"Mr Mason arrived yesterday in the afternoon. He wanted very much to speak to you in person"
"And how do you know this?" he asked impatiently.
"Because I spoke to him instead".
Edward looked taken aback, and extremely annoyed.
"Mason had the nerve to speak to you?"
"He asked to speak with me, yes"
"He asked!? You didn't just come upon him?"
Jane put her hand around her husbands arm,
"Can you let me explain, and then I will answer any questions that you may have, limited as my knowledge is".
He looked as if he was going to blast some angry retort at her, but he stopped himself and nodded.
"I'm sorry" he corrected, "Continue, please"
Jane reached up and smoothed his scrutinising forehead with her thumb, relaxing his tense face.
She proceeded told him the whole story, how Mr Mason had come in search of Edward but in finding he was not there asked for her instead. She told of how she arrived downstairs and he was surprised to see she was not angry with him, or that she did not want to throw him out the front door. She then relayed his full story of woe, the additions he had made to the story of his sisters marriage, and how he had left almost as quickly as he had come. When she was finished, Edward was quiet for a very long time. Jane did not feel the need to interrupt him, for she knew this information meant a lot to him and taking it in was important.
"Thank you" he eventually said, kissing Jane's forehead somewhat unexpectedly, "Thank you for listening to a difficult conversation that was not yours to take on".
Jane looked at him, eyebrow raised.
"Your life is my life. There is nothing of yours I would not be willing to take on".
He nodded, not looking at her, "I know".
Jane surveyed him, rubbing his hand affectionately.
"Then what is wrong?"
"I just do not like that fact that he came here, reminding you of a horrible experience that I only wish to place behind us now. That situation of mine has already caused enough unhappiness".
Jane shook her head,
"It causes me no unhappiness any longer. You are my husband now, and I am infinitely happy with you. Mr Mason had something important to tell you, something that I know has resided between you long before you meet me. He had every right to come and want to speak with you. I have no desire to shy away from your past, for it is part of who you are, and I want to know every part of you".
Edward looked to his wife, and Jane allowed him to press his lips to her forehead softly.
"Was there anything Mason said that upset you?".
"Of course not" Jane affirmed, "You have told me everything that he told me, and in far greater detail. In truth, I think he was surprised I knew as much as I did of his sisters marriage to you"
"I'm sure he was" Edward said, "The women in Mason's family were never deemed to be competent enough to handle much of any truth. And since, he has surrounded himself with equally dull women of which he had no expectation of intellect. If I know Mason at all, which I flatter myself I do, he was gracious about our marriage but upset that he was not granted such in his life".
Jane paused, impressed with her husband's intuitiveness.
"He said exactly that".
He shook his head, smiling, "Mason always was a predictable man".
But Edward's mood shifted to something slightly more thoughtful as he fell back into silence. Jane stroked his arm.
"Are you sad to receive such news of Mr Mason's impending death? I know that your relations have not been particularly pleasant ones, but you have still known him a very long time".
Edward looked very thoughtful as he pondered his answer.
"I am sad a fellow human being is dying prematurely, as I would be sad for anyone. Mason has lived a miserable existence- he's never been happy, he's never been granted any measure of success in life. And now, it seems he will never have the chance to have that. In that way I am very sorry for him".
"But you will not miss him as a friend?"
"I'm not sure we ever were friends, Jane. Circumstance brought us together, not comradery. I think under very different circumstances, if we had not meet the way we did, we never could have become friends. He was hardened and cynical by the age of 23 when I had first meet him, though he had no reason to be. And, though I have long since stopped being angry with him, he did know better then to promote the union between myself and his sister. He was selfish when he could have chosen better. I could never be close to someone I do not respect, and the only respect I ever had for Mason was in the minimal care he showed for his sister".
"Such a person could not have been worthy of your time" Jane agreed, "Though I did take his address. I did not know if you would want to write to him or not, but in truth, he seemed far too disappointed to find only me here to not at least offer".
She reached over on her nightstand and picked up the piece of paper where he had scribbled an address, but it was only then that Jane realised that there was no address written there at all, just the words "the same".
Edward studied at the piece of paper before looking at his wife,
"He means that he is still living on his fathers old plantation. I remember the address. To ask for this was very kind of you, I know he would have appreciated it. And if you say that he left still disappointed, I will write to him".
"Thank you"
"Thank you?" he laughed, "For goodness sake Jane, what ever do you have to thank me for in all of this?"
"For trusting me, for reassuring an old acquaintance on his deathbed, for coming home, for all of it".
"I'm sorry, love. My earlier anger was not because I did not trust you, or because I did not want you speaking to Mason. I have no secrets from you now, and nothing to hide- there is nothing even that Mason could tell you now that you do not already know".
"I know that. I imagine when Mason was in your life, and Berta was still alive, you lived in constant fear of someone discovering what you tried so desperately to hide, and such fear must have caused much anxiety. I understand your reaction"
"Then you were not sure if I would come home to you?"
He pushed Jane back gently onto the bed and watched her land amongst the pillows lightly. He climbed over her, smiling at her.
"You could no sooner do without me then the stars can do without night, Ms Rochester".
She grinned at him knowingly as he buried his face in her neck and kissed up from her collarbone to her jaw. Jane closed her eyes happily.
"Why are you wearing all of this?" Edward asked, bunching the fabric of her multiple nightgowns together. Jane laughed, pushing him away from her.
"It is incredibly inconvenient"
"For who?" Jane asked, eyebrow raised. Her husband smiled,
"Someone who very much wants to feel your skin on his".
She relaxed back into his embrace, her back pressed to his chest. He looked momentarily disappointed at her submission.
"I'm sorry Mr Rochester, but if you had been here all of last night I would not have needed them. You were gone, and I needed a different solution then your arms".
"Am I not enough warmth now?" he asked. Jane shook her head.
"Then, I will try warming you another way" he said, looking slightly mischievous.
In one swift motion, before she had really registered what he had said, Edward had left Jane's side and moved her on her back before pushing up her clothes. He wrapped his arms around her legs and gently pushed them apart, lowering his head between them. In an instant, pure pleasure flooded Jane's body radiating from her core. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to draw a deep enough breath.
"Mmm" Jane moaned, throwing her head back into the pillow.
She grabbed a bunch of her husbands curls trying to grip something-anything to steady herself. She bucked up into his skilful mouth, but he guided her effortlessly back into place without breaking his concentration. Jane strained, contorting under him. She sighed heavily, drawing in another deep breath. She felt her face burn hotter, her core radiating heat through her whole body. She felt the tension expanding in her stomach, making her head pound with expectation.
He was other worldly, Jane thought to herself, not able to string more thoughts together.
Jane involuntarily cried out, surprising herself with the force of her scream. She covered her mouth quickly, closing her eyes and focusing very hard to stop another cry from bursting from her. Just as Jane felt herself tipping over the edge, Edward slowed his pace, and eased up on the pressure drastically. Blood rushed to Jane's head as she could for the first time comprehend how her body felt, simultaneously feather light and heavy as lead. The change in her husbands speed caused Jane to realise just how much her centre pulsed with desire for him. The need in her had been dulled by the prospect of fulfilment now pressed against her stomach painfully. His mouth teased her now, his tongue moving between her with care and control. He broke away from her, his kisses moving down to her legs.
Jane groaned in pure frustration, wishing for him to revert his attention to a more pressing area, but her noise of protest only made him smile against her skin. Edward never prolonged Jane's unhappiness in any sense for any reason, and so with her groan, he moved back to her core and placing his mouth around her most sensitive place and sucked with expert skill and precision. His pause in action had made every movement now far more intense.
A gentle hand moved to her stomach reassuringly. Jane gripped the fingers that lay there as the earth pulled from under her and split away, leaving her suspended in a void of uncertainty that could not be made known by touch. For a moment, the universe did not exist outside of what all-consuming sensation flooded her body- like drowning in a tub of warm water.
The next sensation Jane was aware of was Edward's hand on her face, his thumb caressing her eyebrow, his other hand holding the one that had fallen to her side. Jane squeezed his hand but said nothing, this particular lovemaking had left her completely undone, and completely removed from herself. She listened to her beating heart slow, and her breathing stabilise again before opening her eyes again.
Edward was smiling at her in a way she was incapable of describing, propped up on his arm effortlessly. His curls were messy, no doubt from Jane pulling on them. Some fell down in front of his face which looked more boyish then ever. The only sun in the world radiated from his face, the only thing tethering her to the world was him. She touched his chest thoughtlessly and sighed contentedly.
"Jane, can I tell you something?"
"Of course you can"
"I think you are the most beautiful person in the world"
"Do you?" she asked, touching a curl hanging in front of his eyes.
"Mhm, without a doubt in my mind. I sometimes wish you would not leave this house, or speak to another man for fear of him taking you away from me in realising what a gift you truly are".
"If you had not just made me feel immensely happy I would be very, very upset with you in this moment".
He grinned,
"What can I say? There is nothing enticing about me. A scarred, partially blinded, aged man who is grumpy and ill-tempered".
"I agree with everything, apart from aged. I cannot imagine you becoming aged- you are far too full of life and youth to become that. And besides, I will not allow it until I am old and grey too".
"I was being serious, Jane"
"I have just told you that I agree with everything apart from-"
"No, about you being the most beautiful person in the world. I mean it".
"But not the part about other men taking me away from you? Surely you must know after a year of marriage that I could no sooner be in love with another man than I could tear myself away from you".
He smiled again, his face filled with genuine love and humility.
"No" he answered softly, "Not with that part".
Jane moved the hair which stuck to her hot face and looked at Edward affectionately.
"You find me beautiful because you love me, not because I am any more striking than any woman".
"I do not care" he protested, "What of looks when you are brimming with heart and soul?"
"I am glad you still feel that way" Jane said, "For I would not like to think you married me for my looks. It would be a very shallow marriage, and indeed a very false one".
He laughed, burying his face in her stomach. She allowed him to lay there happily, for she was happier with him there too.
"You are very bad at taking compliments"
"That is because you are too good at giving them. I never know if I can trust you or not".
He fell to the side, pulling himself up to her level. Jane could see he was well amused, and happy, and that was all that mattered.
"I know when we married I said that I would never grow tired of you, and that I would always want you- morning, noon and night...but I did not know what I meant then like I do now. I have wanted you more and more, every moment of every day. I do not know how I passed a year, a week, a day, or even an hour without you before".
But Jane only shook her head.
"I am completely undone by you".
He drew her to his lips and kissed her deeply, Jane feeling every muscle in her body relax, and then instantly turn to nothing. Just when she was about to pull him closer, the sound of a crying child broke their moment and spun them back into reality. She pressed her forehead to her husbands, sighing.
"I'll get him"
"No, I can"
"I am dressed, and you certainly are not. I'll be back in a moment"
"Wait" he said, pulling her closer for one last kiss, "There".
Jane smiled,
"I am scared to stand up. I do not trust that after what you did to me this morning my legs can still stand my weight".
He laughed at her staggering out of bed before burying his face in the pillow.
Jane made her way, slightly unbalanced, out of her room and entered Henry's nursery next door.
"Good morning little fellow" she said, walking to his bassinet and scooping him into her arms affectionately.
"How did you sleep? Well, I think. I hardly heard from you all night. Your daddy is home, and he is very excited to see you".
She rocked him all the time she spoke to him, and his crying subsided. She kissed his cheek repeatedly as she carried him back to their room, his soft dark curls tickling her face.
When she opened her bedroom door she saw that Edward had pulled on a nightshirt and eagerly awaited his son. Jane smiled as she handed Henry to him.
"Good morning" Edward said, kissing him as Jane slouched into bed beside her family.
Edward drew his knees up to his chest and balanced Henry on his legs, watching his son curl his tiny fingers around his ring finger. He played with him as tenderly as any father had ever loved his son, and Jane wondered how she could have become so lucky to have them both in her life. She drew herself closer to her husband and placed her head on his shoulder. He turned and pressed his lips to her forehead, wrapping his arm around her so that she remained close to him.
Jane knew the unspoken words that passed between them were mutual gratitude for giving each other a family.
Jane kissed his shoulder before laying her head back down and looking into Henry's small face. He looked happy, and content. It was all Jane could ask for at present, especially given that Henry had so few ways of communicating with them. His eyes were bright, and his smile was the most precious thing in the whole world. She could look upon his face until the end of time.
"He has your eyes" Jane said, "And your hair, and your smile. I am so glad he is like you, and not like me".
"But he is like you" Edward objected, "He has your lips, and your small round nose, not to mention the shape of your face. I would know those features anywhere".
"Perhaps. But far more like you in more pronounced ways".
Edward sighed, shaking his head.
"You frightened me so much, Jane, during your pregnancy. I hated every moment where I watched you suffer, unable to help.
"All is well now" she corrected him quickly, "Look what the result was".
"I know, I know" he said, "But look at Mary. She will deliver soon, and she has faced nothing in comparison to you".
"Nothing physical like I did- but I had all the support in the world I could have hoped for from you, which is exactly what she needs right now. I would rather be sick then feel alone".
"Well, her baby will come soon and then she will be alone no longer, since you made her a promise we cannot go back on".
He screwed up his face at these words and Jane smiled, shoving his arm lightly.
"What is so very bad about staying as a guest at someone's house?"
He suddenly looked very serious and unamused as Jane laughed at him.
"My darling, when we are there a week and you come to me with your complaints, I fear you will find a very unsympathetic husband".
"Stop it, I will not. You married me and brought me into this world, Edward Rochester. House visits are not part of servant life".
"Ah, but you brought your wonderful family into our life, which is why we will be going in the first place".
"Well, there is no point in worrying about this now, we have time. And I do not intend to worry about it until we are on our way there".
At that moment there were three sharp knocks on the door.
"Pardon Sir, Ma'am, but there has been urgent news from the Franklin residence" Leah called hastily.
"Oh Christ" Edward groaned.