- Hello! I just wanted to thank all the readers for their patience with me and my sporadic posting lately. Things have gotten busier for me in the last little while and it's hard to have the time to write on a schedule. Thank you for all your love and support, it means the world to me. I hope you are enjoying!-
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Jane and Edward took a carriage to the doctors building, however it was very close to the hotel. It was slightly embarrassing to be exiting the carriage mere minutes after entering, however she could rest easy in the assurance she did not know her way around London. Upon arriving at the doctors practice there was hardly a moment in which to stop and worry, for as they entered Edward was swept into the office immediately on account of the doctor being called away for an important house call shortly after. He just had time to squeeze Jane's hand before being walked into a room at the end of a long corridor.
Jane was left standing in the middle of the deafeningly silent room, slightly disillusioned and wishing she had been able to reassure her husband. She had never been to a doctor's office, had never seen a place such as this before. It all felt very new, and very foreign. Not to mention distant and cold. There was not a soul around- the walls were a dark and uninviting brown, along with the floor and chairs which all matched. Clutching her shawl close to her she turned around to see there was only two seats in the dark waiting area, one of which was occupied by another woman who looked similar to Jane in age. Smiling at her, Jane took a seat, still looking around the room.
"Hello" Jane said, after some time of staring around in silence.
"Hello" the woman replied, looking at Jane quickly, "Was that your husband just gone in?"
"Indeed" Jane replied
"I am here with my Billy too. Is your husband not seeing neither?"
"No, he is not"
"Billy was in a wagon accident 'bout four years ago now. Dreadful shame. He was so angry for so long- I did not think he would ever recover from it. But then we read this ad in the paper and we saved for it for quite some time. We are farm people, lives in the north, so we had a ways to come and travel don't come cheap".
"It certainly does not"
"And what about your husband, he always been blind?"
"My husband, Edward, was in a fire and suffered a severe injury during it. He has been blind for nearly two years"
"Dreadful shame" she said, surely. "Young men in their prime, their manhood snatched from them. I am sure it would be better for it to happen to us women rather than the men who provide. Dreadful shame".
Jane knew this woman was not an educated creature, nor a sophisticated one. But talking to her held it's own charm. She was honest, truthful and kind. She reminded Jane of those she worked with while being a governess. Good, honest people. She spoke often of her Billy and the love she had for him. Jane was touched, for since she had gotten married she had not meet another woman who seemed fully satisfied in her marriage. But here was the exception.
It took over two hours for Edward to return and thus Jane was very thankful for the women she sat with. When he exited the room it was impossible for Jane to guess what sort of news he had received for his mind seemed still and he was pleasant as he was during most encounters with acquaintances. The women beside Jane stood when the door opened to see if it was her husband but sat down once again upon realizing it was not. The doctor walked him over to Jane who half meet them across the floor.
"Ms Rochester, I think your husband has a very good chance of regaining the sight of one eye. The other is too badly damaged, and I very much doubt he will ever see from it again. But I believe I may be able to salvage one. It will require some work for about a week, however, and I will need you to remain in London during that time".
"Of course"
Mr Rochester turned to the doctor, thanking him.
"Ms Brake, your husband is at the end of the hall on the left. You may see him now" the doctor called to the woman sitting next to Jane.
Ms Brake rose quickly, nodding to Jane before bustling down the hallway hurriedly. She had left her coat and hair on the chair behind her.
When Jane and Edward were left alone his face broke into a radiant smile and he hugged Jane fervently.
"Jane, I am so happy. I have been so fortunate, but the thoughts of seeing you again-"
"I know, I know" she said, bringing his hands to her lips.
"Come, let us go. We have much to celebrate"
"Yes of course. But first, do you have your wallet about you?"
"Yes, but what for Jane?" he asked, handing it to her from an inside pocket of his tailcoat.
"The woman who was just with me, she paid a great deal of money to get here and she only works on a farm. I imagine this visit consumed every it of money they own-"
"Give them all that is in there, Jane. I believe it is 20 pounds"
He was right. The 20 pound bill was soon swiftly placed into the woman's coat pocket and Jane and Rochester left, arm in arm.
. . . .
That day they had a late lunch. They spent the rest of the morning walking around London and indeed resumed their walks in the afternoon. Jane described buildings and surroundings to Edward who impressively managed to guide them around by her descriptions.
"You must have spent much time here in your youth" she commented, their hotel coming back into view at the end of the long street Edward had guided them onto.
"I spent the majority of my time here. My father and brother resided continually at my house and I wanted to live away from them, and so to London I often went"
"For how long at a time?"
"Perhaps a month, sometimes longer. You see Jane, I was never much bound to Thornfield".
"It is sad that you did not have somewhere to return to that felt easy. Was it ever not the case? When your mother was alive was it different?"
He paused, thinking carefully for his answer.
"My mother was ruled by my father. Although I know she was capable of much more than she did, she was always dimmed by his control. This spread to all aspects of her life, even her children, and so she lost much of her enthusiasm in raising and caring for us. I believe she was in a prison just as much as I was, perhaps more, for it was her husband that she fell victim to".
Jane again felt the sad reality of so many women in their marriage. She wondered to herself what kind of woman she was on her own, in her quietest moments with no one to influence her. When she sat in her room looking out the windows in the morning, who was she in these moments? It was surely unrecognizable person to the women she showed most people. When Edward asked Jane why she was so quiet, and she explained what she had been thinking, he paused thoughtfully.
"I wish she would have had the courage to show me, to show everyone. It could have made all the difference".
Jane rubbed his arm comfortingly.
"But this does not bother you anymore? This doesn't linger in the back of your mind?"
"No, it does not. There is no sense in grieving for something you cannot get back. Besides-" he said as they reached the steps of the hotel, "-I have a family now. There is nothing more I could ask for"
Jane smiled up at him as they entered.
"Perhaps lunch?"