14 Chapter14 Trouble at Gateshead

The next day I got a letter from Gateshead. There was much trouble and sadness there. 
"Well, sir, I would like to visit my aunt, who is ill, for a week or two." "Jane, I thought you had no family!" "I have no family who loves or cares about me, sir. This woman is Mrs. Reed, my uncle's wife. She is dying, and wants to see me. I can't say no to a dying woman." "Well, Jane, I see you are determined to go. Where does she live, and how long will you stay?" "She lives at Gateshead, sir. It is one hundred miles away. I'll come back as soon as I can." "You must promise me to stay only a week," Mr. Rochester said. I wondered why he looked so worried. "I can't promise you that, sir. I might have to stay longer, but I'll come back soon." "But you can't travel a hundred miles all alone, can you?" "My cousins sent a carriage for me, sir, so I can leave tomorrow." Mr. Rochester did not say anything for a moment. "Well, if you're going to go, you'll need some money. I haven't paid you yet! How much money have you got, Jane?" he asked, smiling at me. I show him the few coins that I had and he laughed. Then took out some money. "Here is 50 pounds," he said. "But sir, that's too much! You only owe me 15 pounds for my teaching!" I cried. "You're right. Give me that money back. If you had 50 pounds, you might stay away for months! Here's 10 pounds. Is that enough?" "But now you owe me five pounds, sir." "You’ll have to come back and get it then," he said, laughing. "There's something else I want to talk about you, sir," I said. This was not going to be easy for me to say. "You have told me you're going to marry Miss Ingram soon, and that Adele should go away to school. So I must get ready to find another job somewhere. I will begin looking."[ "Don't do that!" he said. "Promise me, Jean, not to look for another job. I'll take care of everything." I didn't understand him at all, but he looked so worried that I said, "I promise, sir." "Good! And now I must go back to my guests. They are waiting for me." "Goodbye, Mr. Rochester," I said. The next day I traveled for many hours. As I traveled, I realized it had been nine years since I had left Gateshead. In that time, I had become a different, stronger person. Most importantly, I did not hate the Reed family any more. I was happy to see my old friend Bessie again. She had married Robert the coachman, and was always busy with her three young children. My cousins Eliza and Georgiana had disliked me almost as much as their brother John. They had not wanted me to come to Gateshead, so they pretended I was not there, and never spoke to me. I did not really care. I told the housekeeper that I would stay for only a few days, and then I went to Mrs. Reed's room. I remembered the room from my childhood. Mrs. Reed was lying in the bed. I went to her and took her hand "How are you, dear aunt?" I said gently. Many years ago, I had told Mrs. Reed that I would never call her "aunt" again, but seeing her so sick and alone, I felt sorry for her.