Zenith (The Thornfield Affair Book 3)

by Amity Cross

  “Jane?”

  I turned at the sound of Alice’s voice and beckoned her closer.

  “Alice, this is Adele. I met her when I was in London.”

  I explained the connection, and to Alice’s surprise, Adele kissed her on both cheeks, declaring, “Any friend of Jane’s is a friend of mine.”

  Heavy footsteps on the stairs drew my attention, and I saw Edward had come to see what the commotion was. His eyes were narrowed at the sight of a stranger, and his shoulders tensed.

  “Jane,” he said, his voice rumbling through the gallery. His command was clear. I was to introduce her at once and explain her intrusion. I raised my eyebrows at him, and he nodded, noting he understood his tone was not welcome.

  Grasping Adele’s hand, I directed her to face him. “Adele Varens, this is Edward Rochester. He owns Thornfield.”

  She paused, turned, and studied him from head to foot, her left eyebrow rising.

  Finally, she spun around and declared, “Jane, you did not tell me about him! What a fine specimen!”

  Edward glowered at her back, and I suppressed a laugh. I could see his patience was going to be tried a great deal in the future, and it had nothing to do with Blanche Ingram. I wondered how he got on in Paris at all if he did not like her flair for the finer things—meaning, the finer men—in life.

  “I did not tell you a great deal of things, I’m afraid,” I told her.

  “Yes, I know, but didn’t I say to you I did not care? You can tell me it all later if you wish.” She shrugged and turned her attention to the gallery. “This place needs a woman’s touch.”

  Edward’s scowl deepened, and I shooed him away. Alice fetched us a set of keys, and I was left with Adele to take her bags upstairs. Once we were alone, Adele sat me on the end of the bed, determined to show me what had brought her all the way to Thornfield.

  “I know you warned me to stay away, but I could not,” she said, taking out her mobile phone. “I was so angry when you told me Rivers had laid his hands on you!”

  “Oh, Adele, you didn’t get into trouble, did you?”

  “Not at all!” she declared with a huff. “I am very good, you know.”

  “Good at what?”

  She winked suggestively. “Spying. I went to the studio to confront Rivers, but I found he already had a visitor. Jane, I could not believe my luck! It was a woman named Blanche, and when I heard them discussing you, I took out my phone and recorded them. I thought it might be useful.”

  She held up her phone and pressed her finger on the video, bringing it to life. I watched in horror as the conversation she’d captured between Rivers and Blanche played out. They argued bitterly about his failed attempt at strangling me, his misplaced love, and the revelation of my fortune. It was all there. The admission, the motive…

  “Oh, Rivers…” I said with a moan.

  “His actions say more about him than you,” was Adele’s reply. “He was weak-willed.”

  Perhaps she was right, but love did strange things to people, and I was not impervious. I’d acted rashly just as Edward and Rivers had. Each of us had been impulsive and emotional.

  “If you will listen, I shall tell you all of it,” I said to Adele. “You put yourself into a precarious position obtaining this evidence, and I admire the trust you have placed in me without knowing my circumstances.”

  “I have told you, Jane,” she retorted. “I do not like it when a man raises his hand to a woman. Rivers deserves whatever he gets. I do not need to know the rest of it.”

  She attempted to wave me off, but I told her the full story from the beginning. It took some time to regale her with the comings and goings, but soon, she was brought up to speed and fully installed into the fold.

  “Edward is stubborn,” I said. “He has all but submitted to his fate, but I do not want to let Blanche win. I have been attempting to piece together enough evidence to implicate her.”

  “I like your thinking,” Adele said. “If he goes down, then so does she. She has committed many crimes. Do you think the police would have interest? Or do you plan to blackmail her into silence?”

  Blackmail? Yes, I suppose that was what I was attempting. I was stooping to Blanche’s level by acquiring proof of her treachery to use against her, and my heart twisted. Did I have to become the thing I despised in order to save the man I loved?

  “I do not like it, but what else am I to do?”

  “Don’t worry, Jane,” Adele proclaimed. “It is an admirable thing to fight for those you love.”

  Edward’s words came back to me then, as clear and sharp as if he’d only just whispered into my ear. If someone means to mortally harm you, you must fight, Jane, and if you will not, you must allow those who care for you to go into battle in your stead.

  Adele remained at Thornfield, reluctant to go.

  The hotel was full of life, the spirits of the ragtag group of men and women I called family raised considerably.

  Edward still lingered in darkness, waiting for the axe to fall over his neck, and nothing anyone did could change his disposition. Not even when we lingered alone, did a smile pass his lips.

  Then a week after I went to see Georgiana, she paid me a visit, bringing another spirit into the dampened manor.

  “Oh, Georgiana!” I exclaimed when I met her in the gallery. “It is good to see you. Are you well?”

  “As well as I can be,” she replied.

  “That is good to hear, cousin.”

  “Jane, I have it,” she said, grasping my hands. “I have your evidence.”

  My heart soared, and I hugged her tightly—a rather uncharacteristic move on my behalf—ecstatic something was finally working in our favor. Perhaps we would have half a chance at thwarting Blanche after all.

  “Truly?” I asked.

  “Yes. Have we somewhere private? You must see it immediately.”

  Grasping her hand, I led her upstairs to the library, gathering Alice and Adele on our way. They took to my cousin immediately, fussing over the color of her hair quite spiritedly until I had to quiet them.

  Sitting side by side on the couch, Alice and Adele opposite, Georgina held up her mobile phone so we could listen to the recording she’d captured.

  “Thursday evening‬ was a charity event, and we met there,” she explained before pressing play. “Blanche has taken me under her wing these last months, I fear, to use me for information.” She glanced at me nervously, and I offered her a reassuring smile. “After I spoke to you, Jane, I thought to question her under the guise of my misplaced anger toward you. I said some things…” ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

  “It is okay, Georgiana,” I said. “I’m sure you only said what you needed to.”

  She nodded, then pressed play.

  “Blanche?” came Georgiana’s voice from the phone.

  “Darling!” Her voice was overexcited with an air of exuberance that bred fakeness. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  “You have?”

  “Of course! We must walk, you and I. How are you?”

  “I am a little shaken to be quite honest,” Georgiana replied. “I received a visit from my cousin Jane the other day.”

  “Jane Doe?” Blanche asked, aghast. “I’m sorry, pardon my slip of the tongue. I mean to say, Jane Eyre. What could that little wench possibly want from you?”

  “She told me about everything,” Georgiana replied. “About the woman locked in Thornfield…”

  “She told you about Bertha?” Blanche scoffed. “Stupid girl. I suppose she got down on her knees and begged for your forgiveness.”

  There was a rustling sound, then Georgiana’s voice returned. “She showed me the scars on her chest.”

  Blanche laughed, the sound grating on my nerves like sandpaper on an open wound.

  “She said… She said you attempted to harm her with a knife, which you then gave to the madwoman.”

  “I did,” Blanche replied. “But it seems I can’t trust anyone to d
o anything right. I suppose I should have seen it coming, giving a knife to a woman gripped by insanity. You should have seen her, Georgiana. What a despicable thing she is! Surely, I dodged a bullet by not marrying Edward.”

  “But why would you want to harm Jane?”

  “Revenge, dear. The circumstances may have changed, but when she took Edward from me, I was besotted with the man. I cannot allow a miscreant like her to walk all over me. Me! Blanche Ingram! She thinks she has it all with her inheritance and holier than thou attitude. Believe me, Georgiana, she is nothing, a complete nobody. She will fall along with Edward Rochester, and nothing they can do will stop me. Just look at how she treated you! She will get hers, don’t you worry.”

  “But—”

  “Oh, there is the duke,” she said, dismissing Georgiana quite abruptly. “I must speak to him before Caroline Fordham digs her claws in. Excuse me.”

  The recording ended, and we all stared at the phone for a full minute before anyone said a word. I was shocked quite completely that Blanche would come right out and say she was responsible for all of it.

  “Jane, this could be it,” Alice said, her eyes sparkling with hope.

  “Perhaps,” I replied. “But we cannot celebrate yet. I have to converse with Mr. Briggs first and see what our options are. I’d rather do this private and within the confines of the law if I can help it. The last thing we need is for this to get more out of hand.”

  “I agree,” Adele said. “I have not met this woman face-to-face, but I have overheard her conniving ways firsthand. Tread carefully, Jane.”

  “Where have all these women come from?”

  I glanced up at the sound of Edward’s displeased voice and found him lingering in the doorway to the study, his brow dark, and his temper raised. The master of yore was showing his colors, and I rose to my feet, intent on guiding him away before his tongue got the better of him. I was not sure how much he had overheard, but it had to be a considerable amount by the look on his face.

  “Come,” I said, placing my palm on his arm. “Let us talk a while in the study.”

  “Is that Edward?” I heard Georgina ask the others in the background and smiled to myself.

  “Your wild spirit has risen its head, I see,” Edward muttered when I had closed us in the study. “What have you been plotting, Jane?”

  “A great deal.”

  “I can see,” he said blandly. “Bessie has just let Briggs in the front door, and here you are gathering evidence to use against Blanche. Quite a plot you have been brewing, spirit.”

  “Please, do not be angry,” I said, cupping his face in my palms. “You would not fight, and I couldn’t allow Blanche to win. If there was even half a chance—” He placed his lips against mine, silencing my plea.

  “How could I be disappointed in you, dear Jane?” he asked. “You struggle to protect when you have every right to leave me to my fate. What have I done to deserve such loyalty?”

  “Do not question it,” I declared. “Merely smile and nod, and accept your fate as one who is loved. The time for doubt is over. Now we do what we must.”

  He stared at me with an uncharacteristic look of reverence in his eyes. “You are not so plain, little, and poor anymore, are you, Jane?”

  I shook my head gently, a smile upon my lips. “No, I am not.” Smoothing my palms over his chest, I added, “Now, where is Mr. Briggs? We have much to discuss and little time to do it in.”

  “Bessie is bringing him to us presently,” he replied just as there was a knock on the door. “Enter!”

  Bessie appeared, nodding as she presented Mr. Briggs, and withdrew.

  I was glad to see the lawyer, more so as he had now become a familiar friend than a business partner. He carried his briefcase with him and wore his trademark suit and tie, though he looked a little rumpled from his long journey.

  He shook Edward’s hand, and I watched closely as they regarded one another quite briskly. I’d never seen Edward conduct business outside of Thornfield before, and if it was anything like this display, then he was a formidable man, indeed.

  Mr. Briggs turned to me, and a smile appeared on his face, softening his features. His fondness for me had done nothing but grow, and I wondered what I had done to deserve it. Perhaps I reminded him of my late uncle James more than I realized.

  “Miss Eyre,” he said, taking my hand in his. “I wish I were here under more pleasant circumstances, but this will have to do, I suppose. Are you well?”

  “I am much settled since our last meeting,” I replied with a smile. “Come, make yourself comfortable, and we shall get our business out of the way so we can discuss happier things.”

  Without delay, we arranged ourselves on the couch and armchairs around the fireplace, and Mr. Briggs went through the proceedings, giving us instruction and guidance over our options. I presented the evidence Adele had provided, along with the new recordings Georgiana had delivered. Edward was not pleased to hear these new words from Blanche, but he remained silent throughout the proceedings, only giving a nod when he was asked a question.

  Finally, it was decided. There would be a private meeting between our legal teams where all evidence would be presented, and then each lawyer would reconvene with their clients before another meeting to discuss terms. It was unorthodox, but it would avoid a public trial, which would be in everyone’s best interests. I would not prosecute for assault and attempted murder if she would remain silent about Edward’s past. All of it hinged on the quality of evidence I had gathered and Blanche’s judgment of it.

  “It’s risky,” Mr. Briggs said. “Are you sure you want to go ahead?”

  I nodded. “Yes, I am sure. As I have already said, I do not wish to sit back and do nothing. What Edward did to protect Bertha was not illegal, only perhaps immoral. His reputation is linked to his business, so if it were to be tarnished, there is every possibility he would be financially ruined.”

  “And you?” he asked. “What have you to gain, Jane?”

  I glanced at Edward, who remained stony-faced, allowing me to speak and conduct my business as I saw fit. It was a grand gesture on his behalf, and I loved him more then than I ever had before. He was treating me as his equal—something that had never been extended to me before in my entire life.

  I grasped his hand tightly in my own as I replied to Mr. Briggs’s question.

  “I have been harmed by her hand and by those she has manipulated, it is true,” I began. “And I have as much right to pursue justice as any other, but I do this to protect our future, Mr. Briggs. While Blanche Ingram holds this information over Edward’s head, we cannot live without fear. That is no life to live. I am done being trodden upon, abused and discounted as nothing. I am Jane Eyre, and I am no longer plain and little. I am a human being, same as any other, and I have the right to freedom and happiness. Edward has the right to be free of his darkness and come back into the light. I am his light, and I will not allow him to suffer anymore. We have both endured enough. So you see, Mr. Briggs, I stand to gain a great deal from Blanche Ingram’s downfall.”

  Edward’s hand tightened around mine, the only indicator my words had struck him deep. I’d spoken the intent in my soul, and every word was a complete truth. He and I would never be parted again, and even if we were poor and homeless, it would be in each other’s arms. Circumstance did not matter where true love was concerned.

  “Well said, Jane,” was the lawyer’s reply. “You would make your uncle very proud. You are just as strong willed as he was, do you know? No was never a word that existed in his vocabulary.”

  “Then it is settled,” I proclaimed. “We fight until the end, no matter the outcome.”

  “What will happen to Thornfield?” Mr. Briggs inquired. “If word is leaked about the existence of your ex-wife, Mr. Rochester, then the hotel will be shut down. I think it is imperative you take measures to prevent—”

  “It is closed now and forever shall be,” Edward interrupted. “The hotel was only ever a f
ront for her prison, a distraction to throw her despicable family away from her scent. Thornfield shall never reopen. What say you, Jane?”

  I frowned, suddenly shy that Edward would ask my opinion, and cast my gaze to my lap. I thought over the circumstances that had brought me to the manor in the first place and was quite disappointed. I’d been tasked with Thornfield’s revitalization, and it was a project I had excelled at, but all of it had been a ruse. I would likely be sour about it for a long time, for I saw the potential in the old bones of the place, but deep down, I knew closure was for the best.

  “I agree,” I said, confirming my thoughts. “Thornfield must remain closed.”

  Edward nodded, his expression grave. He rose to his feet and strode to the library door. Throwing it open, he beckoned to Alice, who came forth, eager to hear what had been decided.

  “Alice,” he said, ignoring Georgiana and Adele, who were both watching on. “You must gather the staff together in the dining room at once. We have decided Thornfield is to remain closed for good. I must be the one to deliver the news and the terms, and it must be done immediately.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said, looking rather upset.

  “You always have a place here,” I said to her despite the warning look Edward shot me.

  “Oh, I know,” she replied. “But I knew it couldn’t go on like this forever. We had a good run of it.”

  Once she’d gone, Edward turned to Mr. Briggs. “Will you assist?”

  “I will do what I am able.”

  Once everyone had been gathered, Alice came to let us know they were ready and waiting. All that was left to do was to deliver the news.

  All eyes turned to us as we entered, and I nodded and smiled to the few faces that had turned to me. I sat beside Alice and Bessie, and Edward strode to the head of the room as if he did not feel the weight of the household staring at him. Mr. Briggs, who took the space to his left, followed him.

  Edward stood at the head of the room, a picture of strength and authority, his shoulders squared and his gaze level. He only wore casual clothes, but it did not matter. He carried himself with complete authority, his power and strength in his position evident. If I were not privy to what was happening behind closed doors, I would think he was impervious to harm.