[Thank you, thank you to everyone who has been reading this story. I am more grateful than I could tell you. Please leave a comment at the end of the chapter telling me what you think of this new experience for Jane and Edward. I would love to hear from you 3 ]

. . .

The carriage ride took perhaps an hour and a half to the south. Slowly, the road became less rocky, the dampness of the earth seemed to leave, and the world brightened. The still frosty spring of the north seemed to be irrelevant on this road, for all was green, and in full bloom.

As Jane sat, looking out of the windows she reflected on what carriage rides had always meant to her. Without status, without fortune, without coming from a place with access to a carriage it had become a symbol of transitional time in her life. As a child the first time she could remember being in a carriage was when she was brought to Lowood. It had been a long, miserable ride; rain had beaten down on the carriage that was forced to take the road slowly for fear of veering off of it. Then the next time she had taken a carriage was from Lowood when she first came to Thornfield hall. She had been filled with so many emotions then, excitement mingled with fear, anticipation with expectation. She had hardly known what to expect.

Certainly not this.

She had not expected to one day be in a carriage that she could order at will. She had not expected to live in a home with servants to tend to her at ant given moment. She certainly had not expected the man who sat beside her, quiet now, but not normally. A man she loved above everything else in the world, the one she loved so deeply that it was impossible to express. Her husband.

At times it still seemed strange to call him that. Not because he did not seem like it, not because he did not love her as a husband loves a wife, but because she had always resigned herself to not go in search of someone to marry. Her plans had been to acquire a small cottage close by to the place where she taught. She wasn't ambitious, she was not set to aim loftily in life. She had been ready for, and expectant of a quiet life and had received anything but.

Jane squeezed Edwards hand, for her personal thoughts to which he did not know wanted reassurance of his own reality. Without averting his gaze from looking emptily out of his own window he smiled to himself and squeezed her hand back.

After some time had passed the carriage turned down a long lane that was covered by a row of tree's on either side. It was impossible to see up ahead, it was impossible to see the sky above them. Jane smiled at the road's particular beauty.

"Edward the lane we drive down is positively beautiful" Jane told him. "It has tree's covering it on either side that create a canopy overhead. I cannot see one patch of blue".

"Cooper said as much!"

Jane froze, staring at him.

"Cooper said? But that would mean-"

"Indeed, we drive towards what I believe will be our new home, my darling" he said.

Jane became more determined to see the home up ahead, but it was still impossible. Then suddenly sun began to break through the tree's and soon the whole carriage was once again brought into sunlight. Jane opened the carriage window to look straight ahead.

There stood a house, indeed the most beautiful house Jane had ever seen. It was not small by any means, indeed it was larger than Ferndean, yet it was smaller than a house a man of Mr Rochester 's status would normally live in. The house was a light grey stone, with small, flat columns running up the front, dividing the facade it into three equal parts. The front was covered in windows, allowing all natural light to enter at will. Vines covered the middle of the house with pink flowers growing from them. On the roof stood a low railing which allowed a view if one should wish of the beautiful land which surrounded the house. On the lowest level an entrance was visible, jutting out slightly from the flat surface of the home. Larger windows than on the upper levels flagged the entrance. The walk towards the house was not made of stone or gravel, rather, very low cut grass. Surrounding the low grass walk, however, was thigh tall grass, clearly maintained but not unnatural looking. Lavender plants of deep purple and small yellow flowers grew freely here too. At the end of the low grass walk were two unobtrusive black iron black gates flagged on either side by trimmed hedges that also served as a sort of green hate. Beyond the gates Jane could not see much of the land which immediately surrounded the house but was excited to take a closer look.

"Well Jane?"

Her husbands question had pulled her back from her dream like vision.

"It is perfect" she said, smiling warmly.

"Come, let us walk through it. I am afraid you will have to describe it all to me in great detail"

Jane smiled, taking his outstretched hand.

"I should like nothing better".

And with that, she was helped from the carriage, took her husbands arm and walked the grass towards the home.