[00:00.04] Chapter 12, The Horseman.
[00:04.82] I had intended to teach Adele all day in the library, but she did not have the concentration for it.
[00:11.47] I allowed her to play in the afternoons instead.
[00:15.87] She was lively and pleasant to teach, and Mrs. Fairfax was kind and calm.
[00:26.00] I still heard the wild laughter from Grace Pool's room.
[00:29.97] Often I met her on the stairs, but she never made conversation.
[00:37.69] On a chilly January afternoon, I took a letter to post in Hay, the village two miles away.
[00:46.30] It was a beautiful day of fading winter sunlight, and the paths were icy.
[00:53.68] At a style, I stopped to watch the sunset and heard far off the hoofbeats of a horse.
[01:05.01] The lane was narrow and twisting, so I could not see the horse yet, but I stood back and was waiting for it to pass when a sudden rustling nearby startled me.
[01:17.51] Gliding past me came a large black and white dog, appearing through the gloom as suddenly and silently as a ghost.
[01:26.66] It was a relief to me when the horse and rider appeared and galloped past, and I was about to walk on when there was a clatter of falling.
[01:36.88] Horse and rider were both down on the slippery path.
[01:42.92] The dog, barking furiously, ran to me for help.
[01:48.49] The rider was struggling to get to his feet.
[01:52.44] "Are you injured, sir?" I asked.
[01:58.05] "Stand to one side," he muttered and called, "Down, pilot, to the dog.
[02:07.51] With difficulty, he limped to the style, and I offered help again.
[02:14.41] "Thank you.
[02:16.51] This is only a sprain," he said, but he could hardly walk.
[02:24.51] In the moonlight, I could see his hair and complexion were dark, and his features strong and stern.
[02:32.96] He was about medium height, strongly built, and probably in his mid-30s.
[02:41.54] If he had been young, handsome, and charming, I might have felt shy, but his gruff looks and manner did not worry me at all.
[02:51.51] He waved his hand at me to go.
[02:56.71] "You are not fit to be left alone, sir," I said.
[03:02.81] "Where do you come from?" he asked abruptly.
[03:09.79] "From Thornfield Hall," I said.
[03:12.85] "I am on my way to Hay.
[03:17.31] "You are not a servant, are you?" he asked, looking me up and down.
[03:24.57] "I am the governess," I said.
[03:28.28] "Ah," he said.
[03:30.34] "The governess."
[03:34.29] With a grimace of pain, he tried to move.
[03:40.15] "You may help a little if you would be so kind."
[03:45.81] He leaned on my shoulder, and I helped him to his horse.
[03:50.57] He mounted, thanked me briefly, and rode away.
[03:57.93] It had been an exciting afternoon in such a quiet life.
[04:05.73] The idea of going back to Thornfield for an evening with Mrs. Fairfax bored me, and I lingered over the walk home.
[04:15.76] Mrs. Fairfax was not in her room.
[04:18.60] Instead, sitting by the fire was the large dog.
[04:24.78] "Pilot?" I said, and he came to me to be patted.
[04:34.95] Leah came in.
[04:37.47] "Who's is the dog?" I asked.
[04:43.22] "Mr. Rochester's," she said.
[04:48.46] "He's just arrived, but he fell and sprained his ankle in the lane.