Archive of Our Own ^beta

Despite everything, Richard Mason loved his brother-in-law, though Rochester likely wouldn’t see it that way. When he thought back fifteen years to the weeks he spent helping to catch a husband for his sister, he was filled with shame. What was worse, he knew if he had to do it again, he would not change his actions.

Rochester should have known everything before the marriage, not because he had a right to know, but because they had purposefully concealed it from him. Many people have married only for their spouse to deteriorate the same way Bertha had. That did not negate their vows. The phrase “in sickness and in health” was included deliberately after all. But nevertheless, Edward’s bitterness at them for the deliberate concealment was understandable.

From the beginning, Mason’s father had been aiming for someone else to take responsibility of Bertha. The man had never been especially fond of his daughter, and when she started showing signs of following in her mother’s footsteps, he had immediately begun planning to institutionalize her.

Richard had already lost his mother and younger brother in the same way. They were both still alive, but visiting them was nearly impossible with his father breathing down his neck. On the rare occasion that he did manage to see them, they were inevitably worse than the last time he saw them. Bertha was the last family member he had, and he needed to protect her.

It had taken more courage than he’d ever mustered before to approach his father with the idea of marrying Bertha off. The man had looked at him with those cold flinty eyes, and answered that had three months. At the end of that time, Bertha would either be married, or off to join her mother. And so, it was with that desperate countdown running in the back of his mind that Richard Mason had set out to find someone to marry his sister.

Fortunately, Bertha had agreed readily to his plan. While she didn’t like the idea of being married, – being tied to one man for the rest of her life wasn’t appealing to her – she knew it was her best option, and she trusted Richard.

And then Edward Fairfax Rochester was dropped in front of them. Ironically, it was through a letter written to Richard’s father that they first became aware of him. For all the days leading up to actually meeting the man, Richard prayed that this unknown Englishman would be a safe haven for Bertha. When he finally met him, at first he felt nothing but relief. This young, relatively innocent young man all but wore his heart on his sleeve. Passionate as Edward was, Richard could see he was kind.

The relief was almost immediately followed by shame. How could he lie to this man? Edward was obviously desperate for affection and love. It took very little prodding from any of them before Rochester was following Bertha around like a lost dog.

So many times, Richard nearly told him everything. He never did. His love for his sister kept him silent. Every time he considered it, he immediately knew the risk was too great. Edward might marry Bertha even with the knowledge of her condition, but there was always the chance that he might not. Father was fully on board with the plan. If it failed because Richard’s conscience got the better of him, there would be no second chance. Bertha would be gone whether the three months were up or not, and Richard would have to face his father’s fury.

What hurt almost as much was the knowledge that the friendship he was building with Edward would be gone the moment the deception was revealed. Edward had a strength of will Richard couldn’t help but admire. He considered the man his friend. Ironic that the act of becoming brothers-in-law would sever that friendship.

And it did sever it. It only took a matter of days after the marriage was finalized for the truth to come out. The first time Edward saw him after, it was like meeting a different person. He wasn’t cruel. He wasn’t even impolite. But all the warmth was gone. The betrayal he felt was obvious in everything he did and said.

Only love and concern for his sister stopped Richard from apologizing. He needed to be sure Edward would care for her. Richard knew his own will was not strong. He worried that any capitulation on his part – even an apology – might endanger her position.

As the years passed, - one, two, three, four – that fear lessened, but the damage was done. And so he swallowed his guilt, choosing to see it as his duty. His father would not protect Bertha. Richard had to. He could see she wasn’t happy with Rochester any more than he was with her, but she was safe. Even as Rochester’s affection turned to hatred, the man always protected her to the best of his abilities. Even as Edward confined her to the house as her condition worsened, she was provided and cared for in a way she couldn’t have hoped for elsewhere.

And then one day, Richard met with Edward. He attempted to offer his support. Edward didn’t completely discard the offer. (The other man at least seemed not to hate Richard, even if he didn’t trust him.) He didn’t accept either, though. Richard Mason left that night afraid for both Rochesters. Edward seemed utterly defeated, and Richard knew what would happen to Bertha if she were returned to her father’s house as a widow or otherwise.

The next day, he’d called on them again, hoping against hope to find they’d both survived the night. When he saw Edward, he knew something had changed. That was when Edward told him that he was taking Bertha, and leaving.

For a split second, Richard had wanted to protest. Everything he’d done had been to stop his sister being taken from him. Then, he bit his tongue. He’d remained silent before, and Edward had paid the price. What right had he to stop his brother-in-law now?

Bertha’s situation would be mostly the same whether she were in Jamaica or Europe. Rochester had money and resources in Europe that he could use to give her the best care possible. At least this way, she would be well outside of Father’s reach. Edward would be home. While he had no family left in England, he may have friends there to offer him help and companionship. If nothing else, he’d be able to regularly visit the grave of his beloved mother. And so, Richard said nothing beyond wishing them both well, and asking Edward to write to him when he and Bertha were settled.

Over the following years, he heard precious little regarding them. Edward did in fact write to him when Bertha was safely installed to assure him of her condition and the nature of her accommodations. After that, contact all but ceased.

It wasn’t until five years after his father died – fifteen years after Bertha’s marriage – that Richard, now Mr. Mason decided it was time to visit his sister and brother-in-law. He hadn’t left earlier because his first course of action after his father’s death had been to remove his mother and brother from the madhouse where they had been abandoned. They both lived in his home now, receiving the best care he could provide. He’d been afraid to leave them, but eventually, he’d determined that they were as safe as he could make them, and if he were to see his sister again, he wouldn’t find a better time.

Arrival at Thornfield had been strange. He’d been met, not by Rochester, but by a collection of strangers. This, while uncomfortable, wasn’t overly upsetting. When the governess told him Rochester was here, and waiting to see him, Mason had felt his stomach drop in dread. Nevertheless, he’d swallowed back his fear, and gone quietly with her.

Edward’s reception had been both better and worse than he’d feared. The expression of rage on his face had been thunderous, but he’d kept his answers short and clipped. He’d only really expressed frustration at Mason showing up at his house unannounced, a fair reaction. Mason had not told him he was coming for fear of being turned away.

As he ascended the stairs to the room where Bertha was confined, he reflected that the years had been unkind to Rochester. While the man had more hope than before he left Jamaica, the harshness of his face spoke of years of trial and pain. Richard hoped with all his heart that Bertha had faired better.

He was a fool.

Bertha seemed calm, almost peaceful when he first saw her. The disheveled state of her appearance and room broke his heart. Rochester had been telling the truth about her treatment. This was no insane asylum. Even so, the room was somewhat bare, probably to prevent her from hurting herself or someone else by accident. She blinked at him from her position curled up in the corner.

“Bertha?” He reached for her.

In the blink of an eye, she had leaped at him, and then there was a blinding pain.

The rest of that night was blurry in his memory. What he did remember was Edward appearing, and wrestling the knife from Bertha’s grip. With the help of her nurse, Rochester had restrained her. Through the pain, Richard had noted to his relief that they were both clearly trying to avoid hurting her. Edward left him in the room, and hurried downstairs to deal with the other people in the house. When he returned, he was accompanied by the governess, an odd choice he hadn’t considered until later.

When Edward told the governess not to speak and then hissed at him that “it will be at peril of your life if you speak to her,” he’d thought nothing of it. He was bleeding out. He needed to preserve his strength.

The next few hours were even more vague. All he really remembered was the face of the governess as she tended his wounds. Then Rochester was back with the surgeon, and Richard was being hurried down the stairs, his wounds properly dressed. He took one last moment before they drove away to plead with Edward to take care of Bertha. The brief softening in Edward’s eyes gave him hope, as did his reassurances.

It was several weeks before he felt ready to travel. When he did, he decided to visit a friend in Portugal. That would be an excellent place to recover from both the physical wounds and the heartbreak of seeing his sister in such a state.

Then the letter came. John Eyre was over the moon when he received word that his niece was not only alive, but overjoyed to hear about him. He’d told Mason all this happily, but then, one sentence had changed everything.

“She has told me she’s about to be married to a man named Rochester.”

At first, he was sure he must be mistaken. Maybe it was a different Rochester. But no, Mr. Eyre confirmed it was Edward Fairfax Rochester of Thornfield. For the first time, Richard Mason’s guilt was overpowered by righteous anger. How could Edward do such a thing? Bertha was still his wife regardless of anything else.

And then he realized who Jane Eyre was.

The little governess who had cared for him after Bertha attacked him. No wonder Rochester hadn’t wanted them to speak to each other. He’d been afraid of Miss Eyre finding out he was married. The implications of this almost made him sick. Edward had been pursuing her even while Mason was in the house.

A part of him understood his brother-in-law’s actions. The larger part was horrified. The part of him that had deceived a stranger to protect his sister was rising up in indignation.

In a frantic, barely understandable speech, Richard Mason explained the situation to Mr. Eyre. As he did, the joy in the older man’s face was quickly replaced by horror, then anger, and then horror again. John Eyre was bed-ridden. He could not go to England to protect his niece.

Richard thought about Edward. He remembered the wild despair he saw on his brother-in-law’s face the day before he suddenly announced he was leaving Jamaica. Then he thought about the quiet, grave little woman who had saved his life by caring for him when he was at his most vulnerable. “I cannot face him alone,” he said, ashamed. “Send someone with me, and I will be a witness to stop this.”

Mr. Eyre agreed readily, and immediately set about writing a letter to his lawyer in London. “You must meet him on your way, Mason. There isn’t much time.”

Before the letter was fully penned, Richard was making preparations to leave for Thornfield. Once again, he was to be the one to destroy Rochester’s happiness.

This time, though, he knew what he was doing was right.