Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall (29 page)

Much later, I asked Harry, “Could
Michael have yellow fever, as the soldiers said?”

“I don’t think so. That is probably why
they went nowhere near him, but on the contrary, his body temperature is low.
That is a good sign. No fever and no infection.”

“Thank God,” I sighed. “But Michael
looks so frail. Will he recover?”

Harry took my hand and watched me, no
doubt choosing his words. “He is suffering from severe malnutrition and
dehydration, but that is not the worst of our worries. He drank water, and I
trust he will be on a liquid diet in a few days. Once he sees Jane, he will
fight for his life, but I am concerned about his physical wounds. Until they
stop bleeding and scabs form, if they do, I cannot tell if they will heal. His
hands and legs must have been shackled for a long time before they were
removed, and the blackened bruises look raw. The decay of the tissue, caused by
lack of blood supply could be fatal. Gangrene could set in and I may have to
amputate.” He stopped and I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

“I am worried about the swollen, black
fingers on his left hand.” He stopped to watch my tortured face before adding,
“And his ankles, I’m afraid.”

I thought I had dried up all my tears,
but it seems my capacity for crying had not yet been reached. I wiped them with
my damp handkerchief and asked him, “What about Jane?”

“She will recover. She has a fever, no
doubt due to the heat and the shock. She will be sedated for a few days, and
Helen’s presence will cure her, until she is fit enough to see Michael
again.”   

“What are we going to do, Harry?”

“You will have to make decisions from
now on, Annette. We cannot stay anchored at Montego Bay until Jane is able to
make sensible judgements. When she recovers, she will be distressed until
Michael’s health improves, and if it does not, her judgement will be seriously
impaired. We could sail to Port of Spain and then on to Spanish Town. It might
be a good idea to stay at your house there, until Michael is well enough to
return to England. If we need a hospital or supplies, I am sure we will find
them more easily there.”

“Perhaps, but I am not sure.”

 “You could show me around the country
where you were brought up, which does indeed look like a paradise.” He smiled
encouragingly.

“On the other hand, we could set sail
and return to England.”

I stared back at him helplessly. “I have
no idea what to do, Harry. I have never made a decision in my life.”

He laughed heartily. “That is an
exaggeration.”

“Stop laughing! It is the truth. I was
torn away from my mother after birth and bundled here and there until I was
brought to Spanish Town with my uncle who later turned me over to the nuns at
the convent, where everything was organised and decided for me. Years later, I
was transported to England, sent away to Belgium for a year, and then back to
Eyre Hall. A month ago, I was ordered to return to Spanish Town, and now I have
no idea where I am going. Which decisions have I ever made, tell me?”

“You are sitting here with me now. Is
that not your decision?”

I hesitated. How could I tell him that
if it were my choice I would not be by his side? He waited patiently for my
reply, which did not come, so he broke the silence.

“I was adopted. My mother abandoned me
shortly after birth. All I know is that she was Scottish and worked as a maid
in a wealthy household in Westminster. My Aunt Emily, who took in unwanted
babies brought to her by the local vicar, told me that the poor woman claimed
her wealthy employer had seduced her. Emily believed it to be true because the
girl had brought expensive swaddling clothes and a large sum of money when she
left me. Emily’s sister, Harriet, became my mother, although she is unaware
that her sister told me of my adoption before she died.

“My father insisted I study medicine and
become a doctor, and I was a most obedient son. I would have liked to stay in
London, but I had to return to Ferndean when my father was taken ill, and now I
have to stay with my mother because she is a widow and cannot live alone.
Finally, Mrs. Mason, who is my main benefactress, insisted I should make this
trip to Jamaica.” He paused and took my hand in his. “So you see, Annette, I
have made few choices myself, but this minute, I have chosen to sit with you
and I would not desire to be anywhere else in the world right now, or
ever.”     

We did seem to be perfectly matched, two
abandoned and lost souls, after all; both at Jane’s mercy and subject to destiny’s
capricious whims. I heard the serene and dark sea lapping gently against the
hull. My stomach growled, reminding me that I had not eaten since the morning.
I felt sick and miserable. 

“Nothing is my decision,” I finally told
him. I was sure of one thing; I would not tolerate lies or secrets any longer.

He replied at once. “I will wait until
you decide to spend the rest of your life with me, because the time will come
when you realise no–one will ever love and respect you more than I do.”

I lay back on his shoulder and closed my
eyes again imagining all of us residing at my uncle’s house. I wondered what my
mother would say if she saw us here, in her country, in her brother’s house. Was
Jane to recover her health and her betrothed in Bertha’s homeland?

“Help me decide, Harry. I don’t know
what to do.”

“Let us examine the possibilities more
closely. We could stay here in Jamaica, or we could return to England. Those
are our options, are they not?”

I nodded and he continued.

“If we stay here, we could get supplies
and attend to both of our patients, but we might have to stay for a good few
months due to the hurricane season. On the other hand, if Michael, does not
survive…”

I gasped before he could finish
speaking, but he squeezed my hand and continued, “which I am almost sure will
not happen, but it is a possibility, we will have to leave him here in Jamaica,
and Jane,” he threw his hands in the air, “who knows how she would react?”

“And if we leave? If we return to
England, right now?”

“Thirty or more days at sea. Michael
would be much recovered by the time we arrive back home, and so would Jane, but
we would need to stop for provisions. We do not have enough food or water for
the return journey.”

“We could stop at Martinique on our way
back.”

“Are you sure you want to go back so
soon? Do you not wish to return to Spanish Town?”

I decided it was time I made my first
decision. “I have not come here for recreation, Harry. Our purpose was to
rescue Michael and we have done so. There is much to do at Eyre Hall. We cannot
protract our absence to suit my memories. Jane and Michael must return home, to
England.” I looked into his compliant eyes. “We must all go home, Harry.”

He smiled. “I agree, my love.”

***

I woke after a long dark night wondering
where I was. My feet moved off the bed and searched for the floor. Why was my
body swaying if my feet were perfectly still? I steadied myself on the back of
a chair to my left and stared at a small, closed door ahead of me. I could not
reach the doorknob, and I could not move my heavy feet. I turned towards the
light coming from behind me and saw a small round window and a blinding
sapphire sky. My invigorated feet carried me to the porthole. The sea swayed
gently, reminding me of morning glories bending against the wind, but I knew I was
nowhere near my orchards or my beloved trickling stream. I was in the middle of
the Atlantic Ocean bringing Michael home. I remembered Harry’s words as he
squeezed my hand.

“Jane, Michael is safe and sound. You
must rest and recover before you can see him. Will you do that?”

Then I remembered Nell’s soft, quivering
voice reading Bible verses to me, and telling me to get well soon as she
pressed her lips on my forehead.

My impatient fingers grabbed Michael’s
chain. I had to find Michael and give it to him. I must have screamed, because
Dr. Carter and Annette came rushing into my room with alarmed expressions.

“I have to see Michael,” I told them,
“at once.”

“Of course, Jane,” he said and smiled. I
stepped away from him, wondering why he was calling me by my first name.

“Do you remember where we are? What has
happened?”

“Where is Michael?”

“He is recovering in his cabin. Helen is
reading to him.”

“Helen?” I asked, wondering if I was
still dreaming. I turned to Annette. “What is the matter, Annette? Wake me up
from this dreadful nightmare!”

“Do you remember what happened to
Michael?”

“I have to give him his chain. He has to
have it. Take me to him.”

“Do you remember why you have his
chain?” asked the doctor slowly.

“No!” I cried. “I do not know why I have
it, but I know he is in danger and I need to give it to him.”

I tried to think, pressing my fingers to
my throbbing temples, in an attempt to ease the pain. I did not trust them. I
caught a glimpse of their wary eyes looking away from mine at each other’s.
What were they scheming behind my back?

“Very well,” said the doctor. “Let us go
and see Michael now.”

He warned me that Michael had been
unwell and in captivity for some time, however ten days had passed since we had
found him, and he was eating and able to leave his bed on occasions. I knew how
he was. I had seen him chained to a wall in a dungeon, in my dreams at Eyre
Hall. The reason I was here came back like a lightning bolt. The pirate, Mr.
Smythe, Admiral Fitzjames’ help. We found Michael, although I could not
remember how, but I did remember where.

The doctor opened the cabin door and I
saw Nell sitting by his side, reading patiently, as she had done to me. She
closed the book when she saw me and rushed towards me.

“You have woken up, at last!” She threw
her arms around me. “I missed you so much.”

Michael’s face turned to us, and in
another flash, I remembered his search for Helen and the letters Diana gave me.

“Helen,” I said wiping the tears from my
eyes and kissing her cheeks. “You look lovely, darling.”   

“Thank you!” she said. “I prayed night
and day you would wake up, because I wanted to thank you for finding me.” She
hugged me affectionately. “Michael told me how you found me.”

“My darling,” I said as I stroked her
hair, “I loved you before I knew who you were. I could not have wished for a
more wonderful daughter.”

“I used to wish you were my mother. You
told me to make a wish, remember, and it came true, thanks to Michael.”

I thanked God I had left my nightmares
behind and slipped straight into my dreams in a matter of seconds.  

“I was reading to Michael. He is much
better today,” Helen said.

“I am so glad to hear that.” He looked
frail, but much better than the tortured prisoner I had seen in my dreams.

“Could you leave us alone a few minutes,
please?” I asked them.

As soon as they left, I wrapped my arms
around his neck and showered his face with kisses. He laughed, and then
grimaced.

“You have me at your mercy, once more,”
he said looking down at his swollen hands. “I can hardly move them.” His left
hand was in the worst condition. His forefinger and thumb had sores and his
wrists looked painfully dark.

I pulled off the chain I was wearing. 
“You were missing my heart,” I said as I wrapped it around his wrist like a
bracelet. “There you have it, my love. Now you will recover quickly.”

I kissed his hands repeatedly. “They
will get better,” I promised. “Soon we will back home, at Eyre Hall.”

***

All Hallows at Eyre Hall
and
Twelfth Night at Eyre Hall
are the first and
second novels in the
Eyre Hall Trilogy
. If you enjoyed this second
instalment, I hope you will enjoy the conclusion of the trilogy,
Midsummer
at Eyre Hall,
which will be published in 2016.

Thank you for reading. Please consider
posting a review on
Amazon.co.uk
,
Amazon.com
or
Goodreads
,
and spreading the word on social media.

Luccia Gray was born in London where she
graduated in Modern Foreign Languages. She now lives in the south of Spain with
her husband. She has three children and three grandchildren. When she's not
reading or writing, she teaches English at an Adult Education Centre and is
English Language Tutor at the Spanish Distance University.

Visit Luccia’s blog
Re–Reading Jane Eyre
and
Luccia Gray’s
Facebook
for updates on
The Eyre Hall Trilogy
.
You
can also follow Luccia on Twitter
@LucciaGray
.

Thank you for reading Twelfth Night at
Eyre Hall. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you will read the third volume of
The
Eyre Hall Trilogy,
Midsummer at Eyre Hall
, to be
published in 2016.