The walk into town from the Rochester's home generally took only half an hour along a stretch of pleasant road. The road was flat and lined with trees in full bloom on either side, creating a tunnel-like appearance as the trees interlocked in a sort of overhead. Warm sunlight poked through the individual trees and cast light onto the path before Jane and her husband as they pushed Henry along, talking to each other.
"How do you feel today, about the choice you have to make regarding the position of magistrate?" Jane asked, as soon as they had rounded the corner out of their estate land. Edward paused a moment, thinking before he answered. When he did speak, his voice sounded tired and weary.
"I know Jane that the decision I have to make will leave me feeling unhappy, but not as unhappy as I would feel being away from you and Henry all the time in accepting the post. So there is no decision to be made. Still, if only I knew the position would be going to a worthier candidate"
"It seems to me, as a person who was never granted even a look into local politics before you, that the system is corrupt no matter what way you try and fix thing"
"The system is meant to keep the rich in and push the poor out, Jane. There is a reason the meetings are highly privatised, and why women cannot enter and why they last so long. I am sure the men simply drink and smoke with each other as the primary activity and talk of politics flippantly. I no longer feel part of that class of men, though I am bound to them by status and an old name"
"And why care at all?" Jane asked, hearing the sound of the road crunching beneath her feet as she paused her train of thought, "Why not just live a quiet, happy life with no one to give you more grief if your life than you have already been given?"
He grinned very slightly, and answered firmly. "Because you care, and made me care. Because if we are to raise our children here, and make this our home, I feel like some part of me just wanted to contribute to that, for you and for Henry. The ironic thing is, anything I decided within those meetings would have affected you and Henry the least, and served to only give myself more power".
Jane walked closer to her husband, linking her arm into his as he pushed the pram along.
"I think, I may have found some sort of solution for you. Or at least something to help you sleep better at night"
"Oh?"
"Possibly. I found a sort of loophole in one of the law books at home, but the book is rather old and the law could have changed by now, though somehow I doubt it"
"What does it say?"
"Is says that if a magistracy is left in the lands of two equally qualified men of the same calibre of family rank and station, the position could be jointly held".
Edward sent Jane a telling look.
"I appreciate that darling, but there is no way that me and Lord, whatever, could share a duel magistracy. It would be impossible".
"Of course it would, that is why you could do it with Mr Eshton"
"Eshton?"
"Mhm"
"But Jane, Eshton just moved to this county, his ties are in the very south of England, there is no way those ties would be strong enough here"
"No, but the family he married into are. Anne's family has lived here for as far back as she could tell me, surely that would bind him here, even if it is only through marriage"
Edward thought over Jane's argument but could see no flaw in it. She was right, if Eshton's married relations held he would have the strongest claim on the position over anyone else. But Jane knew, and Rochester knew, that Eshton would not want to take on the responsibility alone. It seemed like the perfect solution. Edward looked around quickly and in seeing no one, pressed his lips to Jane's briefly.
"Edward" she scolded, slapping his arm lightly, "Someone could have been looking"
"I checked" he said reasonably. "And if they were, they would have seen you just abusing me"
Jane looked at him, trying to send a disapproving look but trying far more to mask her smile.
. . . . . . .
Town was filled with the same sort of life and excitement as it normally was, with people running across the roads lined with horses and carriages, people selling in the streets, women stopping to talk and men sharing stories loudly over the general chatter. Jane felt an odd sort of rushing familiarly as she stepped back into the cobbled streets and looked around at the attached buildings brimming with life. It had been months since she had been here, for her pregnancy had eventually stopped her from being able to walk far or, in even more desperate moments, at all.
Since news had spread of the previous magistrates retirement, most people had come to assume that Mr Rochester would take the position. Perhaps it was more hope than genuine belief, for Jane reflected on the fact that her husband seemed well liked wherever he went, with both servants and social equals alike. People stopped him in the street often to talk, but he had a way of making them swiftly depart, for Jane knew he did not want to isolate her from his company, nor was he a natural when it came to generating small talk. He enjoyed deep conversation, not fleeting questions of the general shifts or changes in his life compared with others. When Jane had told her husband that she found this thought amusing seeing as he had grown up in a world that required pleasant and light conversation, he reminded her of their first conversation, and the brute that he truly was when it came down to it.
Today was no different. People stopped the Rochester's every few feet, craning over the pram and staring in at their sleeping Henry.
"He's lovely sir"
"You must be happy sir, that you were given a son for your first child. Secure the estate, y'know"
"Young Mr Rochester is to grow up to be the man his father is, of that I am sure".
When the people had finally cleared away, Edward turned on Jane, looking bewildered.
"I do not even know that man's name and he is telling me my son is to be like me? Well surely that shows he does not know me, or wishes to insult me. For I plan on my son being far better than me".
Jane looked up at him, smiling.
"If he is half of you, he shall be very well off".
As they turned a corner, they stepped onto a slightly quieter area with less traffic and less noise. This was the street in which the bookstore lay tucked into a corner at the very end. This shop was reserved for those who were educated, Jane had realised that in her many trips there. There was a startling lack of variety in person who entered the shop. It was uncommon to see anyone besides older men, and there were certainly no other women whom Jane had ever seen in there. One time she had asked Anne Eshton to accompany her when they were in town and a very uncomfortable Anne had made it very clear that it was simply not the type of place women go. To remedy this awkwardness in future trips, Jane had lied to the clerk and established the story that she bought books for her husband, as he was far too busy to come into town himself. This story seemed to work, and seemed to place her in the role of the docile wife that everyone wanted her to be in. The clerk, she was sure, had never considered for a moment that women could be interested in biology, anatomy, philosophy, or any other subject for herself.
As they pushed opened the shop door, the clerk looked up and pulled himself into a straighter position.
"Good Day Mr Rochester sir"
"Good morning"
"And to you Ms Rochester, of course".
His forced friendliness was painful for her to bare. His friendliness made every difference in the world because it was the result of her husband now being there, and so he had decided to be considerably more friendly and seemingly helpful than he had ever been when she was alone.
"And what is it that I can help you with?"
"Nothing at present. We shall do well looking on our own. I believe my wife is quite familiar with your shop, she was surely lead the way".
Jane stifled a grin and proceeded to push the pram along the isles.
The store looked small from the outside, but it was only narrow. The store inside stretched very far back, and was lined floor to ceiling in books. Jane sometimes wished she could have been able to say something to the clerk, but she knew if she did there would be no access to the things inside. She could live in incivility, but not without books.
Jane rounded the corner and pointed to a selection of thick, ornately bound books.
"Somewhere here we will find it" she said encouragingly.
Edward, who was far more familiar with the law books at home, took no time in scanning the walls before he pulled from the wall a heavy book and read the gold lettered volume. He flipped through it briefly before identifying it as the correct book.
"It looks like, Ms Rochester, we have some new reading material for tonight"
"How very exciting" Jane replied, looking to her husband affectionately.
. . .
Outside in the streets again, with orders having been given to deliver the large book to the Rochester's home, the Rochester's continued walking for a little while, enjoying each others company far too much to turn around and go home just yet. Henry continued to sleep, and so Jane did not feel a pressing need to return him home either.
"You know" Edward said lowly to Jane, "I always enjoy being seen with you at my side. I am so proud of you, and everything you are. I want to make other people incredibly envious that you cannot be theirs as well".
"It is funny you should say such, for I thought the same thing of you right before we left. No, I am being serious- what is such a look for?".
He learned in closer to her and she slowed slightly to hear him.
"Darling, let us go home. There is much to do there"
"What do you mean?" she asked, rather confused at the tasks he had planned to complete of which she had no idea.
"Our unfinished business from earlier", he cleared up, causing Jane to blush violently.
"Good things come to those who wait" she taunted.
"So I hear, though I have never had to wait very long".
At that moment, a harsh and heavy voice rang out from across the street.
'Mr Rochester, MR ROCHESTER"
Edward turned quickly, startled by the desperate tone of the voice and a man scrambling across the busy street. To Jane's surprise, the strong voice came from an old man who was familiar to her, in some way. As he dropped his signalling hand, he reached the Rochester's, looking determined and self-satisfied.
Jane knew from her husbands reaction that this man was not a friend to him, and the forced civility was evident as the man stopped before them.
"Mr Rochester, it is indeed you. I was not sure if it was"
"Lord Marcus, what brings you to town here? You are quite a ways from home"
"Not any longer. Me and Lady Marcus have relocated here as of last week. She was tired of the country, poor thing. Then tired of town. There is no pleasing them, is there"
Lord Marcus, of course. Husband to Blanche Ingram, and surprisingly different from the last time Jane had seen him. They had last meet at Diana's wedding some months since, and at that time he was quiet and reserved, hardly speaking a word. Now, Jane understood it to simply be a temperamental mood, for he was much revived in spirit. Still though, he appeared old and somewhat in ill health. He had a grey tone to his skin, his teeth were yellowed, and his stomach was so large that it almost touched Rochester as they spoke, though they stood well apart.
Edward had ignored the Lord's previous comment, asking instead what had inspired the move to this particular town.
"Well, Lady Marcus wanted it, of course. I should never choose to move to a place like this. When my children were much younger, my first wife, who passed of course of fever, wanted to raise children in the countryside. I hated every second of it. The dirt, the grime, the crowded towns that you cannot rid of the filth and those who perpetuate it. I swore I would never live in such a place again"
"Surely you must realise now that you have moved to that exact place again. Though this is town, you are very much in the countryside, Lord Marcus"
"Well, no, there you would be wrong. Not if I have anything to do with it. I intend to involve myself in local politics- give this place something to actually be proud of. Pride can do a lot, Mr Rochester. No more grime, no more filth, no more sly and lazy individuals here. This will be a working place, and that work will lead to a better place for all to live. But you do not look so impressed with my idea's, Mr Rochester"
"I am not impressed with your ideas, Lord Marcus. I believe them to be the signs of general ignorance towards the subject of which you speak".
"My, we have lost our civility"
"You will never have my civility, because you do not deserve it, nor do you deserve it of any other civilised creature living here. I find you abused. I find your isolating ideas of progress lacking in any sort of truth. You are exactly the sort this type of place does not need. Someone who floats from point to point, wherever they can gain power. You did not come here because of Lady Marcus, you came because you saw an opportunity to seize the power you know would be denied to you under normal circumstances. How can I have any respect for such a desperate person?"
"How dare you" the Lord barked lowly, trying to avoid attention being drawn to him. Edward had not raised his voice, he had not even appeared to be phased by the Lord. It was one of the wonderful things about him- he never questioned his own superior presence in the face of those who showed ignorance and a lack of respect.
'If you will excuse me, Lord Marcus, I have my wife and child to return home. Good day to you".
Jane did not bother to look over her shoulder as they walked away from him, yet she imagined if she did she would have seen a man purple in the face with rage. Edward sighed when they had rounded the corner out of town, coming upon the view again of dirt road and trees.
"That is not the last we have heard of him, Jane", he promised gravely.