Miss Bennet and Miss Eyre: A Pride and Prejudice Jane Eyre Variation (Lizzy and Darcy - Variations on Pride and Prejudice Book 1) by Cameron Coverdale

Author:Cameron Coverdale [Coverdale, Cameron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice X-Over, Jane Eyre, Alternate Universe
Goodreads: 204472040
Published: 2023-12-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

I was happy at Marsh End. At first at least. I found my students friendly and eager to learn and I enjoyed the company of Mary and Diana.

St John Rivers on the other hand was an enigmatic sort of man. He was always polite and never unkind to me. One day he gave me a brand-new copy of Marmion by Sir Walter Scott. And yet, he betrayed a coolness towards me. Nothing obvious or even specific, you understand, simply a detached and remote manner.

He had begun to from an attachment to a lady called Rosamond who lived nearby. I paid close attention to them and assumed they were, or were destined to be, more than merely friends.

One day, when we sat alone, I was emboldened to speak. I asked him whether he intended to marry her.

“I confess,” he said, “I am attracted to her beauty. And perhaps I am in love with her.”

“Then perhaps you should ask her to marry you.”

He paused and looked at me strangely, in a way he had never looked at me before.

“It is true, she tempts me,” he said after a few moments. “But I have a calling to do God’s work in far flung places. I cannot allow worldly affections to interfere with my…holy duties.”

And I realised at once that he was right. Rosamond was a silly, shallow minded young woman. She was flirtatious and often giggled like a child without provocation. She would make a poor wife for a missionary.

And then he said something sudden and extraordinary.

“You are learning German, I believe, Miss Elliot?”

“I am, Mr Rivers.”

“And do you enjoy it? Does it come easily to you?”

“Ja,” I said. It was a weak joke and he did not laugh.

“Would you say then that you have a flair for foreign languages?”

“Perhaps. I speak French quite well.”

“I see. Then would you consider learning Hindustani?”

“I beg you pardon. Did you say Hindustani?”

“Yes. It’s the language they speak in India.”

“I know where they speak it. What I mean is, why would I want to learn Hindustani?”

“Well, I’m learning it, you see. And I thought you might need to speak it too, if you were to accompany me. As the wife of a missionary.”

I did not know what to say. I looked at him for some time before making an answer.

“Are you asking me to marry you, Mr Rivers?”

“I am, Miss Elliot. Do not give an answer now. Think about it carefully.”

He then got up and left abruptly, leaving me in a state of utter turmoil.

What was I to make of it? Going to India with him as an assistant was one thing. I didn’t mind going if I thought I would be doing some good, spreading the word of God and helping the poor. But as his wife? Always at his side, always restrained and forced to be reserved and always checked by my husband. I would need to quench my fire and if it burned to allow it only to burn deep inside without complaint. To never be allowed to show joy and passion?

No, I said to myself, that would be unbearable.

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