CHAPTER XXI 287
" Shall you come down to the drawing-room after dinner?"
" No, sir, I must prepare for the journey." " Then you and I must bid good-bye for a little while?" " I suppose so, sir."
" And how do people perform that ceremony of parting, Jane? Teach me; I ' m not quite up to it."
" They say, Farewell, or any other form they prefer." " Then say it." " Farewell, Mr. Rochester, for the present." " What must I say?" " The same, if you like, sir." " Farewell, Miss Eyre, for the present; is that all?" " Yes?"
" It seems stingy, to my notions, and dry, and unfriendly. I should like something else: a little addition to the rite. If one shook hands, for instance; but no-- that would not content me either. So you ' ll do no more than say Farewell, Jane?"
" It is enough, sir: as much good-will may be conveyed in one hearty word as in many."
" Very likely; but it is blank and cool-- ' Farewell.'"