As the weeks further progressed, Captain Franklin and Diana's wedding began to become materialised.

The couple originally wanted a wedding in the early summer so that their honeymoon could take place at the seaside, but, as the planning actually began, it became clear that this wouldn't be an option. The Captain's family were travelling to Bath in the early summer to take up a summer residence, and the old and long English winter was sure to carry into early June, so a seaside honeymoon was bound to be a very cold one. The decision in the end was to move the wedding to early May. Jane was quite relieved at this decision. She was due to give birth in early June, and seeing as uncomfortable as she already was, she doubted she would be any more comfortable at the wedding days before she gave birth.

Diana did not have many people to invite to her wedding. She wrote to her brother with the news, and did not receive a reply for quite some time. When a letter did come addressed to her, she found it to be very cold and distant. He wrote that he did not have much time for letters, and that because he could not possibly make it back for her wedding that it was unnecessary, and a waste of the postal service in the town he worked in. Though he did congratulate her, and wished her well, his previous comments marred his kinder sentiments. Jane did not blame Diana for being upset with her brother. Jane herself had often been off-put and frustrated by his cold and distant behaviour which he claimed was caring enough. Yes, he was far away, but the fact that he was her only brother made Jane think that he would have made more of an effort to show enthusiasm.

Where Diana had almost no family to invite, Captain Franklin had a great number of people. Between his own large family, fellow military men, and friends, he had accumulated quite a large group by the time wedding invitations were sent out. The wedding was to take place in the county the Rochester's lived in. The small cottage and surrounding town that the girls inhabited was too small to host such a wedding, and it was a long ways off for the Captain's family to travel. It was easier to move the two girls to the Rochesters rather than the whole wedding party, and such was a happy arrangement.

The night Jane and Edward received their wedding invitation in the mail, they also received the enclosed note St John had written Diana. Jane opened the letters as she sat by the fire, warming herself before intending to climb into bed.

"Edward, listen to this. Diana has sent the letter St John wrote her, and I fear she has every right to be mad with him".

"I am expecting to be thoroughly entertained'

"Dear Diana,

I am sorry if this is a late reply. As I told you when I left, the postal service here is limited and saved only for emergency. We tend to not send casual and friendly letters as it is a waste of valuable resources. Since it would be impossible for me to return for the wedding I wondered whether I should have sent this letter at all. Still, you must not think me uncaring, I am happy to hear your news. You tell me he is a naval Captain, and such is an honourable career. There is not more I can know from only a letter of his character, but I trust your judgement.

You may send word when you are married, I hope all goes well on that day and that you are happy.

St John"

"What a charming man" Edward said, sarcastically amused, "A true gentleman"

"You see he is devoted to following the rules of the operation he is part of. That must count for something"

"You can swing this any way you want, Jane. It does not take away from the fact that he hurt his sister and does not seem to mind"

"No, indeed not" Jane agreed, laying down the letter beside her and moving to the bed slowly.

"I cannot believe he proposed marriage to you, and you considered him" Edward mused. "Surely after one day of marriage with him you would have died of a lack of stimulus and attention. He would have turned the passionate blood that courses through your veins to dust".

Jane shot him an amused, warning look as he sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. He paused from his task, looking forward.

"I just imagine you sitting at his table, knitting or quilting, or doing some other mundane task an elderly woman might do as parishioners come to your door, asking for their sins to be forgiven. At night you would sleep so far apart in the bed that you might as well sleep alone, and you would not dare move in your sleep for fear of taking too much of the blanket with you. If he accidentally brushed you he would apologise in a horrified manner, begging your forgiveness. But, fear not, you may have some private, intimate time together in the morning as you say his prayers with him. Hearing his own prayers read aloud to him may really get him going-"

Jane smacked his arm as he laughed, turning around and getting into bed.

"Edward Rochester, you are mad"

"You were mad to consider him!" he fought back

"You know very well I never actually considered him"

"Yes" he said, pulling her close to him and kissing her temple. She begrudgingly let him kiss her lips briefly.

"I should make you sleep so far away from me tonight that you might as well be sleeping alone" Jane said, unimpressed.

"I am afraid that will not do. I am too dependant on you now, I cannot sleep without you beside me. And I have a sneaking suspicion you would slowly make your way over to me in the night too".

Jane looked at him, her eyebrow raised.

"I do not know if you are saying such to suck up to me and stay on my good side, or if such is a twisted way of apologising for dinner tonight"

"Oh come on, you know I am being very serious with you when I said that to you. Besides, the dessert wasn't my fault, it was laid very close to my own plate, and I could not tell the difference"

"Right, well after one slice of pie it can be often hard to remember if the second is for you or not"

Edward chuckled softly as Jane turned onto her side and propped her face up on her arm so she could observe her husband.

"I wonder what marriage will be like for Diana" Jane mused, thoughtfully. "It must be so different for her than it was for me. I knew you. I knew how much I loved you when we married. I knew that I could entrust anything to you. That kind of bond made me unafraid. Our story is so unlike most, and Diana's is so typical. A woman is expected to meet a man who is respectable and gentleman like by chance at a dance or some other social event, you are introduced to him, and then if you are lucky,he likes you in return and calls upon you at home. Then, you spend the following months seeing each other on brief occasion only when there are others around you. How could this be enough to know if that is the person you want to spend the remainder of your life with?"

"So, you are telling me that most husbands are not their wives masters and do not impart of all his secrets and wrongdoings onto her? That most men and women do not spend hours upon hours alone in a study, talking of everything that could possibly pass between two people?"

Jane laughed,

"Little did I know all that time you were preying on me, waiting for me to fall desperately for you. You know, I thought we were friends"

He grinned at her, biting his lip characteristically. "You were my friend then, and you are my friend now. I treasure that above all else. As you say, our wedding was not typical, but then again, the love I feel for you and the love I feel in return is not typical. Diana, I am sure, will be a very happily married woman. They love each other, even if they are unaware of how little they truly know of one another now- and that should be enough".

He stroked Jane's cheek as he continued, drawing her close to him and pressing his lips to hers briefly, but overpoweringly.

"That is part of the joy of marriage, learning what your partner looks like in the morning, how they eat, the sound of them sleeping- all those moments are divine ones".

Jane placed her hand in his affectionately as he raised it to his lips.

Rain pounded on the window outside. Far off in the distance, Jane could hear the wind howl and roar, but that noise was smothered by the patter of rain. She loved its sound. It was nature's personal lullaby to her. After a long pause of perfect silence, Jane moved her hand unconsciously to her husbands hair and began playing with it. He smiled softly at the sweetness of her action, looking into her face.

"Are you alright darling? You play with my hair when you are uncomfortable"

"I feel okay. My back is hurting a little. Laying down is becoming more uncomfortable now".

"I know" he said gently, rubbing her back. "You do not sleep very soundly in the nights anymore either"

"I should not complain" she continued, "Mostly I feel very well. Having trouble sleeping is such a small concern to have"

"No, it is not a small concern. What can I do to make you more comfortable?"

Jane took his arm and stretched it out, laying on top of it with her back to her husbands chest.

"Is this uncomfortable for you?" Jane asked, "Am I too heavy?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No sweetheart"

"Your arm supports my back this way". She sighed deeply, That is much better".

He placed his hand on her stomach, caressing it with his thumb.

"This feels right, like it was always meant to be this way. Thank you for carrying our child".

Jane snuggled closer to him, moving her own hand to her stomach.

"You have made me so happy, in everything we have shared. I love you so much"

The rain beat against the window even louder as his lips kissed the back of her head, both easing into an easy rest.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jane prepared for the babies arrival as best she could, though she had no previous knowledge to use for herself. She had never lived anywhere where a baby had been born, so she did not fully know what the preparations consisted of. At Lowood they did not take children under five years old, and Jane was the youngest in her aunts home so she encountered no babies there either.

All in all, since Jane and Edward both did not know what to expect, they tried to have a sense of humour about the whole process, though Edward succeeded in this more than Jane. On one particularly bad day for Jane, her mood swings had overcome her completely and she found herself in tears on the floor after having torn the coverings around the bassinet. Edward had lifted her up and calmed her before promising that with a very little amount of minimal effort they could remedy the situation with new fabric and all would be well again. He looked amused as he took the torn material from her hands and kissed her forehead.

On another occasion, Jane had picked a fight with Edward over whether they would be hiring a nanny or not for the baby. Jane had said that she did not want one, that she was the child's mother and Edward was his father and there would be no need of one. Edward had agreed whole heartily, but suggested after that if she became overwhelmed, it may not be a bad idea to enlist some extra help. This had sent Jane into a fury in which she accused him of not thinking her capable, or able of being a good mother.

"Jane darling, that is not what I was saying. Babies are overwhelming for all woman. The extra help does not mean you are a bad mother-"

"And where will you be, if I am overwhelmed?" Jane asked, "Why is it that you will not be able to help with the baby? Do you think a father has no place in raising a child?"

"No, of course I do not think that. I am just saying, perhaps as first time parents-"

"We will be horrible" Jane finished, unreasonably.

Edward sighed, and Jane could see he was angry at the same time he was sad. Instantly she felt guilty. She hasn't meant anything she had said, and worse, she had upset him. She was used to her bad moods rolling off his shoulders with ease, but not this time. This time she had struck a nerve.

"I'm sorry" she said quickly, trying to remedy the situation. "Edward I'm so sorry"

"Do you really believe that?" he asked, solemnly, "People often say things when they are angry that are true, but they do not have the courage to say them when they are less emotional"

"No" said Jane, honestly and fully. "I don't believe it at all"

Jane reached out for his hand, and he obliged her at once. She put her other hand up to her mouth and shook her head. Tears rose to her eyes, not from sadness, but from being overwhelmed with her own emotions.

"Edward-"

"Jane Rochester, look at me"

She looked into his face- his warm, familiar, loving face.

"Now Jane Rochester. If you love me half as much as I love you, all is well. I know you are overwhelmed- oh darling, dry your eyes"

He pulled her close to him as tears streamed down her face. After a few moments silence he chuckled softly into her, kissing her temple.

"I'm sorry, I do not mean to laugh at you. You are just so sweet as you cry in my arms. Tell me what I can do to help"

"No, I don't need your help, I know it is silly. I also know you are busy, I shall be very well in a moment. You can return to your office now, if you like"

"Not until I see you settled, come" he said, tugging on her hand for her to follow him back into their room. "I will lay with you for a while until you are asleep. Then I will slip away to my study and be ready to see you when you wake".

"No, truly Edward. Look, I will go in and lie down myself" Jane protested, getting onto the bed and laying down with great difficulty. Edward watched in great amusement from the door, leaning casually against it with his arms folded.

Jane sighed as she relaxed back, looking up at the ceiling. Her large belly was quite inconvenient as she tried shifting around to get more comfortable. On her back, there was too much weight pressing onto her. On her side, she felt a strain as her stomach twisted her into a weird position. She was long past the time where she could sleep on her stomach. Jane looked over her belly to see her laughing husband walking toward her.

He climbed onto the bed beside her and kissed her lovingly. Jane kissed him back, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

"The doctor said that you could try laying a pillow beneath you. It may ease your discomfort"

He took his own pillow out from under the covers and helped Jane wedge it under her back.

"That feels better, thank you"

"Of course. Now that we know the world has not come to pieces, and you are well, I shall leave you"

Jane smiled at him, holding his hand for as long as she could as he drew back.

"Come find me when you are well rested. I shall wait for supper until you can join me"

"Alright" Jane said warmly as he smiled and closed the door behind him.

. . . .

One evening towards the end of March, Edward stormed into the house after a long day at work. He threw his coat to the footman in the foyer and did not bother to close the door behind him as he marched into his office. Jane was filled with anger as she watched him. Whatever distress his work situation had caused him he did not have the right to abuse the servants. She stood with some difficulty and made her way out into the hallway where William was pulling the arms out of his masters coat.

"William, you must allow me to apologise for my husbands unfair and unkind behaviour".

"Madam, Mr Rochester is the best master I have known. He is not unkind"

"No, but throwing his coat at you and ignoring you is not only unkind, but rude".

William smiled kindly, bowing slightly.

"All is well miss. I did not mean to disturb your reading"

"Well I am now about to disturb my husband, excuse me" she said, turning and walking to his study.

She did not bother to knock as she opened the door, and she found him where she expected to see him- leaning on the mantle of the fire, looking into the flames. He turned to look at her, but without saying anything he looked back at the flames.

"I know, Jane. You have come to get mad at me for William. I will apologise to him later" he said, dismissively.

Jane sighed and walked towards him, putting her hand on his back and the other on his arm.

"What is wrong?"

He stirred uncomfortably and did not draw his gaze away from the fire as he responded.

"One of our major share-holders in the estate has gone bankrupt, it has caused quite the negative effect. Though nothing has been said on the issue, I know the order will come in a day or two and it will take me to London in order to deal with it"

"But London is not so very bad. Before you meet me you were quite the travelling man. You will not mind-"

"No, Jane. It is not for a day, or even two. This sort of trip would take me a week at least. With the wedding right around the corner, and you looking as if you will give birth at any moment I cannot risk it. And yet, it is vital this is addressed as soon as possible"

"Edward, the wedding is in two weeks time. I am not due for another month and a bit. I know you have no desire to go to London, but it does not seem you have much of a choice in the matter. I understand how important it is to settle this, especially since it could be at the servants and estate land-owners expense".

"It is the worst time for this to have happened. I knew that man was not to be trusted. You have influenced me too much Jane, you have made me soft. Before I never would have allowed for him to be part of the share group" he snapped, unreasonably.

Jane stepped back from him and moved towards the chair in the middle of the room. She had no desire anymore to try and soothe him by touch, and frankly she had stood for enough time that day to stand by him without purpose.

"Well, whatever the reason, the damage has been done now. All that is left is for you to fix it. I have a sneaking suspicion that when we become parents, much of life will feel inconvenient like this. It is good practice, I imagine".

"I could not blame a child as I blame this man. Nor could I blame a child for getting me stranded in London for a week. There is only you to blame for marring my judgement" Edward said stubbornly, missing the point of Jane's sentiment.

"Well your mind seems quite made up" Jane said "I think I will go to bed". She stood up and made her way from the room. She knew Edward's reluctant eyes followed her as she left, but she also knew he would come to reason on his own, and did not need her to push him into it. So, she went into her bedroom and got changed for bed instead of fretting over his sour mood.

Sure enough, an hour later, the bedroom door opened and Edward moved sheepishly inside. Jane was reading in bed, already changed with her hair down, and did not show any notice of him when he stepped into the room. He threw off his clothes and hung them over a nearby chair before climbing into bed. It was an oddly warm night amid England's cool spring, and he hated sleeping with a night shirt if he could help it. Jane smiled to herself, he was indeed very guilty looking.

"I apologised to William" he said finally after waiting for Jane to speak to him, but realising he would be waiting a very long time for the sound of her voice.

"And what was Williams response?"

"He forgave me, quite kindly". Jane nodded at him and returned to her book, in which he had great interest.

There was another overlong pause as Edward sighed, waiting again for his wife to start conversation but knowing it would not happen.

"Look Jane, I'm sorry. I cannot bare your quiet punishments when you are angry at me. I did not mean to get so worked up, it was just the part of my day which tipped over the rest"

"You have already given all the apologies you owe to people. You need not apologise to me" Jane said, fairly. He rolled his eyes.

"Well if that is true, why do you shun me?"

"I am not shunning you. I am engrossed in this book" Jane replied, once again looking at the pages before her.

"You are not" Mr Rochester protested, snatching the book from her. "One cannot read a book upside down. Not even one as smart as you, my darling".

Jane blushed slightly as she realised the book had been upside down.

"So you were giving me the silent treatment"

Jane took the book back with some strength and laid it on the bedside table.

"I am not giving you the silent treatment. I am thinking of an solution to the problem we currently face"

"Are you?" he asked, a little sceptically.

"Well, I was thinking. Surely if a share-holder has been lost to the estate this will influence Mr Eshton's estate as well. While you are both gone I could ask Anne to come and stay with me. She would be plenty good in helping me greet the guests who will be staying here for the wedding, and helping me about as it becomes harder for me. Together we will keep the company until you return. Besides, as you said, you do not like socialising, and the captain's family is said to be quite disagreeable. Perhaps the longer you can stay away from them, the better".

"You are not wrong about me disliking entertaining difficult people, but Jane, you could go into labour at any time in that week. What if you were to give birth while I was away?"

"Edward, we have run that risk many times before. I had lots of opportunity to go before now. Besides, perhaps in being optimistic you will not be gone for a week, perhaps it will be less"

"It will be a week for sure, darling. But I am afraid this meeting cannot be delayed another minute. This seems like the best solution, besides taking you to London with me"

Jane smiled, shaking her head.

"And you do not mind greeting guests without me? Perhaps it will look very rude"

"You shall have a week to get to know them when you return before the wedding, it would not be rude at all- especially given the circumstances. Diana and Mary arrive in two days, and a day after that the Captain will arrive with his family-"

"Remind me again Jane why he ever agreed to let them stay in our home"

"Because they will have no where to stay of convenience besides here, dear. It would look rude of us indeed if we had a house filled with empty rooms while the rest of the wedding party struggles to find comfortable accommodations"

"I do not want you overtiring yourself, Jane, with the guests" Edward said, seriously "I know what you are like. I know you take on too much, and that your giving nature leads you into promises you feel obliged to keep"

Jane shook her head,

"I will not be overworked. It is only a house party. My only regret is that you will not be here with me, everything is easier with you beside me. Still, you have work to attend to, and I will have my work too".

He kissed her hand before drawing back to look at her.

"Thank you, my wonderful wife. I will leave first thing with Eshton in the morning. God knows we shall both be put to the test in the upcoming days".