Moor House
The next morning, I woke late. I walked along the road for many
miles. It started to rain. Soon my clothes were wet. I saw no one. I
walked on the moor all day. In the evening, I was very tired again.
'I must sleep soon,' I thought. 'Where shall I sleep?'
Then I saw a light. I walked slowly towards it. The rain was
falling heavily. But I saw a house near the road. I walked up to the
house. I knocked on the door. I waited, but nobody opened the
door. I stood outside the house. I was very cold and very tired. I
could not move.
'I am going to die here,' I said.
Then I heard a young man's voice. The man was standing
behind me.
'No, you will not die at Moor House,' the man said. Then he
unlocked the door of the house.
He took me into the house. He took me into a warm sitting-
room.
'Please sit down,' he said.
Two pretty young women came into the room.
'Give this poor woman some food, Diana,' the young man said.
'Give her some dry clothes, Mary.'
Then he spoke to me again.
'My name is St John Rivers,’ he said. 'These are my sisters,
Diana and Mary. What is your name, young woman?’
'My name is Jane — Elliot,' I said. I closed my eyes. 'Jane is very
tired,' Diana said. 'She must go to bed now.'
I stayed in bed at Moor House for three days.
Diana and Mary Rivers were governesses. They were staying at
Moor House for a few days. St John, their brother, was a
clergyman. They were very kind to me. Soon, we were good
friends.
One day, St John asked me about my life.
'I was a governess too,' I told him. And I told him about
Lowood School. But I did not tell him about Thornfield Hall. I did
not tell him about Mr. Rochester.
'I want to work, St John,' I said. 'Will you help me?'
'I have a plan,' St John said. 'A few miles from here, there is a
village. Many of the girls in the village can-not read or write. I am
going to pay for a girls' school in the village. But I must find a
teacher for these girls.'
'I will teach them, St John,' I said.
'Good!' he said. 'There will be a small house next to the school.
You will live there.'
Three days later, a letter arrived for St John.
'Diana, Mary - our Uncle John is dead,' he told his sisters. 'But
we will not have any of his money.'
He gave the letter to his sisters. They read it.
'Uncle John was our mother's brother,' Diana told me. 'He was
very rich. But he has given all his money to another niece. We do
not know her.'
Soon, I went to live in the village. I lived in the house next to the
school. Every day, I taught the girls. My pupils worked hard. But I
was not happy. Every day, I thought about Edward Rochester.
'Does he think about me?' I asked myself.
Four months passed.
One day, St John Rivers came to my house. He was holding a
letter. He was worried.
'What is wrong?' I asked.
'I want to ask you three questions, Jane,' he replied. 'Is your
name Jane Elliot? Do you have another name? Do you know Jane
Eyre?'
I looked at him for a moment. I did not speak.
'I have some news for Jane Eyre,' St John said. 'Jane Eyre was
a pupil at Lowood School. And she was a teacher there. Then she
was a governess at Thornfield Hall - the home of Mr. Edward
Rochester.'
'How do you know this?' I asked. 'What do you know about
Mr. Rochester? How is he?'
'I don't know,' St John said. 'This letter is from a lawyer. The
lawyer tells a story about Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester had a mad
wife. But he tried to marry Jane Eyre. She left Thornfield. Now
this lawyer, Mr. Briggs, is trying to find her.'
'I will tell you the truth, St John,' I said. 'My name is not Jane
Elliot. My name is Jane Eyre. And I was a governess at Thornfield
Hall. I know Mr. Rochester. Did Mr. Briggs write anything about
Mr. Rochester?'
'No. The letter is about you, Jane,' St John said. 'Your uncle,
John Eyre is dead. John Eyre has given you twenty thousand
pounds. You are rich, Jane.'
'But why did Mr. Briggs write to you?' I asked.
'My mother's name was Eyre,' St John said. 'She was your
father's sister, Jane.'
'Then you, Diana and Mary are my cousins!' I said.
I thought carefully for a moment.
'Write to Diana and Mary,' I said. 'They must come
home. I will give all of you some of Uncle John's money.'
The next day, I wrote to Mr. Briggs. I gave St John, Diana and
Mary five thousand pounds each. I wrote to Mr.s Fairfax too, but
she did not reply.
Six months passed. I heard nothing from Thornfield Hall. I heard
nothing about Mr. Rochester.
Then, one day, I was walking on the moor. Suddenly, I heard a
voice. There was nobody on the moor. But the voice was calling
my name - 'Jane! Jane! Jane!'
'That is Mr. Rochester's voice,' I said to myself. Then I
shouted, 'I am coming, Edward. I am coming!'
I ran to Moor House. I spoke to my cousins.
'I am going to Thornfield Hall tomorrow,' I told them. I began
my journey the next day.
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