PART THREE - A YOUNG WOMAN AT THORNFIELD
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A Great Party at Thornfield
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 [-----1-----], 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 felt 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 they acted made me believe that Mr. Rochester would soon marry her. But I did not feel [-----2-----], 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 [-----3-----] 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.
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