第87部分(第3/7 页)

　her。”

“You　shall　tell　me　this　part　of　the　story　another　time；”　I　said；　“but　now　I　have　a　particular　reason　for　wishing　to　hear　all　about　the　fire。　Was　it　suspected　that　this　lunatic；　Mrs。　Rochester；　had　any　hand　in　it？”

“You’ve　hit　it；　ma’am：　it’s　quite　certain　that　it　was　her；　and　nobody　but　her；　that　set　it　going。　She　had　a　woman　to　take　care　of　her　called　Mrs。　Poole—an　able　woman　in　her　line；　and　very　trustworthy；　but　for　one　fault—a　fault　mon　to　a　deal　of　them　nurses　and　matrons—she　kept　a　private　bottle　of　gin　by　her；　and　now　and　then　took　a　drop　over…much。　It　is　excusable；　for　she　had　a　hard　life　of　it：　but　still　it　was　dangerous；　for　when　Mrs。　Poole　was　fast　asleep　after　the　gin　and　water；　the　mad　lady；　who　was　as　cunning　as　a　witch；　would　take　the　keys　out　of　her　pocket；　let　herself　out　of　her　chamber；　and　go　roaming　about　the　house；　doing　any　wild　mischief　that　came　into　her　head。　They　say　she　had　nearly　burnt　her　husband　in　his　bed　once：　but　I　don’t　know　about　that。　However；　on　this　night；　she　set　fire　first　to　the　hangings　of　the　room　next　her　own；　and　then　she　got　down　to　a　lower　storey；　and　made　her　way　to　the　chamber　that　had　been　the　governess’s—（she　was　like　as　if　she　knew　somehow　how　matters　had　gone　on；　and　had　a　spite　at　her）—and　she　kindled　the　bed　there；　but　there　was　nobody　sleeping　in　it；　fortunately。　The　governess　had　run　away　two　months　before；　and　for　all　Mr。　Rochester　sought　her　as　if　she　had　been　the　most　precious　thing　he　had　in　the　world；　he　never　could　hear　a　word　of　her；　and　he　grew　savage—quite　savage　on　his　disappointment：　he　never　was　a　wild　man；　but　he　got　dangerous　after　he　lost　her。　He　would　be　alone；　too。　He　sent　Mrs。　Fairfax；　the　housekeeper；　away　to　her　friends　at　a　distance；　but　he　did　it　handsomely；　for　he　settle