CHAPTER ELEVEN A Great Party at Thornfield
It was two weeks before I heard anything about Mr. Rochester. All that time, I tried hard not to think about him. I told myself that I was Adele’s teacher, and nothing more. Finally one day Mrs. Fairfax told us that she had gotten a note from Mr. Rochester. He was planning a house party at Thornfield. He would return in three days, and had asked a large number of ladies and gentlemen to stay at Thornfield for several days. We all worked hard, cooking many delicious dishes and cleaning all the rooms.
The only person in the house who was not excited by the party was Grace Poole. She stayed in her room upstairs, and came down once a day to get food and drink. None of the servants spoke to her and she never spoke to anyone. However, once I heard two servants who I did not know talking together, and when I heard Grace’s name, I listened to them.
“Maggie, dies Grace make a lot of money?” said one.
“Oh, yes, Mildred, she earns five times more than you or me!” Maggie said crossly.
“But she’s good at the work, I expect,” said Mildred.
“Ah! She understands what she has to do, and she’s good at the work because she’s so strange, that quiet little mouse!” said Maggie. “And, you can be sure, no one for miles would want to do her job, even for all that money!”
“You’re right! I wonder if Mr. Edward—“ suddenly they saw me and immediately stopped speaking so loudly. They turned around so I could not see their faces.
“Dies she know?” Mildred whispered.
“No, and she isn’t going to find out! Do you understand? Don’t tell her anything!” it was then that I knew there was a secret at Thornfield.
At last the day of the party came. Everything was ready for Mr. Rochester and his guests. As the people arrived Adele and I watched from an upstairs window. We saw Mr. Rochester on his black horse, and with him rode a beautiful lady, her black curls flying in the wind. “That must be Blanche Ingram!” I thought. Soon many ladies and gentlemen were walking through the house, talking and laughing.
Adele loved parties and hoped that Mr. Rochester would ask her to meet the guests, but she and I both went to bed early. Mr. Rochester asked for me to bring Adele down the next evening.
The next night, Adele and I were in the sitting room when the ladies came in after dinner. We were dressed in our best clothes. All the women were beautiful, but I was especially interested in Blanche Ingram. After the gentlemen had had their wine, they came into the sitting room and coffee and tea were served. Everyone was paying attention to Miss Ingram. She played the piano excellently and sang sweetly. Her shining eyes, black hair, and fine figure made every man in the room look at her.
But I was looking at someone else. The last time I had seen him was on the night of the strange fire. That night, he had held my hands, told me I had saved his life, and looked at me with love. But now, he entered the room without even looking at me, and took a seat with the ladies. I had tried hard to forget about Mr. Rochester, but now that I saw him again, I could not hide my feelings from myself. I felt that there was something in our minds and hearts that connected us.
Just then I heard Blanche Ingram say to him.
“Oh Edward, you should have sent Adele away to school instead of getting her a teacher. I saw that young woman with her. She’s not very pretty, is she! Adele should have a pretty teacher. It’s silly, you know! These girls never teach children anything. Oh, but what a boring thing to talk about! Edward ,will you sing with me?”
“Certainly,” he answered. I did not want to hear any more. I left the room quietly and was in the hall when Mr. Rochester appeared.
“Come back, Jane, you’re leaving too early,” he said to me.
“I’m sorry, sir. I’m very tired.” He looked at me for a minute.
“Something is wrong. What is it? Tell me.”
“nothing—it’s nothing, sir.”
“But I see you’re almost crying. I don’t have time now to find out why. Well, tonight you may leave early, but I want to see you every evening. Good night, my---“ he stopped, looked away from me and walked away quickly. I stood there, thinking. Why did Mr. Rochester want me to be at the party?
The old house had never seen so much life and activity during the days of the party. Everyday Mr. Rochester and his guests rode horses, and walked in the beautiful gardens. He and Miss Ingram were together every day. I watched them closely. The way the acted made me believe that Mr. Rochester would soon marry her. But I did not feel jealous, because I knew he did not love her. She had tried to make him love her, but he had not given her his heart. I saw Miss Ingram’s faults very clearly. She was intelligent, but had no thoughts of her own. She was beautiful, but unkind. She could never be a loving wife and mother. Mr. Rochester knew all of these things, but he would marry her anyway. But I did not know why.
One day when Mr. Rochester was away, a stranger came to the house. His name was Mason, and he told us that he was an old friend of Mr. Rochester’s. he had just returned from the islands of the West Indies, where Mr. Rochester had once lived. |