"Yes," said Leah; "I wish I had as good; not that mine are to complain of,—there's no stinginess at Thornfield; but they're not one fifth of the sum Mrs. Poole receives. And she is laying by: she goes every quarter to the bank at Millcote. I should not wonder but she has saved enough to keep her independent if she liked to leave; but I suppose she's got used to the place; and then she's not forty yet, and strong and able for anything. It is too soon for her to give up business."
Chapter 17
Context
Jane overhears two servants, Leah and a charwoman, discussing Grace Poole's unusually high wages. Leah notes that Grace earns far more than other servants and could afford to leave but chooses to stay.
Analysis
Leah's comment that Grace 'is laying by' money quarter by quarter plants a material clue disguised as gossip. The detail that she earns five times what Leah does is jarring—no ordinary household task justifies that sum. The phrase 'she's got used to the place' carries dramatic irony: readers later learn Grace stays not from habit but because she is the only one willing (or paid enough) to guard Bertha, a job requiring both secrecy and risk.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Brontë embeds clues to Thornfield's secret in plain economic terms—the exorbitant salary is the novel's way of telling attentive readers that something dangerous and hidden is being paid for long before the reveal.