Midsummer at Eyre Hall: Book Three Eyre Hall Trilogy (6 page)

The admiral squeezed my shoulder.
“You’re doing the right thing. It’s the only way to save Jane.”

I told them I needed some fresh air,
which was true. I walked out of their house before noon and returned to the
Retreat, where I had some unfinished business. They were all in bed when I returned
fourteen hours later. I went down to the servants’ quarters and slept for a few
hours until daybreak.

I was helping myself to breakfast in the
kitchen when the admiral informed me that he was travelling to Eyre Hall that
very day to speak to the archbishop with his proposal.

Diana refused to allow me to see Jane upstairs,
so she insisted on coming down. Jane lay on the couch in the drawing room, wrapped
in warm blankets, dozing most of the time, while I wandered around the room devising
a plan. Diana was engrossed in stitching the fabric in her embroidery hoop by
the window. I had promised the admiral and his wife that I would keep away from
Jane, so I had to wait for Diana to leave the room, which she did briefly on
several occasions, to kiss Jane and remind her I loved her.

The blizzard had cleared, but heavy dark
clouds stubbornly obscured the light of day. It would soon be raining. I busied
myself by kindling the fire and glancing through the admiral’s bookshelves. I flicked
through the pages of
The Mariner’s New and Complete Naval Dictionary
and
came across an image of Lord Nelson. My thoughts turned to Captain Carrington,
who saved my life by persuading me to return to Jane, when I had set my mind on
dying in a naval battle. What would his advice be now? I watched Jane’s chest
rise and fall as she slept peacefully and wondered if I needed to return to the
navy to preserve her serenity. She opened her eyes, as if she had heard my
thoughts, smiled and held out her hand. I swiped my lips over her wrist. Diana
coughed. I pressed a kiss into her palm, placed her hand on the couch and
stepped away. 

I reached for a bulky Atlas of Great
Britain from the bookcase. Inside it I found a large, folding, hand coloured
map of England and Wales. I turned back the north of England and studied the
south carefully, making a mental note of our trip to Wales and all the routes
from Wales to Cornwall.

The house was as still as a graveyard
while the rain ruthlessly whipped the walls and windows of Thorpe Hall, when
Annette and Dr. Carter arrived after lunch.    

***

Harry had received an urgent message
from Admiral Fitzjames to visit Jane at Thorpe House, and he asked me to
accompany him. I lied to the archbishop and asked him for permission to spend
the day at the hospital. Fortunately, he agreed. When we arrived, a flustered
Diana ushered us into the drawing room.

“Annette, Dr. Carter, I’m so glad you
came. Poor Jane. She’s wasted, wasted and ruined. It’s dreadful. Disastrous.”

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Jane
sitting on the couch, shivering, with a blanket covering her body. Her
beautiful hair was gone, unevenly cut, and her eyes seemed too large for her
shrunken face. 

Michael jumped up and embraced me at
once, with tears in his eyes, and then he shook Harry’s hand and told us he was
glad we had come at last.

Jane turned to us and smiled with great
effort. She said our names in a feeble voice and held out her hands. I sat by
her side and hugged her.

Harry took her hand and asked, “Why
aren’t you in bed, Jane?”

“I can’t…” Tears flooded her eyes as she
looked at Michael. I took out a kerchief and wiped her tears. Michael turned
towards the fireplace, holding on to the mantelpiece for support.

“The admiral won’t let Michael sit with
me upstairs.”

Harry turned to Diana. “They were to be
married…”

“They will never be married, Dr. Carter.
You must know that by now. They are outlaws. There will be no marriage.”

Harry approached Michael, placing his
hand on his hunched shoulder. “There must be something we can do, Michael.”

Michael turned with desperate eyes,
embraced Harry, signalled to Diana, and shook his head. I realised I had to
find a way of making sure we could speak without Diana’s presence.

“Diana, Jane is shivering. Perhaps you
could you bring her some more blankets?”

“Of course, I’ll get some more. Dear me,
she’s been trembling like a leaf all day. She’s chilled to the bone.”

As soon as Diana left the room, Michael
knelt down by Jane’s side, took her hand in his and pressed it with urgent
kisses. “Jane, my darling. I love you. Please get well. Whatever happens, I’ll
find you. A hundred times if I have to.”

“What’s the matter, Michael? Why haven’t
you spoken to me or sat with me?”

“They won’t let me. Don’t believe
anything they say to you. I’ll never leave you. Never.”

“How can we help?” I asked.

“The admiral wants us to leave, as soon
as Harry sees her,” said Michael.

“That’s probably a good idea,” I told
him. “The archbishop is furious. He’s threatened to have you both arrested.
He’ll be looking for you here soon.”

It pained me to see Michael look so
helpless and downcast.

“And John will be back any day now. According
to the archbishop, he’s on his way.”

Jane sighed. “Everything will be all
right when John comes back.”

Michael shook his head and looked at
Harry, who kneeled beside Jane. “Jane, this was all John’s doing. He planned it
with the archbishop.”

“We don’t know that for sure, Harry,” I
said.

“The archbishop told you himself. He’s
acting under John’s orders.”

“The archbishop could be lying. John
doesn’t know what he’s done to his mother, or to Eyre Hall,” I insisted.

“What has he done to Eyre Hall?” asked Jane.

We told Jane how he had moved in and
taken over the running of the estate, dismissing all the staff who wouldn’t
sign the testimonies against her.

“Only Leah, Cook, and Joseph, remain.
The others refused to sign, so they were dismissed the very night you were
taken to the asylum,” I told her.

“Leah, Cook and Joseph signed a
testimony against me?” Michael returned to her side, wiping her tears.

“I’m afraid they did,” I said. “They had
to, Jane, but they’re loyal to you. They helped Michael escape. Leah gave me every
penny of her savings for Michael and Jane, as well as all the housekeeping
money we could spare. They will do anything they can to help you.”   

Michael looked away from Jane to me. “Thank
Leah and tell her we will pay her back every last farthing.”

I nodded and turned to Jane. “I also had
to sign it.”

“You too, Annette?”

I lowered my face to her lap. “The archbishop
threatened to send Helen to the asylum unless I said you had convinced her you
are her mother, because you are mad.”

Jane smoothed my hair and spoke
absently. “Poor Helen. Where is she? I thought she was with you?”

“She’s at Lowood.”

Jane’s face contorted and she broke
down. I moved away and Michael crushed her to his chest.

“That dreadful, dreadful place. Michael,
she’s too frail. She won’t eat or sleep. She’ll die of melancholy.”

“Jane, don’t worry. When we’re safe, I’ll
bring her back to you. I promise.”

I waited for Jane to stop crying. “Jane,
I’ll visit her every week, I promise. I’ll make sure she’s well looked after.
She’ll have everything she needs.”

Harry held her hand. “Jane, I’ll visit
her too, to make sure she’s healthy. She’ll be well cared for. You have to look
after yourself now.”

 “What are you going to do?” Harry asked
Michael. “The archbishop will find you here.”

“The admiral has suggested we go to
Wales, to stay with Diana’s sister, Mary, and her husband, Reverend Wharton.”

“Good idea. That’s far enough away that
the archbishop won’t follow you, yet, but when John arrives, he’ll move heaven
and hell to get you back in the asylum, Jane. I’ll try to convince John, but
the archbishop is greedy and powerful. He even suggested he should have married
Jane himself, and none of this would have happened.”

“He’s going to pay for this,” said
Michael.

Harry put his hand on Michael’s
shoulder. “You have bigger fish to catch, Michael. You need to think of a way
out fast. I’ve brought you some more money.” He put an envelope in Michael’s
hand. “But you can’t hide in country inns forever.”

“I’ll pay you back.”

 “There’s no hurry, Michael. You’ll need
to find somewhere permanent to stay, as far away as possible from Eyre Hall.
You’ll have to start a new life with new identities. You can’t return to Eyre
Hall, at least not in the foreseeable future.”

Michael held Jane’s hand. “I know. I
have a plan.”

“Good,” said Harry. “But Michael, don’t
contact anyone you know. Including Adele or Susan. I mean it. No one, not even
us, or they’ll find you.”

Diana came back into the room with a
blanket and Michael moved away.

“Thank you, Diana,” said Harry. “Now I’d
like to examine the patient. Could you all leave the room, please? Except
Annette, she’s used to helping me at the hospital.”

Diana and Michael left the room and
Harry proceeded to examine Jane.

“My goodness, Jane. You have lost too
much weight. Please make sure you eat. Plenty of beef broth and stew, every
day. I mean it.”

“I can hardly swallow.”

Harry asked her to open her mouth, and he
examined her throat. “It’s sore. Why? Were you force fed at the asylum?”

“Only once. I screamed until my lungs
were dry and my throat raw. I screamed for them to leave me alone. I can’t tell
you how awful it was. They took my clothes away, hosed me with cold water,
chained me to the walls, and they hit me, mercilessly.”

Harry held her hand. “Jane, I’m serious.
You won’t get through the winter if you don’t eat, sleep and rest, and drink plenty
of lemon juice and honey, for your throat.”

She nodded, but tears kept pouring down
her cheeks. “I can’t understand what’s happened. I was at home, waiting for
Michael to bring the wedding licence and suddenly they took me away to the
asylum. I thought it was a nightmare, but every time I woke up, I was back in
the room, shackled to the wall.”

Harry patted her hand. “Try to forget.
You’re not there anymore. Michael will keep you safe, Jane.”

“Who will keep Michael safe? I can’t
believe we’re outlaws. What shall we do? Where shall we go?”

Her breathing became erratic. Harry took
her pulse.

 “You must keep calm, Jane. Can you keep
your food down?”

“I’ve hardly eaten since I left Eyre
Hall.”

“Well, you must eat small amounts
frequently.”

I had to wipe my own tears now, as Harry
asked her more dreadful questions.  

“Jane, I must ask you if you were
forced, intimately.”

She nodded. “I don’t want Michael to
know.”

“Jane, Michael will understand,” said
Harry. I was silent, convinced Jane was right. I dreaded to imagine Michael’s
reaction if he found out.

“I don’t want anyone else to know.
Whatever happens, please don’t tell anyone. Promise me.”

“I promise, Jane. Now, tell me, this is
important, how many men?”

“Just one and only once.”

“Who was it?” asked Harry. “One of the
wardens?”

“A man named Mr. Poole. He told me he
was the superintendent. He said his mother had worked at Thornfield Hall.” She
turned to me. “That she looked after Bertha, your mother, Annette.”

“Grace Poole, her drunken caretaker, the
one she mentions in the diary?”

“The very same.”

“Did you know her?”

“Yes, I knew a Grace Poole. She was a
servant when I arrived at Thornfield Hall. I had heard that her son worked at
Grimsby Retreat at the time, but I never met him, although he says he saw me
there.”

“Did you see any ulcerations, pimples,
or warts on this person?” asked Harry.

She broke down. I put my arms around
her, and we both cried. Diana knocked on the door and pushed it ajar, asking if
everything was all right or if we needed anything. I rushed to the door to make
sure they didn’t come inside and told them we had nearly finished. Michael was
standing behind Diana, his face contorted as he looked at Jane. Harry told them
we needed nothing, and Diana closed the door.

Jane was right. It was best not to tell
Michael. He would surely kill anyone who had had anything to do with Jane’s
stay at the asylum if he found out, and that would get him into further trouble.
Harry asked her again.

“I don’t think so,” she said, drying her
tears, “but I can’t be sure.”

“I’ll need to examine you, to make sure.
Lay back. It may be a little unpleasant, but I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Harry resumed his questions as he worked.
“Are you sleeping well?”

“No. I can’t sleep because of the
nightmares. If Michael could… but they won’t let him touch me.”

“Jane, you’ll need to take laudanum.”

“I can’t. Not again.”

“Only at night, and a very small dosage.
You need to sleep or you’ll never recover. I’ll explain to Diana and Michael
how it should be administered.”

Jane was limp and silent as Harry
finished his examination. He finally concluded that she only needed food and
rest.

Diana asked us if we wanted to stay for
dinner, but we left shortly after. Neither of us wanted to speak to Diana, and
it was torture watching Jane’s agonised face and Michael’s drawn expression.

On our return journey to Eyre Hall I
asked Harry what was wrong with Jane.

“She’s in a state of shock. She’ll get
better, I hope.” He shook his head. “How could John do this to his mother?”

“John doesn’t know exactly what’s
happened or what condition she’s in.”

“No, and he better not find out, or
he’ll have her locked up again. Moving to Wales is a good idea, but Reverend
Wharton is a harder bone to pick than the admiral. Michael will have to act
quickly.”

“If only I could make John understand;
he wouldn’t want to do this to his mother.”

“You can’t be serious! You can’t be
defending John. He always was a selfish conniving bastard, just like his
father.”

“You don’t know him.” I regretted my
words at once. There was a tense silence, until Harry broke it by asking me the
question I had dreaded.

“He’s the one who kissed you first,
isn’t he?”

My silence was a loud and clear answer.
I didn’t want to hurt Harry, but I wouldn’t lie to him.

“You still love that monster?”

“I can make him understand.”

“Understand what? Look what he’s done to
his mother, to Jane!”

“You’re being unfair. He didn’t do it.”

“But he consented to it.”

“He doesn’t know what happened.”

“He doesn’t know exactly how the archbishop’s
managed it, you mean. Can’t you see it? He wants Eyre Hall and he wants his
mother out of the way.”

“It was the archbishop’s doing. We can’t
be sure until we speak to John.”