Chapter 9 Miss Temple

1 Before the half hour ended, the bell rang. School was over, and all went into the dining room for tea. I now dared to get down and creep into a corner. The courage that had supported me was beginning to fade, and I felt so miserable that I sank down with my face on the ground. I wept. I had meant to be so good, to do so much at Lowood, to make so many friends, to deserve respect and love. Already I had made progress in class and received praise from my teachers, and I was well liked by my fellow pupils and treated as an equal by those of my own age. But now all hope was over, and I could only wish to die.

2 Someone approached. It was Helen Burns. She brought me my coffee and bread.

3 'Come, eat something,' she said, but I put both away from me, and continued to weep aloud.

4 'Helen, why do you stay with a girl whom everybody believes to be a liar, and whom everyone scorns?'

5 'Jane, you are mistaken. Probably not one in the school either dislikes or scorns you. Many, I am sure, pity you.'

6 'How can they pity me after what Mr Brocklehurst has said?'

7 'Mr Brocklehurst is not a god, nor is he even a great and admired man. He is not much liked here. If he had treated you with special favour, you would have found enemies. As it is, most of the girls would offer you sympathy if they dared. Teachers and pupils may look coldly at you for a day or two, but there are friendly feelings in their hearts. Besides, Jane ... ' She paused.

8 'Well, Helen?'

9 'If all the world hated you, and believed you to be wicked, while your own conscience approved of you, you could still hold up your head.'

10 I was silent. Helen had calmed me. Resting my head on her shoulder, I put my arm around her waist. We had not sat long like this, when Miss Temple came in.

11 'I came on purpose to find you, Jane Eyre,' she said. 'I want you in my room, and as Helen Burns is with you, she may come too.'

12 We followed her into her sitting room, where she called me to her side.

13 'Is it all over?' she asked, looking down at my face. 'Have you cried your sorrow away?'

14 'I shall never do that.'

15 'Why?'

16 'Because I have been wrongly accused, and you, ma'am, and everybody else, will think me to be wicked.'

17 'We shall think you what you prove yourself to be, my child. Continue to behave like a good girl, and you will satisfy us.'

18 'Shall I, Miss Temple?'

19 'You will. Now, Jane, you know that when a criminal is accused, he is always allowed to speak in his own defence. You have been charged with telling lies. Defend yourself to me as well as you can. Say whatever your memory suggests to be true, but add nothing.'

20 Thus encouraged, I thought for a few minutes, and having arranged my story in order, I told her the history of my childhood. As I went on, I felt that she fully believed me.

21 In the course of the story, I mentioned that Mr Lloyd had come to see me during my illness. When I had finished, Miss Temple looked at me for a few minutes in silence. She then said:

22 'I know Mr Lloyd. I shall write to him. If his reply is satisfactory, you shall be publicly cleared of the charges against you. To me, you are cleared now.'

23 She kissed me, and still keeping me by her side, where I was very content to stand, went on to address Helen Burns.

24 'How are you tonight, Helen? Have you coughed much today?'

25 'Not quite so much, ma'am, I think.'

26 'And the pain in your chest?'

27 'It is a little better.'

28 Miss Temple looked thoughtful for a few minutes, then rang the bell and ordered tea. Having invited Helen and me to approach the table and drink, she unlocked a cupboard and brought out a good-sized cake. She looked on with a satisfied smile as we enjoyed the food, such a rare feast to us.

29 After tea, she again invited us to the fire. We sat on either side of her, and I listened with respect and admiration to the conversation between her and Helen. The meal, the bright fire, the presence of her dearly loved teacher, seemed to have stirred Helen and broken down her silence. Her fine features looked full of life, and her intelligent eyes flashed as she and Miss Temple spoke of things that I had never heard of, of nations and times in the past, of countries far away, of books and writers. What stores of knowledge they possessed! How many books they had read!

30 All too soon the bell rang for bedtime. No delay could be allowed. Miss Temple kissed us both, saying as she did so:

31 'God bless you, my children!'

32 About a week after these events, Miss Temple called the school together, announced that an inquiry had been made into the charges against Jane Eyre, and stated that she was most happy to be able to declare her completely cleared. The teachers then shook hands with me, and a murmur of pleasure ran through the rows of my companions.

33 I was thus relieved of a very heavy load, and from that hour I set to work once more. I studied hard, and was rewarded with success. My memory improved, and in a few weeks I was moved to a higher class. In less than two months I was allowed to begin French and drawing. My ambition was now stirred, and in spite of the hardness of my life, I would not have exchanged Lowood for all the comforts of Gateshead.