Zenith (The Thornfield Affair Book 3)

by Amity Cross

  Leaving Edward to sleep in, I dressed quietly and caressed his rough cheek before seeking out an ally in my crusade.

  Despite what we’d been through, there was no one else I trusted more than Alice Fairfax. Her heart and intentions had always been pure, and for that, I afforded her my complete confidence. I decided I would ask her to assist in rooting out Thornfield’s mole once and for all.

  I found her in the kitchen gathering her breakfast, and I accosted her immediately.

  “I need your help,” I whispered, pulling her aside.

  “Jane, what is it?” she asked, almost dropping her plate. “Why are you whispering?”

  I took the plate from her hands before it ended up as shards of china on the floor, set it on the table, and then dragged her outside where we could not be overheard. I explained my theory to her in great detail, her eyes widening the further the story unfolded.

  “If we do not stop whoever it is leaking information, then we are doomed before we even start,” I said. “Will you help, Alice?”

  Her eyes were wide with shock. “You truly believe someone at Thornfield could be to blame?”

  “Alice, someone here must have told Blanche about Bertha. I don’t know how else she could have found out. Not even I knew. Do you remember how I searched every corner of the house after Edward left? When I became ill?”

  She pondered this, her brow creasing. “Yes, you did tear apart the whole house…”

  “I don’t think I’m the cleverest person here, but don’t you think it would have been easy for me to find her considering how I acted? Bertha is a well-kept secret, Alice. You must see that there was no way for Blanche, who was a guest and always watched, to find her on her own. Someone told her. We cannot hope to beat Blanche at her own game if someone is spying. If the story is leaked, it will be the end for all of us. For Thornfield.”

  Alice hesitated, her gaze falling to the ground. I could see it pained her to think a member of staff could be so treacherous. I sincerely hoped I was wrong, but we could not take any chances.

  “Do you know anyone who would want her favor?” I prodded. “Someone who needed money, perhaps?”

  “There are a few people,” she mused. “Sam in housekeeping fussed over her a great deal last summer. And Flora in the kitchens is always complaining about her wages…”

  “Can I trust you with this?”

  “Yes,” she said, grasping my hands. “Yes, you can. I won’t let you down, Jane. If there’s someone leaking information to Blanche, I will find them.”

  To her surprise, I embraced her tightly. “Thank you, Alice.”

  Edward found me in the dining room.

  “Where did you spirit off to?” he asked.

  “The kitchens,” I replied, not sure if I should tell him of my plot just yet.

  “If you say so, Jane.” He narrowed his eyes and gestured for me to sit at the main dining table. “Shall we eat breakfast here this morning? I know how you miss your friends.”

  “You want to sit with the help?” I asked, smiling. “You usually take your meals in your study.”

  “We can go upstairs if you want,” was his reply, and I shook my head. It would be a delight to see the looks upon the staff’s faces when they saw the master within their ranks.

  Our breakfast was long, and we were mostly left alone, people coming and going from the dining room more quickly than usual. It seemed no one wanted to linger with Edward around to watch their gossiping or hear them talk about his curious presence that morning.

  I had no such qualms, and I studied him unashamedly. I watched him carefully slice each piece of bacon with his knife and then dip his fork into the beans before devouring. He was very precise and neat, and I shook my head. Just another thing he loved to control it seemed.

  We enjoyed a companionable silence as we ate, which was an entirely different experience for me. I hadn’t imagined life with Edward Rochester could be so full of contentment. Just this one glimpse had my anger rising at the fact it could all be taken away from us before we had the opportunity to really enjoy our time together. There were still a great many things we had to address—one of them being Bertha Mason and her continued confinement at Thornfield—but answers to those paradoxes would come in time.

  With a shake of my head, I picked up the newspaper and read the headlines before opening it. I scanned the inside page, and when I saw a familiar set of faces, I had to stop and study it again. It was printed in full color, the image quite large, so there was no mistaking who the pair were.

  Blanche and Georgiana stood together, wearing pink and purple ball gowns, their hair and makeup done to perfection. They looked the best of friends, and my heart sank. The caption read, ‘Blanche Ingram and Georgiana Reed together at the Thompson Foundation ball.’

  Georgiana and Blanche were friends? I set the paper down and stared off into space, attempting to discern the nature of their relationship. I did not know they had even met. Perhaps it was possible if Georgiana had gone out into London society.

  “Jane?” Edward asked. “Are you well?”

  “Her lawyer…” I said, realizing the connection. It was so obvious. I didn’t know how I’d overlooked it all this time. “Her lawyer’s name was Farnham.” Briggs, Farnham, and Associates.

  “Briggs’s associate?” Edward asked, looking confused. “What does he have to do with anything?”

  “A great deal, I’m assuming.” I handed him the paper, and he scowled when he saw the picture.

  “This is your cousin?”

  “Yes.”

  I’d wondered on Blanche’s interest in me at the opening and why she sought me out to gloat. I had little for her to target at that moment, being estranged from Edward as I was, but now I saw she knew more than she had let on. Oh, dear. You still have a great deal.

  She knew about my inheritance, and once she was done with Edward… I was next.

  “She knew all this time,” I muttered. “Farnham is Georgiana’s lawyer. That’s how Blanche knew about my money, it has to be.”

  “What cause would your cousin have to leak the information about your inheritance?” Edward asked, looking thoroughly annoyed. “Doesn’t she have a fortune of her own?”

  “Her fortune was squandered by her brother,” I explained. “He gambled it all away before he committed suicide. He must have left behind a devastating debt that crippled Aunt Sarah’s estate. It’s the only reason I can see…”

  No, that wasn’t quite true. When we’d reconnected last winter, she was delighted to find me amicable and wished to be my sister fully. Her words came back to me clear as day—‘I wish to know you, Jane.’ Then I remembered how upset she had been when I called her after I’d left Thornfield. She’d felt it a mortal blow that I’d left and not told her my whereabouts.

  “I must go see her,” I said, folding up the newspaper. “I must reason with her. I must apologize.”

  “Apologize? What on earth for?”

  “I’ve wronged her,” I replied hastily, rising to my feet.

  Edward scoffed at my proclamation. “You’d reason with your treacherous cousin? What good did that family ever do for you, Jane? Let her rot with the rest of them.”

  “She is still my cousin,” I snapped. “She is the last of her name, she has no family, and I see in her a great deal of what was forced upon me as a child. She wanted my love, and I turned from her, albeit, I thought I was sparing her heartache, but it was the wrong thing to do.”

  “What’s done is done. I won’t let you go,” he said, his voice rising as he stood to face me. “Not with the lingering threat of exposure over my head. You are in danger still, and I won’t see you harmed.”

  “Can’t you see, Edward?” I asked, taking his hands in mine. “If I let this go on, then I am no better than the people who have done the same to me. I will go, and I shan’t be ordered. Not even by you.”

  He tugged me close and embraced me, his lips pressing against my forehead. “You stubborn crea
ture,” he whispered. “How you vex me.”

  What I didn’t tell him was my plan to convince my cousin to join our cause against Blanche. If he knew what I plotted, then he wouldn’t allow me to leave so easily. Edward Rochester was still as brooding and changeable as he always was, and no amount of endearments would alter his core personality.

  “Only as much as you vex me in return,” I answered.

  The journey to Gateshead was a sight quicker when a car and driver were involved.

  I watched the moors pass by, the countryside morphing into fields and cities as I was borne closer and closer to my cousin.

  It was just after midday when the car turned up the long driveway toward the manor. The last time I was here, the grounds were covered in a fine layer of snow, but now they shone with shades of brilliant green, the garden beds were bursting with row upon row of lavender, and blue sky stretched above. The memories it brought back of my childhood were sharp, and I could almost believe I was coming home in a way, no matter how I’d been treated.

  The driver set me down at the entrance where he remained with instructions to wait for my return, and the maid greeted me at the front door. She recognized me from the year before and escorted me inside to the sitting room where I found Georgiana.

  My cousin was just as I remembered—her golden hair shone, her clothing was impeccable, and her skin as silky as cream, but when she turned, I could see how tired she’d become. Her eyes bore a sadness that spoke to me clearer than she possibly understood. It was a feeling I’d endured for many years and was as familiar to me as the sight of her features.

  “Jane?” Georgiana rose from the couch, a startled look upon her face. “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m sorry to have not called first,” I replied. “But I have something urgent I wish to discuss with you.”

  “Urgent?” she parroted, her cheeks flushing pink. “With me?”

  Standing before her, I took her hands in mine, ignoring the fact she was looking at me, but her gaze did not meet my own. I was quite certain she was hiding something. Her friendship with Blanche, her disappointment in me, her sadness…it could be any of those things. I mustn’t jump to any conclusions and say my piece.

  “I have wronged you,” I said. “I wished to keep you free from the burden of my troubles, and in doing so, I harmed you instead. All you wanted was to be my sister and forget the past we shared. I am truly sorry, Georgiana.” She looked startled as she sat on the couch, and I perched beside her, taking her hand in mine. “I must ask… Did you tell Blanche Ingram of my inheritance? No one else knew…”

  “I told her. You are right,” she replied haughtily, snatching her hand away. “I overheard Mr. Farnham and Mr. Briggs discussing you months ago. I waited for you to confide in me, but you did not. I didn’t hear from you at all!” She wiped away a tear and turned her face from mine.

  “Georgiana,” I pleaded. “I’m sorry to have not told you, but my life was in complete chaos. I did not know how to deal with it. I told no one at all.”

  “Not even your Edward Rochester?” she asked, scowling quite furiously. “No, you never told me about him, either!”

  I bowed my head, cursing my closed nature. Emerging from behind my walls was the hardest thing I’d had to do, but then there was the act of trusting someone who had slighted me in the past. Forgiveness was truly the most difficult thing a human being could part with next to love.

  “It’s not my wish to regale you with excuses,” I said. “I could spend all day justifying my actions, but it doesn’t mean anything. Our past is a troubled one, cousin, I’m sure you would agree. I find it hard to trust anyone at all, and that is my failing. I’m sorry to not have given you a chance to prove our past is exactly where it should remain. In the past. When I left Thornfield, I should have come to you.”

  “Yes, you should have! I would have protected you, Jane.”

  “I see that now, and I am truly sorry.”

  She sniffed, her features tight with the effort she was using to contain her tears. Had I truly broken her heart so? Oh, how the human spirit was so easily cracked even when one was attempting to save it from complete destruction. Life was so fragile that sometimes, it was a burden too heavy to bear, but bear it we must.

  “Georgiana, I worry for you,” I continued. “I saw the photograph of you and Blanche in the society pages today, and it caused a burst of fear so strong I could hardly contain it. You must see her for who she really is. She is using you for her own ends, to spy and manipulate others. Surely, you must see how one-sided your relationship is. I cannot allow her to hurt you so.”

  Georgiana looked aghast. “You wish me to cease all communication with my only friend? For that is what she is, you know. I have no one here my own age. I am cut off from the world, and my entire family is dead! My own cousin, who I’d hoped would be my sister, wanted nothing to do with me! I have no one!”

  “I am here!” I pleaded. “I wish to know you, Georgiana. You are the last of my family, and I am the last of yours. We must know one another!”

  “How can I trust you?”

  “Georgiana, you must,” I replied. “Spreading information to Blanche is not the way to win affection.”

  “I suppose you want me to spy on her, too!”

  “She is not to be trusted. Once you have become of no use to her, she will turn on you the same as all the rest. I’ve seen it happen with my very own eyes! She is not offering friendship, for true friendship is not as toxic as this.”

  She pouted, showing she was just as stubborn as her mother had been.

  “Georgiana, you must listen! She manipulated the artist friend I was staying with, John Rivers. She told him half-truths and lies to turned him against me. He almost strangled me to death because of it!”

  “Lies…” she said, shaking her head, refusing to believe.

  “Then allow me to tell you all of it. From beginning to end. Once you hear it, then you can decide if you still want to throw your lot in with Blanche.”

  I told her everything, then. From my first meeting with Edward, the events of last summer, and my time in London. Her skin began to pale as I confided the moment Blanche attacked me at Thornfield, and when I exposed the scars on my chest and told her the sad story of insane Bertha Mason, she burst into tears, sobbing quite uncontrollably.

  “Jane!” she cried. “Is it really true?”

  “I would dearly like to say it is all a wonderful story from a novel, but yes. All of it is true.”

  “She told me…” She hesitated and wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. “It doesn’t matter what she told me. Jane, I’ve known you all my life, and I’ve known people like her…” She sighed, beginning to look tired. “I scarcely know how to explain myself. I’ve ruined everything for you. I never lifted a finger to help before, and now… Now you come here and apologize to me? I should be the one who is apologizing.”

  “Nonsense,” I declared. “Blanche is determined to destroy everyone in her quest for revenge, no matter how insignificant. Edward feels that he is trapped with no recourse, but I am not so easy to discourage. I wish to stop her from hurting any more people. There shall be no more collateral damage in her petty quest. Will you help me, Georgiana?”

  Another tear slid down her cheek, so I retrieved a tissue from the side table and pressed it against her skin, doting on her like a sister should.

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I will help you.”

  On the way back to Thornfield, I contacted Mr. Briggs.

  I felt I could trust him given he had been firm allies with my uncle, and his actions since had instilled much faith in his abilities as an upstanding human being.

  I explained the situation in full to him, including all the attempts that had been made on my life, and inquired after legal proceedings. I was especially eager to see if there was something that could be done to stop Blanche from selling Edward’s story to the media, for if that was the least we could do, it would still be
enough to allow us to live without fear.

  Mr. Briggs was aghast at all that had happened and thought long and hard before replying. He said it was not his area of expertise but ultimately ended up agreeing to help and would meet me at Thornfield as soon as he was able.

  I hoped that by then Georgiana would have come through with some evidence. Otherwise, it would all be for nothing. A he-said-she-said battle in court would be expensive, public, and pointless without irrefutable proof. Besides, all the authorities had to do was search Thornfield, discover Bertha and her carer, Grace Poole, and it would be over for Edward. This had to be settled privately.

  I only hoped Blanche would see it the same way.

  17

  The following morning, an unexpected visitor arrived at Thornfield.

  “I have come to see Jane. Is she here?”

  The French accent echoing through the gallery was unmistakable, and I darted to the balcony and leaned over the railing. Adele stood in the middle of the foyer, obviously having pushed past a startled Alice when she’d opened the front door.

  They made a fine pair, both waifs in stature, each as fairylike as the other. Adele had a suitcase propped beside her and a bag slung over her shoulder, and it looked to be more than a fleeting visit. Had she left her job at The Gossiping Shrew to come here? What for? Had Rivers harassed her? I was desperate to know.

  “Adele!” I exclaimed, pushing away from the banister and running down the stairs to greet her.

  “Jane!” she cried, dropping her bag onto the floor and rushing to meet me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. Once, her familiarity would have put me on edge—for we had only known each other a short time—but Adele Varens threw herself into everything and everyone she came into contact with, it seemed.

  “I have much to tell you,” she said, pulling away. “I think I have something that may help you if you want to hear it.”