第22章03. Sudden weal

　　'The advertisements and Briggs spoke of a Jane Eyre，but I only knew a Jane Elliott，'said St John．'Are you Jane Eyre？'
　　'Yes—yes，but doesn't Mr Briggs know anything about Mr Rochester？'I asked desperately．
　　'I don't think Briggs is at all interested in Mr Rochester．You're forgetting the really important thing．Don't you want to know why he's been looking for you？'
　　'Well，what did he want？'I asked，almost rudely．
　　'Only to tell you that your uncle，Mr Eyre of Madeira，is dead，that he has left you all his property，and that you're now rich—only that，nothing more．'
　　Rich！One moment I was poor，the next moment I was wealthy．It was hard to realize my new situation．A fortune brings serious worries and responsibilities with it，which I could hardly imagine．I was sorry to hear that my uncle，my only surviving relation，was dead．However，the inheritance would give me independence for life，and I was glad of that．
　　'Perhaps you would like to know how much you've inherited？'offered St John politely．'It's nothing much really，just twenty thousand pounds，I think．'
　　'Twenty thousand pounds？'The news took my breath away．St John，who I had never heard laugh before，actually laughed out loud at my shocked face．'Perhaps…perhaps you've made a mistake？'I asked him nervously．

“布莱格斯先生及启事中提到一个简•爱，但我只认识一个简•艾略特。”圣约翰说。“你是简•爱吗？”
　　“是的，是的，可布莱格斯先生就没有罗切斯特先生的消息吗？”我迫不急待地问。
　　“我觉得布莱格斯先生对罗切斯特先生毫无兴趣，你忘了真正重要的事。你想知道他为什么在找你吗？”
　　“好吧，他究竟想要什么？”我几乎无礼地问。
　　“只是想告诉你，你舅舅，马迪拉的爱先生去世了，他把财产留给了你，你现在富有了。就这些，再没别的了。”
　　富有！一时我很穷，一时我又富了。我很难意识到自己的新境遇。一笔财富可以带来我根本无法想像的担忧和责任。听到我唯一活着的亲人我的舅舅去世了，我感到很难过。但是继承遗产可以让我独立生活，这点我很高兴。
　　“或许你想知道你继承了多少财产？”圣约翰客气地说。“其实并不很多，我想只有20 000英镑。”
　　“20 000英镑？”这消息让我停止了呼吸。我从未听到过圣约翰的笑声，这时他看到我吃惊的样子，不禁大笑了起来。“也许……也许你搞错了。”我胆怯地问他。