Deliverance
Page 9
Of course Maria would nearly swoon at this proof of her adored master's love for me, though she didn't seem to experience a lack of love herself, young Patrick's proposals had been gladly accepted and the date for the wedding was set.
Thus Thornfield became a silent witness to marital bliss and parental love, and its gruesome past was nearly forgotten. I say nearly, because the reminders of the fire at least were always there, in my dear Edward's face and hand, in our beautiful bedchamber with its glass and iron construction. And in the mind of my beloved husband, who could sometimes slip back into a sultry mood, reliving his moments of shame and sin, lamenting how he had given in to his misfortunes instead of rising above them and staying pure of heart and mind.
'I wish I were as pure as you, dearest Jane, I would be so much more deserving of your love.'
Of course I didn't think so. I had done my share of reflecting on the past, and I so loved the wildness in my Edward, I knew the transgressions of his past had been the natural reaction of his untamed spirit to being fettered by tradition and the decisions he had been led to make as a young man.
'Dear Edward,' I replied, 'you have paid for your sins and made reparations, you need not reproach yourself any longer. Your past has made you the Edward Rochester I love more than anything, had your life been easy or without sin I might not have loved you so much.'
And we stood in front of the window of our beautiful bedroom, looking out over the rolling fields covered in snow. The sky was blue, the solitary trees
were black silhouettes against the pure white drifts, and smokey Millcote was well-hidden behind a cluster of hills, the nearest of which held the picturesque cottages of Hay.
The crows were on the wing, black specks on a blue canvas. During the fire they had fled the scene and lived somewhere else until the next spring. But when the time came to build nests and rear young, the temptation of the newly restored roof of Thornfield must have been to great for them, for one by one they had returned to re-establish their former rookery on this safe vantage point, until the colony was back to its former size.
We stood watching the beauty of our domain in silence, hand-in-hand, until Edward pulled me in his arms and kissed me with intense love and a hint of passion.
'Maybe you're right, my dearest Janet. You always were the wisest of the two of us. Will you join me in a ride across these unblemished hills today?'
The end
Document Outline
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3