Page 46 of Zenith
“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 do 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!”
