It was by this time half-past five, and the sun was on the point of rising; but I found the kitchen still dark and silent. T he side- passage door was fastened; I opened it with as little noise as possible: all the yard…

Then my own thoughts worried me. What crime was this that lived incarnate in this sequestered mansion, and could neither be expelled nor subdued by the owner?—what mystery, that broke out now in fire and now in blood, at the deadest hours of night?…

‘Yes, sir.’ ‘And dressed?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Come out, then, quietly.’ I obeyed. Mr. Rochester stood in the gallery holding a light. ‘I want you,’ he said: ‘come this way: take your time, and make no noise.’ My slippers were thin: I could walk the matted…

‘Where the devil is Rochester?’ cried Colonel Dent. ‘I cannot find him in his bed.’ ‘Here! here!’ was shouted in return. ‘Be composed, all of you: I’m coming.’ And the door at the end of the gallery opened, and Mr. Rochester advanced with a…