During the next few days, Mrs. Reed got sicker. Every day I spent some time caring for her. The rest of the time I sat with Eliza and Georgiana, [-----1-----] They wanted to tell me about theri plans for the future. It was quite clear to me that they did not love their mother, and wanted her to die so that they could leave Gateshead.
One dark night I visited the dying woman. She ;lay in her bed, sleeping. For a while I started out the window at the rain. [-----2-----]I remembered my firend Helen Burns, who had been dead for nin years now. She had been so sure she would go to heaven. I wondered, would Mrs. Reed go there too?
"Who are you, girl?" I heard the sick woman saying. "I have to see Jane Eyre. I must tell her something... the truth..."
"I am Jane Eyre, aunt," I told her gently.
[-----3-----] "I know I am ill and old," she said in a weak voice. "Before I die, you must know something about yourself. I must tell you what I have done. Jane Eyre, there is a letter on my desk. Take it and read it."
I found the letter quickly. It said:
Dear Mrs. Reed,
Please tell me where I can find my niece, Miss Jane Eyre. I am not married and have no children, so Jane will receive all my money and property when I die. I would like here to come to see me in Madeira, and perhaps live here.
John Eyre |