'I heard someone say that,yes,sir.'
'Well,he hated the idea of dividing the family property,so he left it all to my elder brother.But that meant I would be poor unless I married a rich wife,so he decided I should marry Bertna Mason,the daughter of his wealtny friend Jonas Mason.I was young and easily impressed,so when I saw her in the West Indies,beautiful and elegantly dressed,I thought I loved her.What a fool I was then!After the wedding I learned that my bride's mother and younger brother were both mad.Dick Mason will probably be in the same state one day.My father knew all this,but did not tell me.I soon found that Bertha and I had nothing in common.Not only was she coarse and stupid,her madness also made her violent.I lived with her for four years.By now my father and brother were dead,so I was rich,but I considered myself poor,because I was tied to a mad wife until death.'
'I pity you,sir,I do pity you.'
'Pity,Jane,is an insult from some people,but from you I accept it as the mother of love.Well,I had moments of despair when I intended to shoot myself,but in the end I decided to bring the mad woman back to Thornfield Hall,where nobody knew that we were married. She has lived here ever since. Even Mrs Fairfax and the servants don't know the whole truth about her. But although I pay Grace Poole well,and trust her absolutely,she sometimes drinks too much and allows the creature to escape.Twice she has got out of her room at night,as you know.The first time she nearly burnt me in my bed,and the second time she visited you, and must have been reminded of her own wedding day by seeing your wedding dress.'
一等座