He is the unloved second son of an old and esteemed family. She is breathtaking and rich but unknowingly carries the seeds of a devastating illness. Their fathers strike a convenient bargain which their children have little choice but to accept. Products of their time, Bertha Mason and Edward Rochester marry for financial security and respectability although they scarcely know one another. At best, they will become comfortable companions who grow to love one another. At worst . . . In Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte hints at their early days together and gives a secondhand account of their...