to desk, helping any who needed it. Once they had gone I would correct their sums and their other work from earlier that day. Several years' experience with teaching had taught me that they would be better able to absorb and learn from the corrections the following morning, when fresh and awake at the start of a school day, rather than at the school day's end.

The clock hands inched towards three o'clock and a girl at the front of the class rose and came forwards, lifting the bell that stood on the corner of my desk. She gripped the handle in two small hands and rang it three times exactly on the hour. I smiled at her, mouthing 'Well done,' and she flushed with happiness, replacing the bell.

The other girls had by now all risen, coming forwards to pile their slates neatly on my desk. I smiled at each one in turn, then rose to see them off as they headed outside, chattering happily to each other, sounding not unlike a flock of over-large sparrows.

Alice Wood remained behind, approaching the back corner with a broom already in hand, ready to sweep and clean the schoolroom in return for the payment of her school fees by the local benefactress, Rosamond Oliver.

The sky was a brilliant blue, the surrounding hills lush and covered with purple heather. I placed my hands on my waist and stretched to ease the mild ache in my back, then raised a hand to wave to the girls who were calling their goodbyes to me.

Some of the girls were turning their heads to look curiously at a man who was leaning against a fence some distance away from the school, grasping a walking stick. He wore a dark coat and a wide-brimmed hat that hid his face. Even from this distance I could see that he was tense, his head turning sharply now and again as the children passed on their way up the track leading to the village. Some of the girls stared outright, almost rudely, as they went by.

He was a stranger to them, who had seen few strangers in their lives, to be marked with curiosity, and yet I knew him at once, though his face was hidden from me.

On first recognising him my heart had leapt painfully, almost wrenching out of the protective cage of my ribs. Somehow I remained standing and unmoving, breathing with forced calmness.

The last of the girls disappeared over the hill, their bright voices fading, leaving only Alice, now sweeping the doorstep. She glanced at me curiously when she saw that I still stood as though frozen to the spot.

'Do you know that man?' she asked. Before I was forced to answer, she went on, 'I saw him yesterday and the day before, though not here. He was just over the hill, being led away by an old man. Perhaps the old man is late today.'

She spoke very quietly, so as not to be overheard.

Now that my initial shock was fading, I was able to take in her words enough to be surprised by them. 'Being led, you say?' I asked, equally softly.

'Yes. He's quite blind.'

I felt my legs tremble, but I grasped the doorframe and somehow remained steady, concealing my momentary weakness. Alice was staring up at me, wide-eyed with concern. With the still-working part of my brain I noted that blindness would indeed explain the strange jerking movement of his head, the tension in his body as the children went by. A man like Edward Fairfax Rochester would not enjoy being on the receiving end of curious, pitying stares, even those of village children who did not know better.

'I will go and see if he is well,' I said. It took me a few moments to find my courage, but at last I was able to move towards him. It was partly Alice's presence that gave me strength. I did not want to alarm her by hesitating too long.

As I walked towards him, the distance seemed endless, my gaze fixed on him, all the vast landscape around us fading into a meaningless blur of purple and greenish brown, and above it the bright blue wash of the sky.

'Damn that man,' I heard him mutter to himself as I drew nearer, still careful not to make a sound. 'He swore he would be here before the bell rang, and yet he has abandoned me, despite all his professions of complete loyalty.'

I was now but two feet away from him. I stopped and took the opportunity to observe him closely, in silence.

My hands and legs, which had shaken with agitation as I approached him, were now still. Knowing he could not see me seemed to calm my nerves, and my heart too was gradually slowing, so that I no longer feared he heard it.

Yet something seemed to warn him of my presence, for suddenly he lifted his head, his brow furrowing.

'Is someone there?' he demanded.

I said nothing, for the sight of his scars robbed me of my voice. I longed to reach out and cradle his face in my hands, to kiss those scars and take away that caged look on his face, but I kept my hands fast by my sides.

He jerked his head sharply, nostrils flaring as though he were trying to sniff me out.

Gradually the half-wild look faded from his face and he looked desolate.

'It is not her. Even if she did see me she would not come near me as I am now.'

Even as my heart ached to hear him speak so, I nonetheless felt exasperated that he still thought so much of his appearance, and so little of my love for the man within.

'Are you lost, sir?'

At once he frowned deeply. 'That voice – it must be hers. It can belong to no other. Yet how can she stand before me as I am now?'

'I asked if you were lost, sir.'

'Lost – I think not. Even if I can no longer see I am perfectly aware of where I am. Is that building over there not the Morton School for Girls?'

'It is, sir.'

He hesitated. When he spoke his voice was full of longing, and pain. 'And are you not the teacher of this establishment, Miss Jane Eyre, lately a governess at Thornfield Hall?'

I could not keep the smile from my voice, nor restrain the sudden tears that pricked my eyes. 'I am, sir.'

At once he started upright, gripping his cane tightly, his free hand grasping for me. Without thinking I stepped forwards, my arms reaching – but just as suddenly he pulled backwards, falling back against the fence, his stick steadying him.

He turned his face away, suppressing some strong emotion. After a long while he spoke, his voice low and carefully controlled. 'You will be sorry to hear, Miss Eyre, that Thornfield Hall is no more.'

For a moment I could not speak. 'No more? What happened? Adele – Mrs Fairfax – Sophie and Leah – and John – they are all safe?'

'Yes, yes, they are all safe and well. There was only one –' He interrupted himself, frowning intensely, and said no more.

I watched him closely, trying to discern what he had been about to say, but it was impossible to tell with any certainty.

He was silent for a long while. At last he sighed. 'I've been a coward, Jane. This is not the first time I have lingered so near the school, without approaching you.'

I knew this, but waited. From what Alice had told me I had guessed that he had come here several times already, always leaving before there was a risk of me seeing him, ashamed as he was of his injuries.

'I first came four days ago. I – was not sure that you –' he broke off again. 'It was a warm day, and I knew that the windows would be open, and hoped to hear your voice as you gave your lessons, even if I – could not watch you. I wanted to –' Yet again he cut himself off, before saying in a rush, 'You will think me very foolish for coming several days in a row, but always leaving before the bell rings. Damn that man John! If he had returned punctually you would not see me like this now.'

'Will you come inside, sir?'

He started in surprise.

'As you say,' I went on. 'We cannot know how long John will be, so you had better come inside until he returns.'

He hesitated, evidently torn between his shame for his appearance and his wish to remain near me. 'If it would not be too inconvenient.'

'Here, take my arm.'

He looked unhappy, unwilling to admit of weakness, but I took his arm with gentle firmness.

As we walked he began to talk, perhaps trying to distract both of us from his dependence on me to guide him in the right direction, explaining with annoyance how Pilot had grown restless waiting in one place and so John had left to keep an eye on him while he ran in the fields. 'No doubt the blasted dog tore away over the hills after a flock of sheep and now John is running after him to fetch him back.'

I laughed at the image of John chasing after the fleet-footed Pilot and looked at my master in time to catch a faint smile crossing his lips.

We had drawn near the threshold of the schoolroom. It was with a start that I saw that Alice was still inside, just finishing her cleaning duties.

'Will that be all, miss?' she asked, looking curiously at the stranger I was supporting. 'I just put the kettle on, as always.'

I hesitated, wondering if I should ask Alice to remain and do a few extra tasks so that I would not be entirely alone with my master. I both feared and longed to be alone with him.

'Thank you, Alice. That will be all,' I said at last, with as much cheerfulness as I could muster. 'I will see you tomorrow. Go safely now.'

Alice curtseyed and left, looking back over her shoulder a few times. I waved to her once, then led Mr Rochester inside.