The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Twenty-Three

In the Rochester household, the situation had gotten even worse over the months. The dreary routine of Stephen drinking all night long and Mildred being stuck firmly within her sorrow and their children watching it all helplessly when they could not play outside did not seem to be anywhere near its end, and now Stephen desired Caroline more than ever before, which did not help matters. He called her name in his sleep and gazed longingly into the distance as the sun fell at night and saw her everywhere he stood, but she would not come, which engraved a perpetual scowl on his face that his wife did not at all fail to notice. Withering uselessly like a plant in the corner when she was not consumed by her housework, she could only stand and observe his wretched behaviour from a distance, holding her tears inside of her, which she was slowly getting better and better at.

Even when her family had begun to lose their fortune more and more steadily due to her husband's excessive drinking and gambling, she could not show vulnerability. For quite some time, she had believed that in his mind would spring a miraculous realisation that would halt all his vices at once with its presence. But it never did. On a random sunny morning, he returned to his residence all dispirited and dismayed, reeking of alcohol and tears. At first glance, that state of his looked hardly different than usual, but in his eyes, there was a gleam of profound melancholy like she had never seen before, and as unpleasant silence engulfed their doorstep, she feared for the worst. That silence was soon broken, but it was not pleasant at all.

He let out a deep sigh. "Mildred, I do not wish to say this, but it cannot go unspoken. Last night, I gambled more than ever before, and now we are dispossessed. I am so sorry."

She stared at him like a phantom. "Oh, that is quite something. It is not at all a surprise, given your character, but I had been hoping with everything in my heart that this day would never come. Alas, it had to, for there was no other way for this story to end. Let us hope that someday we can move on from all of this, but the chances for that are scarce."

"Let us enter our home before someone sees us, or before we are to sell it, for that matter," he said, shivering with his whole body. "We have no time to waste, after all."

But someone did see them, and that person was one of the worst candidates for being the first townsperson to find out about all of this. Mildred would never fail to recognise her, what with her long grey hair and judgmental black eyes and eternally worn linen black dress with layers of lace all over it. It was none other than Mrs Davies, and her usual scowl and glare had more to say than on most days, which meant that it was certain that she had heard everything.

"This family is unendingly wretched," the old lady said, cementing it into Mildred's head that she had indeed heard it. "I had always known that it was sure for you to ruin yourselves due to misery, vices and corruption, among other things, but most importantly, lack of care. When the husband does not care enough to resist the temptation of an evil woman sent by the Devil himself, and when the wife does not care enough to keep him away, there is no hope for them in the eyes of God, and they must suffer forever. I apologise if I am being harsh, but not really. That is simply how it is."

"Listen here, you senile shrew," Mildred hissed at her with utter contempt. "You think that you are so much better than everyone, having had the privilege to lead a life without many struggles or important choices to make, but what you fail to realise is that not everyone has that luck. Do you believe I have not tried to keep my husband away from her with my whole being? Do you not believe that I would have done anything for us not to have ended up like this? Sometimes, there is nothing that one can do against the whims of Fate, and with that in mind, you should think carefully the next time you decide to judge someone."

It was evident that Mrs Davies was not going to give up the argument on her own due to her unwavering glare, but then a crowd of people who had heard the commotion showed up, thus forcing her to do so.