Jane of Air

by Jessica Penot

  “Go away!” I shrieked. I yelled until I went hoarse. The laughter finally faded and the lights turned on. My laptop flickered to life, but all my work was lost. My fear dissipated, replaced by something worse than fear, as I realized I hadn’t backed up my term paper. The ghost suddenly seemed like a very small thing compared to my lost term paper. I yelled again and, this time, I added a couple of curse words to my cry. I almost wished the ghost had just killed me.

  I said another curse word that was completely out of character for me just before I heard Miss Adele shriek. I jumped out of bed and ran into her room. She was sitting up.

  “Edward!” she yelled. “Edward! Where are you, my love?”

  “Edward’s gone back to Yale,” I said as I started to brew the tea I would use to give her valium.

  “No, no,” she muttered. “He’s still here. I can see him. He wants it to end. He says it should end.” She turned and spoke to the corner. “Forgive me, Edward. Forgive me. I knew you never loved me. I knew. I will fix it. I will end it!”

  I sat down next to Miss Adele. I stroked her back and handed her the tea. “It will be okay,” I said in my most comforting voice. “Edward loves you. He’s away at college.”

  “Please, Edward!” she continued. Her eyes were wide with horror. “Please! I promise. I promise I will fix it. I will bring him home and I will fix it and I won’t care if it all burns. I promise.”

  “Drink your tea,” I told her as I put the teacup to her lips. She stopped her rant long enough to drink the tea and then she got out of her bed. I didn’t want to stop her. I was afraid I would hurt her. She hadn’t been eating and she had grown so thin and so frail I thought I would crush her bones if I moved her against her will.

  She walked over to the corner and stared into the nothing that lived there. She seemed to be leaning against some imaginary form. She grew quiet. “I will do it,” she whispered. “I will stop everything. I will release him. It will all burn, my beloved. It will all burn. I promise you the door will stay closed.”

  I walked up to her and gently put my hand on her arm. “It’s all right,” I said as soothingly as I could.

  Miss Adele turned around and the most monstrous expression covered her face. She slapped me and I flinched. I wasn’t hurt, but I was shocked. “Get out!!! Get out!!! You can’t be here. You are the devil! Don’t you think I see you! Don’t you think I see you! I see your father. I see what you will do! You are the devil! You are hellspawn!”

  I backed away, holding my cheek. Miss Adele stopped screaming and wandered into the corner. I let her stand in her corner until her muttering became inaudible, and then I slowly guided her back to her bed. I tucked her in and stroked her hair until she fell back to sleep. I would have to talk to Mrs. Fairfax in the morning. I wasn’t qualified for this level of care.

  I returned to my room and became so absorbed in rewriting my term paper that the ghosts and wailing old ladies faded from my mind.

  Chapter 26

  I have looked upon all the universe has to hold of horror, and even the skies of spring and flowers of summer must ever afterward be poison to me.

  ~ H.P. Lovecraft

  THE NEXT MORNING CAME AND I hadn’t slept, at all. I had managed to rewrite most of my paper using my notes, but I knew it was going to be a long day. I stopped going down for breakfast with the rest of the staff. I had too much work to do and no time to linger over a leisurely breakfast, but I went to breakfast that morning and caught up to Mrs. Fairfax afterward. She smiled at me with her usual maternal grin.

  “What can I do for you, Miss Marsh?” she asked pleasantly.

  “I need to talk to you about Miss Adele,” I said. “Her nightly wanderings have become more frequent and last night she was ranting gibberish for a while. I was afraid she might hurt herself.”

  “Oh dear,” Mrs. Fairfax said.

  “I love working here, Mrs. Fairfax. I love Thornfield Hall and you’ve been so kind to me and the pay is beyond generous, but I don’t know if I’m qualified to meet Miss Adele’s needs anymore. I’m not a medical professional and I wouldn’t have known how to stop Miss Adele if she had taken it in her mind to really hurt herself last night.”

  “Miss Adele adores you,” Mrs. Fairfax said. “She would be miserable if you left and you’ve gone above and beyond the call of duty, again and again, with her. I can’t imagine anyone we could hire who would do better than you. Not to mention the fact that we’ve never been able to keep a night staff member for more than a month. Please, Jane, don’t leave us. You have been a Godsend for Miss Adele and you’ve eased my worries on the matter.”

  “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Miss Adele while she was under my care,” I said passionately.

  “Jane, I assure you, there is no one else more qualified than you. Even the nurses can’t keep up with Miss Adele the way you do. She runs away from them. They find her in the attic and the gardens. I’ve had two nurses quit in the last month. They all say she needs to be in a nursing home. You are brilliant with Miss Adele. She listens to you. You calm her down. Please stay. I will pay you more. I can pay you anything you want. I will triple your pay. Edward won’t mind. He thought all the other girls were twits and he hasn’t had a bad thing to say about you.”

  “Have you ever thought that she would be better off in a nursing home?” I said firmly. I was being far more forward than I usually would be, but last night had convinced me that Miss Adele needed more intensive care. I was worried, and my worry overwhelmed my usual shyness.

  “That’s impossible,” Mrs. Fairfax said with an unusual harshness.

  “But—” I began to protest.

  Mrs. Fairfax cut me off. “I said that is impossible. Will you stay on?”

  “O-of course,” I said with a smile. “I just wanted to do the best I could for Miss Adele.”

  “That is why I could never replace you. Your paycheck will be triple what it was last week,” Mrs. Fairfax said with a sweet smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go call Edward.”

  “Edward?” I asked. The mere mention of his name made my heart pound.

  “Yes,” she said. “Miss Adele is insisting he come home. He may not come, but I must relay her message.”

  “Good luck,” I said as I turned to leave. I didn’t want Mrs. Fairfax to see the hopeful smile that had spread out over my face. Edward might be coming back. I could hardly breathe. I would see him again. I knew he was dating Blanche. I had no unrealistic expectations, but it didn’t matter. It would be wonderful just to see him again.

  To be continued…

  About the Author

  Jessica Penot is a therapist and a mom. She lives in Huntsville, Alabama with her children, husband, dogs, cats, and other strange creatures. When she’s not writing, she’s probably exploring a haunted house somewhere with her husband and kids.

  Jessica’s latest writing project is a YA/NA paranormal series called the Tattooed Girl Series inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s beloved classic novel, Jane Eyre.

  The Tattooed Girl Series includes the following books:

  Jane of Air (Book 1)

  Jane of Fire (Book 2)

  Jane of Water (Book 3)

  Jane of Earth (Book 4)

  Jane of Darkness (Book 5)

  Jane of Light (Book 6)

  You can learn more about Jessica at www.jessicapenot.com. Sign up for Jessica’s Scary Girl Newsletter and follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Tumblr .

 

 

 
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