Free Thornfield Hall by Jane Stubbs

desperate to rescue daughters driven to despair by cruel husbands. They want to bring the woman into our care. If the husband refuses there is nothing they can do. They go to court for writs of Habeas Corpus and the law won’t help. The husband can keepher locked away like Bluebeard if that is what he wants.’ He shook his head at the iniquity of the world.
    â€˜Perhaps she is a widow.’
    â€˜Yes indeed. Let’s look on the bright side; she might be a widow. A widow, as I am sure you are well aware, is a free agent.’ He picked up his hat ready to leave. ‘If only we had a name for her.’
    â€˜My master gave no name for her. Mrs Morgan seemed to feel no need for one.’
    â€˜How can you exist if you haven’t a name?’
    â€˜According to Mrs Morgan the lady had an extreme fear of water. I am not sure I believe her. I think it was Mrs Morgan who did not value cleanliness.’
    He thought for a moment. ‘I suppose all the weeks the lady spent at sea, totally surrounded by water, may have made her morbidly fearful of the element. Such fears can be cured. I can see you like a clean house, Mrs Fairfax. Do not concern yourself. I am confident that my mother will sort out that problem.’ With that he bid me farewell.

    To my relief Mrs Poole proved as unlike her predecessor, Mrs Morgan, as it was possible to be. She did not hide behind locked doors, nor did she demand a special diet for herself, or generally show a total lack of respect for her fellow servants. As soon as she could leave the lady, her patient – we still did not know what to call her – Mrs Poole came to my room, knocked on the door and asked me to arrange for her to meet all the servants involved in caring for the lady. This seemed an appropriate moment to tell her about the oath of secrecy Mr Rochester had demanded of us.She screwed up her face and thought for a minute. Then her face cleared and she announced, ‘The oath is not necessary for me. I do not gossip about my patients.’
    That evening we shooed the kitchen maids and the stable boys out after their supper. Only the oath-takers were left in the servants’ hall. I said a few words to introduce Grace and then sat down, leaving her free to talk.
    â€˜My given name is Grace,’ she began. ‘I know that we have to abide by the rules and call each other Mrs this or Mr that when the gentry are around. I just want you all to know that my name is Grace, Grace Poole. My son is the keeper of the asylum in Grimsby. Thanks to the good offices of Mrs Fairfax here we have been appointed by Mr Rochester to look after the unfortunate lady upstairs.
    â€˜I want to warn you all that we may have a very difficult few months. The lady has been given large doses of some very strong drugs; they have made her sleep much more than is healthy. My first task is to reduce the amount and number of these medications. She will be very distressed by this. She will be in a kind of pain of the mind as she wakes from her perpetual night.
    â€˜I do not know what form her madness took before she was drugged into apathy. As I reduce the drug her malady will probably recur. She may have fits of weeping, she may be violent, hurling herself against walls or she may try to climb out of windows convinced that she can fly. She may hear voices or tell fantastic stories that cannot possibly be true. At the moment, she is filthy, nit-ridden, silent and terrified. She does not move from the bed she was chained to. This is no way for a human being to live. I look for your help in changing this.’
    We were all silent. I had seen the state of the lady and of her room, but to the others this description was a truly shocking revelation. As servants we were dedicated to keeping everythingaround us neat and clean and tidy. To find we had such a dung heap within the walls went against the grain of our very existence. To my surprise it was young John, the new footman, who