บท 175: END IT

Rochester had kicked open the door. He leaned against its frame. One hand in his pocket, and the other combing his now-disheveled hair, he saw both women gulp as soon as they saw him. They were not the only ones shocked to see him there. He was equally surprised to be there. His mood was just about so and so as he stood there waiting.

The one he'd come to see had kept her back straight the moment she saw her companion's face. So, Rochester knew she would turn to see who it was in a matter of minutes — she did. Since it was strange to find him in that part of the house, he could understand why the other girl had got shaken up to the point she'd dropped her basket together with what lay in it.

Rochester's eyes flicked back and forth from the mess on the floor to the fright on Clarissa's face. Either of the two situations he could not stand, but he could very well handle the one than the other.