EXTRACT FROM chapter 11

1816: the weight of worry

Catch up with Jane and Cassandra as they call into Steventon on their way to Cheltenham Spa.

Cassandra was past the point of reasoning with Jane, knowing that something had to be done if she were to improve her health.

‘If we don’t help her,' she said to her mother, 'Then who else will?’

Without waiting for Jane’s consent, Cassandra arranged a two-week stay in Cheltenham Spa.

On leaving Chawton, the sisters broke their journey at Steventon where Jane did not make any effort to be civil. She sat like a sulky schoolgirl at the dinner table, with the conversation flowing over her head.

‘It’s a much smaller spa town than Bath,’ Mary explained over a joint of mutton and roast potatoes. ‘But the High Street is respectable and clean with new paving. You will find everything you need within walking distance.’

She clattered her knife and fork and chewed heartily – her appetite a testament to her recovered health - whilst Jane fumbled with soft cabbage and left the meat.

Photo: Lacock Abbey, Chippenham

Photo: Spring water bath, Roman Baths, Bath.

‘Even if you don’t want to attend any of the Assembly Rooms,’ Mary chattered on, ‘You must try the hot baths. And drink plenty of water. I swear that helped me.’

James observed Jane discreetly, unsettled by the grey pallor of his sister’s skin. He could not help but feel uneasy; Jane’s problems looked like they required far more intervention than a few doses of spring water.

James’s children, James Edward and Caroline, were a credit to their parents, and Caroline fetched her warmest shawl to drape over her Aunt Jane’s shivering shoulders. James Edward sought out another bottle of wine and sat and read to her by the fire. Caroline was too young to notice, but James Edward could recognise an illness when he saw it.

Photo: Berrington Hall, Leominster.