No: stillness returned: each murmur and movement ceased gradually, and in about an hour Thornfield Hall was again as hushed as a desert. It seemed that sleep and night had resumed their empire. Meantime the moon declined: she was about to set. Not liking to sit in the cold and darkness, I thought I would lie down on my bed, dressed as I was. I left the window, and moved with little noise across the carpet; as I stooped to take off my shoes, a cautious hand tapped low at the door.

     "Am I wanted?" I asked.

     "Are you up?" asked the voice I expected to hear, viz., my master's.

     "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."