Jane woke to a warm morning that glowed with every brilliance of dawn. Light flooded the room and bathed it in a yellow haze. The opened window let in the fresh morning air, which was heavy and fragrant with flowers and dew. Jane's eyes opened slowly; she knew that it must still be early, for her whole life she had woken up according to the schedule of a servant. She guessed that it might have been around the 6th hour of the day. She turned her head, her face instantly breaking into a radiant, somewhat shy smile as she saw her husband sleeping beside her.

Edward Rochester lay sleeping. He was still and quiet, his breathing deep and low. Jane admired his every feature, despite all he had been through, despite all that had scarred him, she still thought him to be the most beautiful man she would ever know. His face shone with a light sheen of sweat which lingered as the morning sun streaked across his face. It touched his sharp jaw, and moved through his hair so that he became a vision. For a moment Jane was overwhelmed with emotion, tears almost rose to her eyes. She loved him too well. She felt too much for him. How could she bare this moment of gratitude. She learned forward, moved by an unexplained force of love, and kissed his cheek. The moment she had moved from his embrace he began to stir. As he woke, Jane kissed his jaw, his forehead, his chin and finally planted a soft, loving kiss on his lips. She was now free to show affection now, to indulge him, to make up for lost time that had passed between them. As she kiss broke his eyes fluttered opened, his dark, beautiful, unseeing eyes turned to face his wife.