"Are there ladies at the Leas?"

"There are Mrs. Eshton and her three daughters- very elegant young ladies indeed; and there are the Honourable Blanche and Mary Ingram，most beautiful women，I suppose: indeed I have seen Blanche，six or seven years since，when she was a girl of eighteen. She came here to a Christmas ball and party Mr. Rochester gave. You should have seen the dining-room that day- how richly it was decorated，how brilliantly lit up! I should think there were fifty ladies and gentlemen present- all of the first county families; and Miss Ingram was considered the belle of the evening."

"You saw her，you say，Mrs. Fairfax: what was she like?"

"Yes，I saw her. The dining-room doors were thrown open; and，as it was Christmas-time，the servants were allowed to assemble in the hall，to hear some of the ladies sing and play. Mr. Rochester would have me to e in，and I sat down in a quiet corner and watched them. I never saw a more splendid scene: the ladies were magnificently dressed; most of them- at least most of the younger ones- looked handsome; but Miss Ingram was certainly the queen."

"And what was she like?"

"Tall，fine bust，sloping shoulders; long，graceful neck: olive plexion，dark and clear; noble features; eyes rather like Mr. Rochester"s: large and black，and as brilliant as her jewels. And then she had such a fine head of hair; raven-black and so beingly arranged: a crown of thick plaits behind，and in front the longest，the glossiest curls I ever saw. She was dressed in pure white; an amber-coloured scarf was passed over her shoulder and across her breast，tied at the side，and descending in long，fringed ends below her knee. She wore an amber-coloured flower，too，in her hair: it contrasted well with the jetty mass of her curls."

"She was greatly admired，of course?"