Jane Eyre Austen (20 page)

She listened for a long time before she started nodding and making little agreeing noises.  She finally spoke, “Absolutely, I’ll be there.  Thanks Susannah.”

She hung up and grinned sheepishly, “I’ve got to go home.”

He groaned, “If that was Ben, I would have killed him.”

“No, Susannah.  Apparently people are dropping by offering condolences, and Mom is having a hard time.”  She looked at the counter.  “I’ll just finish this up and bring the batter over to the house to bake.”

“I’m coming too.”

Jane looked surprised, “Don’t you have work, or something?”  A part of her was relieved too, and touched by his concern.

“I’ll bring my laptop.”  His tone was definite and she knew better than to argue.  She quickly finished the batter while he disappeared.  She was washing things up when he returned with a leather backpack and her overnight bag.  He had a sports coat on and looked incredibly handsome.  He gave her his lopsided grin when he saw the way she was looking at him.  He pulled out a Tupperware container for the batter and packed it in a grocery bag. 

“Are you well enough to drive?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He nodded, “Good, I’ll follow you in my car then.”

At the steps to the kitchen door, Jane allowed herself a moment of impulsiveness and leaned over and kissed him hard on the lips.  She whispered quickly, “I’m glad you’re here.”

Susannah opened the door and grimaced, “Thank God you’re here.  She’s really in a mood today.  You’d better change, Jane.”

Jane nodded and ran up the stairs leaving Gray at the door.  Susannah eyed the bags in his hands suspiciously.

“Planning on staying a while, Mr. Poole?”

He tilted his head slightly, “Call me Gray, and yes, it was my intention.”

Susannah grinned, “I’ll take your bags and put them in Jane’s room.  Good God but you’ve come at a bad time.  She’s in the parlor.”

He thanked her and headed toward the parlor.  James stood in the doorway and took Gray’s hand in both of his, sincerely relieved, “Thank you so much for taking care of Janie yesterday.”

Gray nodded, “It was my pleasure.  How is Mrs. Austen?”

James whispered, “This is the worst I’ve ever seen her.  She doesn’t know he attacked her, just that Jane and he were both attacked yesterday.”

Her voice was sharp and startled them both, “James!  What are you conspiring about over there?”

James stepped into the parlor and Gray followed.  He saw she was sitting on the love seat and two women were seated opposite the coffee table.  There was an impressive tea service set on the table.

James cleared his throat, “Mr. Poole to see you Madam, but he didn’t wish to disturb your company.”

The women turned to face Gray and one of them smiled cattily at him.  He recognized her from the dinner, Jackie something. 

Mrs. Austen nodded, “Mr. Poole, I’m so glad you’ve come.  Jane is not here, she was also viciously attacked.”

He nodded politely, “I see that you are visiting with two of Richard’s close friends.  I will wait in the other room, please take your time, ladies.”

Mrs. Austen took the opportunity to politely bid her guests good bye, and James ushered them out of the house while Gray waited in the dining room.

Jane joined him, dressed in a lovely black dress with a white cardigan.  She looked at him sardonically and answered his unspoken question, “No, I didn’t make it.  I just liked it.”

He grinned, “It’s beautiful, and you’re beautiful.”  He leaned in and kissed her quickly.  James was carrying the tea service tray out of the room as they entered.  Her mother quickly got up and rushed to Jane, hugging her tightly.

“My dear, how are you?  I’ve been so worried!”  She outstretched her arms and turned her around slowly.

Jane led her mother back to the love seat and sat beside her.

Her mother looked at her, “What happened, Jane?  They won’t tell me, they are afraid I…”  She looked at her, “I know he was a bad man Jane, there’s no reason you should protect me from the truth.”

Jane held her mother’s hand and quickly told her about Richard attacking her in the stairwell.  The account was truthful but brief.  Her mother sat back and reflected, and then looked at her carefully.

“Where were you last night Jane, were you in hospital?”

“No, Mother.  Mr. Poole arranged for his physician to treat me privately at his house.  I stayed the night there in case of concussion.  No one except us knows of Richard’s attack.”

She shook her head, “It’s not right, it will come out.”  She sighed, “Your father was so worried about him.  He tried to help him, but Richard had a character flaw that could not be cured.”  Mrs. Austen stood up and walked over to the window.  “Dear God, more of Richard’s friends.  Please Jane, make excuses.  I cannot bear another visitor.”

She looked over to Gray, “Thank you for taking such good care of my Jane, Mr. Poole.”

Gray nodded, “It was my pleasure.  I hope your dear daughter will allow me to care for her always.”

Jane whipped her head around and glared, but the movement was so fast it made her dizzy.  Her mother went to her side and held her hand.

“Jane dear, you are so pale.”

“I moved too quickly mother.” 

Her mother nodded, “You stay here Jane.  I’ll make my own excuses.  Will you stay for dinner Mr. Poole?”

“Yes ma’am.  I was hoping to stay the night and keep watch over Jane.”

She nodded and smiled, “Of course, I’ll have Susannah prepare a room.”

She left the room and Gray sat down next to Jane who smirked, “She’s putty in your hands.”

“She’s your mother, she loves you.  She wants you to be happy.”  Gray reached out and held her hand.

Jane cocked an eyebrow, “You realize that she’ll expect you to write me letters now.  She’ll be checking the mailbox regularly to gauge your romantic progress.”

“Handwritten letters?” he asked amused.

“On linen paper.” Jane answered.

“I don’t suppose she’d accept texts as proof of my love.”

Jane smirked, “I’m afraid not.”

He sighed and shrugged, “I guess…”  He looked at her carefully, “Or I could just ask for your hand in marriage.”

Jane paled, “Oh no, you don’t.”  She stood up, “You think you’re going to avoid courting me?”  She stood in front of him, hand on her hip.  “Hell no!  Grayson Poole, our children deserve to hear a romantic love story when told about their parents, not that dad knocked mom up so they got married.”  He looked surprised and she continued, whispering, “Yeah, you heard me right.  Don’t think I don’t know you’re intentions are to get into my panties.”

He grinned, “You think you can play hard to get?  I’ve seen you look at me Jane.  This morning…”

She interrupted, “That’s not going to happen again.”  She looked at him and added seriously, “Gray, we’ve never had a date.  I’m attracted to you, and you may be the most perfect man in the world for me, but I don’t feel the need to rush either.  I want to enjoy this, us.  I want to know that you won’t regret taking me into your life, because Gray, I come with a lot of crazy.” 

He chuckled softly, “Jane, I fell in love with you when we first met.”  He stood up and held her hands, leaning in so she was enveloped by his scent and warmth, “When you said, ‘I am Jane, sir’ my eyes opened for the first time in three years.  I know what I want, and I want you.”  He kissed her forehead, “I will gladly court you Jane.”  He leaned down and whispered, “But don’t think that’ll stop me from trying to get into your pants.”

James coughed politely from the doorway, “Your mother wanted to know if you’d like tea.”

Jane looked at Gray, “No, thanks James.  Where’d she go?”

James sighed, “She’s taking a nap.  Damn, those last two were really something.  I’ve kept a list of visitors per Ben’s request; I’m not even sure how they found out about it already.”

“Good news travels fast.” Jane muttered.  She looked at James, “What room is Gray staying in tonight?”

“The one across from yours.”  James smirked at Gray, “The floor is squeaky, by the way.”  He winked at Jane and she groaned.

“Come on, I’ll show you your room.  You can get some work done, I’ll see to the dinner arrangements.”  She led him up the stairs and pointed to his door.  “Your bathroom is en suite.  There are extra linens in the armoire.”

“Could you show me please, Ms. Eyre?” He asked innocently.

She opened his door wide and entered the bedroom.  Susannah had decorated it the room in blacks and whites.  The walls were white, the curtains toile, she had a silver bedspread and painted black furniture.  There was a white couch under the windows and a silver fireplace.

“This is very nice.” He said sincerely.

“Susannah’s the decorator; she did this while I was in college.”  Jane opened the armoire, there was a small flat screen TV and underneath was a drawer with extra sheets and towels.

“So there are TV’s in your home now.”

She nodded, “Not in my room or the living areas.”  She pointed to the desk across from the bed, “There’s an Ethernet cable behind the desk.  I don’t think the lead pipes are conducive to Wi-Fi.”

He looked surprised, “You still have lead pipes?”

She grinned, “Yes, they are unused, don’t worry.  We redid the pipes probably eight years ago now.  Dad redesigned the house a little bit, added a couple of bathrooms.  The third floor is awesome; it used to be my bedroom.”

“What is it used for now?” Gray asked, stepping a little closer.

She grinned, “There are two bedrooms and a bath up there now, it used to be all mine.”

He closed the distance between them and lowered his forehead so it was touching hers.  “Can I see your bedroom now?”

Jane swallowed; he was making her heart beat faster, “Yes.”  She broke free and opened her door.  She crossed the room and sat down on her bed.  She watched his reaction carefully.  Her bedroom had many of her paintings on the walls, some realistic, impressionist, and some abstract.  He studied each one before moving on and said nothing until he got to her current work in progress; his niece’s portrait.  She saw him smile warmly and then scrutinize each leaf.  She had drawn the portrait of Tessa in the tree and was just beginning to paint it.

He looked at her wryly, “A fan of Highlights Ms. Eyre?”

She grinned, “I thought Tessa would enjoy finding the hidden pictures.”  She had drawn zoo animals in several of the leaves and painted them with shadows.  It was not noticeable unless you really studied it.

He chuckled, “She will cherish it, and Karen also.”

He moved toward her closet door and opened it, turned on the light.  He was amazed at the order, shoes lined up along the floor, clothes hanging neatly.  Not many clothes, he noticed, but they were all hanging neatly and clearly well cared for.  She had shelves at the end with clear zippered bags that held sweaters. 

She shifted on the bed to better watch he pulled out different things she had made looking at them and then hanging them back up.

He finally came out and sat beside her on the bed.  He kissed her ear, “You are an amazing artist.”

She smiled warmly, “Thank you.”  She tilted her head giving him more access to her neck.

He kissed her neck, “I want to kiss you Jane.”

“Do you always get what you want Gray?” she teased.

“Eventually.  I can be very patient.” 

She turned her head and captured his lips and they kissed for a long time before he finally sat back.  He was grinning, proud of himself and his conquest.

He stood up, “I shall go get some work done.”

“Good.  Dinner is at six usually.”

“Do I dress?” he asked.

She giggled, “No, I want you there naked.”

“Careful Jane, you may get what you ask for.” He warned with a mischievous grin.

She sighed, “Fine, you are right of course.”  She said airily, “We only dress for Sunday Brunch.”

Gray worked in his bedroom, handling the tediousness of his business through email and phone calls.  It really didn’t matter if he worked from home or in the office, he realized.  Problems could be solved regardless of his proximity to the situation.  At four o’clock he texted Fairfax he was done for the day and left his phone in his room and searched for Jane.  He found her in the parlor room, reading to her mother.  He sat down and listened while she read.  Her mother glanced up, poured him a glass of wine and sat back down.  They both sat there while she read two chapters from
The Importance of Being Earnest
.  He loved her voice, the cadence, the musicality.  He smiled when he realized he hadn’t been read to since he was five or six years old.  It was intimate, to be seated near her, listening to her as she read, probably as she had done thousands of times before.  He marveled at her patience and wondered how many other adults would spend this kind of time with their parents, or even want to.