I turned, the cold air blowing around my shoulders, dragging its fingers through my hair. Edward looked as bewildered as I felt, his eyes clouded and his chest bare. My gaze dipped as I realized he wore nothing but a pair of tight boxer briefs. I was thankful for the darkness as my cheeks heated, and I returned my stare to his.
“A sound roused me from my sleep,” I explained lest he thought I was mad enough to try to burn him alive. “Strange laughter. It led me on such a chase through the halls, then… I don’t know what it was or who, but I was led here and found your bed ablaze.” I lowered my gaze, the thick scent of smoke clinging to the air. “I had to do something.”
A look of anguish passed across his face. “Oh, Jane…”
“Somebody did this,” I said, not understanding his reaction.
He rubbed his eyes and didn’t answer. Either he was in shock or he was avoiding answering.
“Shall I call for help?” I went on.
“No,” he replied quickly. “Don’t say a thing, Jane. We must keep this quiet lest we alarm the guests.”
“Who was it?” All at once, I thought of Grace Poole. Surely there was something strange about the way she skulked around Thornfield, but was she capable of attempting to harm Edward? If so, why? What reason did she have to hate him so?
He closed the space between us, but he didn’t pull me into his arms, he only stared at me gravely. There was something strange happening in the darkened corners of the hotel, I was sure of it now, and it had everything to do with the demon that sat upon the master’s shoulder.
“Please, stay here,” he said. “I shall be gone only a few minutes. Don’t move or call anyone. I shall deal with this.”
“But—”
“If there is a plot, I will investigate it now,” he said, the command clear in his voice. This was his word, his law, and I shouldn’t trifle with it.
“Are you cold?” he asked, turning to his closet. Retrieving a woolen jumper, he stood before me and tugged it over my head. It was much too large for my slender frame, but it was warm and smelled exactly like him—spicy with a homely tinge of whiskey.
“Thank you,” I said, burying into the fabric.
He dressed hastily as I stood awkwardly, the events of the evening coming to rest full on my mind.
“Don’t worry, Jane,” Edward murmured as he beheld my trembling form. “You are quite safe here.”
He left me then, alone in his bedroom with nothing but my own mind and curiosity to serve me.
I sank into a chair, too tired to pry—not that I’d have the heart to—and I dozed off despite my lingering fear of the spirit who’d led me to the fire. The same spirit who had most likely lit the blaze, which could have claimed Edward’s life if not for my following it. The thought of it being a very real human being with malicious intent made me tremble even more. To think I’d followed it blindly!
He was gone a long time, though it was hard to tell exactly how long since I’d slipped into a fitful sleep, and when a sound outside startled me awake, I sat up, my eyes fixed firmly on the door. I hoped it was Edward and not the spirit come to finish its work.
When the door opened and he emerged from the house beyond, tension bled from my body, and I rose, looking to him eagerly. What a strange relationship we now had! When we first met, he frightened me so, but now I spoke to him as a lover and confidant as though he had been a part of my life all this time. I feared for him out there in the dark halls doing God knows what in pursuit of the spirit.
“All is well,” he said, crossing to me.
His hands reached out for me and came to rest on my arms, rubbing up and down as if to spread reassurance with warmth.
“Why weren’t the fire alarms working?” I said, emotion rushing to the surface. “The sprinkler system should have engaged when the smoke came into contact with the sensors. Hasn’t it been serviced? I will call someone to come and fix it first thing in the morning. Thornfield will be closed if it’s inspected. I can’t believe—”
Edward grasped my shoulders and shook me. “Jane, stop.”
“I agreed to it, but it bothers me still,” I muttered.
“Jane, are you ill?”
I shook my head, alarmed at the words my addled mind had blurted in my fear.
“I must go,” I murmured.
“You would leave me?” he asked, his brow darkening.
Outside, the sky was turning gray, and my gaze was drawn to the lightening horizon. Soon, Thornfield would be alive as its staff rose and prepared for the day ahead. If I remained, I would be caught in the halls, and in my current state of dress, it would be suspicious, indeed.