The Mist on Bronte Moor (22 page)

He lifted his head. “I was embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed? Why would you—?”

“For kissing you. I was embarrassed by your reaction. The way you pulled away from me and then practically ran out of my house, like you were repulsed.”

I stared at him. “No, you’ve got it all wrong. I thought you were the one who was repulsed. Your face—”

“Well, you should’ve seen your face!” Simon said.

“I was shocked, that’s all. I mean I wasn’t expecting that—it was a crazy accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident,” Simon said.

I didn’t respond. A few weeks ago those words would have been all I needed to make me happy.

Simon moved toward me. I stopped him with my hand. “Don’t.”

“That day in history class,” he said, “when your hair fell out, I should have been there for you. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right, Simon. I’m not upset with you. It’s just. Things have changed.” My voice broke. I couldn’t tell him about Branwell. I couldn’t tell anyone.

“I rang,” Simon said urgently, “but your mum said you didn’t want to talk to anyone, and then I heard that you’d left. I wish—” He shook his head, “I don’t know.”

“It’s all right, really.” I started to walk again.

Simon followed. I didn’t have a destination in mind, but after a while, we found ourselves approaching Ponden Kirk.

“What is this place?” he asked, frowning at the odd pile of rocks jutting out of the steep valley.

“Just a place I like.”

We stood on top of the valley. I stepped forward and gazed down at the fairy cave—a place for lovers. I had never come to Ponden Kirk with Branwell. But I knew he’d been there. I felt his presence. And I wondered if he’d felt mine after I’d gone.

I shifted my gaze. A rock lay at my feet. Something had been carved into it. I crouched down and squinted at the words:
Here is Ponden Kirk a place frequented by my dear friend P.B.B—just a man moving in a mist who lost his way—Francis A. Grundy.

I blinked. P.B.B.—Patrick Branwell Brontë.

“What is it?” Simon asked. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” I said, stunned by the words that rang so true. “I am, actually.” I lifted my chin. “I think I’ve found my way.”

“Found your way?” he asked.

I grabbed Simon’s hand and stepped onto the large, flat top of the rock tower. The entire valley lay sprawled out beneath us.

He tightened his grip on my hand. “Come back to London with me. I’ll help you through everything, I promise. You don’t have to go it alone.”

My eyes swept over the rugged landscape. “Thanks, Simon. But, I’m fine, really. In fact, I’ve decided to stay. I’m going to ask Mum to enroll me at the local school. I want to finish out the year here. And then, I’ll see.”

“You don’t have to run away.”

“I’m not. I mean not anymore. Actually, I’m doing the opposite of that.”

“Really? How so?”

“Have you ever walked into a place that felt—I don’t know—right? As if, somehow you belonged there, even though you’d never been there before?

He shrugged. “You mean like the football field?”

I smiled. “Exactly, Simon—like the football field. That’s how this place feels to me.”

Simon nodded slowly. He couldn’t argue with the football analogy.

I scanned the wild moors below, closed my eyes, and breathing deeply, inhaled the
scents of fragrance past.

The anecdote of Emily cauterizing her own wound with a poker after being bitten by a dog, for example, is well known. Charlotte Brontë, herself, writes about this incident in her novel
Shirley,
whose title character is based on Emily. In
The Mist on Brontë Moor,
I up the ante by introducing a wolf into the picture. Either way, this incident sheds an interesting light on Emily’s character.

From Ellen Nussey we learn that at sixteen, Branwell was a studious young man and a budding artist. No one knows for certain when Branwell’s problems with alcohol and drugs began. In
The Mist on Brontë Moor,
Branwell is portrayed as a teenager merely experimenting with alcohol and laudanum, which later become a crutch for his problems.

There has been much debate over the cause of Branwell’s instability. While some biographers deem Maria and Elizabeth’s deaths as largely responsible for Branwell’s troubles, others believe that the deaths of his sisters only partially contributed to his problems. Branwell’s poem “Caroline” (featured in
The Mist on Brontë Moor
) is thought by scholars to be partly based on his experiences at the time of Maria’s death.

Although Branwell had many problems, he was also very charming and sociable. Ellen Nussey indicated that he was both gregarious and entertaining when in the company of others. One person charmed by Branwell was Mary Taylor, Charlotte’s friend from Roe Head, who visited the parsonage in 1840. It is certain that Branwell noticed the beautiful Mary and even “cared” for her, as Charlotte reported in a letter to Ellen. Not being the typical coy nineteenth-century female, Mary did little to hide her strong feelings for Branwell. As a result, his feelings quickly changed from caring to “contempt.”
1
The independent Mary remained unmarried and went on to live a full life of adventure and self-sufficiency overseas.

For the reader who sympathizes with Heather, Mary might come across as unlikeable. But it is important to note that, in life, Mary Taylor was a strong, intelligent woman and early feminist who is admired to this day. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel,
Shirley,
the feisty character Rose Yorke is modeled after Mary Taylor.

Elizabeth Branwell was a religious woman who pined for her home in Cornwall and abhorred the cold Yorkshire weather. Anecdotes illustrate that she was practical, dutiful, outspoken, and sometimes strict with the servants. However, she also exhibited a sense of humor and much generosity toward her family.
In the Mist on Brontë Moor,
Aunt Branwell, like the rest of the Brontë family and their acquaintances, is portrayed through Heather’s eyes. As such, she may come across as a harsher and less likeable character than she was in life.

Ponden Hall still stands today. It once housed a library thought to be frequented by the Brontës and is believed to be the model for Thrushcross Grange in
Wuthering Heights.
At the time of the Brontës, it belonged to Robert Heaton, his wife, and their three sons. Hugh Heaton, who is portrayed as a cousin of the Heaton family in
my novel, is a fictional character.

Lastly, I’d like to encourage everyone to visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. The experience is truly awe-inspiring.

I hope you have enjoyed
The Mist on Brontë Moor,
which incorporates both fact and fiction. For scholarly readings on the Brontës, please see the bibliography.

—Aviva Orr

Note

1. To read more of the letter, see Barker,
The Brontes: A Life in Letters,
83–84.

Brontë, Charlotte.
Jane Eyre.
Ed. Michael Mason. London: Penguin, 1996.

———.
Shirley.
Eds. Andrew and Judith Hook. London: Penguin, 1985.

Brontë, Emily.
Wuthering Heights.
Ed. Linda H. Peterson. New York: St. Martin’s, 1992.

———.
The Complete Poems of Emily Jane Brontë.
Ed. C. W. Hatfield. NewYork: Columbia UP, 1995.

Brontë, Patrick Branwell.
The Poems of Patrick Branwell Brontë.
Ed.Tom Winnifrith. New York: New York UP, 1983.

Cannon, John.
The History of the Brontë Family: From Ireland to Wuthering Height
s. Gloucestershire: Sutton, 2000.

Frank, Katherine.
A Chainless Soul: A life of Emily Brontë.
Boston: Houghton, 1990.

Fraser, Rebecca.
The Brontës: Charlotte Bronte and Her Family.
New York: Crown, 1988.

Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn.
The Life of Charlotte Brontë.
London: Penguin, 1985.

Gerin, Winifred.
Anne Brontë: A Biography.
London: Thomas Nelson, 1959.

———.
Branwell Brontë.
London: Thomas Nelson, 1961.

———.
Emily Brontë: A Biography.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1971.

Miller, Lucasta.
The Brontë Myth.
New York: Knopf, 2003.

Paddock, Lisa, and Carl Rollyson.
The Brontës A to Z.
New York: Checkmark, 2003.

Sellars, Jane.
The British Library Writer’s Lives: Charlotte Brontë.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 1997.