Hours must have passed before Jane woke again.

When she did the air was no longer heavy or fragrant, it had turned cold and sharp. The room was now cold too, as was the bed. Jane reached to her side but found no one there, and in sitting up and looking around the room she found herself quiet alone. Puzzled, she pulled the blankets around herself until hearing the turning of the door and watching it be pushed slowly opened. had reentered the room, holding a tray full of tea. As he moved across the room Jane knew that the quiet care he took was a result of not being able to tell if she was still asleep or awake. He gently laid the tray down on a table close to the bed and stood up to close the opened window. Returning to the bed, he sat facing Jane.

She could tell his mind was busy, busy with the thoughts of not being able to see the tea in front of him, or the room, or his new wife. Quickening to end his misery, Jane reached forward and took his hand. His face brightened instantly as he brought her hand to his lips, kissing it lightly.

" You are freezing, cold as a block of ice!"

"I am not so very cold"

"Come" he said. He removed the robe from around himself and for a moment exposed his beautiful body. Jane smiled to herself as he wrapped his warm robe around her shoulders. He felt around for his nightshirt before finding it at the end of the bed and pulling it over his head.

"I assume that is the consequence for leaving you alone while this blind blunderer went to fetch tea"

Jane laughed "My blind blunderer"

"How enticing you make me seem, enchantress. You must know how dangerous false images can be"

"No, there are no false images. I was merely reminding you that you belong to no one but me, that your life is mine, and every fiber of your being is included in that".

A loving kiss was his reply.

Soon was busying himself with the tray of tea. He felt, with great care, for the cup and poured slowly from the pot. Then, he took a spoon, filled it twice with milk and dropped it into the cup. Jane watched in surprise.

"How is it that you know what I take in my tea?"

"Because" he explained, amused. "I spent a year calling you to my presence for tea just so we could talk, and I could be with you. And then I spent another year envisioning those times as a way to keep myself breathing when everything was entreating me to stop. It is a memory I treasure in the very deepest chamber of my heart".

Jane was struck by the immense love of his reply, and as the cup was placed into her hands she received a kiss on the cheek. As he began to pour his own tea Jane wished she could have said something to him that fully expressed her gratitude. Nothing seemed that it was enough. But from its infancy, their relationship was one in which understanding passed between them, unspoken. She had always felt he understood her fundamentally, and so words were sometimes simply the physical sound of what was already known. She mulled over this peaceful thought as he turned to her, sipping from his own cup of tea.

''What is on your mind, Jane? what thoughts hover in the forefront of your mind? I can tell this is no longer a quiet silence, but a busy one"

Jane's mouth turned slightly at the corners before she put her cup down.

"I was thinking only of pleasant things, of our newly married lives together, and if there is anything you anticipate from this? anything you are apprehensive about, or expectant to receive? You see, I know far less than you do regarding these things'

"I have told you" he replied, roundly "I do not wish to bring the weight of previous troubles into this marriage. I want no mention of that women that haunted our happiness and plagued our closeness".

But he dissolved, and he sighed heavily taking Jane's hand.

"No" he spoke softly "No, I mustn't hide things from you. My life is yours. I shall withhold nothing from you. It is difficult because one day had not passed before I did not wish to God that I was no longer a married man. And so, I never did consider myself such. That marriage, as it was, was not filled with hope, or love, or possibility. It was filled with dreaded duties, separation and isolation. It is nothing of a worthy mirror to hold up to our marriage, and so you see that it is untrue that you know far less than me".

"If that is the case" continued Jane "What is it that you wish for us in our marriage?"

"Happiness" he replied "And love at the root of everything- as the thing which serves to bind, but never breaks. I could wish for nothing more. What is it you wish for?"

"Honesty, and truth. For I know all other things will follow in their wake"

He laid his cup down, which was now empty and smiled. "I love you Jane Rochester, with every atom of my being"

"You are everything to me" she confessed, pressing her forehead to his and closing her eyes.

Their lips met in a passionate embrace. 's hands ran through Jane's hair, as she was gently pushed back into the pillows. She felt herself kissing differently, with more need, with more desire. As if her kisses were asking for something she had not put into words. She could acknowledge her own want more freely now, and imagined the restraint of her husband for many months as he waited for the moment she too could be honest about her own desires. Jane pulled, without consciousness at her husbands nightshirt in an effort to remove it but was stopped by a low voice.

"No my darling, we must not", a painful restraint in his voice, "I swear to you that I will never deny you any pleasure, but this morning I am sure you are sore, and I cannot hurt you".

Jane pulled away, nodding in understanding. But Edward reached forward, soothing with a deep kiss.

"Only this morning".

Edward and Jane lay in bed for the remainder of the day, talking constantly, and in a manner where no subject was omitted. Jane felt deeply moved, loved and protected. She was grateful, and blessed beyond what was deserved by her. She laughed more than perhaps she had in the whole of her life.

When the sun began to creep behind the clouds, trying its hardest to hold it's grasp on the day, they left their bedroom in order to retrieve some food from the kitchen. It was a simple dinner by necessity, but one no less enjoyed by either. And when it was done, and things were cleared away, they returned once again to their bedroom, this time for sleep.

Jane had already found that the most comfortable position for her to sleep in was wrapped in her husbands arms, her head resting on his outstretched arm, her arms drawn up to his chest. Jane had the somewhat unfamiliar, but nonetheless wonderful feeling of protection wash over her as she lay pressed into her husband. He rubbed her back gently as she closed her eyes and spoke softly.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"You said this morning that there must never be a morning where we wake without each other. I ask you now for a night never to pass between us where I cannot bid you goodnight and attempt to convey to you how much I love you, and how happy you make me at my hearts core".

Jane pulled back in order to look into his face, which was filled with an indescribable look. Jane knew that similar to her, he had never been loved in such a pure or honest way before. He kissed her forehead slowly, then her nose, her cheeks, chin and finally lips, where he lingered with such love as to make Jane feel quite lightheaded.

"Goodnight, my love".