The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Four

The day Stephen Rochester came to Dewbrook with his family, Caroline's first reaction was surprise at the fact that he came later than Harold said he would. However, she did not dwell too much on it, as she remembered that it was an assumption and that the Rochesters must have encountered a minor obstacle that was irrelevant now, from which point everything would go as planned. With a radiant, irremovable smile on her face, she walked to the mansion he bought with haste, herself not knowing why she was feeling that way, yet deciding that thinking too much about it and everything, in general, would not be good for her. 

It was a rather fortunate thing that, although she had not stepped near her house for a while, the Wells manor was mere minutes away from her intended location, so the walk was not too much of an inconvenience. It was not that she would have minded it if she had to walk for a little longer, just that it was way easier to check up on what was happening in all three houses from time to time whenever she believed that there was a need for it. Thusly, she did not have much of an opportunity to imagine how the conversation would play out, which was a relief, as she preferred the spontaneity of small talk on every occasion. Besides, she knew nothing of him apart from his lamentable addiction and sorting him into a random category of behaviour based on nothing more than hearsay would have been terribly inappropriate to indulge in.

Such bothersome ponderings left her head the moment she saw him standing by the fence without company. She had heard that he had a wife and two little children, and her jaw dropped to the ground when she noticed that they were nowhere to be found. She formed a smile once more when he informed her how comical she looked with that expression of hers, politely waving at him and greeting him in the sweetest and most pleasant tone of voice she could muster, which made him scowl and utter the following gravely:

"If I am not mistaken, madam, you are the person who goes by the name of Caroline Proust. Although we have not yet had the chance to properly meet each other, I have been told that there is a severe level of artifice in the way you interact with others, and now I am able to see it, for this certainly does not look natural. I am not saying that you have offended me, but I do feel that you have some hidden intentions, which is why I cannot trust you completely. I probably should not have said that, and I hope that we can form a deeper relationship with each other. You must have been told who I am, and the rest of my family will soon be introduced to you as well. I am glad to have found a life within your neighbourhood, and seeing you in the future should be a pleasure to me."

Caroline smiled at him. "I apologise for my artifice, Stephen, but acting like this was my first instinct. My heart cannot help but harbour some form of prejudice against you, and in an attempt to be more sincere towards you, I shall first admit that when I have been relayed everything that is currently known about you amongst the higher society, I was derisive of your interests and less than enthusiastic about you coming here, which was motivated by a desire to impress those around me. At the very least, I have learned that it is wrong and shall not act upon this instinct anymore." 

He smiled as well. "I forgive you, my dear acquaintance. Prejudices are to be expected from anyone who has ever lived, and if those prejudices are minor, then I do not believe that they are a problem. I admire your sincerity, and I hope to see more of it shortly."

She pouted. "Stephen, do you think that I am going to leave after less than ten minutes of interacting with you, or worse, that I am a heavily insincere person who will try to deceive you at every opportunity? I would not want you to have such ill opinions of me, especially because you are much more agreeable than what could be expected from someone who not only quickly climbed to the top of society in a stroke of luck but also deals with dice. I may or may not have expected you to be a vain and delusional person with a sullen mood hanging over your head like a dark cloud, which, you will admit, was quite ridiculous of me. I cannot wait to get to know you better."