Dinner passed in ease, but in truth Jane was anxious to speak with Mary and to get to bed. She found herself struggling to stay fully alert at the dinner table as conversation buzzed by her, going in one ear and out the other. Edward gave her hand a squeeze under the table from time to time when she suspected her eyes started to drift closed, but everyone else at the table was too engaged in happy conversation to notice. Once the plates had been cleared away, Edward and Franklin went into the drawing room for a drink while Jane and Diana moved into the sitting room to talk.

"Your house is quite spectacular" Jane said as they walked the long distance from the dining room to the sitting room.

"I did not know this is what the house looked like before I moved here. Mr Franklin had never taken me here, you see. It is rather extravagant to me, even after being here for months now. Do you find it too intimidating?"

"No" Jane lied, not wishing to hurt her cousins feelings, "Though it is rather impressive".

"I find it intimidating" Diana answered plainly, "You know the house I was raised in- the house you lived in for a year. It certainly wasn't like this".

But Jane only smiled,

"I felt that way when me and Edward first moved to our house. Still, in truth, I feel that way at times. I am not sure it will ever go away for me".

As they entered the sitting room, Jane was struck by how elaborate even the most comfortable space in the house was meant to be. The walls were a soft pink, the windows floor to ceiling, but covered in an intricate stained glass that made the light in the room patchy as different coloured lights landed in different places. The couches were white and stiff, very clean, and stationed in the middle of the large room. An ornate rug was laid under the couches and large portraits hung on the back wall. Light, most likely from the opposing windows, had caused them to fade over time, their once brilliant colours dulled significantly.

"But yours and Mr Rochester's house is, well...I'm not sure. It is difficult to describe. It is personal, and warm, despite being large and beautiful. There is a different atmosphere there, like everyone under the room if content. I am not sure what is happening under this roof half of the time".

"You have not been here long, Diana. You need to give yourself time to make this place your own. I imagine within these large homes it is easy to lose your sense of self. Time will straighten out all those unsure bumps and soon your house will feel like mine does to me".

Though Jane considered that these words may not have been entirely true as they sat opposite each other. This house seemed to hold bits and pieces of all the previous owners rather than show the the character of those people who lived in it at present. It was like the old and faded portraits of the wall had more permanence in the house than the current owners. Perhaps it would have been more honest to say that when Diana would abandon the idea of this house ever feeling like a home to her, she would feel much better.

"Is this room yours?" Jane asked knowingly,

"Indeed" Diana responded, "Captain Franklin never comes in here. He does not like the pink walls, nor the oddly large portraits of people he does not know or remember. In a way it is strange, they give me a sense of familiarity in this home when not much else does, for I look upon their faces frequently and know them well".

"I can imagine" Jane replied, "So you do enjoy your time alone in here?"

"Very much. I often will write to you or Mary in here, very occasionally I will read...mostly I do some cross stitch perhaps, and sometimes I just enjoy the silence"

"That sounds wonderful" Jane admitted, "I am so sceptical of silence now, for I only get silence when Henry is asleep, and admittedly that is not for much of the day"

Diana smiled, "But seeing you as a mother is the most natural thing in the world, apart from seeing you as a wife. You are excellent, especially given you had no mother to show you the way"

"Perhaps that is why I am the way I am" Jane suggested, "Because I could not bare the thought of my child going through what I did without parents".

"It is a burning shame, Jane. But I am glad for how well you have come out on the other side. Me and Mary could not be more thankful you came into our lives"

"You tell me you are thankful of me when you two gave me a family! I shall never be able to repay you for that. But tell me" Jane prompted, hearing Mary's name, "How are things between you and Mary?"

"Very good" Diana said, sounding resolved, "Very good. Since she has moved back here with me and Captain Franklin I have found my old sister underneath all that she has been through. We have even laughed together at length. I have a friend here now, and in many ways she has made me feel infinitely better. The only thing I could wish for to complete my happiness is you, and now you are here".

She learned forward and wrapped her arms around Jane who reciprocated the hug with equal enthusiasm.

"I am so happy we get to visit you here"

"Was Edward very unhappy to leave your house?"

"No, he wishes to be here. Besides, he slept most of the way so he did not have time to ponder the situation at length"

"Did he indeed?" Diana laughed, "I can only imagine".

Jane grinned, but then a thought crossed her mind that had only just occurred to her.

"Have you written St John, Diana?"

The happiness slipped from Diana's face to be replaced by thoughtfulness. She interlocked her fingers on her lap and shrugged.

"I have said nothing yet, for I did not know what to say- or if I should say anything at all. I wished to know your thoughts on the matter before I acted"

"I was thinking of it too on the way over, for I had a feeling that you would not have made any decision yet".

"Tell me your thoughts Jane. I very much value what you think".

Jane reflected, and spoke at long last after she had gathered her thoughts as neatly and honestly as she could.

"I cannot consider the thought of St John thinking ill of his sister, even though this new child was not her choice, and not within her power. I do not want him to spend his days praying for the soul of someone who does not need saving. St John will never return home to England, of that I am sure. He told me over and over how he would die doing God's work, and I never doubted him. What does he gain in us conveying this information to him across lands and oceans? He will never look upon his nephews face, nor will he look upon Henry's face. I do not even know if he was aware I was ever pregnant, or had a son. We hear from him so infrequently, and this story would take much distance and time to explain. Perhaps it is better to leave this out of our letters, when he does manage to return one of them to us. He only wishes to know of our comfort, and we are all comfortable. That is what matters".

Diana nodded slowly as she listened, but when Jane finished she nodded vigorously.

"I agree completely with you" she said "And I fear that even if we did tell him, I would not know what to say. Especially since we have done nothing yet to find out the man that did this"

"Edward and Eshton have been looking tirelessly into it" Jane said, regretful that she did not have a more satisfying answer.

"Oh, please do not think that I believe them to be doing a poor job. I think quite the opposite-"

"I know" Jane interjected quickly, "I know. Edward is certainly determined enough, and Eshton has more connections within town then I am sure I could name five of. It is simply proving to be very difficult to track him"

"Well we will" Diana said confidently, "And then we can place all of this behind us".

But as her sentence ended, she looked back up at Jane cautiously.

"Have you seen Father Andrew recently?"

"No" Jane answered, "I have not. I last saw him the night before you all left my house, and that was weeks ago now. It is very strange, I thought he would come and see us more frequently then he has".

"Perhaps he finds it too difficult" Diana offered, "After all, I do not think we can deny that there was some level of attraction between them, and had circumstances been different..."

But her sentence ended quickly, and she looked at the hands folded in her lap quietly.

The door opened at that moment and Edward and Franklin came in, looking deeply engrossed in their conversation. Jane noticed a determination on her husbands face that was natural when he had a goal to achieve, but the same look of determination on Captain Franklin's face was foreign, and strange to see. When they looked up at their wives, Franklin smiled.

"What is it you ladies are speaking of?" he asked, sitting next to Diana.

"Whether or not to write St John of the current situation here, with Mary's pregnancy and now her delivery".

Edward sat beside Jane, an audible grunt issuing from him. He never did like the mention of St John's name.

Franklin shot his friend a knowing look and smiled ever so slightly.

"What was that for Rochester?"

"St John Rivers is not my favourite name in the world to hear, for obvious reasons. I'm sorry Diana, I mean no offence"

"I know" she said, giving Jane an amused look, "I cannot say I would expect you to like a man who almost took away your wife's happiness forever"

"Why?" Franklin asked, confused.

"St John begged Jane to marry him" Diana answered, looking at Captain Franklin beside her, "He was ever as adamant as Mr Rochester here ever was"

"You are joking" Franklin said, but Edward did not look so interested or engaged by this line of questioning.

"It is true. He asked me more than once".

"Huh, is that so? And why did you not accept"

"For an obvious reason, I would have thought" Edward piped up, sounding now less then impressed.

Jane only laughed, "Though my husband sounds far more bitter about it then I feel, it was for the obvious reason that I still loved Edward very much and if I could not marry him I did not want to marry anyone else ever".

"Besides" Diana added, "St John, as kind-hearted as he is, would have been a horrible husband to Jane. By nature he is cold and private, too practical for sentiment of any kind. He only ever wished to marry her because he thought she would be a good companion to him in India"

Edward rubbed his forehead and Jane took his hand without thinking.

"I had known what it was to be loved fully and completely for who I was in spite of rank, fortune and situation in life. I could not sacrifice that kind of love for a far more shallow one, no matter what the cost for myself would have been. St John is an honest man, but not the type of man who would have been good for me".

Franklin crossed his legs and took a sip from the wine glass in his hand. He looked thoughtful as he surveyed the two people sitting across from him.

"Well, I cannot say I am surprised. I have never meet a couple more naturally in tuned. My Diana and I are still working on our communication, but you two seem to have never needed to practice- like sharing your lives is instant" he said.

Edward smiled, "Easier than breathing".

The small squeeze Jane's hand received was all the comfort in the world she needed.

"You know, it does not make it easy to be a new couple around you" Diana teased, "It makes one feel ever so self conscious about their relationship"

"In fairness, I never expected it for myself either" Jane said truthfully, "I certainly did not go in search of it, plain, poor servant as I was".

"That is the beauty of love, I suppose" Franklin commented, "You cannot go in search of it"

"You can" Edward corrected him, "Though at a terrible cost that no one should be willing to pay".

"Speaking of!" Franklin said, an evil smirk curving his face, "Did you hear that Lady Marcus is pregnant?"

"Lady Marcus?!" Edward asked incredulously, "As in the former Blanche Ingram?"

"The very same" Franklin said, unable to hide his grin now.

"You are not serious. Good God, I thought she was only in it for the money"

"Of course she is" Franklin answered, "But now it seems she is with child under rather strange circumstances".

Diana raised her eyebrow at her husband's evasive answer, so he continued.

"Lord Marcus has been out of the country since our wedding five months ago. All sources have claimed that he has been in Wales on a hunting trip since, not having come home for any reason. And yet, his clever wife is three or so months pregnant, just showing. It has caused a massive stir in London".

"It cannot be true" Diana pipped up, "The way she was acting at our wedding was as if she was the most honourable woman in all London society, surely she would not let this scandal happen"

"You would be surprised" Edward said, "Her sister, also a prised jewel of the English court according to their mother, was found in the room of a young man last year in Manchester, and servants were sent from her house to retrieve her. Apparently it was a very ugly scene. If you ask me, I would guess that she tried to get pregnant in order to secure a marriage for herself. Jane is aware of the sisters motives, for Blanche attempted it on me. They are beautiful, yes, and they come from an old family name, but in truth their fortunes are small and their wealth is mostly talk. Blanche perused me for nearly five years in order to secure my families large fortune, but when I caused a rumour to reach her saying my fortune was not half of what she originally suspected, she dropped me overnight. That whole family is corrupt, and I would not be surprised if Blanche landed herself in an unsavoury spot".

"Blanche tried to marry you?" Franklin asked in disbelief

"She tried very hard" Edward replied,

"And she was not subtle in it either" Jane said, smiling.

"What do you mean?" Franklin asked,

"Well, I did particularly like the way she referred to you as "Edwardo" from time to time" Jane said, looking up at her husband, "Very romantic"

"No!" Diana objected, "You are exaggerating"

"Blanche was very determined to have him propose. She was already planning rearrangements of furniture in Thornfield, talked of choosing which maid's to take with her when she moved- I even think that she delayed plans in London at the prospect of a proposal"

"Well, anyways, she should have known that a proposal would not happen if I had done nothing, or said nothing to lead her on and it had been five years, but that is it", Edward shrugged.

"You must have loved witnessing that, Jane" Captain Franklin said, smiling.

"If he was foolish enough to make that choice in marriage, he deserved to be miserable with her forever" Jane said frankly. Edward chuckled but Jane added, "I was not worried".

"Well, hopefully we will see Lady Marcus at a ball here, if you are up for one" Franklin said, "She is always in attendance. I would love to see her face with you two around"

. . . . .

As Jane was returning to her room for the night she stopped in front of Mary's door and listened. There was the sound of movement in the room, and despite the claim that Mary was asleep and did not wish for any visitors, Jane knocked lightly on the door and pushed it opened.

Mary was sitting up in bed, looking forward at the wall as if in deep thought. When the door clicked shut, Mary turned on her cousin and smiled more genuinely than Jane was expecting. She said hello, and indicated a chair next to the bed that Jane could sit in.

"Thank you for coming, and so quickly" Mary said, "I really do appreciate it".

"Of course! And how is the new mommy?"

"Oh, she is doing well, I think"

Jane stood up out of her chair and hugged Mary very tightly.

"Mary, I am so proud of you. Look at you! You did one of the hardest things, bringing a child into the world. Women are meant to be strength and love, and you are overflowing with it now".

Mary looked almost as if she could not take such a compliment, but she smiled regardless and nodded.

"Thank you, truly. You helped me Jane, so much. All of our conversations when I was staying at your house reassured me, and made me feel okay. I do not think I could have done it without you".

Jane squeezed her hand and sat on the side of the bed.

"I have been told that you have not yet chosen a name for him?"

"No" she answered a little more softly, "I have not been able to think of one. Do you think that is terrible of me?"

Jane shook her head, "Me and Edward did not know what Henry's name was going to be when he was born".

"And how long did it take you to decide?"

Jane thought for a moment,

"You know, I cannot really remember. I do not think it was long, a day perhaps?".

"The problem is that sons are mostly they are named after their fathers, or some other family member that is important. I have none to name him after".

Jane rubbed her arm,

"That may be a tradition, but it is not required. Edward did not want his son to have the same name as him, so we chose a name we both liked, and that meant something to us. If you do the same, he will be no worse off".

"Well, when I see him next I will look into his face and see what possibility for a name is there"

Jane smiled, "Exactly. Speaking of, where is he? I should love to see him"

"He is downstairs with the nurse. Diana and Captain Franklin thought I should relax today, and get some sleep. They may have been right, I feel exhausted".

"Then do not let me keep you any longer" Jane said quickly, sliding off the bed. "I remember how tired I was at first, and your sleep is very important. I shall see your little one tomorrow"

"Jane" Mary said quickly, catching her arm as she moved away from the bed, "I do not mean to rush you out-"

"Of course you do, I should think me a very bad cousin indeed if you did not feel like you could throw me out of your room when you are tired. I shall see you tomorrow".

And she was gone.

. . . . . . .

When Jane had re-entered her bedroom down the hall she just walked in to see Edward lowering their sleeping son into his crib. When he had stepped away and looked at his wife, Jane approached him smiling.

"You know, I do not think I have ever wanted to kiss you more than in this moment?"

He laughed, "I thought getting him to sleep before you returned would put me in your good graces"

"You are always in my good graces" she confirmed,

"Doesn't hurt to keep myself there" he said, kissing her cheek sweetly. Jane squeezed his arm where she gripped him before she stepped away to undress for bed.

Edward was in before her, wasting no time in crawling into bed. But almost as soon as he had lay down he pulled himself into a seated position, stretching slowly.

"I am very stiff from sleeping in the carriage today" he explained as Jane got into bed beside him. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and massaged it gently. He leaned back into her fingers and closed his eyes, groaning softly.

"Better?"

"Mm".

As Jane took away her hand a few minutes later he opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling.

"Those blasted angels" he said angrily, "From his position it looks as if they are looking directly into my face".

Jane sunk down into the bed laughing,

"Pull the curtains closed and you will not see them. Problem solved!"

"More like they will not see us" he said, following her advice and pulling the thick red curtains shut around the bed.

The light was instantly sucked out of the space, making it impossible to see anything inside the coverings of the bed. Jane felt her husband turn onto his stomach and move over her and when he spoke, his voice was full of humour.

"Well Jane, I think I will kiss you goodnight now and turn in. Wait, where is your face so that I may kiss your cheek briefly. Show me, I would not want to miss your cheek and plant a kiss somewhere else instead".

She knew he mocked the people who normally would have slept in this bed, pointing out that laying inside these curtains meant they would not see each other at all, and that this was perhaps the point of such heavy curtains.

"Goodnight" she said, reaching up and pecking his lips feather lightly. He did not seem happy.

"No, no" he said, turning her onto her back when she moved onto her side, "Talk with me, talk of anything. If I can't see you then I wish to at least hear your voice".

"Edward! Go to sleep. You slept too long today in the carriage, now you are wide awake, and it is quite late".

"Maybe" he agreed, "But more importantly I enjoy having you near me"

"I shall be near you the whole night" Jane pointed out

"You know that is not what I meant".

She sighed, reaching up and pushing the curtains of the bed opened again so she could see him.

"Darling, go to sleep"

"Kiss me first"

"I already did"

"It will help me go to sleep"

"It will not-"

"I think it will"

Jane looked into his eyes, boyish and serious as much as they were playful and light. She pulled him down to her mouth by the fabric of his nightshirt and kissed him deeply, having no desire to deprive herself of the sensation of his mouth. He buried his hand in her long curly hair and drew his other hand up her leg slowly. Jane stopped him just as he reached the top and broke the kiss, looking up into his face.

"Goodnight darling"

He smiled at her, his eyebrow raised.

She took his arm and wrapped it around her waist before cuddling into his frame, her back pressed to his stomach. He lay back, planting a kiss in her hair before holding her closer to him in a tight embrace. Jane was asleep before she could count to ten.