by Luccia Gray
“I can understand how upset Jane must be at losing such a capable servant, but he did the right thing. There are plenty of valets, but we can never have enough brave, naval officers. I am glad I helped him on his way. George here tells me he is the best midshipman he has ever had, so he has promoted him to lieutenant after only six months at sea. You made the right decision my boy.” The admiral punched his arm affectionately.
Jane winced, so I asked her how she was feeling.
“I’m feeling unwell after the journey. I think I’d like to retire.”
“Oh no, my dearest sister, you must have something to eat first. Dinner is ready. Kate has prepared some chicken broth, and Jack caught some fresh salmon this morning. Come; sit with us at the table, Jane.”
She hesitated before nodding, taking her cousin’s arm, and walking to the table.
“Jane, please sit beside me, at the head of the table.”
Shortly after, the table came alive with the soft jingle of cutlery chiming against the dishes. We all ate heartily, chatting amiably, except Jane who was quietly staring at her soup, as if she wanted to avoid conversation, but the captain’s wife had other plans.
“We are so pleased to meet you Mrs. Mason. Mrs. Fitzjames has done nothing but speak of you for years. I cannot believe I am face to face with the famous James Elliott, which is your pen name, is it not? I have ordered your new novel from London; it will be here soon!”
Jane looked up and smiled.
“Why do you use a male pen name?”
“It seemed the best place to hide. Life is so much easier for a man.” She looked at Michael, and I realised that she still had feelings for him.
“But why would such a talented writer want to hide?” asked the captain’s wife.
“I value my privacy, and I enjoy a quiet life in the country. I prefer not to speak about myself or my books.”
“But wouldn’t you like to be remembered as a great writer?”
“I’d prefer to be remembered as a good person, who helped those in need.”
Diana leaned over to Jane squeezing her arm, “And someone who was greatly loved, as you are, Jane. Everyone who knows you is devoted to you. You inspire great devotion, my dearest cousin.”
“Only God deserves devotion, sister. I am afraid I am an insignificant sinner.”
“I must disagree,” said Michael. “I know of no–one on the Rochester Estate who would not consider Mrs. Mason a most honest and charitable person.”
They looked at each other for a moment. I thought she had stopped breathing, but she spoke to him for the first time. “Thank you, Lieutenant Kirkpatrick.”
“What is it about?” asked Mrs. Carrington. “I have heard it is about a poor orphan girl who was at a workhouse and finally married a lord. How does it come about?”
“I suppose a combination of luck, hard work, and love, of course, but I’m afraid you’ll have to read it yourself to find out all the details.”
“I will, as soon as George is back to sea. He keeps me so busy when he is at home!”
“How long will you be staying in England, Captain Carrington?” asked Jane.
“We’ll be sailing on the last January tide, won’t we Kirkpatrick?”
“Jane, I’ve asked Captain and Mrs. Carrington and Lieutenant Kirkpatrick to spend Christmas with us. Would you mind if they came with us to Eyre Hall on Christmas Day?”
Jane stared back at her cousin, but made no attempt to reply. Mrs. Carrington broke the uncomfortable silence. “We’ll be staying at the Rochester Arms. We would not want to impose on your hospitality. I have never been to the north of England before, and I would like to see as much as possible.” She glanced at Jane. “Of course, if it is not convenient…”
Jane seemed paralysed, so I attempted an answer. “I’m afraid Eyre Hall will be very busy this Christmas. We are expecting some guests. Admiral Fitzjames and Diana, Mr. Mason, Adele, Mr. Greenwood and Dante, John, and Phoebe, his fiancée, and her sister, Clarissa, but the Rochester Arms has comfortable rooms.” I turned to look at Jane, begging her to reply.
Jane spoke at last. “You are, of course, all welcome for lunch on Christmas Day.”
“Thank you for your kind invitation, Mrs. Mason,” said Mrs. Carrington before turning to her husband and patting his hand. “We shall be staying at the Rochester Arms then. How wonderful!”
“I understand Lieutenant Kirkpatrick would like to see his sister, wouldn’t you, my boy?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen Susan for over a year. We have family matters to discuss.”
“Susan is in London at the moment; she has recently returned from Italy with Adele and Mr. Greenwood, and his son, Dante,” I said.
“I trust she is well?” asked Michael, and I wondered why he sounded worried.
“As far as I know she’s well. I believe she enjoyed her stay in Italy. Did she not write to you while she was away?”
“Not very often. It’s not easy to receive letters at sea.”
The rest of the meal proceeded with more chatter about the sights to see in the environs, and the advantages of living in the countryside. Jane hardly spoke, and excused herself to rest in her room as soon as the meal was over.
We left two days later, after an early breakfast. She had spent most of the time at Thorpe Hall in her room, complaining of a headache. She did not speak in the carriage on the way back. There was nothing I could do. It was her way of coping. She closed up and built a fortress around herself, as I had so often seen her do.
***
Chapter V – Mr. Mason Returns
“Beth, I don’t want you going into Hood’s room no more,” Simon warned me.
It was always hell downstairs when Mr. Mason was staying at Eyre Hall, but even more so now that Mrs. Mason was away, so we were alone with the hoodlum, Hood, as we called him, ’cos he was always holding a candle to the devil and causing havoc.
I didn’t mind because I had done it before. I had put up with my brothers, sometimes two at a time, and I’d seen my mum get beaten by my dad and his friends. Hood wasn’t that bad, and he was over real quick. Sometimes he called me and Jenny together, and I didn’t mind either, except Simon was upset, said it weren’t right now that we was going out.
Hood arrived yesterday, furious ’cos there was no one at home. He was bored and drunk as a lord before lunch. We heard him trip down the steps, swearing and frightening us out of our wits, and then he barged into Mrs. Leah’s drawing room demanding entertainment for the evening. We listened behind her door, poor Christy and me.
“Where the hell is everybody in this damned house? It’s as quiet as a graveyard!” He sounded real angry.
“Who were you wishing to speak to, Mr. Mason?” replied Leah ever so calmly, the way she spoke when she was furious, but didn’t want anyone to notice.
“Where is Jane?”
“She is visiting her cousin, Mrs. Fitzjames, with Miss Annette.”
“What about Adele and her fiancé?”
“They are in London. They are expected to arrive within a day or two.”
“And John?”
“Master John is visiting the Jacksons, I believe.”
“Jenny and Thomas?”
“Thomas has taken the carriage to ride his mother to Millcote. She needed threads and buttons for her sewing.”
“And the valets?”
“Simon and Fred have gone to fetch more coal and wood for the fires. We have run out. It has been an unusually cold autumn, and all the hearths have been in full swing all month.”
“And the little urchin?”
“Nell is at school.”
“When will she be back?”
“Jenny and Thomas will collect her on their way back from Millcote.”
“Of course. Well, perhaps it is too soon for her. She can wait until my next visit. And the chits?”
“Christy, Daisy and Beth are washing in the scullery and scrubbing the pots in the kitchen.”
“Daisy does not
please me. She has revolting pockmarks. She is too tall, thin as a rake, and looks like a boy. Where did Jane find such a hideous creature?”
“She is a hard–working lass.”
“The other one, Christy, is she a virgin?”
“I cannot tell, Mr. Mason.”
“Has she got a suitor?”
“I believe not.”
“Ever had one?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Send her up to my room this evening, with Beth, so she knows what it’s about.”
“What about Jenny, sir?”
“I may require Jenny tomorrow. She is more experienced, but she is getting too fat around the waist, too ample around the buttocks, and too amenable. Tonight I would like a tighter fit, firmer breasts, and some resistance. I would like to play with Beth and Christy.”
“That may be a problem.”
“Will they be out of the house, too?”
“Beth has a suitor.”
“Who?”
“Simon.”
“That idiot! He is thick as a brick. He won’t even notice, my dear.”
“I’m afraid Christy isn’t that sort of girl.”
“She’s got a muff, hasn’t she? They’re all that sort of girl, Mrs. Leah.”
“I mean she doesn’t like boys, I believe.”
“Nonsense. I put my hand up her skirt and pinched her yesterday, and she did not even flinch. On the contrary, she hurried out looking flushed. She wants it and she is going to get it. Just make sure she knows what to expect.”
“I think it would be better to wait for Jenny to return and perhaps Beth will oblige. Christy will be of little use to you.”
“Well, it would take one to know one, wouldn’t it?”
“That is an offensive remark, Mr. Mason. I am unmarried, but I have never maintained a relationship with a female.”
“I have told you who I want this evening, Leah. I do not expect you to neglect my instructions.”
“Mrs. Mason would be displeased.”
“Mrs. Mason will never know, and in any case, she will be pleased for any distraction which keeps me away from her room, will she not?”
Silence, then he spoke again. “After dinner. At eight-thirty sharp. In my room.”
He turned and wobbled back up the stairs. We had listened to every one of his cruel and vicious words holding our hands to our mouths so he wouldn’t hear our gasps. Christy was crying by the time we heard the top door close. We burst into Mrs. Leah’s room in horror and revulsion.
“I’m afraid there is nothing I can do girls. He is the master and you are the servants. If you want to keep your jobs you’ll have to oblige.”
Christy wailed miserably. “I cannot bear any man to touch me, especially not him. I can’t do it. I’d rather die. I’d rather he beat me to death.”
“Christy, would you let him touch you? I’ll do all the rest. He won’t notice. Mrs. Mason will be back tomorrow and he won’t dare when she’s at Eyre Hall. We’ll threaten to tell her.”
Christy tugged at Leah’s dress sleeve. “Mrs. Leah, you have to help me.” Leah was the only person in the house, except Mrs. Mason who dared to stand up to him, but she was scared of him, too.
“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do.” She was heartless. She knew it would kill Christy, who was in love with Daisy, but still, she didn’t care.
Christy used to like the boys, until last year when a gang raped her on her way back from Hay. She had drunk too much gin, but in any case, she couldn’t have fought them all off. On full moon nights, they stalked their prey and attacked like a pack of hungry wolves. She knew who they were, we all did. Mr. Raven’s son and his friends. We told her to tell Mrs. Mason, because Mr. Raven was afraid of her, but she said they threatened to do it again if she told anyone what had happened, so she never did.
It was just some fun for them, but Christy changed after that. She never went out, said she hated men, and vowed that not one of them would ever touch her again. Daisy was good to her. She used to work at the George Inn. Leah called her when we had guests and more servants were needed. Then Leah asked her to stay on because she was tall, strong and hardworking, and perhaps because she liked bathing her on Saturdays. Soon, Daisy and Beth became close, so close they spent winter nights huddled in bed. I had thought it was due to the cold, but they huddled even more in summer, so I guessed they were tipping the velvet. Daisy was kind to Christy, and suddenly she was smiling again, like she used to, although she never ever left Eyre Hall. She wouldn’t even go out as far as the steps to the gardens.
I would have liked to marry Michael. He kissed me once. I used to think he might like me, but he was just playing around. We all soon noticed he had higher ambitions, too high for his own good. After he left, Fred was employed. I never liked him very much. He was too quiet and reserved. I didn’t trust him. Then Simon started chatting me up, until he finally asked me out, and we became special friends. He said he loved me, and I told him I loved him too, but I lied. I didn’t think I could do much better. He is a good, kind boy, so I hope to marry him one day and have children of my own, and perhaps a little house on the estate. Who knows?
When I told Simon, he said I was his girlfriend so I couldn’t please Hood no more. Christy wouldn’t be able to please Hood either, so that’s when I devised my plan. No one would help us, so we had to fend for ourselves.
I told Simon to get Mrs. Mason’s laudanum. She don’t usually take any, but she always has a bottle in her room, for headaches and women’s pains. Simon and Fred served his dinner, so I told Simon to get rid of Fred and put some drops in Hood’s wine first, and then in his brandy, so he’d be so foxed he wouldn’t last long once we were in the room with him. He wouldn’t remember nothing the next day. We’d have to be careful, because we’d be doing it all through Christmas while he was in residence, so I told Simon to get a bottle from the apothecary, ’cos Mrs. Mason would notice if a whole bottle went missing.
I had no idea how many drops would be enough, or the effects of mixing it with booze, other than drowsiness, but he had it coming to him. I’m not sorry for what I did. He was an evil geezer.
***
Chapter VI – Christmas Dinner
I had hoped to return to England as Mrs. Adele Greenwood, but our wedding has been postponed on so many occasions that I wondered if it would ever take place. We were about to be married in Venice last April when my mother died. It was not entirely unexpected, because she had been ill for some time. Nevertheless, the suddenness of her death altered all our plans. We decided to postpone the wedding until September, but again, just a few weeks before the event, when I presented William with the premarital agreement Mr. Briggs had sent me, he suggested we should discuss the matter in person with Mr. Briggs and Jane in England.
We thought it would be a good idea to do so at Jane’s wedding on All Hallows, but Jane was adamant that it was to be a small wedding, and nobody was to attend, except Annette, who was back from Brussels, so we stayed in Venice. William then suggested we return for Christmas and discuss our wedding arrangements with Jane, as well as Dante’s future. He suggested Annette would remain unmarried unless she found a suitor soon, and thought it would be advantageous for Jane to have Annette out of Eyre Hall. He proposed a double wedding in the spring between us and Annette and Dante.
I was becoming more worried about my future as Mrs. Greenwood, and I was sure Mr. Briggs’s contract had a great deal to do with William’s decision. His funds were diminishing, and the dowry Mr. Rochester had provided for me was not as high as he had expected. I told him Jane would offer more if it were needed, but he did not want to discuss financial matters openly with me.
I had written to Annette and informed her about my fiancé’s wishes, but she said she did not plan to marry yet. I told her I thought she was being ungrateful, and that we should help each other, but she seemed unmoved by my pleas. Jane said she would not force Annette to marry against her wishes and suggested that Willia
m should sign the contract and marry me, as he had promised. When I told her that he seemed disappointed with the dowry, she was displeased.
“If Mr. Greenwood wishes to renegotiate the premarital contract or requires a higher dowry, he must put forward a proposal to me, in Mr. Briggs’s presence, as soon as possible, but the wedding will not be postponed a third time.”
“But, Jane! That could jeopardise my marriage. He could refuse to marry me. I’ll be a spinster again, and no one will marry me this time!”
Jane was unmoved. “He will not be allowed to play with you, Adele,” were her last words.
Jane had grown reserved and taciturn since Edward had died and we had all left Eyre Hall. Her letters were friendly and informative at first, but I soon noticed there was more information withheld than communicated, and since our return, we had barely spoken for more than a few minutes.
Surprisingly, Jane seemed to have grown closer to Annette, despite her prolonged stay in Brussels. I was most upset when I saw Annette enter her chamber earlier that evening to help her dress for our Christmas dinner party. I had helped Jane dress since she married Monsieur, yet she had thrust me away in favour of Bertha’s daughter, most ungratefully. When I asked her if she needed my assistance, she said, “Make sure you do not neglect Mr. Greenwood,” which was her stock phrase every time I had tried to approach her since my return.
I had imagined that the dinner party would be an ideal occasion for Annette and Dante to become friends, but unfortunately, no such thing happened. It was a merry reunion for the most part, filled with varied guests. The table was exquisitely laid, with our finest china dishes, fine Italian crystal goblets, sterling silver cutlery, sparkling cut glass decanters etched with grape and vine. Leah, as always, managed to excel on grand occasions. Cook had prepared a feast for us including roast turkey, mince pies, and plum cake with a sprig of holly on the top.
We had two merry visitors, Judge Harwood’s youngest daughters, Phoebe, John’s loquacious fiancée, and Clarissa her lively younger sister who insisted we decorate Eyre Hall for Christmas as everyone did in London. I helped them adorn the windowsills with Christmas wreaths made of yew, holly and holly berries tied with raffia. Jenny was instructed to make ivy wreaths by stitching ivy leaves on strips of green cloth, which we hung from the fireplace, through the balusters, and along the handrails of the staircases. I also helped the joyful sisters drape the chandeliers with greenery, pinecones, and walnuts. Eyre Hall had never looked so merry! Everywhere you looked, there was greenery and dried fruits and nuts. We even had a Christmas tree in every room for the first time! We decorated them with cinnamon sticks tied in bundles, walnuts all wrapped in colourful bits of cloth, and pinecones covered with bright ribbons.