Hello all,

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your words of encouragement. They really help me to feel empowered as a writer, and I am beyond thankful. I have a question for you though! Would you rather more time between chapters, but have them be longer? Or more frequent, smaller chapters? I am up for suggestions.

I hope everyone had a beautiful end of summer. Hope you are well. Would love to hear from you, xoxoxox

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Dinner was announced some time later, and Jane smiled at the sight of only two place settings laid. Only this morning the table had been filled to full capacity, with not a bare inch left on which to lay everything. Now it was smaller, more intimate, and more familiar.

Jane always enjoyed eating with Edward. He was endlessly interesting, and thus always a pleasure to talk to. She loved the way he became enthused as they spoke- the way he swallowed quickly in order to respond to her, or to bring up another topic. That night, they spoke of the events of the last few days, but Jane stopped listening, she just looked at her husband.

"Is it odd that I enjoy the sounds of a quiet house over that of a loud one?"

Edward laughed as he answered, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Jane was reminded of how Lord Franklin had always flourished his napkin in an over the top way as he did the same action. It had made her want to laugh every time, and she dared not look at her husband during his performances at dinner.

"Darling, what would make you ask such a thing?"

"I've just been reflecting on me as a hostess..."

"Jane. No one has ever accused you of wanting to be the sole figure of attention. Parties hosted at your house require you to be such. It is hard to hide when everyone looks to you for guidence"

"I'm serious Edward. And I do not hide at parties"

He sent her a knowing, amused look.

"All woman talk so much of how they enjoy the company of others in their home. It is not that I did not enjoy the people who stayed, for I did. But, at the same time, I am more comfortable with our home like this"

"It is not odd, Jane. Everyone's actions must be guarded when there are guests staying in their home. You are simply not used to that"

Jane slumped back in her chair, arms crossed.

"Now, why do you look like that?"

"Because you did not struggle with it. You glided amongst the guests as if it was the most natural thing in the world"

"You forget the world in which I was raised. That was as much a part of my education as mathematics, or spelling. I do not enjoy it. I am good at it, however. Years of attending parties with unstimulating conversations and no real connections gave me much practice. The prospect of being able to tell you of all my feelings in bed at night helped too, and never before have I experienced that particular side of hosting a group of people in my home. I thought it was quite nice".

Jane smiled at him a little sadly.

"Sometimes I feel quite an ill fit for the roles I must fill"

"That is because you are. You are quite unfit for idle and small conversation, being cold, and being the centre of conversation. And that if all very well, for it is exactly the way I like you".

Jane watched him finish the last few mouthfuls before she opened her mouth.

"Thank you, thank you for all of your support. You helped me a great deal. I could not have managed without you- not for a moment".

"You know Jane, the curious thing is I was told by every single guest to pass on compliments to you of your hosting. I think you ran a smoother ship while me and Eshton were away. Your humility is almost foolish at times".

"If such is true, it is because you gave me confidence when I felt I could not do it. Thank you, very much".

He looked at her, he looked at her so that his rich, dark eyes flooded her senses with warmth and love. Such moments with him could not be recreated, they came from his soul.

"Of course"

Jane spooned a few more mouthfuls of stew into her mouth before laying the spoon down and pushing the bowl away. Edward sized up the contents left.

"Have you had enough to eat? I am sure there is other things in the kitchen if not"

"No, I am very well thank you" Jane replied, wiping her mouth with the napkin, "In fact, I have had quite enough."

"Which was not much" Edward contemplated, eyeing her plate, "Do you feel well?"

"As well as I can. I have a slight headache tonight, but I am sure it will pass soon"

Edward sighed,

"I cannot pretend that another advantage of you giving birth so soon is that you will no longer constantly feel so unwell."

Jane shook her head, smiling appreciatively at her husband.

"I cannot wait to be able to see my feet again, or sit down properly, or lie down properly, or move properly, or not be emotional at every moment of the day. Still, meeting our child will have made it all worth while".

Edward chuckled softly.

"I will miss you being big and round like this."

"Oh, will you indeed?" Jane teased.

"I will"

"And will you miss having to help me out of chairs?" Jane asked, holding out her hands as Edward stood. He took her arm and pulled her lightly to her feet. He put his arm around her shoulders as they left the dining room.

"I will miss being useful to you. In truth, you are far too independent for me to feel like I can give you anything"

He looked at Jane smile, and felt a slight pang of annoyance.

"You laugh at me?"

"No, I laugh because you are sometimes so self deprecating. You talk of my humility, yet you do not see how essential you are to our child's happiness. And to mine".

"Tell me" he said softly, stopping Jane outside of his office, "If your head hurts, shall I stay down here and do some work in here while you try and fall asleep?"

"I am going to get a bath, so I am not going to sleep just yet, but you are still free to wait down here"

"Hey, not if I was getting a show- ouch"

Jane twisted his hand, looking disapprovingly at him.

"Edward, what if a servant had been around to hear?"

"I see no one right now"

"Well I would probably hide too if I heard such a thing"

Edward chuckled as Jane went to ascend the stairs.

"Come back!"

"I am sorry, I must go clean myself. Very important business"

"Fine, but come sit by my fire in the study when you are finished"

. . . . .

Several of the woman servants helped to fill Jane's bath, insisting she did nothing as they filled the tub with buckets of boiling water. Jane always felt so bad letting her servants do work, but as Jane frequently reminded herself, servants worked, and their work was their pride. When a mistress or master denied them of their work, they had no purpose. Jane had experienced such feelings before, and such feelings left one empty, and without a place. So, enjoying the conversation they shared together as worked, Jane was happy.

Once the tub was filled, Jane was left alone. She took off her robe and eyed herself in the mirror. The mirror in the washroom was the only one in which Jane ever really observed herself. She remembered looking in this mirror once, and first realising she was pregnant. How small she had been then, but how powerful the miracle of the child inside her seemed. Now, there was no mistaking her pregnancy. She was huge- big and round from whatever direction you looked. Old and new dark marks stretched over her stomach as the visual reminder of her bodies expansion to make room for the child. Jane thought her breasts looked larger, but then wondered if she only thought this because she knew that is what happened to pregnant women. She laughed to herself as she thought that if they were indeed bigger, Edward surely would have said something.

Jane climbed very carefully into the tub, sinking herself down into the now just warm water. Jane had to admit to herself that one of the luxuries of being a newly wealthy woman she still enjoyed as much as the first time was having the time to take a long bath. She had spent so much of her life bathing occasionally in very cold water that this newly found ability to enjoy cleaning herself was still surprising at times.

Tonight however, Jane was eager to just get into bed and get some sleep. Several nights of disturbed sleep had left Jane more tired than normal, and she needed every ounce of energy she could be given these days. As she went to raise herself from the tub, however, her foot immediately slipped out from underneath her and she just caught herself on the edge of the tub. Heart racing, Jane sighed, looking around. She had heard stories of women slipping as they exited a tub, falling, and losing their children in final stages of pregnancy. The soap had made the floor of the tub slippery, and she dared not move again. She did not know how long she had been in there, but the water was getting a little cold, and Jane hoped it would not be long before help would arrive.

. . . . .

Quite a while later, when the night had begun to fall over the surroundings, and Jane could now only faintly see the room around her, the door burst opened and Edward raced inside, eyes wide with fear.

"Jane!" he exhaled angrily, rushing over to her, "Christ, I thought you had drowned. What are you doing- by God, you are freezing. What are you-"

"Help me from the tub" Jane said, holding out her hand. She had tried to raise as much of her body from the tub as possible, for now the water was very cold.

"Why are you still in here?" he asked, incredulous.

"The floor of the tub is slippery, I did not want to risk rising and falling down. I tried it once, and the result was not good".

Edward put Jane's arm over his shoulder and lifted her with surprising ease from the water. Jane was surprised to find her surroundings, with her naked and dripping water, far warmer than the one she had just left. She was set down lightly and handed a towel which she wrapped around herself quickly before running the other through her drenched hair. Edward watched her, and Jane tried her hardest not to shiver violently.

She moved wordlessly into their bedroom, grabbing her robe from the bed and sitting in front of the crackling fire that had been placed there earlier, most likely while Jane was still submerged in the frigid water.

"Jane, that water is like ice" her husbands equally icy voice cut through the air, "How long were you there?"

"I could not tell you"

"But as long as I saw the lady servants come back downstairs- that was forever ago"

Jane did not answer, she did not feel she needed to. She felt annoyed. If he was so concerned why did he not come up sooner? It would have saved her time sitting in the water. Why was it her fault?

"You are going to catch a cold. Exactly what we need right now"

"Excuse me, but I think I will be the one with the cold if I do indeed catch one, not 'we'. I'm sorry. But surely you must know it was not my intention to sit in a freezing cold tub and wait to be helped from it because I was afraid of falling and seriously hurting our child. Our child, who I have solely taken care of these past months. Surely you know that it also is not my intention to have you angry with me for something that made me only frightened and uncomfortable. I am sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you"

Had Jane not been annoyed with herself, and the general situation, she wouldn't have become so angry. The look which instantly spread over her husbands face was telling enough of the effectiveness of her words. His face softened ever so slightly, and he brushed curls out of his face, looking deeply frustrated and lost for words. He began muttering but Jane was no longer listening to him. She did not need to be knocked over the knuckles like she was when she was deemed to be a bad child, and certainly did not need it from her husband. She stood, grieving briefly the warmth of the fire, and dressed for bed. Had Edward not been there, and if she was less stubborn, Jane would have enjoyed the fire's warmth for longer. She pulled her heavy nightgown over herself and rung her hair through a towel a final time before climbing into bed, and pulling the blankets up over herself.

"No, do not get into bed just yet" Edward said, his voice filled with defeat and regret.

"Why not?"

"Because, you getting into bed means you are done discussing what happened, and because I am guilty I could not bare that"

"I am not done discussing. We promised each other not to go to bed angry. I am merely trying to warm myself"

Edward walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, rubbing her side as to create more warmth. If she was not in such desperate need of it, she would have said something that would make him pull his hand away.

"This was my fault, again" he said, his voice only filled with honesty. "I've been a fool, a worried fool. Of course what happened was not your fault. I was wrong to suggest anything on your part besides concern. Forgive me"

"Not until you tell me what has happened to make you so upset" Jane said, looking into her husbands face. She had dropped all pretence now of being upset. The distress on Edwards face was more important.

"We were talking of you" he objected,

"And now I speak of you".

He looked at her for a moment before nodding.

"If I told you it was nothing, I know what you would say to me. It is nothing actually important, in fact I feel foolish saying it now, but I opened some mail for the estate and there are issues with payment from certain people, and I must go and collect them them tomorrow or the next day. These people do not have the money to give, and yet I cannot turn a blind eye, for it would not be fair to the others who pay into the estate. I hate that part of the job above all else. Still, this is not enough to overreact towards you".

Jane sat up and rubbed his arm reassuringly, placing her face on his shoulder.

"You are tired, and frustrated. Let us worry about tomorrow when it comes, but come to bed now. You will feel better in the morning, I am sure of it. We will face it together".

He nodded, squeezing Jane's hand before standing and undressing for bed. Jane lay back down, pulling the blankets over her once more and waiting for him to crawl into his space beside her. When he did, he looked at Jane intently, kissing her forehead.

"Are you alright, darling? I'm sorry. I should have come up sooner, my mind just got so lost-"

"Shh" Jane soothed, I am very well. Very cold, and now very wrinkly" she said, showing her fingers, "but well".

Edward kissed each finger, his face breaking into a small smile. Jane wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him closely.