Then he said,
"I must tell the truth, I suppose. There will be no wedding today. God will punish me for this. These men are telling you the truth. I am married, and my wife is alive! I was tricked into marrying her when I was young, in the West Indies. There is much madness in her family, but they did not tell me that. Now it is too late. For many years, [-----1-----]. I keep her hidden in my house, and the servant Grace Poole watches her. Come to my house to see her, and decide whether I had the right to ask this innocent young woman to marry me. Follow me!"
He held my hand tightly, without speaking, and we all left the church. At the door of Thornfield Hall, all the servants and Adele were waiting for us.
"Too late!" cried Mr. Rochester. "[-----2-----]!" We went up to the top floor, and entered the room where Mason had been attacked. As I watched, Mr. Rochester opened the secret door and showed us a little room inside. Grace Poole was making soup over a fire, and behind her a woman crawled on the floor. She growled like a wild animal, but wore clothes, and had long, thick, dark hair! This was the woman I had seen! Mr. Rochester's wife!
"How are you, Mrs. Poole?" said Mr. Rochester. "And how is your patient today?"
"Not bad, sir," said Grace, "but be careful. She is upset, so don't let her see you!" Suddenly, the woman turned and attacked Mr. Rochester! I recognized her face. It was pale, and [-----3-----]. With Grace Poole's help, Mr. Rochester was able to tie the woman to a chair. |