Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre

'Be quiet now, Richard,' Mr Rochester said quickly.

The doctor put a bandage on Mr Mason's arm. Mr Rochester put Mr Mason's coat round the injured man's shoulders. Then he spoke to me again.

'Run downstairs, Jane. Unlock the small door at the side of the house,' he said. 'We will follow you.'

I went quickly downstairs and I opened the door. Outside the door, a servant was waiting with a carriage. Mr Mason and the doctor came out of the house. They got into the carriage. Then Mr Rochester came out of the house too. Mr Mason spoke to him through the window of the carriage.

'Help her. Be kind to her, Rochester,' he said.

'Yes, I will, Mason,' Mr Rochester said.

The servant drove the carriage away.

'Will you walk in the garden with me, Jane?' Mr Rochester asked. 'I do not want to sleep now.' 'Yes, I will, sir,' I said.

Soon, it was morning. The birds were beginning to sing. The flowers had a sweet smell.

'It has been a strange night, Jane,' Mr Rochester said. 'Were you frightened?'

'I am frightened of Grace Poole,' I said. 'She will hurt you, one day.'

'I am stronger than she is. She will not hurt me,' Mr Rochester said. He looked at me for a few moments. 'Are you my friend, Jane?' he asked me.

'Yes, sir. I will be your friend forever!' I replied.

'Thank you, my dear,' Mr Rochester said. 'I have made mistakes. Now, I want to be happy. That is not wrong, is it, Jane?'

He stopped speaking for a minute. Then he said, 'Go into the house. I'll talk to you tomorrow.'

****

But the next day, I had a letter from Gateshead Hall, my Aunt Reed's house. The letter was from my Cousin Eliza.

I started the journey to my Aunt Reed's house immediately. I arrived there the next day. My Aunt Reed was very, very ill. She could not move. And she did not speak to me. I wanted to return to Thornfield Hall. I wanted to see Mr Rochester. But Eliza wanted me to stay at Gateshead Hall.

****

After three weeks, my aunt spoke to me at last. She spoke very slowly.

'Are you Jane Eyre?' she asked.

'Yes, Aunt Reed. I am Jane Eyre,' I replied.

'There is a letter for you,' Aunt Reed said. 'It is in my desk. Call Eliza, please. She will get the letter.'

Eliza came into the room. She opened the desk and she gave me a letter.

'Read the letter, Jane,' my aunt said. The letter had come from Madeira. But it was three years old.

'I answered that letter,' Aunt Reed said. 'I hated you, Jane. I did not want you to have your uncle's money. I wrote to John Eyre. I wrote, "Jane Eyre is dead. She died at Lowood School." I am sorry, Jane. I was wrong.'

Mrs Reed died that night. I left Gateshead Hall a few days later. I took my uncle's letter with me.

Mr Rochester met me at Thornfieid Hall.

'Welcome back to my house,' he said. 'This is your home, Jane.'

'Thank you, sir,' I said. 'I am very happy here.'

Mr Rochester's guests had left. No other visitors came to Thornfieid Hall. Every day, Mr Rochester and I talked together. And every day, I loved him more.

In June, the weather was hot. One evening, I walked into the garden. Mr Rochester was there too.

'Do you like this house, Jane?' he asked.

'Yes, sir,' I replied.

'Soon, Adele will go to live at a school, Jane,' he said. 'Then, I will not want a governess here. Will you be sad then, Jane? Will you leave Thornfield Hall?'

'Leave?' I said quickly. 'Must I leave Thornfield?'

'My dear —' Mr Rochester stopped. He was silent for a moment. Then he said, 'I am going to be married soon.'

'Oh, sir,' I said. 'Then I must go far away. Far away from Thornfield. Far away from you, sir.' I started to cry.

'I will always remember you, Jane,' Mr Rochester said. 'Will you forget me?'

'No, sir,' I replied. 'I will never forget you. I don't want to leave Thornfield, sir. I don't want to leave you.'

'Don't leave, Jane,' Mr Rochester said. 'Stay here.' He smiled at me.

'I must not stay here, sir,' I said. 'You are going to marry Miss Ingram. I am poor. I do not have a pretty face. But I have a heart. It is a loving heart, sir!'

'Jane — I am not going to marry Miss Ingram,' Mr Rochester said. 'She is rich. She is beautiful. You are poor. You are not beautiful. But I want to marry you! Will you marry me, Jane?'

For a moment, I could not speak.

At last, I asked, 'Do you love me, sir?'

'I do,' he replied.

'Then, sir, I will marry you,' I said. And Mr Rochester kissed me.

'My dearest Jane,' he said. 'Nothing can stop our marriage now. We will be married in a month, Jane!'

We kissed again. Then I said goodnight and I went into the house. I went upstairs to my room.

Later, I remembered my Uncle John Eyre's letter.

'I will write to him in Madeira,' I said to myself. 'I will tell him about my marriage to Mr Rochester. I am very happy. My uncle will be happy too.'

Four weeks passed. Mr Rochester was going to buy me many beautiful things. He was going to give me many presents. But I did not want these things.

'No, Edward,' I said. 'I am not beautiful. I don't want beautiful things. I want you, Edward.'

****

It was the month of July. Two days before our wedding-day, Mr Rochester went away.

'I will return tomorrow,' he said. 'I love you, Jane.'

That night, I went to my bedroom early. My wedding dress and my wedding veil were in my room. I looked at them.

'In two days, I will be Jane Rochester,' I said to myself. Then I went to bed. But I did not sleep well.

The next day, Mr Rochester returned. He looked at me carefully.

'What is wrong, Jane?' he asked. 'Your face is pale. Are you frightened?'

'I had a very strange dream last night,' I said. 'It was a dream about this house. But in my dream, Thornfield Hall had no roof. The walls were burnt. They were black. In my dream, I tried to find you. But you were not in the house.'

'Are you afraid of a dream, Jane?' Mr Rochester asked.

'No, Edward,' I replied. 'But I woke up from my dream. There was a woman in my room. She was tall and heavy. She had long, black hair.'

'The woman was holding a candle,' I said. 'She put the candle by my mirror. She put my wedding veil over her head and she looked in the mirror. Then I saw her face!'

'It was a strange, terrible face, Edward,' I said. 'Suddenly, the woman tore my veil into two pieces. She threw the pieces on the floor!'

'What happened next?' Mr Rochester asked.

'The woman held her candle near my face,' I replied. 'She looked at me and she laughed. Then she went away.'

'This happened in your dream, Jane,' Mr Rochester said.

'It did not happen in my dream, Edward,' I said. 'This morning, my wedding veil was on the floor of my room. It was torn. It was in two pieces!'

'But the woman did not hurt you, Jane,' Mr Rochester said. 'Sleep in Adele's room tonight, my dear. You will have no more bad dreams.'

It was our wedding day. We were going to be married in a church near Thornfield Hall. After the marriage, we were going to travel to London.

I got up early. I put on my wedding dress and I went downstairs. Mr Rochester was waiting for me. At eight o'clock, we walked together to the church. The clergyman was standing by the door of the church.