The ball was a glittering event, an absolute spectacle unlike anything Jane had ever seen. Jane had been at the Eshtons house several times of course, but the decorations and sheer number of people present made the house unrecognizable. The entrance way of the house was quite large in proportion to the house, but tonight it was filled with so many people that it seemed extremely small. There was the immediate sound of indistinct chatter, a band playing far off inside the house and heavyhanded laughter. As the Rochesters entered, they were spotted immediately by the Eshtons who waved enthuastically and made their way across the crowd, with some dofficulty, towards them.
Anne Eshton took Jane's hands and held them tightly.
"My friend, you are by far one of the most beautiful women here tonight"
Jane blushed deeply, she could see her husband looking at her proudly out of the corner of her eye. She was not used to such compliments.
"You are not bad either Rochester" Mr Eshton said, slapping Edward on the shoulder. "For a man of your age you are increadibly well preserved, and clean up rather smartly".
Edward laughed,"I am not sure if I should thank you or scold you Eshton"
Eshton chuckled characteristically and turned to Jane, "Ms Rochester, you are indeed a vision tonight. You look absolutely lovely"
"Thank you" Jane said warmly, but quickly she saw Anne's composure turn. The glow faded that had been on her face as she looked down at the floor, trying to muster a believeable smile.
"I must say-" Jane began again quickly, "Your wife could not be a more beautiful hostess. You are very lucky. Mr Rochester could not rely on me to be a quarter of the hostess that Anne is"
"I agree, dear Anne here is wonderful at parties. I fear nothing with her, all will go very smoothly tonight".
Anne seemed to regain a little reassurance at these words, yet Jane knew most woman would prefer for her husband to view her as beautiful over being practical and helpful. In moments such as these, Jane saw through the cracks of a seemingly good marriage that everything was right regarding situation and comfort, but in terms of meeting emotional need, one could feel very neglected.
In being tied up in her thoughts, Jane had not noticed that Edward had introduced Adele to Anne, and reaquainted her with Mr Eshton.
"Little Adele, what a very french name" Anne said, smiling down at her.
"Indeed Madam, I have lived in Paris for some of my life. It is where I am from. Perhaps my accent gives me away"
"Well we are happy to see you have accepted our invitation. Our neice is here, surely you would like to meet her?"
"Oh yes, I should like that very much!"
"Then you must come with me now. She waits in the back parlour for all the children to arrive".
Adele glanced back at Jane and Mr Rochester expectantly, waiting for an answer. Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and she was practically half walking away before Edward chuckled.
"Enjoy yourself Adele, we shall be here if you need us".
"Behave well" Jane reminded, smiling.
And with that, she and Anne Eshton were gone, immediately absorbed by the thickening crowd of people.
"Now" Eshton began in a low voice, "You two are practically the guests of honor here tonight. I must say, I think people were equally excited to come to the party as they were curious to see you two here. Already you have been asked about-"
Jane felt her husband draw her nearer,
"There are also a few people in here attendance that you have already both been aquainted with. For example-"
But he was stopped by a loud thunderous roar from a drunken man who had just entered, bounding towards Eshton with excessive enthuasium.
"Eshton, old boy, remember me? Your father and me were companions in Mr McCoy's practice-"
"We shall see you later" Edward said lowly to him, and Eshton nodded his appreciation.
Jane once again resumed her husbands arm, being lead into the main ballroom area.
. . .
Jane was struck by the atmosphere of the ball. Though inside the ballroom was slightly less compact and thus less immediately loud than the entrence way, it was still very busy. There were couples for as far as the eye could see, old men is large top hats smoking cigars and old women with heaps of fine jewels hung round their necks, wrists and foreheads. There were officers of the local army who had been invited who were talking enthuastically to young girls standing around them. There were men sharing great conversations amongst one another, laughing heartily and talking enthuastically while their nearby wives looked on, bored and excluded from the highly entertaining conversation. There were women standing in a circle, leaning in and speaking lowly to one another, no doubt regarding the state of the couples there. There were the smells of food, of candles, of wine, of wood and people, and Jane smiled. What a small bit of the universe was contained in this room at this moment, she thought.
"Now Jane, we have survived the initial encounter" her husband said, bending close to her ear and speaking lowly. She grinned and turned to him, looking into his dark eyes.
"Edward, this is so unlike anything I expected"
"That is because even for an upperclass ball this is quite extravagant. You see, Ms Eshton's parents are both dead, and that is why he was able to obtain this house- which you already know. But he only told me last week that Ms Eshton still has a very aged and very wealthy aunt who is to be in attendance tonight. That is the reason for all of this" he said, gesuring at the room.
"That is certainly a lot of trouble to go through for an elderly, and distant aunt"
"When I told you Jane how wonderful it was that you have no family to interfere, I was serious"
She shot him a humored look.
"And these people here tonight, certainly they are to add to that image for her? They are not all personal friends of his?"
Edward shook his head, "No, I know that as a man of science Eshton would rather spend time in a study than with friends. His friends are choice, and few".
Jane looked around the room in response,
"When attending these events was a normal occurance to you, did you enjoy it?"
Edward thought momentarily, "Yes, and no. Yes, because I was young, rich, and the excitement of all young men at that age was upon me. As a young, single man I was expected to dance a great deal, which I enjoyed, and I liked the thought that others were making speculation of who I would endow my great fortune to. I could drink and eat freely, and be completely unburdened from worry. I was however aware of the moral shallowness of the events, and that is why I cannot say I truly enjoyed it. I danced often, but I never wanted to talk with the women I danced with any longer than the duration of the song. I hated drunkeness, and so drinking lost its appeal. I generally did not enjoy my company, and although I liked people speculating over my money, I never wanted those speculations pushed upon me".
Jane looked at him,
"You always remind me that your childhood, and indeed young adult life was lacking in genuine interactions"
"It was void of it, well into my adult years as well. That is until I meet you".
She squeezed his arm affectionately, "Do you think you would have wished to talk with me after we danced?"
He laughed, "Jane, you know very well you would have transfixed me completely. I should have been angered into discovering everything about you. I could not have walked away from you, even if I set my heart to that reserve".
Jane started to ask him another question, but she was quickly turned by her husband away from the crowd, his face hardening drastically.
"Jane, of all the people that could be here tonight. There is a man who is approaching who is the biggest disgrace to the name of man-"
"Edward, who is he?"
"A plantation owner who I knew in Jamaica. Dammit, he approaches. Jane, do not say anything to him that you do not want the whole of this party to know by the end of the night"
"Edward...Fairfax...Rochester!" called a loud voice with strained dramatic effect across the ballroom. Several people standing close by looked, but in not knowing the man whos voice rung out they looked away with little interest.
"Mr Tibs" Edward said, bowing rather stiffly at him. "It is a surprise to see you here tonight"
"I am here on a trip from Jamaica, clear my fogged Caribbean head for a little while before returning back into the thick of it. I was stationed in town with the militia who are here tonight when news came of the invitation, and I knew it would be extended to me. Good god, I do not believe I have seen you since your own time in Jamaica"
"We have seen eachother-"
"Oh yes!" he thundered in interuption, "We saw eachother in Bath, 12 years ago or a little shorter. By god, you have changed!"
"Mr Tibs, allow me to introduce my wife, Jane Rochester"
He turned to Jane, as if recognizing her presence for the first time. But in seeing her, he could not avert his gaze from her. He stared at her, his dirty eyes trying to see what she was unwilling to reveal. His grubby face grinned uncomfortably and his greedy hands rubbed together expectantly.
"A Ms Rochester indeed, who would have believed it"
Jane tried to muster a half smile, but the light tone in her otherwise angry reply was surprisingly believeable.
"It seems strange you should be so surprised by Mr Rochester marrying, seeing as you have not made contact in 12 years. Much changes about a person in 12 years"
"My, my. Aren't you outspoken", feigned Mr Tibs. His impression of manners had failed badly, unlike Jane, and Mr Rochester shot him a warning look which could frighten off any man. With this look, Tibs continued more carefully.
"Of course you are right my dear. I knew Mr Rochester quite some time ago. Though I am not sure that men are capeable of changing at their core, you may change your clothes, your hair, or your turn of phrase, but in your soul you are quite the same as you have always been".
"Men with that resolve lack self dicipline and a desire to change" Edward said firmly, "Mr Tibs".
He nodded curtly at him before taking Jane's hand and guiding her away. He moved swiftly, though not with any alarming speed. Jane imagined Mr Tibs still standing on the spot, grinding his teeth together- but she dared not look back.