"We are!" said Mr. Rochester, taking me in his arms and kissing me. "Don't struggle, Jane, like a wild bird, Jane!" "Let me go, Mr. Rochester! I am not a bird--I'm a free woman!" Finally he let me go. "Yes, Jane, you must make your own decision. I ask you to spend your life with me, to be with me always." I could barely speak; I was both angry and terribly sad. "Mr. Rochester, you're laughing at me! You've already chosen your companion for life." Mr. Rochester looked gently and seriously at me while I cried. "Jane," he said, "I ask you to be my wife. You are my equal, Jane. I love you. Will you marry me? Don't you believe me?" "No, I do not, sir!" I answered. "I'll promise you! I don't love Blanche Ingram, and she doesn't love me. She only wanted to marry me for my money. But when she found out that I had only a little money, she forgot about me quickly. I love you, you, you strange magical person! You, small and poor and plain, I ask you to marry me!"