CHAPTER XVIII 229 fastening the clasp of Mrs . Dent ' s bracelet , which had got loose .
" Will you play ?" he asked . I shook my head . He did not insist , which I rather feared he would have done ; he allowed me to return quietly to my usual seat .
He and his aids now withdrew behind the curtain : the other party , which was headed by Colonel Dent , sat down on the crescent of chairs . One of the gentlemen , Mr . Eshton , observing me , seemed to propose that I should be asked to join them ; but Lady Ingram instantly negatived the notion .
" No ," I heard her say : " she looks too stupid for any game of the sort ."
Ere long a bell tinkled , and the curtain drew up . Within the arch , the bulky figure of Sir George Lynn , whom Mr . Rochester had likewise chosen , was seen enveloped in a white sheet : before him , on a table , lay open a large book ; and at his side stood Amy Eshton , draped in Mr . Rochester ' s cloak , and holding a book in her hand . Somebody , unseen , rang the bell merrily ; then Adele ( who had insisted on being one of her guardian ' s party ), bounded forward , scattering round her the contents of a basket of flowers she carried on her arm . Then appeared the magnificent figure of Miss Ingram , clad in white , a long veil on her head , and a wreath of roses round her brow ; by her side walked Mr . Rochester , and together they drew near the table . They knelt ; while Mrs . Dent and Louisa Eshton , dressed also in white , took up their stations behind them . A ceremony followed , in dumb show , in which it was easy to recognise the pantomime of a marriage . At its termination , Colonel Dent and his party consulted in whispers for two minutes , then the Colonel called out -
" Bride !" Mr . Rochester bowed , and the curtain fell .
A considerable interval elapsed before it again rose . Its second rising displayed a more elaborately prepared scene than the last . The drawing-room , as I have before observed , was raised two steps above the dining-room , and on the top of the upper step , placed a yard or two back within the room , appeared a large marble basin -- which I recognised as an