When there was the sound of the front door opening half an hour later, there was a great amount of speculation and anticipation in the house. The vicar that had been called was new to the county, having just transferred from Bath, and there was hardly anything known about him in the general circle of gossip. Even though Jane did not actively search out gossip, her position as a noble woman inevitably lead her into hearing it whether she wanted to or not.
As Jane, Edward, Diana, and the Captain sat in the sitting room talking, Jane could not help but feel worried about the nature of the vicars character. Although she did not fully know why Mary had asked for him to be called, she had a pretty good idea, and did not want Mary to feel judged for having confided in someone who was meant to bring reassurance. Frankly, Jane had spent enough time with men who claimed to be of God to know that not all of them followed the teachings of love found in their holy book.
When John was heard closing the front door, Jane and Edward stepped into the hall in order to greet their guest. To her great surprise, Jane saw a man standing before her that looked nothing like a vicar. This man was young, almost boyish, with dark hair swept to the side in a clean style and vibrant, youthful eyes. Jane amused herself in realising that at perhaps two and twenty he was a little older than she was. He looked shy as he was introduced to Edward, and then in turn to Jane. As he bowed to her, Jane sensed that he was a timid sort of person, though harmless and mannered.
"Father Morris, this is my wife, Lady Jane Rochester. Though I will say for her that she would be quite mortified if you called her Lady, she prefers less formal greetings"
"Hello Father" Jane said, curtsying to him. "It is very good to make your acquaintance".
Jane was grateful that Edward had clarified this time that she preferred a less formal title. The last time she had been introduced to one of her husband's work acquaintances he had insisted on referring to her as Lady Rochester every time he saw her, and Jane had had to work very hard to undo the habit. She understood that she had to be introduced as a lady, as custom dictated, but was not happy such was the case- it always left her feeling out of place and displaced in her world.
"Although I am Father Morris, I prefer Father Andrew, or just Andrew" he bumbled awkwardly. But Mr Rochester, whom Father Andrew had cut off from speaking accidentally, just nodded and took no notice of his intensely burning red cheeks.
"Father Andrew, you are new here we are told. You have just arrived from-"
"Bath" he inserted quickly, "I had moved there to minister in order to be closer to an elderly relative, but he has since passed on, and I had no desire to stay in the city. I am rather shy of strangers, if you could not already tell. I am not good at turning acquaintances into friends. It was one of the reasons I was hesitant to move to an entirely new place where I knew no one".
"Then consider yourself as having attained two new friends" Jane said encouragingly. "We have not had a resident vicar in the church since we have moved here. I am sure the news of your arrival will be very pleasantly received news indeed".
Edward sent Jane a hesitant, private look that Father Andrew had not seen. Jane grinned, knowing what the glance had been for. Since their marriage, the Rochester's had not attended church. At first it was because Edward was conscious of his lack of sight, and hated being in crowds that gawked at him. But since they had moved, and he had regained his sight, it was because there had been no priest at the local church. The old vicar who had lived there, whom Jane had heard was quite ancient, had died and no one had been available to fill his place.
"Well" said Father, beaming , "I shall be very happy to see two friendly faces in the crowd during my first ministry".
Edward groaned so only Jane could hear as Father Andrew was distracted by John approaching.
"Father Morris, Ms Rivers is ready to see you, when you are".
Father looked confused, turning back to Jane and Rochester.
"Mary Rivers is my cousin by marriage, as is Diana Franklin, who resides in the sitting room with her husband Captain Franklin. Both are visiting us at present".
"Ah I see" said the Father, looking less confused. "Then I am ready to meet another member of my flock".
As he was lead upstairs, Jane could not help but feel a soft spot for him. She imagined that with him, what one saw was what was buried beneath as well. She suspected that apart from private appointments as a result of his ministry, he could not hold a secret if he tried. When he was out of sight, Jane turned on her husband.
"I think I like him" she said, grinning.
"Of course you would" Edward said, a little bitterly.
"Oh, come now. I could tell you liked him too".
"Well..." he said, putting his arm around his wife, "He does not seem like the most threatening or righteous type".
"No, quite different from the mould" she replied analytically.
"But, I am afraid I shall dislike him very much if he inspires you to start attending church weekly".
Jane turned on him, looking him straight in the face.
"Edward Rochester, that is sacrilegious"
"I'm sorry Jane, but you knew who I was when you married me. My relationship with God has always been rather complicated".
"And mine has always been clear as a bell" she said, raising her eyebrow, "Otherwise, I am almost positive I never would have been brought to you".
His face softened as he looked at her,
"And I believe you told me the same, not so long ago".
He shook his head, "I wish you had a worse memory than you do".
"Then you must wait until I am very old, and very grey"
"I cannot wait to see you like that, and love you like that" he said, kissing her temple sweetly.
"Stop trying to soften me with your words" she said smiling slightly, but she found to her great annoyance that it had worked, and she had lost most of the resolve she had to fight with him. She wondered if he realised this, for he looked rather proud as he continued.
"All I am saying is that I prefer hearing God's word coming from your mouth, rather than a priest".
"Who knows?" Jane said, "Father Andrew seems as if he could be quite interesting".
But at that moment Diana and the Captain emerged from the sitting room and Jane assured Edward that they would continue that conversation later.
. . .
Father Andrew stayed with Diana for almost an hour. When he did return back downstairs, to Jane's great relief, he seemed to be in equally good spirits, so she was sure he could not have judged Mary very harshly.
After meeting Diana and Captain Franklin he declared how fond he already was of the family. Upon meeting Henry however, he became absolutely elated.
"I love children" he said, gushing genuine excitement, "Has he been baptised yet?"
"Not yet" Jane answered, "We had scheduled to travel to the nearest country with a vicar next week in order to have the ritual preformed".
"Oh no, then look no further than me. I would be very happy to do it for you, if you would have me".
Edward smiled, looking amused by Father Andrews excitement. "Of course. I will send a cancellation notice to the church immediately".
"Good!" he said, clapping his hands together, "Then we can arrange it in the upcoming days. I can come by, if travelling with the new born is difficult. As I have said, I am very new here and so I have very little responsibility as of right now. I would be more than happy to oblige. Captain Franklin, you also told me of a sickly aunt you have recently visited. I would be more than happy to accompany you to her house too for prayers, as there has been no priest recently to do it..."
Some twenty minutes later, after arranging a time to travel with Captain Franklin to his aunts, the Rochester's and the Franklin's stood on the front steps, waving to Father Andrew Morris. Jane could not help but grin. He was indeed entertaining if nothing else. She was happy to see some sort of vibrancy in the town. With the new, young priest and Mr Elton as the new magistrate, Jane felt like the old town was gaining momentum for a positive shift.
. . . . .
Diana remained upstairs for the rest of the afternoon, but seeing as she had gotten up and dressed for the vicar's arrival, Jane believed she was feeling overall better. She had taken her greatly-needed time to rest, but Jane felt it was more important to be active and doing things, no matter how small, rather than laying in bed and letting one's imagination run wild. She remembered when she had miscarried her first child wanting to lie in bed all day, doing and saying nothing. But she also remembered the first time she sat at the window for tea, and then in the sitting room, and then the first time she left the house. The progression forward had indeed given her hope that her life would once again be happy and full.
At dinner, however, Diana joined the others. There was much genuine excitement when Jane saw Diana round the corner, looking tentatively at the party assembled. In an instant there was a new place setting laid and she slipped in beside her sister, still quieter than normal but looking somewhat revived.
"So, Diana, how have you found visiting all of your new family?" Edward asked, perhaps aware that there was a quietness at the table that perhaps Mary did not appreciate.
"Oh, I have been equally happy and nervous meeting them. Unlike you, Mr Rochester, my husband has a very large extended family, and as you can imagine within the group are rather nice individuals, and also very...traditional family members. I do not think they approve of the union between us"
"Of course they don't" the Captain piped up, "But as Diana says, they are traditional. The word I would use is old-fashioned, and quite behind the times. I think they were still hoping I would marry an exotic princess of Morocco or Spain. Well, as you can see, they are slightly disappointed in their expectations, there is nothing too exotic about Diana".
Jane grinned as Diana looked at her, rolling her eyes.
"I remember when my cousin married. She was an exceptionally fine person, very talented and very beautiful. Well, my family was positive that marriage would be no issue for her, and indeed it was not. She received upwards of perhaps ten offers before she finally accepted an old man- a very old man, who was also a very rich man and well known where I came from. Before marriage she was absolutely devoted to family, visiting us all multiple times a week and always coming with some good news or glad tiding. After she married him though, she was completely barricaded in her new castle. We hardly ever heard from her, except when she occasionally wrote, but even then the letters were rushed, and lacked heart. Then one day we received a letter saying that she had died of a feverish illness, and that she had been already burred in the family plot at the estate. You can imagine my families heartbreak. The most shocking thing was that this old man was remarried again before my cousin was dead three weeks. This all happened when I was just sixteen, and because of that I knew I could never marry for money. She was a wonderful person, but caught up in appeasing my family, and assuring her own comfort- as if she did not have enough from her own family. Well, anyways, marrying for money alone was never my priority, and I am very glad it was not, for who could be my little caretaker more than Diana?".
. . . .
"Jane, do you think you could be my little caretaker from now on?" Edward teased much later, pulling on his nightshirt as Jane fed Henry by the fire. "The Captain seems to like Diana taking care of him very much".
"I have one baby to take care of already" she said, throwing him an amused look.
He chuckled, taking off his socks.
"Besides" she continued, feeling slightly offended, "I do take care of you. I have-"
"Jane darling, I am only teasing. I know how much you care for me. It was only his turn of phrase I found funny".
She shook her head, grinning slightly.
"I also liked when he later called her a noble little companion, what do you think all of that was about?"
"Perhaps exactly what he said. He finds her noble and a good companion"
"Come on love" Edward said, laughing, "There is no way that a newly married couple should be referring to each other as a 'companion'. That should be saved for when they are old and having trouble moving up and down the stairs. No, I think it is far more likely that they are sleeping in different beds, and the only thing they share at night is their prayers".
"Edward Rochester, if I was not feeding Henry I would come over now and reprimand you"
"I wish you would" he said, grinning darkly at her.
"Then just give me a minute" Jane said, threateningly, smiling back at her husband.
When Henry was eventually rocked to sleep and laid in his crib, Jane got into bed beside Edward, who was holding a candle up to a letter in his hand. He handed it to Jane without her asking what it was, and she saw that it was from Father Andrew. It was quite lengthy, but it was very minimal in what it actually said. It invited the Rochester's to remain for Henry's baptism the following Sunday, after church.
"You wanted to continue our conversation about this later" he said, ready to listen to her, but she shook her head.
"No. I do not want to just talk at you about this. I want us to make a decision together. I would like to hear all of your most honest thoughts".
She lay on her stomach, her chin resting on her hands which were fixed on her husbands stomach. She watched him, and he looked down at her.
"My most honest thoughts are this. My life made me a man who distrusted God. There was so little joy to be gained from even the best moment that I could not bare the thought of being punished so harshly by him. But, now my life is so drastically different, and so far from what I know I deserve. I have learned my lessons, and I have learned all my unhappiness was my own fault, not Gods. My only aversion to attending church now comes from two reasons, one, I have not been in so long, and two, I hate the idle gossip and looks of churchgoers".
Jane nodded, kissing his stomach through his nightshirt and rubbing his side affectionately.
"I do not want to force you into anything, ever. I never want you to resent me for trying to make you into something or someone you are not. But this is also important to me, and I do not want it to pass by with things not said".
Edward was giving Jane a sceptical look which told of his inability to ever resent her, but he continued regardless.
"Jane my love, I want you to be happy, and I know there are so few ways I can make you as happy as you have made me at every moment. I want what you want. I want to be better than I have been in past. I want to live a better, cleaner life in future. I want our son baptised and I want to be at your side. So, let us go on Sunday"
"Only if you promise me something"
"What is that?"
"That you will give me your honest thoughts when we are finished, on our walk home"
He smiled.
"How could I not be honest with you? I believe myself to be incapable of anything else. You make it all easy"
He reached up, cradling her head, and kissed her forehead, then nose, then lips. She pulled herself up nearer him and settled her head in the crook of his neck, her arm thrown lazily over him, and her legs intertwined with him. She was asleep before she had time to say goodnight, but was sure he had covered her in blankets before falling asleep himself.