"The Widow" Bertha

Thornfield Manor is on fire!

The news spread throughout the town of Millcote as the town sent people to put out the fire.

However, the fire was so intense that no amount of people could save the manor.The manor passed down by the Rochester family for generations was reduced to ashes overnight.

Everyone was saying that it was Rochester's mad wife who set the fire, and such rumors almost ignited the sparsely populated town of Millcote.

Mr. Edward Rochester had a wife?He had inherited the estate for ten years, and no one had ever heard of him marrying.It was not until the sheriff worked hard for several days and finally concluded the Thornfield Manor murder case that the truth came to light.

It turned out that Mr. Rochester was really married, and his wife, Bertha Mason, was a madman who had been hiding in the attic of the manor for ten years.

It was always rumored that Thornfield Manor was haunted. The guests and servants often heard strange movements, and the room was on fire for no reason. In fact, it was Bertha Mason who did it.

It was she who killed Miss Blanche Ingram this time, but Mr. Rochester did not want the fact that he was married to be exposed, so after transferring all the guests and servants from the manor, only his most trusted His friend, Colonel Dent, hired several porters and wanted them to help him tie his wife to the sheriff and solve everything quietly.

But perhaps it was Bertha Mason's instinct. She sensed the hostility from her husband, so Bertha set fire again before Rochester could do it.

This time she succeeded.

The mad woman set fire to the manor, but it happened that there was no one in the manor, the fire became more and more intense, and there was no time to put it out, and finally burned Thornfield.And she herself was buried in the sea of ​​flames, leaving only a charred corpse, which was hurriedly buried.

This kind of story has made countless people sigh with emotion—what a tragedy!

But the tragic hero, Bertha Mason, actually took the £[-] in cash and checks paid by Rochester and an arrears contract before dawn the next day, and set foot on the train to London.

Rochester gave Bertha an extra five hundred pounds, hoping that she would take care of Miss Jane Eyre who was traveling with him.

The train rumbles along the way, passing fields, villages, and even several small towns.Bertha found Miss Jane Eyre more nervous as the train drew nearer to London.

"What are you nervous about, Jane?" said Bertha with interest.

"I……"

Miss Jane Eyre clenched her sleeves and did not deny Bertha's observation: "I grew up in a boarding school and have never been to any city, Mrs. Bertha."

Thinking about it carefully, Miss Jane Eyre’s life experience is really monotonous and terrifying: from being dependent on others, to the strict girls’ school, to the desolate Thornfield Manor, not only has she never been to any city, it can even be said that she has never had many serious conversations with the opposite sex Pass.

It was a big step for Miss Jane Eyre to leave the stable and familiar environment and occupation at once, and go to London, which she had never dreamed of.

"Don't be nervous," reassured Bertha. "London is nothing more than that."

"But so?"

Jane puzzled: "In your eyes, Bertha, even the capital of the country is just 'nothing more than that'?"

Bertha: "What does it look like in your imagination?"

Jane: "At least it's prosperous enough."

Bertha laughed out loud.

She reached out to open the window of the train, and with a wave of her right hand, she pointed to the foggy area in the distance.

"Now is your chance to see it for yourself, Jane," said Bertha. "Welcome to London, the world-famous Great Sink!"

—It is not Bertha's contempt for the city of London!

You must know that the description of "big sinkhole" comes from Dr. John Watson, the recorder written by Conan Doyle.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Britain was in the stage of the Second World Revolution. The invention of the steam engine made the ancient city of London rumble.The whistle of the train, the rotation of the machine and the high and low metal sounds of the pier, intertwined into a modern movement in the sky.

bustling?Yes.

However, apart from prosperity brought by industry, there are also pollution problems that are difficult to control and conflicts and crises hidden in the dark.London is a low-lying, humid climate that Sir Conan Doyle described as "the Great Sinkhole".

The lingering smog in the air, the unclean mud on the ground, the stench of the slowly flowing Thames River, and the bustling crowd mixed with fish and dragons - Bertha is sure that many appearances that are completely different from the countryside and fields will definitely make people feel happy. Miss Jane Eyre was astonished.

Even Bertha, who had prepared herself, was a little surprised.

She knew Victorian London was badly polluted, but she hadn't expected it to be this bad.

Walking out of the train station and seeing the smoky streets crowded with pedestrians, Bertha raised her eyebrows: "Grace?"

The maid Grace responded, "Ma'am?"

Bertha: "..."

One lady at a time, Mrs. Bertha, I'm really afraid that her plan to escape by feigning death will not be exposed!That's not going to work, who knows if we'll run into any of the Masons' acquaintances in London in the future?

Either change the name, or change the title, in short, get rid of all possible connections with Edward Rochester and the Mason family.

"Go get a carriage," Bertha said, "ask the coachman to help carry things, and tell the outside world my name, and say my surname is Marple."

"Yes, husband... Miss Marple."

Bertha could not help laughing, and it seemed that it would take some time to get used to it.

When Grace was far away, Miss Jane Eyre asked in a low voice: "Where shall we go next?"

Bertha: "The White Horse Hotel."

Before leaving, Bertha asked Rochester more, and he recommended the White Horse Hotel in London to her.It is said that this hotel is located in a wealthy neighborhood with good law and order, not to mention clean and hygienic, and the security work is also very good.

Seeing Bertha's calm appearance, Jane's uneasy mood was slightly relieved.

She never knew what Bertha had experienced before becoming Rochester's wife, but her indifferent attitude in the face of heavy traffic was enough to prove that she had indeed been to many places.

"Don't be impatient," Bertha guessed what was on her mind without Jane expressing, "you can't be in a hurry to find a job. If you feel that you owe me all the way, it won't be too late to pay back when you settle down. Now At once--"

Before Bertha could finish her sentence, a plainly dressed little boy rushed towards the street, as if he was in a hurry to fight with his playmates, and accidentally bumped into Miss Jane Eyre.

"Ah! Sorry, Miss, I didn't mean to!" The boy apologized hastily.

"It's ok."

Naturally, Miss Jane Eyre would not be annoyed by this, and she even kindly helped the boy: "Are you okay?"

Boy: "I'm fine, thank you."

After speaking, he gave Miss Jane Eyre a smiling face, and took two steps back——

"stop."

Bertha held the boy by the collar of his shirt expressionlessly, and dragged the boy who was about to leave back.

It is described in the original book that Bertha is tall and mad, and when she goes crazy, she can stab her brother with a female body and fight with the strong Rochester. What kind of power is this?

"Uh... is there anything else, ma'am?"

She held the boy's neck firmly, which made the boy completely under the control of Bertha, so he had to look up at the tall and beautiful lady.

"Of course." Bertha raised a beautiful smile, "You can go and return the handkerchief to this young lady."

simple:!

Boy: "...what, what handkerchief?"

Bertha smiled and said, "If you don't return it, I can only call the police."

The boy was shocked.

"Return, I will!"

As soon as "police" was mentioned, Bertha didn't need to say anything, the boy immediately surrendered: "I'm fine with it, don't call the police, ma'am!"

As he spoke, he took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and returned it to Jane Eyre as if by magic.

Miss Jane Eyre had been stunned for a long time. She looked at the seemingly harmless boy in amazement, and at Bertha who was smiling all over her face. She felt indescribably shocked.

The boy who got caught upright was also shocking - what a horrible lady!

In all fairness, street thieves have little to fear except the police.This crowded street is their territory, as long as they run fast enough, let alone ladies in skirts, even a gentleman with a cane can't catch up with them.

But the lady in front of him saw through his tricks at a glance, and she was quite strong.She pinched the boy's neck gently, her thumb still resting on his aorta.Although the lady looked so, so good-looking, with a smile on her delicate face, he had no doubt that once he was uncooperative, it would be easy to hand him over to the police.

She can break her own neck anytime, anywhere!

"Now, can I go now, ma'am?" the boy asked weakly.

"Later."

The smile on Bertha's face became more or less real.

Stealing in front of her?It is estimated that Bertha has secretly visited more robber gangs than the boy in front of him, and she is a "murderer" who has repeatedly attempted murder, so this boy is unlucky and hit the gun.

"What's your name?" asked Bertha kindly.

"Uh."

Her kindness brought the boy a trembling expression. Seeing that the other party did not answer, Bertha bent slightly: "If you don't tell me, you can only tell the police."

The boy was about to cry: "I say, I say! My name is Jack. Jack Dawkins!"

Only then did Bertha let go of her hand a little bit, and said with satisfaction: "Okay, Jack, what do you think this is?"

She took a tenpence piece from her pocket.

"Want it?" asked Bertha.

"...Think, think!" Jack's eyes straightened.

"Then I let you go, you are not allowed to run, answer me a few questions and do me a favor, not only will I keep you safe, but you can also earn ten pence in cash, how about it?"

After Bertha finished speaking, she added with a smile: "But if you escape, not only will you not get a penny, but I will also know where to catch you."

Jack shuddered, and nodded desperately like a chicken pecking at rice.

He was never afraid of other people's threats.But the smiling lady in front of her seemed harmless, but Jack just felt guilty: "I will never run, I swear to God!"

Bertha sneered.

Swear to God?If God had eyes, how could he watch such a young child become a street thief?

"You children are very clever. You know everything from walking around the streets," said Bertha slowly. "And I, a newcomer, very unfamiliar with London, and urgently need someone to run errands for me. Do you have anything?" Can you find such a person?"

"Then...then what kind of people do you need to do?"

Not bad, a smart kid.

Bertha certainly wasn't looking for ordinary people who would help carry things and run errands.

But as soon as she got off the train, she randomly stopped a thief to help find someone to run errands, and it was unrealistic to ask too much.So Bertha showed a smile that you and I know well: "Actually, anyone can do errands. But it would be great if the person you recruited is smart enough, you know what I mean?"

"he?"

"Women are fine, as long as they are capable, regardless of gender." Bertha laughed.

"I see," Jack understood, "I'm sure I can find such a person! As soon as you tell me, madam, I already have a few candidates in my heart—but when I find a candidate, where can I contact you?"

"Go to the White Horse Hotel and say to a lady named Bertha."

"No problem, Lady Bertha!"

Jack patted his chest and made a promise: "It won't be too late to give this shilling to me when I bring someone there!"

That's really good, Bertha was in a good mood: "If the people you bring meet my requirements, I'll give you another shilling."

Jack's eyes were shining brightly: "It's a deal!"

The author has something to say:

#今日康哥Have you seen the lover you have never met?not yet. #

Maggie: Allow me to change into new clothes first.