22 Sudden wealth 
　  
　　When St John left，it was beginning to snow，and it continued snowing all night and all the next day．In the evening I sat by my fire，listening to the wind blowing outside，and had just started reading when I heard a noise．The wind，I thought，was shaking the door，but no，it was St John，who came in out of the frozen darkness，his coat covered in snow． 
　　'what's happened？'I cried，amazed．'I thought nobody would be out in weather like this！What's the matter？' 
　　'There's nothing wrong，'he answered calmly，hanging up his coat，and stamping the snow from his boots．'I just came to have a little talk to you．Besides，since yesterday I've been eager to hear the other half of your story．'He sat down．I had no idea what he was referring to，and remembering his strange behaviour with the piece of paper，I began to fear that he might be going mad．He looked quite normal，however，and we made conversation for a while，although he seemed to be thinking of something else． 
　　Suddenly he said，'When I arrived I said I wanted to hear the rest of your story．But perhaps it's better if I tell the story．I'm afraid you've heard it before，but listen anyway．Twenty years ago a poor vicar fell in love with a rich man's daughter．She also fell in love with him，and married him，against the advice of all her family．Sadly，less than two years later the couple were both dead．I've seen their grave．Their baby daughter was brought up by an aunt，a Mrs Reed of Gateshead．You jumped— did you hear a noise？ I'll continue．I don't know whether the child was happy with Mrs Reed，but she stayed there ten years，until she went to Lowood school，where you were yourself．In fact，it seems her life was quite similar to yours．She became a teacher at Lowood，as you did，and then became a governess in the house of a certain Mr Rochester．' 
　　'Mr Rivers！'I interrupted，unable to keep silent． 
　　'I can imagine how you feel，'he replied，'but wait till I've finished．I don't know anything about Mr Rochester's character，but I do know that he offered to marry this young girl，who only discovered during the wedding ceremony that he was in fact already married，to a mad woman．The governess disappeared soon after this，and although investigations have been carried out，and advertisements placed in newspapers，and every effort made to find her，nobody knows where she's gone．But she must be found！Mr Briggs，a lawyer，has something very important to tell her．' 
　　'Just tell me one thing，'I said urgently．'What about Mr Rochester？How and where is he？What's he doing？Is he well？' 
　　'I know nothing about Mr Rochester．Why don't you ask the name of the governess，and why everybody is looking for her？' 
　　'Did Mr Briggs write to Mr Rochester？'I asked． 
　　'He did，but he received an answer not from him，but from the housekeeper，a Mrs Fairfax．' 
　　I felt cold and unhappy．No doubt Mr Rochester had left England for a life of wild pleasure in the cities of Europe．That was what I had been afraid of．Oh，my poor master—once almost my husband—who I had often called' my dear Edward'！ 
　　'As you won't ask the governess's name，I'll tell you myself，'continued St John．'I've got it written down．It's always better to have facts in black and white．'And he took out of his wallet a tiny piece of paper，which I recognized as part of my sketch book，and showed it to me．On it I read，in my own writing，'JANE EYRE'，which I must have written without thinking． 
　　'The advertisements and Briggs spoke of a Jane Eyre，but I only knew a Jane Elliott，'said St John．'Are you Jane Eyre？' 
　　'Yes—yes，but doesn't Mr Briggs know anything about Mr Rochester？'I asked desperately． 
　　'I don't think Briggs is at all interested in Mr Rochester．You're forgetting the really important thing．Don't you want to know why he's been looking for you？' 
　　'Well，what did he want？'I asked，almost rudely． 
　　'Only to tell you that your uncle，Mr Eyre of Madeira，is dead，that he has left you all his property，and that you're now rich—only that，nothing more．' 
　　Rich！One moment I was poor，the next moment I was wealthy．It was hard to realize my new situation．A fortune brings serious worries and responsibilities with it，which I could hardly imagine．I was sorry to hear that my uncle，my only surviving relation，was dead．However，the inheritance would give me independence for life，and I was glad of that． 
　　'Perhaps you would like to know how much you've inherited？'offered St John politely．'It's nothing much really，just twenty thousand pounds，I think．' 
　　'Twenty thousand pounds？'The news took my breath away．St John，who I had never heard laugh before，actually laughed out loud at my shocked face．'Perhaps…perhaps you've made a mistake？'I asked him nervously． 
　　'No，there's no mistake．Now I must be leaving．Good night．'He was about to open the door，when suddenly I called，' Stop！Why did Mr Briggs write to you in order to find me？' 
　　'Oh，I'm a vicar．I have ways of discovering things．' 
　　'No，that doesn't satisfy me．Tell me the truth，'I insisted，putting myself between him and the door． 
　　'Well，I'd rather not tell you just now，but I suppose you'll discover it sooner or later．Did you know that my full name is St John Eyre Rivers？' 
　　'No，I didn't！But then what—'And I stopped as light flooded my mind and I saw clearly the chain of circumstances which connected us．But St John continued his explanation． 
　　'My mother's name was Eyre，'he said．'She had two brothers，one，a vicar，who married Miss Jane Reed of Gateshead，and the other，John Eyre of Madeira．Mr Briggs，Mr Eyre's lawyer，wrote to us telling us that our uncle had died，and left all his property，not to us，because of his quarrel with our father，but to his brother's daughter．Then Mr Briggs wrote again later，saying this girl could not be found．Well，I've found her．'He moved towards the door，his hat in his hand． 
　　'Wait a moment，just let me think，'I said．'So you，Diana and Mary are my cousins？' 
　　'We are your cousins，yes，'he said，waiting patiently． 
　　As I looked at him，it seemed I had found a brother and sisters to love and be proud of for the rest of my life．The people who had saved my life were my close relations！This was wealth indeed to a lonely heart，brighter and more life-giving than the heavy responsibility of coins and gold． 
　　'Oh，I'm glad—I'm so glad！'I cried，laughing． 
　　St John smiled．'You were serious when I told you you had inherited a fortune．Now you're excited about something very unimportant．' 
　　'What can you mean？It may mean nothing to you．You already have sisters and don't need any more family．But I had nobody，and now I suddenly have three relations in my world，or two，if you don't want to be counted．'I walked rapidly round the room，my thoughts rising so fast I could hardly understand them．The family I now had， the people who had saved me from starvation，I could now help them！There were the four of us cousins．Twenty thousand pounds，shared equally，would be five thousand pounds each，more than enough for each one of us．It would be a fair and just arrangement，and we would all be happy．I would no longer have the worry of controlling a large amount of money，and they would never have to work again．We would all be able to spend more time together at Moor House． 
　　Naturally，when I made this suggestion to St John and his sisters，they protested strongly，and it was with great difficulty that I finally managed to convince them of my firm intention to carry out this plan．In the end they agreed that it was a fair way of sharing the inheritance，and so the legal steps were taken to transfer equal shares to all of us．  
　 
22 财从天降 
　  
　　圣约翰离开时，天下起雪来，持续了一晚上和第二天一天。晚上，我坐在炉边，听着屋外呼啸的风声。我正要开始看书，突然听到什么响动。我想是风吹动门的声音吧，但不是，是圣约翰。他从寒夜中走进来，身上披满雪花。 
　　“出了什么事？”我惊讶地问。“我以为没人会在这种鬼天气里外出。怎么啦？” 
　　“没出什么事。”他平静地说，一边挂好帽子，并跺掉靴子上的积雪。“我只是要跟你谈谈。另外，从昨天开始，我很想听听你的另外一部分故事。”他坐了下来。我摸不清他指的是什么，想起他昨晚撕纸的奇怪举动，我开始担心他是不是要疯了。但是，他看上去一切正常，我们说了会儿话，不过他显然在想着别的事情。 
　　突然，他说：“我刚才到的时候，说我想听听你另一部分故事，不过也许由我来讲更好。也许你以前听过，但还是再听听吧！二十年前，一个穷牧师爱上了一个富家的女儿，女孩也爱上了他，和他结了婚，违背了家庭的意愿。不幸的是，不到两年，他们便双双去世。我曾见到他们的墓。他们的小女儿由舅妈——盖茨赫德的里德太太抚养长大。你抖了一下，是听到什么动静了吗？我接着说。我不知道孩子跟着里德太太生活得是否幸福，但她在那儿住了十年，直到去洛伍德上学。你也在那儿待过。实际上，她的生活经历似乎和你很像。然后，她成了一位罗切斯特先生家的家庭教师。” 
　　“李维斯先生！”我无法再保持沉默，打断了他。 
　　“我能够想像你的感受，”他答道。“不过，还是先听我说完。我不了解罗切斯特先生的性格，但他提出要娶这位年轻姑娘。姑娘是在婚礼上才发现他已经结婚，妻子是个疯女人。此后不久家庭教师很快失踪了。尽管进行了调查，报上登了启事，用尽了一切办法寻找她，还是没人知道她的下落。但是，必须要找到她！律师布莱格斯先生有重要的事要跟她说。” 
　　“就告诉我一件事。”我急切地说。“罗切斯特先生怎么了？他现在怎么样？在哪儿？在做什么？他好吗？” 
　　“我对罗切斯特先生一无所知。你为什么不问问家庭教师的名字，以及为什么大家都在找她？” 
　　“布莱格斯先生给罗切斯特先生写信了吗？”我问。 
　　“他写过，但回信的不是他，而是管家，一位费尔法斯太太。” 
　　我感到身上发冷，很不高兴。无疑罗切斯特先生又离开英格兰到欧洲的城市去寻欢作乐了，这正是我所担心的。噢，我可怜的主人，差点儿成了我的丈夫，我曾经常称做“我亲爱的爱德华”的人！ 
　　“既然你不问家庭教师的名字，我来告诉你。”圣约翰接着说。“我有笔头证据，最好还是白纸黑字清楚些。”他拿出钱包，从里面抽出一张小纸片，拿给我看。我认出那是我速写本上的，上面是我自己的亲笔字“简·爱”，这一定是我无意之中写上去的。 
　　“布莱格斯先生及启事中提到一个简·爱，但我只认识一个简·艾略特。”圣约翰说。“你是简·爱吗？” 
　　“是的，是的，可布莱格斯先生就没有罗切斯特先生的消息吗？”我迫不急待地问。 
　　“我觉得布莱格斯先生对罗切斯特先生毫无兴趣，你忘了真正重要的事。你想知道他为什么在找你吗？” 
　　“好吧，他究竟想要什么？”我几乎无礼地问。 
　　“只是想告诉你，你舅舅，马迪拉的爱先生去世了，他把财产留给了你，你现在富有了。就这些，再没别的了。” 
　　富有！一时我很穷，一时我又富了。我很难意识到自己的新境遇。一笔财富可以带来我根本无法想像的担忧和责任。听到我唯一活着的亲人我的舅舅去世了，我感到很难过。但是继承遗产可以让我独立生活，这点我很高兴。 
　　“或许你想知道你继承了多少财产？”圣约翰客气地说。“其实并不很多，我想只有20 000英镑。” 
　　“20 000英镑？”这消息让我停止了呼吸。我从未听到过圣约翰的笑声，这时他看到我吃惊的样子，不禁大笑了起来。“也许……也许你搞错了。”我胆怯地问他。 
　　“不，没有错。现在我得走了，晚安。”他正要开门，我突然喊道：“站住！为什么布莱格斯找我要写信给你？” 
　　“哦，我是牧师，有途径找到。” 
　　“不，我不满意你的话，告诉我实情。”我坚持道，站在门前挡住他。 
　　“我本不想现在告诉你，不过我想你早晚也会知道。你知道不知道我的全名叫圣约翰·爱·李维斯？” 
　　“不，不知道！不过，那么这就是说……”我停住了，脑子里念头一闪，开始明白联系我们之间的那一连串的事情。但圣约翰继续解释着。 
　　“我母亲姓爱。”他说。“她有两个哥哥，一个是牧师，娶了盖茨赫德的简·里德小姐，另一个就是马迪拉的约翰·爱。布莱格斯先生是爱先生的律师，他写信告诉我们舅舅死了。因为和我们的父亲吵架，他没有把财产留给我们，而是给了他弟弟的女儿。后来布莱格斯先生又写信来，说找不到那位姑娘。不过，我把你找到了。”他手里拿着帽子朝门口走去。 
　　“等一等，让我想想。”我说。“那么戴安娜和玛丽是我的表姐妹了？” 
　　“是的，我们是你的表亲。”他耐心地等待着。 
　　我看着他，好像自己找到了一个哥哥和两个姐姐，可以一辈子爱他们，并以他们为荣。原来救了我的命的人竟是我的近亲！对一颗孤独的心来说，这的确是一笔财富，比金钱带来的沉重负担更能照亮我的生命。 
　　“啊，我真高兴——我真高兴！”我笑着，叫着。 
　　圣约翰笑了。“我跟你说你继承了财产时你很严肃，现在对这无关紧要的事你倒激动起来了。” 
　　“你这是什么意思？这可能对你毫无意义。你已经有两个妹妹，不再需要什么亲人了。可是我没有一个亲人，而现在我的世界里却突然有了三个亲人，或许是两个，如果241  
　　你不愿被称做一个的话。”我在屋里急步踱着，脑子里的念头一个接一个地闪现，我自己都搞不懂了。我现在的亲人，这些曾从饥饿中拯救过我的人，我如今可以帮助他们！我们表兄妹四个，均分 20 000英镑，每人可得5 000英镑，足够用的。这样安排公平合理，我们大家都会感到高兴，我也不必再为掌握着这么多钱而担心，她们也不必再工作了。我们可以有更多的时间一起生活在摩尔屋了。 
　　我向圣约翰和他的妹妹们提出这个建议时，他们坚决反对。我费了很大力气才说服她们我一定要这样办。最后他们终于同意这样分配遗产是公平的，于是我们办理了必要的法律手续，把财产平均划到每个人名下。 
　　　    


 