第22章

Chapter26

Sophiecameatseventodressme:shewasverylongindeedinaccomplishinghertask;solongthatMr。Rochester，grown，Isuppose，impatientofmydelay，sentuptoaskwhyIdidnotcome。Shewasjustfasteningmyveil（theplainsquareofblondafterall）tomyhairwithabrooch;IhurriedfromunderherhandsassoonasIcould。

“Stop！”shecriedinFrench。“Lookatyourselfinthemirror:youhavenottakenonepeep。”

SoIturnedatthedoor:Isawarobedandveiledfigure，sounlikemyusualselfthatitseemedalmosttheimageofastranger。“Jane！”calledavoice，andIhasteneddown。IwasreceivedatthefootofthestairsbyMr。Rochester。

“Lingerer！”hesaid，“mybrainisonfirewithimpatience，andyoutarrysolong！”

Hetookmeintothedining—room，surveyedmekeenlyallover，pronouncedme“fairasalily，andnotonlytheprideofhislife，butthedesireofhiseyes，”andthentellingmehewouldgivemebuttenminutestoeatsomebreakfast，herangthebell。Oneofhislatelyhiredservants，afootman，answeredit。

“IsJohngettingthecarriageready？”

“Yes，sir。”

“Istheluggagebroughtdown？”

“Theyarebringingitdown，sir。”

“Goyoutothechurch:seeifMr。Wood（theclergyman）andtheclerkarethere:returnandtellme。”

Thechurch，asthereaderknows，wasbutjustbeyondthegates;thefootmansoonreturned。

“Mr。Woodisinthevestry，sir，puttingonhissurplice。”

“Andthecarriage？”

“Thehorsesareharnessing。”

“Weshallnotwantittogotochurch;butitmustbereadythemomentwereturn:alltheboxesandluggagearrangedandstrappedon，andthecoachmaninhisseat。”

“Yes，sir。”

“Jane，areyouready？”

Irose。Therewerenogroomsmen，nobridesmaids，norelativestowaitforormarshal:nonebutMr。RochesterandI。Mrs。Fairfaxstoodinthehallaswepassed。Iwouldfainhavespokentoher，butmyhandwasheldbyagraspofiron:IwashurriedalongbyastrideIcouldhardlyfollow;andtolookatMr。Rochester’sfacewastofeelthatnotasecondofdelaywouldbetoleratedforanypurpose。Iwonderwhatotherbridegroomeverlookedashedid—sobentuptoapurpose，sogrimlyresolute:orwho，undersuchsteadfastbrows，everrevealedsuchflamingandflashingeyes。

Iknownotwhetherthedaywasfairorfoul;indescendingthedrive，Igazedneitheronskynorearth:myheartwaswithmyeyes;andbothseemedmigratedintoMr。Rochester’sframe。Iwantedtoseetheinvisiblethingonwhich，aswewentalong，heappearedtofastenaglancefierceandfell。Iwantedtofeelthethoughtswhoseforceheseemedbreastingandresisting。

Atthechurchyardwickethestopped:hediscoveredIwasquiteoutofbreath。“AmIcruelinmylove？”hesaid。“Delayaninstant:leanonme，Jane。”

AndnowIcanrecallthepictureofthegreyoldhouseofGodrisingcalmbeforeme，ofarookwheelingroundthesteeple，ofaruddymorningskybeyond。Iremembersomething，too，ofthegreengrave—mounds;andIhavenotforgotten，either，twofiguresofstrangersstrayingamongstthelowhillocksandreadingthemementoesgravenonthefewmossyhead—stones。Inoticedthem，because，astheysawus，theypassedroundtothebackofthechurch;andIdoubtednottheyweregoingtoenterbytheside—aisledoorandwitnesstheceremony。ByMr。Rochestertheywerenotobserved;hewasearnestlylookingatmyfacefromwhichthebloodhad，Idaresay，momentarilyfled:forIfeltmyforeheaddewy，andmycheeksandlipscold。WhenIrallied，whichIsoondid，hewalkedgentlywithmeupthepathtotheporch。

Weenteredthequietandhumbletemple;thepriestwaitedinhiswhitesurpliceatthelowlyaltar，theclerkbesidehim。Allwasstill:twoshadowsonlymovedinaremotecorner。Myconjecturehadbeencorrect:thestrangershadslippedinbeforeus，andtheynowstoodbythevaultoftheRochesters，theirbackstowardsus，viewingthroughtherailstheoldtime—stainedmarbletomb，whereakneelingangelguardedtheremainsofDamerdeRochester，slainatMarstonMoorinthetimeofthecivilwars，andofElizabeth，hiswife。

Ourplacewastakenatthecommunionrails。Hearingacautiousstepbehindme，Iglancedovermyshoulder:oneofthestrangers—agentleman，evidently—wasadvancingupthechancel。Theservicebegan。Theexplanationoftheintentofmatrimonywasgonethrough;andthentheclergymancameastepfurtherforward，and，bendingslightlytowardsMr。Rochester，wenton。

“Irequireandchargeyouboth（asyewillansweratthedreadfuldayofjudgment，whenthesecretsofallheartsshallbedisclosed），thatifeitherofyouknowanyimpedimentwhyyemaynotlawfullybejoinedtogetherinmatrimony，yedonowconfessit;forbeyewellassuredthatsomanyasarecoupledtogetherotherwisethanGod’sWorddothallow，arenotjoinedtogetherbyGod，neitheristheirmatrimonylawful。”

Hepaused，asthecustomis。Whenisthepauseafterthatsentenceeverbrokenbyreply？Not，perhaps，onceinahundredyears。Andtheclergyman，whohadnotliftedhiseyesfromhisbook，andhadheldhisbreathbutforamoment，wasproceeding:hishandwasalreadystretchedtowardsMr。Rochester，ashislipsunclosedtoask，“Wiltthouhavethiswomanforthyweddedwife？”—whenadistinctandnearvoicesaid—

“Themarriagecannotgoon:Ideclaretheexistenceofanimpediment。”

Theclergymanlookedupatthespeakerandstoodmute;theclerkdidthesame;Mr。Rochestermovedslightly，asifanearthquakehadrolledunderhisfeet:takingafirmerfooting，andnotturninghisheadoreyes，hesaid，“Proceed。”

Profoundsilencefellwhenhehadutteredthatword，withdeepbutlowintonation。PresentlyMr。Woodsaid—

“Icannotproceedwithoutsomeinvestigationintowhathasbeenasserted，andevidenceofitstruthorfalsehood。”

“Theceremonyisquitebrokenoff，”subjoinedthevoicebehindus。“Iaminaconditiontoprovemyallegation:aninsuperableimpedimenttothismarriageexists。”

Mr。Rochesterheard，butheedednot:hestoodstubbornandrigid，makingnomovementbuttopossesshimselfofmyhand。Whatahotandstronggrasphehad！andhowlikequarriedmarblewashispale，firm，massivefrontatthismoment！Howhiseyeshone，stillwatchful，andyetwildbeneath！

Mr。Woodseemedataloss。“Whatisthenatureoftheimpediment？”heasked。“Perhapsitmaybegotover—explainedaway？”

“Hardly，”wastheanswer。“Ihavecalleditinsuperable，andIspeakadvisedly。”

Thespeakercameforwardandleanedontherails。Hecontinued，utteringeachworddistinctly，calmly，steadily，butnotloudly—

“Itsimplyconsistsintheexistenceofapreviousmarriage。Mr。Rochesterhasawifenowliving。”

Mynervesvibratedtothoselow—spokenwordsastheyhadnevervibratedtothunder—mybloodfelttheirsubtleviolenceasithadneverfeltfrostorfire;butIwascollected，andinnodangerofswooning。IlookedatMr。Rochester:Imadehimlookatme。Hiswholefacewascolourlessrock:hiseyewasbothsparkandflint。Hedisavowednothing:heseemedasifhewoulddefyallthings。Withoutspeaking，withoutsmiling，withoutseemingtorecogniseinmeahumanbeing，heonlytwinedmywaistwithhisarmandrivetedmetohisside。

“Whoareyou？”heaskedoftheintruder。

“MynameisBriggs，asolicitorof—Street，London。”

“Andyouwouldthrustonmeawife？”

“Iwouldremindyouofyourlady’sexistence，sir，whichthelawrecognises，ifyoudonot。”

“Favourmewithanaccountofher—withhername，herparentage，herplaceofabode。”

“Certainly。”Mr。Briggscalmlytookapaperfromhispocket，andreadoutinasortofofficial，nasalvoice:—

“‘Iaffirmandcanprovethatonthe20thofOctoberA。D。—（adateoffifteenyearsback），EdwardFairfaxRochester，ofThornfieldHall，inthecountyof—，andofFerndeanManor，in—shire，England，wasmarriedtomysister，BerthaAntoinettaMason，daughterofJonasMason，merchant，andofAntoinettahiswife，aCreole，at—church，SpanishTown，Jamaica。Therecordofthemarriagewillbefoundintheregisterofthatchurch—acopyofitisnowinmypossession。Signed，RichardMason。’”

“That—ifagenuinedocument—mayproveIhavebeenmarried，butitdoesnotprovethatthewomanmentionedthereinasmywifeisstillliving。”

“Shewaslivingthreemonthsago，”returnedthelawyer。

“Howdoyouknow？”

“Ihaveawitnesstothefact，whosetestimonyevenyou，sir，willscarcelycontrovert。”

“Producehim—orgotohell。”

“Iwillproducehimfirst—heisonthespot。Mr。Mason，havethegoodnesstostepforward。”

Mr。Rochester，onhearingthename，sethisteeth;heexperienced，too，asortofstrongconvulsivequiver;neartohimasIwas，Ifeltthespasmodicmovementoffuryordespairrunthroughhisframe。Thesecondstranger，whohadhithertolingeredinthebackground，nowdrewnear;apalefacelookedoverthesolicitor’sshoulder—yes，itwasMasonhimself。Mr。Rochesterturnedandglaredathim。Hiseye，asIhaveoftensaid，wasablackeye:ithadnowatawny，nay，abloodylightinitsgloom;andhisfaceflushed—olivecheekandhuelessforeheadreceivedaglowasfromspreading，ascendingheart—fire:andhestirred，liftedhisstrongarm—hecouldhavestruckMason，dashedhimonthechurch—floor，shockedbyruthlessblowthebreathfromhisbody—butMasonshrankaway，andcriedfaintly，“GoodGod！”ContemptfellcoolonMr。Rochester—hispassiondiedasifablighthadshrivelleditup:heonlyasked—“Whathaveyoutosay？”

AninaudiblereplyescapedMason’swhitelips。

“Thedevilisinitifyoucannotanswerdistinctly。Iagaindemand，whathaveyoutosay？”

“Sir—sir，”interruptedtheclergyman，“donotforgetyouareinasacredplace。”ThenaddressingMason，heinquiredgently，“Areyouaware，sir，whetherornotthisgentleman’swifeisstillliving？”

“Courage，”urgedthelawyer，—“speakout。”

“SheisnowlivingatThornfieldHall，”saidMason，inmorearticulatetones:“IsawhertherelastApril。Iamherbrother。”

“AtThornfieldHall！”ejacula