How I Met Jane Eyre

Hey, guys. K.J.A. here again with another update. So, as we all know, this is where the really interesting and god bits happen. I do not know if this quite lives up to the expectations of other chapters, and I am sorry if it doesn't, but I am trying here, OK? So please don't give me too hard a time, because I was up until four in the morning last night writing this. Urgh, stress! Anyway, excerpts here are taken from chapters 12, 13 and of course, twenty-seven of Jane Eyre. And now, on with Chapter 6. Enjoy.

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Chapter 6 – The Meeting of the Mother and a Conversation

"Papa?" Janet asked as soon as Mary had taken the plates away after we had finished lunch, which was not a subdued affair; my children and I ate quietly and cosily, each consumed in their own thoughts. Besides, I wanted to allow some time to pass in silence, so that my children could absorb in the information that I had recently told them.

"Yes, Janet?"

"Is the Adele you mentioned in the story our adopted sister Adele?"

I smiled at just how quickly she had cottoned on to that, so I merely chuckled and said, "Yes, Janet, she is your sister. Your mother and I adopted her after a few years had passed in our marriage; and when she had grown up, she met an artist, and the two of them went over to Paris to start a life together. They are both doing well for themselves: her husband's works are selling rather successfully, and Adele is a dance teacher. Nothing exotic, though. Just ballet. And I am glad to inform you both that she recently just had another child," I said, as my children gasped and smiled sweetly at the news. "Yes," I went on, "they are rather happy together. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you in a letter, but your mother and I both thought it best to tell you in person. She'll be glad to hear that you took it well. And speaking of your mother that brings us right back into the main story.

"So, after a being rid of all mistresses at last – in a harsh, bitter frame of mind as well as heart, the result of a useless, roving, lonely life – corroded with disappointment; sourly disposed against all men, and especially all womankind (for I began to regard the notion of an intellectual, faithful, loving woman as a mere dream by that stage in my life), I was once again recalled to business, and so, I came back to England.

"It was January when I returned, and to my surprise, I saw Eshton again when I stayed in London overnight. He is, as you well know, a man of science and nature, and he told me all about his interesting study with birds. Interesting as it was, I cannot remember what he had talked about; for not only was I tired that night, but the evening seemed to pass in a blur, that's how much talk went on between us. Anyway, we parted on good terms the next morning, as usual.

"Now, here's where the really interesting part happens," I said, and to my delight, I saw my children edge forward in their seats, hanging on my every word; for they knew what was coming as well as I did. "It was twilight when I returned home. The ground was covered in frost and a mist hung in the air, covering everything in a foggy cloud; not too thick to see through, mind, but still, it was thick enough for me not to see too clearly ahead of me.

"As I rode in sight of Thornfield, I looked up at it with hatred, and longed to shut the cursed place up for ever; for I expected to find no peace, no pleasure there. On a stile in Hay Lane, I saw a quiet little figure sitting by itself, which I passed as negligently as the pollard window opposite to it: I had no presentiment of what it would be to me; no inward warning that the arbitress of my life – my genius for good or evil – waited there in humble guise.

"Now as I have already stated, there was a mist that night, so I did not see up ahead a patch of ice. I just kept riding on as normally as I had, when suddenly, I felt my horse's hooves slip, and we went crashing to the ground. I remember I exclaimed, "What the deuce is to do now?" as Pilot, my old dog, ran off in the other direction. I swore and cursed under my breath as I struggled to get back on my feet, trying to free myself from my horse. It was as I was doing this that I heard the voice of a young woman say, "Are you injured, sir?"

"I know I said something under my breath, but I cannot recall what it was. Besides, I had no idea of who this person was, or of all the good she would soon bring into my life. I do remember, though, that I was angry at Pilot for finding someone, a young woman, nonetheless, find me in such a state; for my pride was hurt at being found in such a fashion. Anyway, I turned towards the sound of the voice as she approached me. She asked if she could do anything, to which I answered that she could just stand aside, which she did, as I untangled myself from my horse and stood as best I could. This elfish creature then said that if I was hurt, that she would run and get help from Hay or from Thornfield; but I declined, for it was just a sprain after all, and I managed well enough. And truth be told, I was surprised that this creature, young as she was, spoke with such authority to someone like me: and as I looked at her, trying to make out some of her features from the amount of moonlight that was splayed on the path, I saw that they were nothing extraordinary, but there was, however, something in her eyes which grabbed my attention, although I just couldn't put my finger on what it was at that moment.

"I then took in the rest of her form, and figured from her structure that she could not have been much older than twenty, give or take a few years. Seeing that darkness was fast approaching, I told her that she should be at home herself. I asked from whence she came, and she told me that she was at Thornfield. Mrs Fairfax hired new servants in my absence, and I figured that this girl could not have been employed in my house for more than a few months. After a few more questions, I gathered that she knew my name, but did not know who I was, for she had obviously never met me until then. She did not look like any servant from the way she was dressed, and when I asked her, she told me that she was the governess.

"I remembered that she looked like an elf or a fairy of some kind, and that she deliberately bewitched that patch of land with ice, in order to knock unsuspecting traveller's off their feet – or horses – for their own tricks. Anyway, I was pleased to know that this elf lived at my house and would be returning to me, as I instructed her to bring my horse to me, seeing as she had nothing that I could use as a prop. I watched her for a few moments try in vain at bringing my horse, who would only answer to my hands alone, so it seemed. I laughed and asked her to come to me; and it was then, at that very moment when I placed my hand on her frail shoulder that something came over me. Something which I had never felt with no other woman.

"It was something new – a fresh sap and sense of some sort – which stole over my frame. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was, nor describe the feeling exactly; but what I can tell you is that it was something so pure and strong and good that it drew me closer to her. I was glad to know that she was to return to my house, or I could not have felt her pass away with singular regret; for she told me that she was on her way to post a letter. I now returned to Thornfield in a slightly better and brighter state of mind than I had before I met her. And that, my dears, is how I met your mother."

My children smiled at this, before Janet said teasingly, "But that's not all there is to it, is there, Papa?"

I chuckled at her quick-wittedness, before I said, "No Janet, that is not all there is to my tale, for I did say that I was going to tell you what happened beyond that point with the horse. And so, to continue my story: when I arrived home, the servants made a fuss over me, even though I tried to push them off, but to no obvious effect. Adele came running up to me, babbling on in her childish way, as I waited for the doctor. Mrs Fairfax then told me about the governess she had hired for Adele, and told me that the girl's name was Jane Eyre. Just as I was about to ask her for more about this Jane Eyre, I was brought out of these thoughts by the arrival of Doctor Carter; who just as good as confirmed my suspicions about the sprain in my leg and as this was going on, I thought I heard the sound of a door opening, and assumed that it was your mother who had come home. I wished to speak to her, but I knew that would have to wait for another time; so I told Mrs Fairfax to send some supper to my room for I was tired, and also told her that the next time she saw Miss Eyre – as I then called her – she would tell her that I would like her to join me for some tea in the drawing room the next evening.

"When I was alone with my thoughts, I thought about her, trying to listen for the sound of her footsteps on the stairs, but as I did not hear a thing, I quickly ate, got into bed and thought about how different life could be for me at Thornfield, and how it could change, and all because of one person. As I drifted off to sleep that night, the last thing I remember thinking about were those bright, piercing eyes of hers, and just how beautiful they were.

"The next day, I was kept busy by visitors coming and going: friends who wanted to see me and wish me a speedy recovery, and those who had come to arrange meetings to discuss how things were going on the estates surrounding the local area. This continued for most of the day, until I finally got a few minutes of peace late in the afternoon; well, that was until I heard the sound of running footsteps, followed by the sound of a child's laughter, which were followed by a soft footfall. It was a footstep I had never heard the likes of before, and I knew that this could only be one person: that of your mother playing with Adele in the gallery outside the library (in which I was in).

"I observed them – myself unseen – as your mother played with Adele for half an hour. It was a snowy day, as I recall, and they could not go out of doors. I listened and watched them: Adele claimed her outward attention for a while; yet I fancied that your mother's thoughts were elsewhere. Your mother was patient with her, though, and entertained her for a while. At last, Adele left her, and your mother lasped at once then into a deep reverie, for she betook to slowly pacing the gallery. Now and then when passing a casement, she would glance at the thick falling snow, listened to the sobbing wind, then gently pace on and dream. I assumed those day visions were not dark: there was a pleasurable illumination in her eye occasionally, a soft excitement in her aspect, which told of no bitter, bilious, hypochondriac brooding: your mother's look rather revealed the sweet musings of youth when its spirit follows on willing wings the flight of Hope up and on to an ideal Heaven. The voice of Mrs Fairfax, speaking to a servant in the hall, wakened her: and oh, how curiously your mother smiled to and at herself, my dears," I said, smiling as I remembered that. "It seemed to say, "My fine visions are all very well, but I must not forget they are all absolutely unreal. I have a rosy sky and a flowery green Eden in my brain; but without, I am perfectly aware, lies at my feet a rough tract to travel, and around me gather black tempests to encounter". She ran downstairs and demanded of Mrs Fairfax some occupation: the weekly household accounts to make up, or something of the sort, I think it was. I was vexed with your mother for getting out of my sight.

"And so, impatiently I waited for evening when I summoned her to my presence. An unusual – to me – a perfectly new character I suspected your mother's was. I desired to search deeper and know it better. She entered the room with a look and air at once shy and independent. She was dressed quaintly, too. I asked her questions, of course, in order to get to know her better."

"What did she tell you, Papa?" Eddie asked. "What did you find out about her?"

"Well, my son," I said, "I found your mother full of strange garbs. Her mannerisms and speech controlled by the way she was raised at school and she was unused to society and a great ideal afraid of making a fool out of herself if she made a mistake talking. She surprised me first by saying she had never received a present in her life; and after asking her what she thought about them, she told me that she would study them from all sides before giving me a response. When I told her that she had done well with Adele, she told me that I had just given her a present in the form of gratitude. I then learnt that she had been resident in my house for three months and had come from Lowood school, where she been since she was ten. She spent eight years there: six as a pupil, and two as a teacher. Her eyes winced slightly with some pain on the subject, but I didn't press too deeply into that.

"Anyway, I found her giving me rather articulated answers to my questions, and was glad to find an intelligent, fresh young mind to converse with; for a light of understanding seemed to shine in her eyes when I told her that she reminded me of fairy tales; or when I told her if she was waiting for her people – by which I am talking about the imps, elves and little green men – and she told me that they had all left England long ago.

"I further discovered that she was just as alone in the world as I was. She had no one; was parentless for as long as she can remember, had no brothers or sisters – so to speak, but I'll get to that later – and had no aunts or uncles – (which was a lie, but I'll get to that). Anyway, I then went on to ask her if she had ever lived in a town, to which she replied in the negative, whether she had seen much of society; which she said were only the teachers and pupils of Lowood and the staff of Thornfield. I then asked your mother if she had read much, and she told me that she had read only the books in which she had come across at Lowood, which greatly surpised me; for she had spoken such articulated answers that I wondered where she must have formed her mind, in order to answer me in such a way.

"I then asked her about her school life, and learnt that Brocklehurst was a parson as well as the head. When I asked your mother if she worshipped him, she replied with a very cool no. she then went on to say that she was not alone in how she felt about him, for all the girls disliked him; for he was a harsh, pompous and a meddling man, who cut off their hair, starved them, brought them bad needles and thread with which to sew, and gave them rather long and boring stories from the books that he chose about sudden deaths and judgements, that made the girls scared to go to bed at night.

"I then went on to ask her about what she had learnt and if she could play on the piano, which she replied that she could, but only a little, which was true; better than some, but not well. I also remembered that Adele had brought me some of her drawings that morning and asked her to bring them down for me so that I could observe them more closely, and told her that I would see for myself if they were, indeed, her own work; for I would see if they were copies, I told here; although I already knew that they were not, for I had never seen such remarkable pieces of work in my life before. She told me that she would say nothing and that I would judge for myself, before she got them.

"They were wonderful things – still are, in fact, your mother's drawings; each as wonderful and original as the next; which told of the inner soul that your dear mother has. She told me that she had done them in her spare time at Lowood during the vacations when there was nothing better to do; and when I asked her if a master aided her, she told me that she had not had anyone to help her, for she had gotten the ideas out of her own head. She then told me that to paint, for her, was one of the finest pleasures she had ever known, up until that moment in her life. I wished dearly that I had had a pleasure like this to keep me occupied before I met her, seeing as how our pleasures were both so different; but of course, hers had been few.

"I took a few which grabbed my interest and gave the rest to Mrs Fairfax. What surprised me the most about them was that the feelings of isolation and loneliness which she had experienced in them were not in the remarkable drawings which she had produced. I asked your mother if she was satisfied when she had finished them; and she replied that the finished result was far from the ideal image of what had been her intention to produce out of her head; which told me that she was a woman who wanted to perfect and improve on her work, but couldn't exactly reached the expectations of the result in which she had originated, or thought they would turn out like. I gave her some helpful advice and tips on how she should improve on her work that she was sure to produce in the future, saying that she had secluded the shadow of her thoughts, even though the drawings were peculiar for a school-girl. I went on to say that the drawings themselves were elfish, for in the drawing she had drawn her subject's eyes so clearly and yet they were not at all brilliant; a planet quelled above their rays and their eyes shone with a solemn depth. She had learnt to paint wind, too, and I saw Latmos in what she had done. I was surprised that she knew about Latmos, for as I have told you, my dears, Latmos is a mountain in Greece, and seeing as she had never travelled, I wondered at how she could have known about it or seen it. I was impressed and intrigued by what I had seen the artist accomplish, and hope that she would take my encouraging words on board for her future drawings; then asked her to put away her things and then I bid the women goodnight, not looking at your mother as she left me.

"My dears, this may surprise you now, for you are both young not to know this yet, but when someone like your mother enters your life, who fills your head with such new ideas, and starts to bring hope and new light into your eyes and your heart as your mother did with me all those years ago, then you will know how it feels to have your soul breathe new, clean, fresh air, which I had not felt for year, but had been endlessly searching for. Indeed, as I got into my bed that night, I couldn't help but feel glad that Mrs Fairfax had chosen well in decision making for Adele's governess, and was happy that your mother was making friends and was comfortable here. It was amazing how much we were alike, even though I had only spoken to her properly that one time, and I knew at that moment, that this was going to be a much better start in our lives for both me and your mother. And little did we know back then, just how important we would be to each other; nor did we know how we would inspire each other to be better people and see things differently, or all the obstacles we would face in order to be together. but once again, I am getting ahead of myself. Don't worry, my dears, I will get to things. All in god time, dear ones. All in good time"

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So, that was chapter 6 over and done with. Once again, I am truly sorry if this flopped a little, but I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. I think the next chapter will be easier for me to write, so don't worry, we are not done yet, for there is still much good stuff to come. As usual, please R&R. I will update again tomorrow. Until then, T.T.F.N.