Midsummer at Eyre Hall: Book Three Eyre Hall Trilogy (12 page)

He kissed my cheeks and then my lips. “I’m
angry with myself for not giving you everything you need, and upset that you
don’t trust me. I’m not making you happy. I promised I’d make you happy. I
thought I could make you happy, but I don’t know anymore. I don’t know if we
did the right thing escaping, coming to Cornwall. Perhaps they were all right
and we were wrong. Perhaps I should have let you go back to Eyre Hall and
returned to the navy.”  

“Don’t ever say that you’ll take me back
to Eyre Hall, because I’ll climb up to the highest cliff and throw myself off
the minute you leave me.”

“I’m sorry, Jane. I’ve failed you.” He leaned
his forehead against mine. “What have I done to you that you can even consider
taking your life?”

“You didn’t do anything. They did it.
I’m not good enough for you anymore. I’m damaged and useless. I can’t do any of
the housework, I have no money, I look dreadful, my hair’s too short, my
clothes too worn, I can’t sleep, I’m sick every time I eat, and I can’t even
please you anymore.”

He lifted his head. “Jane, none of that
is true. You’re still not yourself. Harry said it would take many months for
you to forget your ordeal.” He held out his hands to me, and when I placed mine
on top, he squeezed tightly.

“Jane, please, don’t cry. Let me hold
you. Let me tell you how much I love you.”

“Do you love me?”

“Jane, you’re the only person I care
about. The only woman I’ll ever love. Please come here. Let me comfort you.”

I fell into his arms, let him embrace me
and cried bitterly for the loss of our life. After a few minutes he spoke. “We
need to talk, Jane. Can you talk now?”

I nodded, still in tears.

“Well, let’s try.” He smiled. “May I
kiss you first?” I nodded and his lips swept over mine gently, waiting for
permission to take complete possession. “Jane,” he whispered, “let me love
you.” I closed my eyes and let him overwhelm me until I was light-headed and
unsteady. “Jane, I love you.” He held me so tight, I thought I’d faint, but when
he let me go, I felt empty.

“Don’t leave me, Michael.”

I melted into another lingering kiss.
“Does it seem to you that I want to leave you?”

I shook my head, unable to speak.

“Good, because I’m never leaving you,
especially when you’re wrapped in my arms and responding to my kisses. That’s
all I need at the moment. I can wait for the rest of you, Jane, until you’re
ready.”

He led me to the couch again and I sat
down, while he disappeared into the kitchen. He came back chewing a pasty.

“Did you really help Shirley make
these?” I nodded. “They’re delicious.”

 “I’m glad you like them.”

He went back to the kitchen and brought
two more along with two napkins.

“Would you join me and have one?” He
dropped it into my lap. I looked at it with displeasure. I was too overwrought
to eat.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to swallow
anything right now.”

“Just a minute,” he said and rushed off
to the kitchen, returning with two tankards of ale.

“It’ll be easier to swallow with some
ale. Come on, eat half and I’ll eat the rest.”

I bit a tiny piece, chewed and drank
some ale. He smiled and watched me eat, while he devoured a pasty in two bites.
I ate a few more bites, which I washed down with some more ale.

“Jane, I didn’t mean to be rude before.
Please forgive me for being abrupt. I appreciate this delicious food you’ve
made, but I don’t think you should work in the kitchen every day, only
occasionally, if you enjoy helping Shirley, and it doesn’t please me to be
waited on by you, Jane. It makes me feel like I’ve failed you. You deserve so
much more, and I feel worthless because I can’t give you what you deserve.”

“I wanted to feel useful. I thought it
would be fun to help Shirley, and I wanted to serve you because you work so
hard Michael, and I’m not doing anything useful.”

“Do you like living here, Jane? Would
you like to stay or should we find somewhere else?”

“I like it very much here. I enjoy the
sea air, the walks, the bluebells and rhododendrons, the lake, the colour of
the sky in the evening. There are so many things to like. I’ve met a few
people, like Shirley, Blains, Miss Burns, the teacher, and the children at
school, and some of the parents. They seem peaceful country folk, except what
happened to you today.”

“Then we’ll stay. We’re safe, for the moment.
They may never find us, at least not in a long time. The problem at the pub
won’t happen again, I’m sure.”

“How will we make a living here,
Michael, and how are we going to repay Blains his kindness?”

“I’m helping him on the farm with the
cattle and sheep for now, but you’re right, I need to pay him back for all his
help. I need another job. I don’t mind helping Blains, but there’s not much
money in farming.”

“We need to speak to Mr. Smythe. He must
send me the money from my uncle’s Madeira winery at least, that belongs to me.
I should also contact my publisher, Mr. Spencer. There must be some royalties
due from last year’s sales.”

“I’m sure both Mr. Smythe and Mr.
Spencer are taking good care of your money, but we can’t risk visiting them,
Jane, not yet. We don’t know how far we can trust them. Briggs signed the
testimonial against you. We can’t contact Adele or Susan either.”

“But Michael, you know we can trust Mr.
Smythe.”

“Jane, we’re fugitives. They’d be in
trouble if they helped us.”

“Mr. Dickens has been very generous. He
has sent a cheque with the payment for the first six chapters, and I’ve only
sent him three. He said he would send me the next six months’ when he returns
from his travels.”

“That’s good news. We can pay Blains and
his family back for his help and buy a better cart. When the rest arrives, we’ll
buy dresses and toiletries.” He smiled and kissed me. “Don’t misunderstand me,
you look beautiful whatever you wear, but I want you to feel as beautiful as
you look.”

“It would be nice to go shopping again,
and to have some nice perfume.”

He finished eating and drinking and put
his arms around me. “This is a very prosperous area. There are plenty of jobs I
can do. I could work in the mines.”

“No, Michael. I don’t want you to work
in the mines. It’s dangerous and dirty.”

“I could go back to sea, but it would
mean I’d be away for days or months on end.”

“No, Michael, I couldn’t stand being
away from you, on my own, for months.”

“There are jobs fishing.”

“What kind of fish?”

“Pilchards. They’re drawn in shallow
water, then cleaned and pressed for preserving. Blains told me his uncle has a
workshop with some fishing boats. I’ll apply tomorrow. The hours are long. I’ll
have to leave before dawn, but I’ll be back for late lunch. Shirley will be
here all morning doing the cooking and the housework, and we’ll still spend the
evenings together.”

“Can we afford Shirley?”

“Our savings are coming to an end, but
once I start working at the fishery, we’ll have enough funds.”

“I feel so useless, Michael.”

 “How do you think I feel? You could be
living a life of luxury, and you’re living like a penniless fugitive because
you chose to come away with me.”

“Michael, if it weren’t for you, I’d
still be in that dreadful asylum, probably half-dead by now.”

“I wish I could erase that episode from
your life, Jane.”

“Michael, I’m afraid. What’s going to
happen if they find us?”

“As a last resort we’ll have to leave
England. There are many places to go, America, Australia, India, even.”

“I wouldn’t like to travel so far,
Michael. What about Ireland or Scotland? There are plenty of isolated places
and remote islands where we could make a living.”

“We need to live each day at a time, for
the moment. Once John takes over the estate, which he no doubt already has, he
may forget about us.”

“And Helen? Poor Helen. I think of her
every day, alone in that strict and miserable institution.”

“You know Annette and Harry promised to
look after her, and one day soon, we’ll be able to bring her back. I promise.”

I curled into him as he held me and
kissed the top of my head. “By the way, I just remembered, who’s Mr. de
Winter?”

“He’s the owner of Manderley, the large
house by the sea. He also seems to own most of the farmland around here. Why?”

“At the tavern they mentioned he had
visited the school.”

“It seems he sponsors the school. I
think he came to see who the new French teacher was. I asked him for some books
for the school library which is very poorly stocked.”

“Did he ask you a lot of questions?”

“Yes, he did, but I lied very well. I
told him we would be spending a few months here, because my doctor recommended
sea air for my recovery from a miscarriage and melancholy.”

“What’s he like?”

“He reminded me of Mr. Briggs, when he
was younger. He’s tall and thin with thick grey hair. He dresses very smartly,
and seemed very aloof and distant. He doesn’t care about the school or the
children. He came because he was curious, I suppose.”

“You didn’t like him, then?”

“I’m not sure yet. I thought he seemed
sad, even tormented. I assume Manderley has as many secrets as Thornfield Hall
and Eyre Hall together.”

He smiled and pulled me closer. “That’s
hard to beat.”  

For the first time since we arrived, I
felt less numb. I sunk into the warmth and safety of his arms.

“Michael, I’ve hardly seen you this
week. You’ve been working so hard. Could we spend the day together, tomorrow? I
saw the sky this evening. It was crimson and amber. It’s going to be a
beautiful day when the sun rises. I’d like to go for a walk by the beach, and
buy some fruit at the market in town.”

“Of course, my love.” He threaded his
fingers through my hair. “Your hair is getting longer. Remember I told you that
when you can wear a bun we’ll be safe?” I nodded and smiled. “That’s going to
be very soon, my love. We’re on a stairway to heaven, at last.”

***

I had just returned from Lowood, where I
had spent the afternoon visiting Helen with Harry. When Fred opened the door, the
archbishop was waiting for me in the hall.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into
the drawing room. “Where have you been, Annette? We have been waiting
impatiently for you.”

John was standing by the fireplace. He
turned when I was dragged in. “You’re late for dinner, again.”

“I’ve been to see Helen. I promised Jane
I would make sure she was well looked after.”

“Don’t you think a mother should make
sure her eldest son’s needs are attended to before anyone else’s?” John asked
me.

“Helen is a frightened little girl in a
sad institution. John, please let me bring her back to Eyre Hall. I’ll make
sure she behaves, and she’ll never be in your way. You don’t have to even see
her if you don’t want to.”

“I suppose we could send her back to the
servant’s quarters, we’re in need of a maid. It’s time she earned her keep.
She’s been living off our charity for long enough. Would you prefer that
arrangement?” asked the archbishop.

“No. I’d prefer her to stay at Lowood,
where she is at least being taught reasonably well. She tells me her teachers
are excellent.”

“Why did you return in the doctor’s
carriage?” asked John.

“Harry, I mean Dr. Carter, came with me.
It’s very cold and damp at Lowood, and the food is not very nutritious. I
wanted the doctor to see her.”

The archbishop fixed his gaze on me. “I’ve
already told you that you should not be seen in the company of a country
doctor. How will we ever marry you to a suitable husband if you’re seen with
him?”

“Harry will be moving to London shortly.
As you know, his mother passed away recently, and he cannot pay the new lease
you require on Ferndean.”

Now it was John’s turn to stare. “He and
his father had been living far too cheaply at the expense of the Rochesters.
The estate was in a mess, debts, low tenancies, arrears, cheap sales of land. My
mother has ruined the Rochester Estate.”

“Harry has asked me to accompany him. I’d
like to go to London, to a nursing school. I enjoy helping sick children.”

“That is insane,” said John. “You will
stay with me at Eyre Hall until you marry, and you will certainly not move to
London.”  

“You will not see the doctor again, and
that’s final,” said the archbishop.

I couldn’t argue with both of them. “I’m
not hungry. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go upstairs to my room.”

The archbishop grabbed my arm. “You’re
not going up to your room tonight until you’ve answered my questions.” 

“What questions?”

“Do you know where Jane and Michael are,
Annette?”

I shook my head and wrought my arm painfully
from his grasp. “I don’t know, but if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you, Archbishop
Templar.”

He raised his hand and pulled my hair.
“You impudent brat. I should have told him to get rid of you at birth. You
ungrateful...” He raised his hand to my face and when I heard the slap, I felt
a pain in my chest and a sadness in my soul. He raised his hand again. I
squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the sting and heard John’s voice behind him.

“Archbishop, perhaps you have drunk too
much and forgotten that an honourable gentleman should not strike a lady.”

I opened my eyes. John held the archbishop’s
hand in the air.

“She’s not a lady. She’s a witch like
her mother, John. Keep away from her. I knew her mother well. She tried to ruin
me.”

“What do you mean?” I asked him. What
did he know about my mother?

“You have inherited her beauty and her
tempting ways, like Eve,” he answered.

John dropped the archbishop’s hand,
which fell limply to his side and glanced at me. “Perhaps you’re right, but she
has done nothing to warrant a slap, at the moment.”

“She has just been to see that servant
girl. She’s conniving with your mother. I’m sure of it.”

“Annette is under my care. My father
asked my mother to look after Annette before he died. His first wife, Bertha
Mason, was her mother. It is not Annette’s fault her mother was violated.”

“Her mother was not violated. She was a
sorceress.”

“In any case, Annette should not pay for
her mother’s sins any more than I should pay for my mother’s.”

“She has refused to marry the Bishop of
Leicester and she continues to disgrace the Rochester family by working in a
hospital and frequenting the company of a village doctor. Send her away!”

“Annette will stay at Eyre Hall,” said
John, pausing to look at me, “as long as I want her here, and she will not be
forced to marry anyone.”

“What about Miss Jackson?” inquired the archbishop.
“She will surely feel uncomfortable when you are engaged. It wouldn’t please
her to have another woman running Eyre Hall.”

“Miss Jackson is returning to Boston.
She has decided she doesn’t like England enough to leave her family.”

The archbishop raised his eyebrows. “She
can’t have declined your proposal?”

“I haven’t proposed. She told me she
missed her family, and I have no wish for her to transport her mother, father,
and two younger brothers to the estate. I have enough mouths to feed as it is.
I suggested she should return.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, John, but
anyway, there are plenty of suitable girls in England.”

“I’m not planning on marrying anyone
until this mess with my mother is solved.”

“I’m sure this witch knows more than
she’s telling us about your mother’s whereabouts,” he said pointing at me.

 “We don’t need Annette to tell us where
she is. I know her location.”

“Excellent!” said the archbishop.

“How?” I asked.

“Misery acquaints a man with strange
bedfellows. Susan wrote to me with her address, which she had managed to
discover by questioning an employee of Mr. Dickens’ in London.”

I couldn’t believe John’s words. “Susan
wants her brother behind bars?”

“I promised Susan he will not be
imprisoned in England, but deported to Australia, where he will live as a free
man.”

“And Jane?”

“My mother will be taken back to the
Retreat for the moment. Mr. Poole will be joining me on our journey. We will capture
my mother and bring her back to Yorkshire, and Michael will follow us back to
Eyre Hall where the constables will be awaiting.”  

 Fred opened the door. “Your guest has
arrived, Mr. Rochester.”

“Come.” John gestured to both of us. “Let
us eat in the dining room. I’ve asked Cook to prepare pheasant today. We have
an important guest and a vital matter to discuss.”

A large, evil-looking man with bulging,
hungry eyes peered into the room.  

John smiled at me. “I’d like to
introduce you to Mr. Poole, Annette.”

His name sounded familiar. “Pleased to
meet you, sir,” I said, as I offered him my hand.

“Mr. Poole is the superintendent at
Grimsby Retreat.”

I dropped my hand at once and took a
step backwards. He was the monster who had abused Jane.

“Tomorrow we will be travelling to
Cornwall, and the family will be reunited at last,” said John.

“Cornwall?” asked Poole.

“Yes, that is where my mother and her
disgusting lover are hiding, but not for long. She’ll soon be back at the
retreat with you, Mr. Poole.”

I wanted to tell John what had happened.
I hoped he would believe me. “You can’t do that, John. The Retreat is a
dreadful place, where the residents are half-starved and chained. I’ve read all
about it in a new novel,
The Asylum
, that Mr. Dickens is publishing in
All
The Year Round
.”

“Lies, madam. You are invited to visit
whenever you like,” said Poole. “Our guests are most respectable and very well
cared for. We have warm, well-furnished rooms, wholesome food, and a remarkable
doctor. There are some simpler quarters reserved for the poorer residents, but
even those are impeccably clean and comfortable.”

“Annette, do you mean a sensational
serialisation by a certain Mrs. Stewart?” asked John.

I nodded and John laughed. “We have been
informed that Mrs. Stewart is, in fact, my insane mother’s new pen name.”

“Then they are but the ravings of a
madwoman, and you should make sure you don’t pay undue attention or you could
become a permanent resident there yourself,” warned the archbishop.

“Archbishop, I’m sure that won’t be
necessary. I’ll look after Annette,” said John.

“Bear in mind she may have inherited her
mother’s lunacy. When I think of your poor father, married to two lunatics. Make
sure you don’t follow in his footsteps.”

I shuddered, realising I was not safe
from the archbishop’s designs. How well did he know my mother? Could he know
who my father was?

 “When are you leaving, John?” asked the
archbishop.

“At sunrise. It’s a long journey and we
want to be back soon.”

“May I go with you?” I asked quietly.

“Why so meek now?” John paused and
smiled. “Certainly not. You’ll wait here with the archbishop.” 

***