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r breath; in the second place; you cannot yet accustom yourself to accuse and revile me; and besides; the flood…gates of tears are opened; and they would rush out if you spoke much; and you have no desire to expostulate; to upbraid; to make a scene: you are thinking how to act—talking you consider is of no use。 I know you—I am on my guard。”
“Sir; I do not wish to act against you;” I said; and my unsteady voice warned me to curtail my sentence。
“Not in your sense of the word; but in mine you are scheming to destroy me。 You have as good as said that I am a married man—as a married man you will shun me; keep out of my way: just now you have refused to kiss me。 You intend to make yourself a plete stranger to me: to live under this roof only as Adèle’s governess; if ever I say a friendly word to you; if ever a friendly feeling inclines you again to me; you will say;—‘That man had nearly made me his mistress: I must be ice and rock to him;’ and ice and rock you will accordingly bee。”
I cleared and steadied my voice to reply: “All is changed about me; sir; I must change too—there is no doubt of that; and to avoid fluctuations of feeling; and continual bats with recollections and associations; there is only one way—Adèle must have a new governess; sir。”
“Oh; Adèle will go to school—I have settled that already; nor do I mean to torment you with the hideous associations and recollections of Thornfield Hall—this accursed place—this tent of Achan—this insolent vault; offering the ghastliness of living death to the light of the open sky—this narrow stone hell; with its one real fiend; worse than a legion of such as we imagine。 Jane; you shall not stay here; nor will I。 I was wrong ever to bring you to Thornfield Hall; knowing as I did how it was haunt