CHAPTER XIV 165
Adele , indeed , no sooner saw Mrs . Fairfax , than she summoned her to her sofa , and there quickly filled her lap with the porcelain , the ivory , the waxen contents of her " boite ;" pouring out , meantime , explanations and raptures in such broken English as she was mistress of .
" Now I have performed the part of a good host ," pursued Mr . Rochester , " put my guests into the way of amusing each other , I ought to be at liberty to attend to my own pleasure . Miss Eyre , draw your chair still a little farther forward : you are yet too far back ; I cannot see you without disturbing my position in this comfortable chair , which I have no mind to do ."
I did as I was bid , though I would much rather have remained somewhat in the shade ; but Mr . Rochester had such a direct way of giving orders , it seemed a matter of course to obey him promptly .
We were , as I have said , in the dining-room : the lustre , which had been lit for dinner , filled the room with a festal breadth of light ; the large fire was all red and clear ; the purple curtains hung rich and ample before the lofty window and loftier arch ; everything was still , save the subdued chat of Adele ( she dared not speak loud ), and , filling up each pause , the beating of winter rain against the panes .
Mr . Rochester , as he sat in his damask-covered chair , looked different to what I had seen him look before ; not quite so stern -- much less gloomy . There was a smile on his lips , and his eyes sparkled , whether with wine or not , I am not sure ; but I think it very probable . He was , in short , in his after-dinner mood ; more expanded and genial , and also more self-indulgent than the frigid and rigid temper of the morning ; still he looked preciously grim , cushioning his massive head against the swelling back of his chair , and receiving the light of the fire on his granite-hewn features , and in his great , dark eyes ; for he had great , dark eyes , and very fine eyes , too -- not without a certain change in their depths sometimes , which , if it was not softness , reminded you , at least , of that feeling .