Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well and staying safe while the world is undergoing big changes. I am thinking of all of you and wishing you the very, very best.
This is quite a long chapter, so it took a while to write, but I hope you enjoy! The character of Georgiana always interested me in the book and I was always touched by the small relationship that Jane is able to form with her under the circumstances of her mothers death. It was always a mark of Jane's maturity and growth throughout the book to me. So I thought it would be fun to reintroduce her to this story.
Thank you so much for all your comments last chapter. They were all really kind and encouraging with some containing some constructive criticism and I really appreciated them all.
Again, take care, and more to come soon!
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Jane looked briefly for her husband but because Henry was already late for his nap she went to the nursery to feed him and put him down. He did not fall asleep right away, so it gave her some time to think about her cousin now sitting downstairs.
The whole situation felt incredibly strange, and deeply unexpected. Georgiana Reed, from their childhood, had been the type of girl that Jane knew she could never form a really close relationship with. Not only were they discouraged from becoming friends because of her mothers blatant dislike, but Georgiana was also fundamentally different from Jane in too many ways. She was naturally shallow, flippant of other peoples emotions, self interested, and far more concerned with appearances than she should have been, though none of these qualities made her a particularly bad person. It was just that she had never known anything different, and in the time Jane was at her house when her mother was dying, she recognised for the first time that it was not her fault that she had been raised to be that way. Still, Georgiana had been ungrateful for what Jane had done for her because she seemed to assume that it should have been done for her. How could genuine friendship be formed on such a foundation? Jane did not belong in her world, and she was certain that Georgiana wanted to be no part of hers. Still, there she was in her sitting room with her Baron husband. She must have been happy, Jane thought, to have married so well to her own notions of a successful marriage. All she had ever wanted was fine jewellery, expensive clothing and the means to keep up a powerful reputation and now she had all of that.
The nursery door opened and Edward stepped inside. Jane looked up at him and he smiled at the confused, thoughtful look on her face.
"You know I am a little insulted, Jane, that I am related to a Baron and Baroness and you did not tell me about it".
Jane grinned, "I would have told you if I thought for a moment you would actually care- or if I actually knew myself".
He sat down beside her on the couch and put his arm around her.
"I thought you told me that when you departed your aunts you left on a rather definite note with your cousins?".
"I did. Georgiana rode for London with the intention of finding a husband and made it very clear she wanted to leave her old life behind her. That included me, or so I thought".
"I remember you telling me that she found a mate within days of your Aunts funeral when you returned to Thornfield, was this him?"
"It must be" Jane assumed, "Her sister informed me of the union, and it would be like her to leave out such a detail as her marrying a Baron"
"Well whatever the case, all I care about is that you are comfortable with her staying the night"
"Oh, I do not mind her staying here. I just cannot imagine why she is here at all. I would assume to show off her husband, wealthy and powerful as he surely is, but then she knows I am not impressed by such".
"She is probably curious of your life, Jane. Or else she has realised that her limited reaction with you was probably the most honest of her life and that meant something to her"
"Hm" Jane reflected, finding some likelihood in her husbands suggestion. She looked up at him suddenly, remembering something.
"You do not mind if she is here, do you? I did not ask you before I said yes"
"Of course not" he said, "I am quite intrigued, actually, to meet someone in your family".
"At this point you perhaps know her as well as I. We had no serious talks, only the light, minimal conversation that passed between us when I was helping her pack her trunks or trying to occupy her in the days following her mothers death".
"I do not think that is true, love. I think you probably observed her closely and know her as well as anyone and instead it is she who does not know you at all"
"Perhaps" Jane smiled, "And I was quite content with that. In truth, I watched her growing up and I am not sure she has ever known true affection or friendship. Not in the sense that you or I understand those words. I have much compassion for her".
"Forming a friendship with you may be the incentive she needs to start" he responded, "It certainly would be for me".
"Yes, but friendship with you is as easy as breathing"
He smiled proudly and kissed her temple affectionately. Jane smiled back at him before looking down at her sleeping son. She picked him up in her arms and laid him in his crib gently, pulling his blankets over him and tucking him in. Edward stepped up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder so that she could lean into him comfortingly. Rubbing the top of her arm gently, he kissed her cheek.
"Come on darling, let's go. You have people waiting downstairs for you. I wish to hear you talk to your hearts content later, but I fear there will be feverish knocking on the door if we do not return".
. . .
When they rounded the corner again into the sitting room Georgiana immediately looked up from her conversation with Anne and waved excitedly.
"Jane, you're back. Come over!"
Edward squeezed his wife's hand before dropping it so that she could walk over to her waiting cousin. Anne stood up and politely excused herself from the conversation so that Jane could have her seat. When Anne had rejoined the others on the opposite side of the room entertaining the Baron, Jane lowered herself into the seat beside her cousin with only an instant passing between them before she broke into enthusiastic talk.
"Together again Jane! I am so happy. I have missed you. Please do not be angry I did not invite you to the wedding. It all happened so quickly and in truth I did not think you would like to come. You were so set on getting back to your governess post that I knew nothing could keep you away. You have to tell me everything. How did you get out of being a governess and end up in a marriage?"
"The two are rather closely connected"
"You are going to need to tell me more than that to satisfy my curiosity"
"Well, my husband Edward was at one time my employer. I was governess to his ward, Adele"
"Oh!" Georgiana said, understanding dawning on her face, "Oh! He married you when he was your master? Of course. Hold on now, that picture you drew, that man you were drawing in our house! It was Mr Rochester!"
Her voice, raised with excitement, caused the whole room to turn and look at them, especially Edward who raised his eyebrow at his wife.
"Yes" Jane confirmed lowly, "It was him"
"You told me it was a friend of yours. Was he actually your friend?"
Jane smiled, "Yes".
"How sweet" Georgiana said, "If not a little unconventional. So, Mr Rochester married you as a governess? Why would he do that?"
Jane laughed briefly- as much at her cousins blunt question as at her blunt delivery.
"He tells me it is because he loves me".
"But Jane, as a servant how would you even have known you? Did you actively try and get his attention?"
If it had been someone else Jane perhaps would have been taken aback, but it was Georgiana and any way of life besides her own privileged one must have indeed felt very strange to her. So, Jane answered with patience.
"No, I did not try to catch his attention. If I had remained a teacher, and made some impact on the world through imparting education, I believe I always would have been content and because of that I never actively sought out a husband".
"There is no shame in such, Jane"
"No, I do not think there is either"
"So, you two would talk when you passed in hallways or on the stairs?"
"Yes, at times. But we became acquainted when we would sit together in the evenings. My husband is an educated man who loves to learn for the sake of acquiring new knowledge. I believe I am like him in this way and so we talked frequently about- well, most everything. More importantly, you may have recognised during our time together, I prefer to listen to people, their thoughts and feelings on the world and all contained within it. My husband also shares this quality but has a gift for sharing his knowledge with others and a talent for imparting such with vivid descriptions and reflectful understanding. I believe it made us a good pair, and we became very close".
"I have never heard the likes of it before Jane. Indeed you amuse me greatly. Perhaps, had you been raised with my sister and I you would have understood what society asks of wives, which is to be caretakers to their husbands. I do not know a thing of my husbands thoughts, tastes or feelings- only of his comforts. And I must let you in on an inside secret of it all. Knowing only what brings him comfort makes me the thing he best likes to see for he knows I will make him content no matter what".
Jane smiled,
"Well, I suppose that is why marriages all differ, because all people inside of them are different and require different things"
"But of course you are right, cousin. Just because what works well for me and the Baron works for us, I am sure it would not work for you. I can see in your countenance you do not like to be idle for long, and a life of waiting to comfort your husband would not suit as well as it does for me".
"Perhaps not. But tell me, how did you meet your husband? Your sister told me that you married when you arrived in London but she did not give more details than that"
"That is because I did not tell her anything else. I was not in the mood to spoil my happiness. Well, I persued my own husband. He had no interest in remarrying when we met but I was insistent with him".
"Where did you meet?"
"Oh, you are sweet for asking. I meet him through my uncle- the one I went to stay with in London? Baron Hogwood was his friend, I saw he was lonely, and thought I would help alleviate that".
"How long did you know each other before you married?"
"Only two weeks. He was eager to marry me once he realised I was willing to marry him. You may have noticed he is not exactly my age, so I felt we should get moving as soon as possible. I moved into his town house in London while he remained in the country for a little while. In truth, he stays in the county often while I stay in London. He assures me that he has tired of the city, having lived there his whole life, and I assure him I have tired of the country having lived there my whole life. So, we meet up whenever we can and the occasion is always pleasant".
"Well Georgina, if you are happy then I am happy for you too. You always wanted to be a woman of prominence and now I see that you are"
"I am" she smiled, "And I am very content, Jane".
She looked at her cousin thoughtfully, perhaps more honestly than she ever had,
"And I am happy for you too, Jane, because I can see how happy you are. Mama used to talk of women settling down and coming into their own, and I see that is where you are now. You were always kind to me, and I thought that given your profession you would be alone in the world. Now, I see you are not. You have many friends".
Jane smiled,
"I feel very lucky".
"And!" Georgiana gasped, "You are a mother. Jane Eyre a mother. How strange to think about- that the young girl who hid behind curtains reading now has a child of her own. How is he? Is he well and healthy?"
"Yes, thank you. He is very well, if not a little prone to crying in the middle of the night. Do you have any children of your own? I did not ask you before"
"Yes, a little boy, Hadrian"
"How old is he?"
"He is two now, and a little darling. He is so handsome, and so well behaved".
"Is he back in London?"
"Yes, with his nanny. We thought of taking him but then we said that he could just be inconvenient to the family we are staying with. I'm sure he will be happier in his home with all his toys anyways".
Jane nodded, secretly feeling very sorry for the little boy who was alone in his home at Christmas.
"And do you know how Eliza is, Georgiana?"
"Well no, not really. I only know that when she arrived at the convent that she had all of her inheritance transferred to that place. I was furious. If I was not so very rich at present I would have had her reprimanded severely but what do I care now? The money I have now is much more than I would have had from my inheritance. I am just embarrassed and disappointed that she ever ended up in such a place".
"Why embarrassed and disappointed? Becoming a nun is not an unworthy profession"
"But that is it. It is a profession. She was not raised to be a working woman"
Georgiana looked quickly at her cousin,
"I'm sorry Jane. My husband scolds me often that I speak my mind too freely without thinking of my words first. I do not mean to say that working women are embarrassing or disappointing. You are not those things to me, I actually like you quite a bit"
Jane bit back an amused smile,
"Thank you, Georgiana. I am not offended".
A relieved sigh,
"I do like your house, Jane. It is very bright!"
"Thank you, I am quite fond of it myself"
"Is this your husband's family home?"
"No. We chose this house together after we married. My husband lost his family home in a fire".
"Now, that is really unfortunate. I am sorry to hear that. I am sure it was quite old and quite grand"
At that moment Leah walked up to Jane, bowing politely.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but your room is ready Baroness Hogwood. I had your trunks brought up for you. Would you like to come and get settled before dinner?"
"Yes, if you will excuse me Jane?"
"Of course. I look forward to continuing out conversation at dinner"
"Dearest!" Georgiana shrilled to her husband "Follow me"
Baron Hogwood looked up mid sentence from his conversation with Mr Rochester to glance at his wife- looking ever so slightly annoyed. None the less he stood up and walked from the room.
. . .
After a few more minutes of conversation everyone followed Georgiana and her husband upstairs to get changed for dinner. Jane, who was less concerned with changing and more concerned with her crying son who had woken up from his nap, remained in the sitting room trying to comfort him. Edward suggested they take a walk outside, but Jane hesitated.
"Do you mind if I stay inside? I feel rather cold and I think going outside would make it worse".
"Do you feel well, darling?"
"Oh yes. I do not know, perhaps I just caught a chill this morning"
"Wrapped in my arms? Impossible"
Jane smiled and closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead.
"It makes no difference. Stay in by the fire. I will only walk him for a few minutes to try and soothe him. If he doesn't feel any better I will come back inside"
"Thank you" Jane said, handing Henry to Edward before he kissed the top of her head and left.
There was silence in the room for a long moment before Jane stood and walked to the window where she could see her husband and son enter the frosty garden. She wiped the pane of glass with her hand so should see them more clearly, smiling to herself and crossing her arms as a cold breeze moved past her. She was just about to turn away when there was the sound of footsteps and then the appearance of Baron Hogwood in the door frame.
"Ms Rochester" he said bowing, "I hope I am not disturbing you?"
"No, of course not" she said kindly,
"I am changed now for dinner and Georgiana is still getting dressed. I thought I would give her some privacy and came down to see if anyone was still gathered here"
"Well, I am afraid it is only myself left but you are more than welcomed to sit with me".
"You look as if you were about to do something. I do not wish to delay you by staying"
"My husband is outside with our fussing son trying to tire him out but I am not sure it will be much use. They should be returning in a minute so until then I am quite free"
He nodded to her appreciatively and sat down across from her on the couches.
"I remember when my boys were growing up they were quite impossible to settle. They were twins so they often made each other overexcited. Their mother and I were quite worried about them at times, but they turned out well enough I dare say"
"I did not know you had boys of your own, and twins at that"
"Yes" he smiled, "They are well grown now. Older than Georgiana, in fact"
Jane smiled as the ageing man chuckled.
"Ms Rochester I am a silly old man who married a silly young wife. It is a very old story is it not? You are Georgiana's cousin so you know the sort of woman I have married. My family was shocked, and they disapproved rather violently, though she knows nothing of that. They could not make sense of my choice and indeed I understand how they could not. She is very different from my first wife- perhaps the opposite if I were to draw a comparison between them".
"It can be difficult to accept something different than what we are used to" Jane offered gently, "If Georgiana is very different from your first wife, I imagine that she, or any other similar woman, would be easy to disapprove of without much reflection".
"Yes, you are right. Georgiana is a sweet girl, very eager to please me, but in truth there is nothing of our characters which are properly suited for one another. She is youthful, vain, materialistic and full of life whereas I am older, wiser I hope, and done with the trivial things of life. I believe I married her, Ms Rochester, because she was so different from the woman I loved and lost that it was impossible to draw comparisons between them. I think, had I found a helpful, kind, gentle woman similar to my wife it would have been much more difficult on me. Indeed, it took me this long to even realise I could marry again. Georgiana is far too young and beautiful for me, but I take comfort in the fact that she loves my money. I do not care if this is the only reason she cherishes an affection for me. I have known real love, and this- well, it is something to keep me occupied until we meet again".
"I notice that you still refer to your first wife as your wife. It is a testament to the love you held in your first marriage".
"Yes" he said happily, "Ms Rochester, you seem very happy. I hope I am right in assuming so. I imagine, then, you can understand the choice I have made in a way someone who did not love their spouse never could. If a person is lucky enough to find real love- true, honest love, in their lifetime and they lose it, it will not come a second time. If you lost your husband you would not go out into the world assuming you would find another like him. Well, when Georgiana walked into my life I felt particularly lost. My children had all married and moved out, my dog died suddenly, and I was left with the understanding that I truly had no purpose in life, or nothing to live for. So, when she came into my path, in spite of her not being right for me, I married her. I do not let myself ponder for too long whether or not this was a mistake or not".
"Baron, you need not justify your decisions to me, nor anyone else" Jane promised, "I would not judge you for your choices. Your life is yours, and your choices must be made for yourself and no one else. Though I hope I can empathise with your situation sufficiently enough to say that I can imagine your feelings. If I lost Edward, I am not sure I ever could remarry. There was a time in my life where I thought marriage to him impossible. In that time I received other offers of marriage but could not accept because I could not betray my heart which still resided with him. Now, having been married to him, I am sure that another offer of marriage would be even more impossible to accept. Still, you tell me that you have been without your wife for some time. It must be incredibly lonely to imagine life without someone forever".
"And yet, I believe you when you say you could never remarry" he smiled, "And had my own head been clearer, had I reflected more carefully..."
But his thought trailed off and he did not finish his sentence. Instead he sighed and looked back at his companion,
"It does not matter. I am old and comfortable and I cannot ask for more".
Jane smiled encouragingly at him,
"Do you often see your boys? Georgiana told me that you live in the country. Do they live close?"
"I live in the country while she mostly lives in the town house in London. My boys actually live in London but they are busy with their own families and have little time to come and see me. I rather hate London and staying there for the sake of family is pointless for it is not possible for me to visit unannounced. When I come to town on business or when I am visiting Georgiana I sometimes see them, but not always. Of course on those occasions I see my new son. Poor Georgiana wanted children right away and I did not deny her that for I knew that with nurses to help her, and my involvement on some level but not on an overbearing one which would not suit her style of mothering, she would be more than content. So, I remain mostly away from all the fuss"
"And what do you do there?"
"Hunt, mostly. Fish less frequently but still when I can".
"You are an outdoors man then?"
"I like to think of myself as one, though in truth I spend far too much time indoors to truly be one".
At that moment the front door opened and Mr Rochester stepped inside again with Henry. Like Jane had guessed, the walk seemed to do little good for their poor son who still fussed in his fathers arms. When Edward entered the room Baron Hogwood stood and bowed to Jane.
"Your wife is very easy to talk to, Mr Rochester. I have confessed much more than I thought I would. You must be a lucky man"
"I am" he said, a little curiously, "A very lucky man indeed"
"Well I must go and check on Georgiana. Excuse me Ms Rochester, Mr Rochester".
Jane curtsied to him politely as he left the room, rounding the corner with a slow ease as he left. She walked and met her husband near the door, sighing at the determined look in her son's eye.
"Young man, you are tiring your father and I out"
But Henry heard none of it, he continued to fuss and held out his arms for his mother so that he was soon put into them.
. . .
Dinner an hour later was a formal affair as it would have been for any guest, yet the over the top nature of Georgiana's arrival made it feel even more so. She rounded the corner jangling noisily with excessive amounts of jewellery while wearing a dress of rich purple satin. Normally, Edward sat at the head of the table and Jane sat beside him, but Jane felt it would better to keep an eye on things by sitting at the other end beside her cousin. At the last minute, however, Georgiana fussed that she wished to switch seats with her husband and instead sat beside Edward, Captain Franklin, Diana and Mary, leaving Jane, the Baron, Anne and Eshton together at the other end of the table.
"I apologise for my wife" Baron said as they began eating, "She is rather excited, I think, to meet your family Ms Rochester"
"It does not matter" Jane said kindly, "I hope we are all well acquainted enough so that people may sit where they please without issue".
"Baron" Eshton began in his naturally curious line of questioning, "Where is it that the Hogwood name is known for in London?"
"My family were silver traders for a very long time. They owned a line of dishware and cutlery up until a few years ago when the style fell out of fashion. No one in my family had any desire to revive it so it was sold it off and the family absorbed the money".
"Franklin guessed as much earlier, though he could not be sure"
"He was right. It was at one time rather popular so my name is known if I myself am generally not".
"And what is it you do now to occupy yourself?"
"I was telling Ms Rochester earlier that I reside in the country mostly hunting, sometimes fishing, and other times simply relaxing. Now that I am an old man I like to think that my time is truly my time and that I can afford to relax in my final years. What is it that you do?"
"I study the human brain- it's thoughts and patterns. I find my work most fascinating and can promise you I would not trade it for an easier life of luxury".
"Goodness" Anne said lowly to Jane, who sat at her right, "I am not sure I can listen to my husband tell of his career again"
Jane smiled understandingly but before she could respond Georgiana burst into loud laughter at the top of the table. From the looks on Captain Franklin and Diana's faces, however, the joke which was so funny to her was lost to everyone else. Edward looked at his wife, grinning subtly to her. The table was busy enough hosting several different conversations that when Anne turned back to Jane they could speak with relative privacy amongst themselves.
"Jane, how is it that you know Georgiana? She mentioned earlier that you two were not always close but became so the last time you were together"
"My aunt was ill several years ago and I was summoned to her bedside in her final days. When she passed away it became evident that my two cousins were in need of help in settling her affairs. Georgiana immediately wished to leave for London with her uncle and her sister Eliza wished to join a French convent and because they often were at odds with each other the process was more complicated than it perhaps needed to be. We certainly became better acquainted than we were as children but I would not say we were necessarily close".
"But did you not grow up with her?"
"Yes" Jane smiled, "But my aunt rather disliked me. To her I was burdensome and as a result none of her children were fond of me either".
"But you were only a child!"
"Well, it is no matter now. She is my family and I do not wish to have any more family quarrels in my life".
Anne glanced up at the table and sighed,
"I will be a mother soon, Jane. Well, if four months can be considered soon. I worry that I will not retain my youth as well as you have or Georgiana has. When she told me she had had a child I was rather surprised. I am older than you both, and my mother told me that the older you are the harder it is for your body to heal back to the way it was before".
"You are just twenty four, Anne. You are young and healthy. Your body will heal in it's own time and everything will be well".
"I hope so. My mother wishes to come and stay with us after the birth but I think in truth that would be a terrible idea. Eshton and her have never spent any significant amount of time together but I could deduce that they would quickly be at odds with one another. You know my husband- he is rather forward thinking in many respects due to his career, and my mother is anything but. She approves of him, of course, but staying for potentially weeks or months after my son's birth may prove too much of a strain between them"
"This baby is a boy, then?"
"Just a hunch" she grinned.
"I imagine it is hard, Anne, to choose between your mothers wishes and your husbands, but you must ask yourself what would be most beneficial to you. If you will need and value her help, then you should express that to your husband. If you would like to see her, but her staying for an extended period of time will only cause unnecessary stress in a home which will already be a large change for you, then perhaps she can come for a few days once you are settled in a new routine. You will gain nothing by pleasing only others beside yourself".
"My loyalties are to my husband" Anne confirmed assuredly, "And he would certainly not object to just a few days of a visit. I think such will be best, though it may disappoint my mother".
"I cannot speak to motherly disappointment but I can imagine that seeing as she is a mother herself, she will understand".
"Jane!"
She looked up at the sound of her name,
"Yes Captain?"
"We were talking of our educations down here and as you were a governess like Diana and Mary we were wondering if you could tell us what you found the most difficult part of teaching children to be?"
"Oh" she paused, thinking, "Well, to me, it was highly dependant on the students I was teaching and what their individual needs were. When I was a teacher at Lowood the difficulty was trying to improve the conditions there. Though there had been much progress made since I was a pupil many of the girls still needed much more than the charity school could provide. As a governess to Adele it was mostly maintaining her focus, for at first she was not naturally inclined towards learning. She spent too much study time in windows or running in the gardens or something similar. If a child's mind is not in the right place, then learning is very difficult".
"Tell them of your students at Moor House" Mary encouraged, "You worked with absolutely nothing to create such a wonderful school there".
"Oh yes Jane, do tell" Georgiana said, "For I do not know you as a teacher at all and I love to think of you in that way. You know, growing up, Jane used to hide behind curtains in the window so that she could read undisturbed"
Edward looked to his wife. They both shared a private moment of acknowledgement that reading was not the primary reason Jane often hid behind curtains, it was the threat of John Reed tormenting. This truth, perhaps, had long been pushed from Georgiana's mind.
"It was simple, really. My cousin, who was the local priest, asked me to establish a school for girls because in the previous year he had set up a school for boys and there was a need for female education. The girls were poor and from the country, so I took that into consideration when I was planning what to teach them"
"Still, with no resources and very limited space Jane created a school the young girls loved coming to" Diana confirmed, "She collected species of butterflies and plants for the girls to study, allowed them to take books whenever they wished to read them, taught them how to draw and how to identify different animals outside. She went far above and beyond what my brother had asked of her. The girls simply adored her".
"Well I felt it was necessary to engage the girls in ways that they could understand. When I came to Thornfield to teach Adele I quickly realised that because she was still learning English there was little in books that could fully engage her. However, in Edward's study I found all of his plants and flowers and species that he had collected and brought them to Adele and found that the things she could touch and interact with resonated with her far more. I remembered this when I started the girls school. Similar to how Adele's French was a barrier to her learning, so was the poverty of those young girls. I thought it was important to teach them in ways other than books".
"How very revolutionary" Georgiana commented quickly with some scepticism in her voice.
"Mm, she is brilliant" Edward said, warmly.
"And tell me, Jane. Did you find some students to be more talented than others?" Baron Hodwood asked crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.
"Well, as I said, these young girls came from poor families and because they often had to help out at home, that impacted their ability to learn. So really it was that certain girls had more time to learn, and a freer mind to learn, than others".
"How very fascinating. Mr Rochester, now I had a chance earlier to ask of Mr Eshton's life but not of yours..."
Jane was happy that the attention was taken off of her and placed onto her husband, for a strange feeling moved over her as the table discussed Edward's career in university. The slow feeling that had been building up in her head had mounted to a pulsing headache and her stomach felt suddenly unwell. She looked down at her half finished plate and suddenly the whole thing looked very unappetising. She laid her fork down and clasped her hands together under the table, wishing her mind would focus on something else.
At that moment Leah rounded the corner and stood beside Jane, speaking lowly.
"Excuse me madam, but Jenny was wondering if she could see you upstairs. It is Henry"
"Of course" she replied quickly, thankful for a reprieve from sitting at the table pretending that her discomfort was not bothering excused herself from the table and followed Leah upstairs to the nursery. Inside, Jenny sat with Henry who was fussing on her lap.
"Ms Jane, I am so sorry. I could not settle him and so I think he needs to be fed, even though you did so just before dinner".
"I understand Jenny. In truth I feel a little relieved you called for me. I am not feeling very well at present".
"Why is that?"
"I am not sure, I felt that a headache may have been brewing before dinner and I just felt worse as the dinner went on".
"Well miss, then a few moments of peace and quiet may be of help to you".
"I think so, thank you Jenny. Could you please tell Mr Rochester where I am? I did not tell him before I left dinner".
"Of course miss" she said, closing the door behind her.
. . .
Jane never did return to dinner, however. Before Henry would fall asleep the nursery door opened and Edward stepped inside looking slightly concerned.
"Hello darling" he said, closing the door behind him, "Are you well?"
"Why do you ask that?"
"You looked somewhat pale at dinner and you left rather quickly. I thought there may have been more on your mind than just Henry".
"Not necessarily something on my mind. I do not feel very well tonight. I feel terrible about missing dinner, especially since Georgiana and her husband are here just for the night. But Henry was so unhappy"
"Do not feel bad, love. Dinner was nearly finished anyways and the Baron was too tired from his travels to stay up for anything afterwards. Besides, everyone understands we have a young child. I am more concerned about you, though. Why do you feel unwell?"
"I'm not sure. I had the smallest feeling that I may have been getting a headache before dinner but now I think I just ate something funny. My stomach is rather unsettled".
"Here" he said, taking Henry from his wife's arms and sitting beside her on the couch, "Go get into bed sweetheart. This is the one night I will hope you will be asleep by the time I get to bed".
"Thank you" Jane said, "I really mean that. But I do not wish to be in bed just yet. I do not feel quite up to it. I would rather stay in here with you".
"Whatever will make you feel better".
Jane nodded, closing her eyes as she tucked her feet under herself and leaned on her husbands shoulder. He kissed her forehead before rocking Henry gently in his arms. He turned to say something to Jane but found she had already drifted off into sleep.