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1For several subsequent days I saw little of Mr. Rochester. In the mornings he seemed much engaged with business, and, in
2the afternoon, gentlemen from Millcote or the neighbourhood called, and sometimes stayed to dine with him. When his
3sprain was well enough to admit of horse exercise, he rode out a good deal; probably to return these visits, as he
4generally did not come back till late at night. During this interval, even Adèle was seldom sent for to his presence,
5and all my acquaintance with him was confined to an occasional rencontre in the hall, on the stairs, or in the gallery,
6when he would sometimes pass me haughtily and coldly, just acknowledging my presence by a distant nod or a cool glance,
7and sometimes bow and smile with gentlemanlike affability. His changes of mood did not offend me, because I saw that I
8had nothing to do with their alternation; the ebb and flow depended on causes quite disconnected with me. One day he had
9had company to dinner, and had sent for my portfolio; in order, doubtless, to exhibit its contents: the gentlemen went
10away early, to attend a public meeting at Millcote, as Mrs. Fairfax informed me; but the night being wet and inclement,
11Mr. Rochester did not accompany them. Soon after they were gone he rang the bell: a message came that I and Adèle were
12to go downstairs. I brushed Adèle's hair and made her neat, and having ascertained that I was myself in my usual Quaker
13trim, where there was nothing to retouch--all being too close and plain, braided locks included, to admit of
14disarrangement--we descended, Adèle wondering whether the petit coffre was at length come; for, owing to some mistake,
15its arrival had hitherto been delayed. She was gratified: there it stood, a little carton, on the table when we entered
16the dining-room. She appeared to know it by instinct. "Ma boite! ma boite!" exclaimed she, running towards it. "Yes,
17there is your 'boite' at last: take it into a corner, you genuine daughter of Paris, and amuse yourself with
18disembowelling it," said the deep and rather sarcastic voice of Mr. Rochester, proceeding from the depths of an immense
19easy-chair at the fireside. "And mind," he continued, "don't bother me with any details of the anatomical process, or
20any notice of the condition of the entrails: let your operation be conducted in silence: tiens-toi tranquille, enfant;
21comprends-tu?" Adèle seemed scarcely to need the warning; she had already retired to a sofa with her treasure, and was
22busy untying the cord which secured the lid. Having removed this impediment, and lifted certain silvery envelopes of
23tissue paper, she merely exclaimed-- "Oh ciel! Que c'est beau!" and then remained absorbed in ecstatic contemplation.
24"Is Miss Eyre there?" now demanded the master, half rising from his seat to look round to the door, near which I still
25stood. "Ah! well, come forward; be seated here." He drew a chair near his own. "I am not fond of the prattle of
26children," he continued; "for, old bachelor as I am, I have no pleasant associations connected with their lisp. It would
27be intolerable to me to pass a whole evening tête-à-tête with a brat. Don't draw that chair farther off, Miss Eyre; sit
28down exactly where I placed it--if you please, that is. Confound these civilities! I continually forget them. Nor do I
29particularly affect simple-minded old ladies. By-the-bye, I must have mine in mind; it won't do to neglect her; she is a
30Fairfax, or wed to one; and blood is said to be thicker than water." He rang, and despatched an invitation to Mrs.
31Fairfax, who soon arrived, knitting-basket in hand. "Good evening, madam; I sent to you for a charitable purpose. I have
32forbidden Adèle to talk to me about her presents, and she is bursting with repletion; have the goodness to serve her as
33auditress and interlocutrice; it will be one of the most benevolent acts you ever performed." Adèle, indeed, no sooner
34saw Mrs. Fairfax, than she summoned her to her sofa, and there quickly filled her lap with the porcelain, the ivory, the
35waxen contents of her "boite;" pouring out, meantime, explanations and raptures in such broken English as she was
36mistress of. "Now I have performed the part of a good host," pursued Mr. Rochester, "put my guests into the way of
37amusing each other, I ought to be at liberty to attend to my own pleasure. Miss Eyre, draw your chair still a little
38farther forward: you are yet too far back; I cannot see you without disturbing my position in this comfortable chair,
39which I have no mind to do." I did as I was bid, though I would much rather have remained somewhat in the shade; but Mr.
40Rochester had such a direct way of giving orders, it seemed a matter of course to obey him promptly. We were, as I have
41said, in the dining-room: the lustre, which had been lit for dinner, filled the room with a festal breadth of light; the
42large fire was all red and clear; the purple curtains hung rich and ample before the lofty window and loftier arch;
43everything was still, save the subdued chat of Adèle (she dared not speak loud), and, filling up each pause, the beating
44of winter rain against the panes. Mr. Rochester, as he sat in his damask-covered chair, looked different to what I had
45seen him look before; not quite so stern--much less gloomy. There was a smile on his lips, and his eyes sparkled,
46whether with wine or not, I am not sure; but I think it very probable. He was, in short, in his after-dinner mood; more
47expanded and genial, and also more self-indulgent than the frigid and rigid temper of the morning; still he looked
48preciously grim, cushioning his massive head against the swelling back of his chair, and receiving the light of the fire
49on his granite-hewn features, and in his great, dark eyes; for he had great, dark eyes, and very fine eyes, too--not
50without a certain change in their depths sometimes, which, if it was not softness, reminded you, at least, of that
51feeling. He had been looking two minutes at the fire, and I had been looking the same length of time at him, when,
52turning suddenly, he caught my gaze fastened on his physiognomy. "You examine me, Miss Eyre," said he: "do you think me
53handsome?" I should, if I had deliberated, have replied to this question by something conventionally vague and polite;
54but the answer somehow slipped from my tongue before I was aware--"No, sir." "Ah! By my word! there is something
55singular about you," said he: "you have the air of a little nonnette; quaint, quiet, grave, and simple, as you sit with
56your hands before you, and your eyes generally bent on the carpet (except, by-the-bye, when they are directed piercingly
57to my face; as just now, for instance); and when one asks you a question, or makes a remark to which you are obliged to
58reply, you rap out a round rejoinder, which, if not blunt, is at least brusque. What do you mean by it?" "Sir, I was too
59plain; I beg your pardon. I ought to have replied that it was not easy to give an impromptu answer to a question about
60appearances; that tastes mostly differ; and that beauty is of little consequence, or something of that sort." "You ought
61to have replied no such thing. Beauty of little consequence, indeed! And so, under pretence of softening the previous
62outrage, of stroking and soothing me into placidity, you stick a sly penknife under my ear! Go on: what fault do you
63find with me, pray? I suppose I have all my limbs and all my features like any other man?" "Mr. Rochester, allow me to
64disown my first answer: I intended no pointed repartee: it was only a blunder." "Just so: I think so: and you shall be
65answerable for it. Criticise me: does my forehead not please you?" He lifted up the sable waves of hair which lay
66horizontally over his brow, and showed a solid enough mass of intellectual organs, but an abrupt deficiency where the
67suave sign of benevolence should have risen. "Now, ma'am, am I a fool?" "Far from it, sir. You would, perhaps, think me
68rude if I inquired in return whether you are a philanthropist?"
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