06-01-简·爱 [51]
安！”他说，不停地吻着我。我跑上楼时，看到了老太太脸上吃惊的表情。
“明天我再向她解释。”我心想。这时我大高兴了，除了我们的美好未来，再无暇顾及别的。
外面雷雨一夜未停。早晨，我们发现花园深处一棵已挺立几百年的大树被雷击中，劈成了两半。
■ 16 Preparing for the wedding
I was a little nervous before seeing Mr Rochester next morning．Was I really going to marry him， or was it all a dream？But I soon felt calmer when he came to meet me and kissed me．
'Jane，you look well and smiling and pretty，'he said．'You will be Jane Rochester in four weeks' time，not a day more．I'll send for my family jewels，which are kept in a London bank．They are for my bride，whether she's a great lady or a governess．'
'Oh no，sir！' I cried．'I'm too plain for jewels！I'm not used to wearing them．'
'I insist，Jane．Today I'm taking you in the carriage to Millcote to buy you some elegant clothes．In a month's time we'll have a quiet wedding in the local church，and after a few days in London we'll travel through all the countries of Europe．'
'Well，sir，you seem very eager to please me，but I wonder if you will agree to a request of mine．'
'Ask me anything，Jane，anything！'
'Indeed I will．This is my request．I ask you not to give me jewels and fine clothes．'
'If that's really your wish，I agree But can't you think of anything I can give you？'
'Well，I'd like you to give me the answer to a question．'
He looked worried，and turned away from me．
'Curiosity is dangerous，'he said．'I may not be able to agree to this particular request．Well，what is it？'
'How stern you look！I suppose that's how you will look when we are married！This is what I want to know．Why did you take such trouble to make me believe you wished to marry Miss Ingram？'
He stopped frowning at once and smiled down at me．
'Is that all？What a relief！All right，I shall have to confess，although you may be angry with me，Jane—as angry as you were last night，when you told me we were equal．Well，I pretended to love Miss Ingram to make you madly jealous．I wanted you to be as much in love wlth me as I was with you．'
'And I suppose you didn't care at all about poor Miss Ingram's feelings？'
'She only has one feeling—pride．Were you jealous，Jane？'
'Never mind，Mr Rochester．One more request—please explain everything to Mrs Fairfax．She looked so shocked last night！'
When I visited the old housekeeper later that day，I found she was amazed by the news that I was going to marry the master．
'I would never have thought it！'she kept repeating．'Mr Rochester，so proud and such a gentleman！To marry his governess！'She examined me closely，as if to discover the reason for this strange event，and shook her head，still puzzled．'He's twenty years older than you！He could be your father！'
'No，indeed，Mrs Fairfax，'I replied crossly．'He looks much younger than that！'
'Is he really going to marry you for love？'she asked．
I was so hurt by her amazement that tears came to my eyes．
'Why？'I asked．'Do you think he couldn't possibly love me？'
'No，no，Miss Eyre，but you must realize that this is a very unusual situation．You must be careful of your reputation． I advise you to keep him at a distance until you are married．'
Although I was upset by the old lady's words，I followed her advice，and in the weeks before the wedding I went on teaching Adele as usual．Only in the evenings did I spend some time with Mr Rochester，and I was careful not to allow him to hold me in his arms or kiss me．Sometimes he was angry with me and called me a'hard little thing'or'a cruel spirit'，but I preferred that to being called 'my darling'．I saw that Mrs Fairfax approved of my correct
“明天我再向她解释。”我心想。这时我大高兴了，除了我们的美好未来，再无暇顾及别的。
外面雷雨一夜未停。早晨，我们发现花园深处一棵已挺立几百年的大树被雷击中，劈成了两半。
■ 16 Preparing for the wedding
I was a little nervous before seeing Mr Rochester next morning．Was I really going to marry him， or was it all a dream？But I soon felt calmer when he came to meet me and kissed me．
'Jane，you look well and smiling and pretty，'he said．'You will be Jane Rochester in four weeks' time，not a day more．I'll send for my family jewels，which are kept in a London bank．They are for my bride，whether she's a great lady or a governess．'
'Oh no，sir！' I cried．'I'm too plain for jewels！I'm not used to wearing them．'
'I insist，Jane．Today I'm taking you in the carriage to Millcote to buy you some elegant clothes．In a month's time we'll have a quiet wedding in the local church，and after a few days in London we'll travel through all the countries of Europe．'
'Well，sir，you seem very eager to please me，but I wonder if you will agree to a request of mine．'
'Ask me anything，Jane，anything！'
'Indeed I will．This is my request．I ask you not to give me jewels and fine clothes．'
'If that's really your wish，I agree But can't you think of anything I can give you？'
'Well，I'd like you to give me the answer to a question．'
He looked worried，and turned away from me．
'Curiosity is dangerous，'he said．'I may not be able to agree to this particular request．Well，what is it？'
'How stern you look！I suppose that's how you will look when we are married！This is what I want to know．Why did you take such trouble to make me believe you wished to marry Miss Ingram？'
He stopped frowning at once and smiled down at me．
'Is that all？What a relief！All right，I shall have to confess，although you may be angry with me，Jane—as angry as you were last night，when you told me we were equal．Well，I pretended to love Miss Ingram to make you madly jealous．I wanted you to be as much in love wlth me as I was with you．'
'And I suppose you didn't care at all about poor Miss Ingram's feelings？'
'She only has one feeling—pride．Were you jealous，Jane？'
'Never mind，Mr Rochester．One more request—please explain everything to Mrs Fairfax．She looked so shocked last night！'
When I visited the old housekeeper later that day，I found she was amazed by the news that I was going to marry the master．
'I would never have thought it！'she kept repeating．'Mr Rochester，so proud and such a gentleman！To marry his governess！'She examined me closely，as if to discover the reason for this strange event，and shook her head，still puzzled．'He's twenty years older than you！He could be your father！'
'No，indeed，Mrs Fairfax，'I replied crossly．'He looks much younger than that！'
'Is he really going to marry you for love？'she asked．
I was so hurt by her amazement that tears came to my eyes．
'Why？'I asked．'Do you think he couldn't possibly love me？'
'No，no，Miss Eyre，but you must realize that this is a very unusual situation．You must be careful of your reputation． I advise you to keep him at a distance until you are married．'
Although I was upset by the old lady's words，I followed her advice，and in the weeks before the wedding I went on teaching Adele as usual．Only in the evenings did I spend some time with Mr Rochester，and I was careful not to allow him to hold me in his arms or kiss me．Sometimes he was angry with me and called me a'hard little thing'or'a cruel spirit'，but I preferred that to being called 'my darling'．I saw that Mrs Fairfax approved of my correct