Sorry that it has taken me so long to update! My life is running full speed ahead and I'm having difficulty keeping up with it. Thanks go out to Danielle for being my beta, and to Lisa for helping me with the German. Thanks a bunch!

Tensions Arise

Each day spent at Marsh End saw my affection increase tenfold for both the place and its inhabitants. We awoke early every morning and went about our household duties until breakfast time. Afterwards, Diana, Mary and I would take long walks across the moors before we all sat down to our studies; after all, we were three governesses. Most afternoons, the gentlemen came from their lodgings to visit for several hours. Our lives continued in this fashion for several days.

From the beginning, I insisted that they treat me like any other family member and so allow me to help with the necessary daily chores. Diana and Mary, although reluctant at first, were not displeased to have some help around the house. They also understood that it made me feel that this was the place that I belonged; it gave me the right to say that I was more than just a guest in a relative's house; I was at home.

We lived in enchanted harmony for the first days; Diana, Mr. Bancroft, and Mary had begun to teach me German, and in return Mr. Rochester and I were teaching them French. Mr. Rochester refused to learn any German, declaring that it was a harsh, unsophisticated language. This sparked many lively disputes, as the trio of German speakers rushed to defend their second language.

This period had a surreal quality about it for me. Mr. Rochester's cold politeness had melted away with our departure from Thornfield. It was as though we had been transported to a time and place in which he had no wife, and he had never before asked that ill-fated question. I could see in his eyes that he had not forgotten this distant past, but he was willing to ignore it. For my part, I was very careful in all my actions. I knew I could not betray any special feelings for him, though they burned constantly in my heart. I must maintain my composure and so must he. There could be no sign that anything had ever occurred between us; we both knew it. Occasionally, however, I caught him watching me when he thought no one was looking.

On one such occasion, we were all walking down a path near Marsh End when, unexpectedly, St. John decided to join us in our ramble across the moor. The path was so narrow that it would only admit two abreast to pass along it at one time. Mr. Rochester and Mary were leading the party, and St. John and I were but a few paces behind them. Loitering behind us were Mr. Bancroft and Diana, who were conversing in German. For a minute or two, we were silent, listening only to the sounds of the landscape and the whispers of the pair behind us. Abruptly, St. John addressed me with:

"I see you wear no ring on your left hand, Jane. Why are not you married?" Well, reader, I was so much taken by surprise with St. John's bluntness that for some time I made no answer.

"You are a very hard worker," he continued, explaining his thoughts more thoroughly, "as you prove every morning in your studies of German. I do not see why any man of God would not wish to take you on as the humble and dutiful wife I know you are capable of being."

Mr. Rochester laughed aloud.

"Janet is too much of a pixie to be captured by any mere mortal, even if he were a man of God." He said this with a sarcastic smile, and before I could utter a sound, St. John jumped to my defense.

"Miss Eyre is your employee, and in the few days that I have known her I have seen great devotion to God and a determination to better herself and those around her. She is not a 'pixie,' as you so rudely put it, but a dutiful and dedicated young woman. I believe that she has great potential and, if she were to devote herself to it, she could help spread the word of our savior."

It was clear to me that Mr. Rochester was struggling between amusement at my cousin's earnestness and offense at his sharp reprimands.

"Miss Eyre," returned Mr. Rochester dryly, "Is indeed a little fairy. However, I must agree that she is a devout little fairy. Not even the most cunning knave could make Jane any less pious or could at all change her soft and loving nature." St. John decided to ignore Mr. Rochester completely, and returned to our original subject: marriage.

"It still does not cease to amaze me that you are not already married," he continued, "However, I suppose that God has hardened your heart against your previous suitors so that you could reach your full potential by marrying a man of God and helping him with his work." The only reply I could manage was:

"God works in mysterious ways." This response pleased St. John, and we fell back into silence for a while.

The animosity between Mr. Rochester and St. John only increased as time passed. No matter how trivial the matter, they were incapable of keeping peace. It soon became a trial to the rest of our party, and at every gathering we all took pains to keep them apart. This was a difficult task as Mr. Rochester was often the center of attention, and was often rather cynical. St. John could not approve of his cynicism, and never failed to censure it.

As for Mr. Bancroft and Diana, they were growing dearer to each with every passing day. It was with great pleasure that Mary and I watched them walk together through the lanes surrounding Moor House. In fact, it was due to Diana's attachment to Mr. Bancroft that I really came to know Mary.

Mary was much more reserved than her sister, though not at all less polite or well mannered. At first we talked mainly about our lives as governesses and the children we had taught. Mary had much more experience as a governess than I had, and we had many interesting conversations comparing our stories.

"You say you have only ever taught this sweet little French girl?" Mary asked incredulously, "You are lucky to have not had to teach any spoiled children yet!"

"Have many of your charges been spoiled?" I asked, slightly fearful that if I ever tried to find a job elsewhere I might have to deal with difficult children.

"Oh, not all of them, but it always seems like it was all of them. When they are good children the time flies past, but when they are bad children the time drags on and on. One little girl I had to teach kept asking her mother to do her work for her. The worst part was that her mother agreed!"

We continued exchanging stories, and eventually our conversation drifted to the subject of learning German.

"Diana and I both wish to learn German proficiently so that we may be able to teach it and earn a greater salary that way." Mary told me with a smile, "However, she tells me you speak French fluently."

"Oh yes," I replied, "I was taught French by a native Frenchwoman at Lowood Institute. It has come in quite handy, for the little girl I tutor is French and knew very little English when I first began teaching her."

"Do you think you could teach me?" She asked in a hopeful voice.

"I will teach you only if you agree to teach me German at the same time." I returned with a laugh. And that was how our lessons began.

These language lessons took place every morning after breakfast but before the gentlemen came over. Diana and Mary taught me a little German every day, and in return I taught them basic French. I daresay it would have been entertaining for an outsider to watch as we mixed up our verb tenses and mispronounced every other word, but for us it was painstaking work.

"No, no, no!" Diana said with a laugh, shaking her soft curls frantically, "It's pronounced 'vo-hair' not 'woe-her'!"

"But it is spelled 'woher'!" I cried, "Why wouldn't it be pronounced 'woe-her'! I thought you said that German was supposed to make a lot of sense." I stopped and attempted the sentence once more. "Woher kommst du? There! I said it!" Diana and Mary exchanged glances before collapsing in a fit of laughter.

"You said it correctly," Mary laughed, "but now can you say it as though you were addressing someone formally?" I simply glared playfully at her, and we all laughed some more.

"I thought you were learning a language, not telling jokes," said St. John sternly as he entered the room. "I see nothing funny about learning a foreign tongue."

"That, St. John, is because you are so determined to learn something that you do not stop to smell the roses," replied Diana promptly.

"Miss Eyre would make a better use of her time if she were to study Hindustani with me. She is very studious, and in studying with me she would not be distracted by the two of you."

"That may be true, St. John," Mary said, "but we are not only learning a new language for the knowledge that it provides us, but also for the pleasure of learning with good friends and enjoying ourselves." St. John made no reply, but it was clear that his ideas had not altered. St. John found the newspaper for which he was searching, and once again left the room. I immediately turned to Diana and asked:

"Why does my cousin wish to learn Hindustani? Is he planning on traveling to India?"

"You are aware that my brother is in orders, correct?" asked Diana. I nodded, for I remembered him mentioning that he had a parsonage in a neighboring village. "Well, it has been his dream to become a missionary in India. He has thought about it for a long time, and now he has decided that it is time to make this dream come true."

"That is very noble of him." I observed.

"Noble, yes, but not perhaps very wise." Diana said ruefully. "We have often tried to convince him to stay in England where he would be safe from disease and war, but he believes that the only way that he can completely fulfill his duty to God is to spread His word to a people who were previously unaware that it existed."

"Well, if he believes it is his duty, I suppose that no one can or should attempt to stop him." I replied. The sisters only nodded noncommittally.

We called off our lessons for the rest of the day, preferring to draw some pretty scenes of the countryside. We set off with our pencils and sketch books in hand, and had a joyous afternoon on the moors.

A/N: The German phrase means "Where are you from?"