Because I had come in, in Mary's stead, with the tray.
Chapter 37 · Jane Eyre
Context
Jane explains to Rochester how she came to be in his house: she took the servant's place and brought in the tray herself.
Analysis
Jane's matter-of-fact explanation—'I had come in, in Mary's stead'—treats her substitution for a servant as unremarkable. The phrase 'in Mary's stead' uses the formal register of replacement or succession (as in 'in his stead'), which elevates a mundane act of taking a tray into something more deliberate. Jane narrates her own boundary-crossing between mistress and servant without commenting on it, performing the class fluidity she now possesses.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Jane's ability to move between servant and mistress roles demonstrates the social mobility her inheritance has purchased—she can choose to perform domestic labor because it is now a choice, not a constraint.