Hello all!
Hope you are doing well. I am sorry this chapter took a little longer than normal. Again, with my old computer gone it is taking me a little while to re-write all these chapters. But, I hope you enjoy regardless! Please let me know what you think, I love hearing from you, as always. The next little bit I think is quite exciting!
Much love, and much thanks,
xoxoxo
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Ladies and Gentleman" Captain Franklin began, his voice happy and proud as he addressed the room, "It is my great privilege to invite you here tonight for our first ball held here at this house in honour of my new marriage to Ms Franklin-"
He turned to address Diana standing at his side. Jane smiled at her cousin, who looked a little shy but not outwardly uncomfortable as she acknowledged the room.
"I must say. Since becoming married to my wife I have been introduced to her own family and friends who have very quickly become such to me as well. I would be a very poor host indeed if I did not introduce you to them myself, for as interesting and kind as they all are, you all will wish to speak with them over the course of the evening. And, luckily, they all stand together at the front of the room".
Where he had indicated, every head in the room turned on Jane, Edward, Anne, Eshton and Mary.
"My sister in law, Ms. Mary Rivers, our wonderful friends Mr Eshton and his wife Ms Anne Eshton, and our dear friends and mentors on marriage, Mr Edward Rochester and Ms Jane Rochester".
The room addressed them kindly, and Jane smiled at a few people who acknowledged her personally. The familiar hand in the small of Jane's back made her smile ever so slightly to herself. When the rooms attention had been brought back to Captain Franklin, Jane's eyes fell once again upon the two Ingram sisters were speaking lowly to each other rather than listening to the host.
When Blanche's sister had arrived at Thornfield hall, she had been dulled in comparison to her sister. She was less beautiful, less graceful, less accomplished, but in no way was insufficient, she only appeared such in comparison. Because of a lower natural confidence, she had been labelled by the party as quiet and lacking substance in conversation. Jane had only spoken with her once, when the others were getting saddled up for riding. She did not want to go, and there had been little care expressed at her refusal to ride. So, she had spoken with Jane for only a moment, but she had left with the feeling that Blanche's sister felt very unwanted and unimportant in her sisters shadow. She had been younger then too, only seventeen or eighteen. A year younger than Jane had been, perhaps. How easy it is to feel unwanted and lost at such an age.
But since that time, she now appeared rather differently. She looked taller, more self assured, more at ease in this environment. She dressed rather well, in a dark purple dress with gold decorations around the bodice and skirt. Her hair was piled high in an elaborate showing of bows and ribbons. She was only now nineteen or twenty at most, but she appeared far older. The most striking feature, however, was the look on her face of having possessed a secret of which everyone in the world wished to be a part of, but only she had the answer to. It was an oddly prideful look, one that should have attracted attention and drawn people in, but instead the sisters stood alone together in the middle of the room.
"Please, enjoy the ball. Dinner shall be called shortly".
Blanche turned back on her side when everyone relaxed into their own conversations once more and Jane saw her large round bump protruding from under her dress. Jane could see that several people were looking at her, speaking in the ears of their companions with cupped hands. Jane felt an overwhelming amount of pity for her. No one deserved to be singled out so much, no matter what they had done. Not when what people believed you to be mattered so much. Her eyes locked with Jane's for a moment before a man stepped between them and began speaking with the sisters.
Jane turned on her husband, his face aglow with pride and love. It took Jane out of her momentary thoughts and concentrated all her feeling in him.
"What is it?" she asked
"Nothing"
"You are aware that every time you answer me in some vague way, I will be forced to ask you what it means"
He smiled, his mouth half opened in response before he closed it and nodded once.
"Being here, around all these people, knowing that they cannot love their spouses one hundredth of the amount I love you makes me feel overwhelmingly lucky".
Jane grinned, looking around her before looking back at her husband.
"I think I like these sorts of balls. There is a strange amount of privacy amongst all these people".
Edward laughed, nodding.
"You are very right. In small parties there is never any privacy. You know, it was nice to have Franklin introduce us in the way that he did, but it will pretty much ensure that we will have no privacy for the rest of the evening"
"Because now that we have been introduced to the group anyone will be free to speak to us?"
"Exactly" he said quietly, turning in time to see a man approaching.
"Mr Rochester" the round and loud man boomed, "How do you do? It has been some time".
"Indeed, Charles. How are you?"
"Excellent m'boy"
"May I introduce my wife to you, Ms Jane Rochester"
"Ah yes, how do you do" he said quickly glancing quickly at her. The woman who stood beside him, clearly his wife, looked frustrated at her lack of recognition. "It has been so long. How is it you have come to know Franklin? What a nice chap he is".
"He is husband to Jane's cousin, Diana".
"Ah is he? Is he? Well good to know. I meet the chap when he served in the army. Well-meaning and charming".
"Indeed, he is a good man".
"And are you still up for the magistracy position? Last I heard you were in the running"
"No, I am not actually. Our friend Eshton, whom Franklin introduced the group to, took the position"
"Too bad. You would have made a good politician. Fair and just, you are. Why did you give it up to your friend?"
"I did not want to spend so much time away from my family. I realised it would have demanded far too much of my time. I was not willing to sacrifice that".
"Very noble of you, Rochester. For your family, I am sure they appreciated that. Perhaps that is the problem with politicians, the men we want in office are home with their families and the ones we do not want are happy to leave their families at home".
Edward stifled a knowing smile.
"Perhaps, Charles".
There was an announcement made for dinner and the large group of assembled people began to move towards the opened doors.
"Well, it was good seeing you again. Must go find our seats. Excuse me".
He left while his wife trailed behind him sheepishly.
Jane took her husbands arm as they too began to move towards the opened ballroom doors. She tugged lightly on him, watching the man who had come up to them start speaking with Eshton ahead of them.
"He certainly seems like quite the socialite"
"He is" Edward confirmed, "At one time he worked for the king. But that time for him is long gone, he had some scandal which happened and had him thrown from office. Now he just thrives on the memory of what he once was- an important man".
Jane surveyed her husband, and then back at the man speaking enthusiastically Eshton.
"He strikes me as a kind man, but one I would not wish to tell my secrets to".
Laughing, Edward nodded.
"The joke in town is that if you wish to have your secret told to everyone, you tell Charles".
Jane grinned and moved into the foyer and then into the dining room. She and Edward were seated at the top of the main table which was so long that it stretched the entirety of the room. Other shorter tables, but still very long, flagged the main table on both sides and already had guests settled into their seats. Pulling out her chair, Edward allowed Jane to sit before taking his place beside her.
Mary was besides Jane, and Anne and Eshton across from her. Diana and Captain Franklin settled themselves at the top of the table, the Captain looking invigorated and Diana looked drained.
"How are you holding up, Diana?" Edward asked. She turned to him, looking a little dazed.
"Oh good, there have been so many people-"
"I think that that is the point, Diana" Anne smiled, "Everyone wants to meet the new Ms Franklin".
"I'm just not used to being the centre of attention" she confessed.
Jane grinned across the table, "I understand you perfectly Diana".
Franklin shook his head, "My goodness, so many people here with so little experience of balls. This is not meant to be difficult"
Anne scoffed, "Excuse me, but I am very well equipped and I love it"
What was your first ball, Franklin?" Eshton asked, "I know of Rochester's, and he of mine. But we know little of your early experiences"
Franklin shrugged, "I would say that my experience would be the regular one for young men. I started attending mostly with my uncle Robert when I was sixteen years old. My younger sister was quite jealous of me, but of course she was. Young women always dream of the time when they too can attend balls and show themselves off to the young men present. But I always enjoyed them. I like dancing, I like the company of other people. I like being in large crowds, so many interesting people to talk to"
"I dare say you do enjoy a ball then" Rochester said, "A true socialite if ever I heard one"
"Surely your experience was the same Rochester. Do not tell me that you had never enjoyed a ball"
"To do so would be untrue. I enjoyed balls in my youth, then went through a period in the middle of my life where I quite detested them, and now I like them again"
"Why the shift?" Eshton asked,
"Well, most of it was my brother, who was a cruel and horrible man much to the taste of my father and my mother, until she passed. He attracted much attention at balls as you can well imagine. I was less forthcoming, less impressive overall".
"But" Eshton interjected, smiling, "A far better dancer"
"Rochester!" Franklin said angrily, "I did not know you had a brother. How dare you hold such information from me"
"Nor did I" Anne said, looking slightly confused, "Jane, of course you did?"
"Certainly. I know little of him though"
"That is because there is just that much to know" Rochester explained, "He died young, spoiled, unmarried, and without having left a single positive mark on one human being. That is my brothers legacy, and so in truth, there is not much to be said".
"He is right" Eshton said, "I only meet the bloke once, a very long time ago, while our Rochester was overseas. He was nothing to remark on, apart from a thin shadow of his brothers apparent intellect and success in school".
"That is so nice" Anne said, nodding at her husband,
"I do not say it to flatter. It is merely the truth. I did not know Rochester at that point, but he had been at school and did very well. That reputation proceeded him. His brother was a striking contrast to say the least".
Edward laughed, shaking his head, "How ones reputation can be misleading".
"Nonsense. Your false modesty does not suit you, friend. You could have run circles around me academically. You know it. You gave me half the books on the human mind which I now study".
"Enough of this" Franklin said, cutting them both off "You two are making me quite jealous. I did not go to school, I went straight to the army. I have none such stories of school to speak of".
"Nor do we" Anne said, indicating the women sitting around her. Her tone was light, but Jane knew the painful truth which rang behind her words.
"Oh Anne, how unfair you are to us-" Eshton began, but he caught Jane's look and smiled. "You look rather curious Jane. Are you to contradict us?"
"Not contradict, Mr Eshton. Only to offer a different perspective. You speak, Captain Franklin, of having no experiences of university because you chose to join the army. We women have none to speak of because we cannot go to university, nor pursue any other profession, even if we wished to. Where men are handed their wealth, their occupation, we cannot even earn ours. This is the reality that women face in most areas compared to the men in their lives".
"Indeed you are right, Jane. But there is a simple reason for it. Women are intended to be wives and mothers. It is the role that God intended for them, and what an honour. Men take care of everything else because that is the role, in turn, that God intended for them, to be caretakers and providers to their families. What of school, if one is to become a mother to a household of children? Why would one need it?"
Franklin's response was in no way unkind. Jane knew that. He was only repeating what he had been taught from childhood, and what he saw in his youth. He was a very good husband to Diana, he was kind and encouraging. Most of all he did not lay a hand to her, or force her into anything that she was unwilling to do. And yet Jane could see her sitting beside him and knew that she would never challenge what he was currently saying- that to do so would be disrespectful, and thus wrong. Jane was fully aware of how lucky she had been all along- how rare it was to have an employer who would bring her books, ask her to read them, and then discuss them with her like an equal. At that time, Edward Fairfax Rochester had not been her equal, not in knowledge, not in worldliness. And yet, he had treated her as such, allowed her to read and ask questions to her hearts content. He did not trample her, did not berate her. He had always treated her with a respect that allowed her to be comfortable around him, to open up to him, to challenge him and talk openly with her. She had known it was exceedingly rare, and this moment reminded her of it.
"Jane, you look as if there is more on your mind" Eshton said, "I should very much like to hear it. I love a good discussion, and I know you are an equal match to anything Franklin says".
"I do not mean it to be a debate. I only speak as someone who has a very different point of view, and as a woman who has always been given more equality than some women experience in their own marriages. I simply believe that a woman's needs and wants matter. They matter because she is not just a birthing machine, she is not just an audience to hear her husband's woes and thoughts. Women are people too, with thoughts and feelings and emotions that need validation just as much as a man's do. To tell a woman what her role is is to deny her ability to have choice in her own life".
Edward grinned broadly to himself beside his wife.
"I agree with you" Franklin said, "I agree most wholeheartedly. But I would suggest, Jane, that you do not speak for the majority of women. You are very intelligent, that much has always been clear. You, like Diana and Mary, were trained in teaching that knowledge to others. Most other women, especially those of the upper class, have no desires other than to marry and live a life of luxury".
"Perhaps some, but it is also likely that the thoughts of living a different way has never even crossed their minds, for a formal education or a career seem like such an unlikely possibility that it is never a consideration in a woman's future".
"So you are saying that you think most women would choose to attend school? Or train themselves in a career over being mothers and wives?"
"Not exactly. I am saying that while it is not an option for women, we cannot possibly know".
"Fascinating" Eshton said, "Jane you must be endlessly interesting to talk to".
"No more interesting than any other woman. We all share similar thoughts, I am sure".
Anne and Diana nodded together, Mary twirled her food around her plate, looking over the heads of those on the opposite side of the table, clearly distracted.
"And how do you feel on the subject, Mr Rochester?" Anne asked, her hands folded on her lap.
"I think that the fact women are denied almost every experience of life that men take for granted and are expected to be content with it is insulting and degrading. Jane is far superior to me in every way, including intellect. Her gender has nothing to do with that, only her curiosity for life and her ability to remember what she reads. I do not forget that reality".
Diana opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment there was a commotion down along the table as plates clattered and a sharp voice rang out throughout the dining hall. The buzz of conversation fell silent as all heads turned toward the noise.
"No no!" the voice reprimanded, "I cannot eat that. Stone cold it is. I am likely to take ill from it. Take it away".
Captain Franklin rolled his eyes at Lady Denver and turned to Diana looking rather desperate.
"Why is she discontent with everything?"
"Do not take it personally" Jane assured, "She seems this way about most things".
"Indeed. She demanded transport home after the event" Edward said, "She asked me to secure it for her, Franklin. I said I was almost sure your carriage would be available".
"Of course" he said, "Anything that will take her away".
Edward and Eshton stiffed their snort of laughter while Diana scolded her husband. When Anne turned to her husband, caught up in a question of a wealthy aristocrat on the opposite side of the room, Edward turned on Jane.
"How are you doing?" he asked lowly, his eyes filled with loving concern.
"Very well" she responded, so that no one but him could hear, "Do you think I still look the part?"
"Every bit of the part. And acting it too. You kept everyone thoroughly entertained during the first course".
Jane blushed very slightly, "I only spoke the truth. I cannot lie".
"I would never want you to" he said honestly, "I am proud of who you are, I would never ask you to hide that. Even if it made these stubborn men uncomfortable".
Jane smiled, "Do you think Henry is doing well?"
"Well, seeing as you told the nurses perhaps fifty times that if he began crying to find someone to come down and get you, I think it is safe to say that he is doing very well".
"When you put it like that, you make me seem rather-"
"Caring? That is because you are. But all is well with him, I am sure Ms Rochester".
"Very well, Mr Rochester- if you insist".
"No! No, this will not do either! Where is the cook? I must speak with the cook directly"
Franklin threw down his napkin on the table and stood up, "Excuse me"
The top of the table all tried to hide their laughter as he marched down the table towards Lady Denver looking thoroughly unimpressed.
. . . . .
When the plates from dinner were cleared away some time later, everyone began to move slowly back into the ball room. Men who had consumed too much wine with dinner now stumbled and swayed on the spot, trying desperately to stay upright as people shuffled past them.
"I think we are about to see some of the uglier sides of balls" Rochester said in his wife's ear as he guided her through into the main room once again.
"I remember when you had your own house guests over there was a man who got quite drunk one night and was rather unwell on the staircase. I am not a stranger to the darker sides of men's drinking, I assure you".
"That was Captain Graham. But Jane, how do you know that?" he asked in surprise.
"Well because I was the servant he meet on the stairs" she replied simply.
"What!?"
"I was coming down from my own servants dinner upstairs when he meet me on the stairs. He was trying to make it back to his own room but was quite disorientated. I tried to help him as best I could, but he was rather sick before I could help him much".
"That was you?!"
"Yes! But I do not know why you look so surprised at present"
"Because Jane, if I had known it was you I would have given him a proper sobering up immediately"
"Why if it was me would it have mattered more? What about another servant?"
"I was under the impression that it was a male servant he bothered. That is what I was told at the time"
"Well, I thought you might have been frustrated if you learned it was me-"
"Indeed I would have been."
"And, well, I did not think it was worth your concern. You were rather occupied with other things at that time, if I am remembering correctly."
Edward looked very much annoyed as they entered the ballroom, but Jane only tugged on his sleeve lightly to bring his attention back to her.
"You know, in truth, I would have been angriest that lying to me, as you so cunningly did, robbed me of the chance to come and check on your well being after the incident. I would have very much enjoyed that"
Jane smiled, "I know you would have. Well, now at least I do".
Edward drew Jane to him and kissed her forehead, lingering ever so slightly before drawing back. It was the maximum of public affection that could be shown, and even though within proper etiquette rules, it drew attention from those standing around them. Jane suspected it was because outward signs of affection, even though appropriate, were rare in this circle of people.
Jane's cheek burned with a furious blush as people gazed upon them but Edward was unphased, not taking his eyes off his wife's face.
"Look at me in that way all you want, Jane Rochester, with those wide green eyes of yours, but there is something in the blush of your face that I will never grow tired of".
"I am glad, for if you carry on like that for the rest of the night you shall see it in abundance".
"Do not tempt me" he warned before sighing, "Am I to be reprimanded for just one kiss on the forehead?"
"Not yet" she responded, squeezing his hand.
There was the sound of chairs scraping the floor as the musicians took their spots in the balcony that hung over the dance floor. Captain Franklin reappeared and lead Diana onto the dance floor first before other couples joined them in line.
"Ms Rochester, if you are not otherwise engaged, would you do me the honour of this dance?"