06-01-简·爱 [44]
promise，sir，I might have to stay longer．
'And you certainly can't travel a hundred miles alone！'
'They've sent the coachman for me，sir．I'll leave tomorrow.'
Mr Rochester thought for a while．
'Well，you'll need some money．I haven't paid you any salary yet．How much have you in the world，Jane？' he asked，smiling.
I showed him my tiny purse．He took it and laughed as he counted the few coins．Then he took out his wallet．
'Here is ￡50，'he said，offering me a note．
'But.you only owe me ￡15，sir！'I cried．
'On second thoughts，give me that back. If you had&50，perhaps you would stay away for three months．Here is ￡ 10．Is that enough？'
'Now you owe me&5，sir，'I pointed out．
'You'll have to come back for it then，'he said，laughing．
'There's something else，sir．You've told me you'rs going to marry soon. In that case，Adèle should go to boarding school．'
'To get her out of my lovely bride's way？A very sensible suggestion．But what about you？'
'I must find another job somewhere．I'll advertise．'
'Don't you dare！'he growled.'Promise me，Jane，not to look for another job．I'll take care of that.'
'I'll promise，sir，if you promise that Adèle and I will be out of your house before your bride enters it.'
'Very well！And now we must say goodbye．'
'Goodbye，Mr Rochester.'
I set out early the next morning and travelled all day．As I approached Gateshead Hall，I realized it was nine years since I had left it. In that time I had made some friends， gained much self-confidence，and finally lost my hatred of the Reeds．
I was delighted to see my old friend Bessie again．She had married Robert the coachman，and was very busy with her three young children．The house itself had not changed at all，hut my cousins certainly had. Eliza was now very tall and thin, with a rather sour face，dressed in very plain clothes，and with a cross hanging round her neck Georgiana，on the other hand，was still pretty hut very fat，and wore extremely fashionable clothes．They did not seem pleased to see me，in fact they more or less ignored me，but I hardly noticed their rudeness．I told the housekeeper that I would be staying for several days，and then went straight to my aunt's room．
I remembered it well from my childhood．I had often been called there to be punished．Bending over her bed I kissed her．
'How are you，dear aunt？'I asked．I had sworn never to call her aunt again，but I did not regret breaking that promise to myself．I held her hand．
'Are you Jane Eyre？'she asked．Her face，although deathly pale，was as stern as ever，and she removed her hand from mine．'That child was more trouble to me than anyone would believe！I was glad to send her to Lowood．And John！Poor John！He needs so much money！Where can I get more money from？What will happen？ She seemed very confused and excited，so I left her to sleep．
Her illness got worse in the next few days．I spent some time every day looking after her，and the rest of the time with my cousins，listening to their plans for the future．Eliza was planning to joln a religious community after her mother's death，but Georgiana was hoping to stay in London with relations，to see the new fashions and go to all the parties．It was quite clear they had no real feeling for their mother，and were almost looking forward to her death．
One dark，stormy night I visited the dying woman．She lay there asleep in her room，neglected by her daughters and servants．As I looked out of the window into the black emptiness，I wondered about the great mystery of death，and thought of Helen Burns，who was so sure her spirit would go to heaven．Would my aunt's spirit go there too？
'Who are you？'I heard the sick woman Murmuring．'I wanted to see Jane Eyre．I must tell her something．
'I am Jane Eyre，
'And you certainly can't travel a hundred miles alone！'
'They've sent the coachman for me，sir．I'll leave tomorrow.'
Mr Rochester thought for a while．
'Well，you'll need some money．I haven't paid you any salary yet．How much have you in the world，Jane？' he asked，smiling.
I showed him my tiny purse．He took it and laughed as he counted the few coins．Then he took out his wallet．
'Here is ￡50，'he said，offering me a note．
'But.you only owe me ￡15，sir！'I cried．
'On second thoughts，give me that back. If you had&50，perhaps you would stay away for three months．Here is ￡ 10．Is that enough？'
'Now you owe me&5，sir，'I pointed out．
'You'll have to come back for it then，'he said，laughing．
'There's something else，sir．You've told me you'rs going to marry soon. In that case，Adèle should go to boarding school．'
'To get her out of my lovely bride's way？A very sensible suggestion．But what about you？'
'I must find another job somewhere．I'll advertise．'
'Don't you dare！'he growled.'Promise me，Jane，not to look for another job．I'll take care of that.'
'I'll promise，sir，if you promise that Adèle and I will be out of your house before your bride enters it.'
'Very well！And now we must say goodbye．'
'Goodbye，Mr Rochester.'
I set out early the next morning and travelled all day．As I approached Gateshead Hall，I realized it was nine years since I had left it. In that time I had made some friends， gained much self-confidence，and finally lost my hatred of the Reeds．
I was delighted to see my old friend Bessie again．She had married Robert the coachman，and was very busy with her three young children．The house itself had not changed at all，hut my cousins certainly had. Eliza was now very tall and thin, with a rather sour face，dressed in very plain clothes，and with a cross hanging round her neck Georgiana，on the other hand，was still pretty hut very fat，and wore extremely fashionable clothes．They did not seem pleased to see me，in fact they more or less ignored me，but I hardly noticed their rudeness．I told the housekeeper that I would be staying for several days，and then went straight to my aunt's room．
I remembered it well from my childhood．I had often been called there to be punished．Bending over her bed I kissed her．
'How are you，dear aunt？'I asked．I had sworn never to call her aunt again，but I did not regret breaking that promise to myself．I held her hand．
'Are you Jane Eyre？'she asked．Her face，although deathly pale，was as stern as ever，and she removed her hand from mine．'That child was more trouble to me than anyone would believe！I was glad to send her to Lowood．And John！Poor John！He needs so much money！Where can I get more money from？What will happen？ She seemed very confused and excited，so I left her to sleep．
Her illness got worse in the next few days．I spent some time every day looking after her，and the rest of the time with my cousins，listening to their plans for the future．Eliza was planning to joln a religious community after her mother's death，but Georgiana was hoping to stay in London with relations，to see the new fashions and go to all the parties．It was quite clear they had no real feeling for their mother，and were almost looking forward to her death．
One dark，stormy night I visited the dying woman．She lay there asleep in her room，neglected by her daughters and servants．As I looked out of the window into the black emptiness，I wondered about the great mystery of death，and thought of Helen Burns，who was so sure her spirit would go to heaven．Would my aunt's spirit go there too？
'Who are you？'I heard the sick woman Murmuring．'I wanted to see Jane Eyre．I must tell her something．
'I am Jane Eyre，