- The Road to Exile – Part 1
- The Road to Exile – Part II
- The Road to Exile – Part III
- The Road to Exile – Part IV
- The Road to Exile – Part V
- The Road to Exile – Part VI
- The Road to Exile – Part VII
- The Road to Exile – Part VIII
- The Road to Exile – Part IX
- The Road to Exile – Part X
- The Road to Exile – Conclusion
Ξ From the Journals of Edward Rochester – 1809-1810 Ξ
After a hot meal in a coaching inn near Canterbury, it was time to be on our way.
“Well, James, have you the stamina to hear my promised tale of little Adele Varens, the child who now lives at Thornfield Hall?”
Carter grinned. “Indeed I do.”
“I must warn you, the telling will outlast our journey this evening, for to do the tale justice, I must go back to the Christmas holiday of our last year of school. Can you remember so long ago?”
He smiled. “Of course. And how very anxious you were to go home after receiving Miss Fairfax’s letter imploring your return to Thornfield.”
“Miss Catherine Fairfax would have been Rowland’s bride, had she lived.”
Carter shook his head sadly. “Her death broke his heart.”
“Did it? My brother had no heart.”
“Let it go, Edward. He is dead, and it’s all in the past.”
“If only it were so easy, James. But as to Catherine’s fate. I had no idea she had perished in the carriage accident until I received your letter informing me of Rowland’s death.”
“I’m sorry. I would have written to you sooner had I known where you were.” Carter sighed. “But what has Miss Fairfax to do with all this?”
“Miss Fairfax, James? Miss Catherine Fairfax was to be my wife. Or at least, I believed that was so. To understand how I came to be the guardian of little Adele Varens, we must go back to those days, when the events which came to pass set the course of my entire future life.”
~ Exile ~ End of Part 1 ~
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