第24章02. Returning t

　　'Well，ma'am，'the hotel－owner told me，'I was one of Mr Rochester's servants at the time， and I can tell you it was his mad wife who started the fire in the governess's room． The master had been wildly in love with the governess， you see，ma'am， although she was just a plain little thing， and when she disappeared， he almost went mad． His wife must have understood enough to be jealous of the girl．Anyway，in the fire the master risked his life helping all the servants out of the house， then bravely went back to save the mad woman． We saw her jump from the roof and fall to her death． But because he went back to help her，he was badly injured in the fire，losing a hand and the sight of both eyes．Very sad， ma'am．'
　　'Where is he now？'I asked urgently．
　　'At another house of his， Ferndean Manor， thirty miles away．
　　I hired a carriage to drive there at once．

“是这样，女士。”旅馆的店主对我说。“我曾是罗切斯特先生的一个仆人，我可以告诉你，一定是他的疯老婆在家庭教师的房间里放了火。女士，你知道，尽管她只是个不起眼的小东西，可是主人却疯狂地爱上了她。她失踪后，他几乎要疯了。他的老婆一定还知道嫉妒那个姑娘。不管怎样，大火中主人冒着生命危险帮助所有的仆人们逃出了屋子，然后又勇敢地冲回去救那疯女人。我们看到她从屋顶跳下来，摔死了。可是他因为回去救她却被大火严重烧伤，失去了一只手，一双眼睛也瞎了。真让人伤心啊，女士。”
　　“他现在在哪儿？”我急切地问。
　　“在他的另一所房子枫丹庄园那儿，离这儿30英里。”
　　我立即租了辆马车，向那里驶去。