In the Garden. Chapter 8

 

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, Adиle 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. '1 am not beautiful. 1 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. '1 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.'