CHAPTER XVIII 231
Amidst this sordid scene, sat a man with his clenched hands resting on his knees, and his eyes bent on the ground. I knew Mr. Rochester; though the begrimed face, the disordered dress( his coat hanging loose from one arm, as if it had been almost torn from his back in a scuffle), the desperate and scowling countenance, the rough, bristling hair might well have disguised him. As he moved, a chain clanked; to his wrists were attached fetters.
" Bridewell!" exclaimed Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved.
A sufficient interval having elapsed for the performers to resume their ordinary costume, they re-entered the dining-room. Mr. Rochester led in Miss Ingram; she was complimenting him on his acting.
" Do you know," said she, " that, of the three characters, I liked you in the last best? Oh, had you but lived a few years earlier, what a gallant gentleman-highwayman you would have made!"
" Is all the soot washed from my face?" he asked, turning it towards her.
" Alas! yes: the more ' s the pity! Nothing could be more becoming to your complexion than that ruffian ' s rouge."
" You would like a hero of the road then?"
" An English hero of the road would be the next best thing to an Italian bandit; and that could only be surpassed by a Levantine pirate."
" Well, whatever I am, remember you are my wife; we were married an hour since, in the presence of all these witnesses." She giggled, and her colour rose.
" Now, Dent," continued Mr. Rochester, " it is your turn." And as the other party withdrew, he and his band took the vacated seats. Miss Ingram placed herself at her leader ' s right hand; the other diviners filled the chairs on each side of him and her. I did not now watch the actors; I no longer waited with interest for the curtain to rise; my attention was absorbed by the spectators;