saidKatharine
indifferently
.
“
You’ve
been
neglecting
my
education
lately
,
by
the
way
.
I
wish
you’d
read
something
.
Let
me
choose
a
book
.
”
So
speaking
,
she
went
across
to
his
bookshelves
and
began
looking
in
a
desultory
way
among
his
books
.
Anything
,
she
thought
,
was
better
than
bickering
or
the
strange
silence
which
drove
home
to
her
the
distance
between
them
.
As
she
pulled
one
book
forward
and
then
another
she
thought
ironically
of
her
own
certainty
not
an
hour
ago
;
how
it
had
vanished
in
a
moment
,
how
she
was
merely
marking
time
as
best
she
could
,
not
knowing
in
the
least
where
they
stood
,
what
they
felt
,
or
whether
William
loved
her
or
not
.
More
and
more
the
condition
of
Mary’s
mind
seemed
to
her
wonderful
and
enviable
—
if
,
indeed
,
it
could
be
quite
as
she
figured
it
—
if
,
indeed
,
simplicity
existed
for
any
one
of
the
daughters
of
women
.
“
Swift
,
”
she
said
,
at
last
,
taking
out
a
volume
at
haphazard
to
settle
this
question
at
least
.
“
Let
us
have
some
Swift
.
”
Rodney
took
the
book
,
held
it
in
front
of
him
,
inserted
one
finger
between
the
pages
,
but
said
nothing
.
His
face
wore
a
queer
expression
of
deliberation
,
as
if
he
were
weighing
one
thing
with
another
,
and
would
not
say
anything
until
his
mind
were
made
up
.
Katharine
,
taking
her
chair
beside
him
,
noted
his
silence
and
looked
at
him
with
sudden
apprehension
.
What
she
hoped
or
feared
,
she
could
not
have
said
;
a
most
irrational
and
indefensible
desire
for
some
assurance
of
his
affection
was
,
perhaps
,
uppermost
in
her
mind
.
Peevishness
,
complaints
,
exacting
cross-examination
she
was
used
to
,
but
this
attitude
of
composed
quiet
,
which
seemed
to
come
from
the
consciousness
of
power
within
,
puzzled
her
.
She
did
not
know
what
was
going
to
happen
next
.
At
last
William
spoke
.
“
I
think
it’s
a
little
odd
,
don’t
you
?
”
he
said
,
in
a
voice
of
detached
reflection
.
“
Most
people
,
I
mean
,
would
be
seriously
upset
if
their
marriage
was
put
off
for
six
months
or
so
.
But
we
aren’t
;
now
how
do
you
account
for
that
?
”
She
looked
at
him
and
observed
his
judicial
attitude
as
of
one
holding
far
aloof
from
emotion
.
“
I
attribute
it
,
”
he
went
on
,
without
waiting
for
her
to
answer
,
“
to
the
fact
that
neither
of
us
is
in
the
least
romantic
about
the
other
.
That
may
be
partly
,
no
doubt
,
because
we’ve
known
each
other
so
long
;
but
I’m
inclined
to
think
there’s
more
in
it
than
that
.
There’s
something
temperamental
.
I
think
you’re
a
trifle
cold
,
and
I
suspect
I’m
a
trifle
self-absorbed
.
If
that
were
so
it
goes
a
long
way
to
explaining
our
odd
lack
of
illusion
about
each
other
.
I’m
not
saying
that
the
most
satisfactory
marriages
aren’t
founded
upon
this
sort
of
understanding
.
But
certainly
it
struck
me
as
odd
this
morning
,
when
Wilson
told
me
,
how
little
upset
I
felt
.
By
the
way
,
you’re
sure
we
haven’t
committed
ourselves
to
that
house
?
”
“
I’ve
kept
the
letters
,
and
I’ll
go
through
them
to-morrow
;
but
I’m
certain
we’re
on
the
safe
side
.
”
“
Thanks
.
As
to
the
psychological
problem
,
”
he
continued
,
as
if
the
question
interested
him
in
a
detached
way
,
“
there’s
no
doubt
,
I
think
,
that
either
of
us
is
capable
of
feeling
what
,
for
reasons
of
simplicity
,
I
call
romance
for
a
third
person
—
at
least
,
I’ve
little
doubt
in
my
own
case
.
”
It
was
,
perhaps
,
the
first
time
in
all
her
knowledge
of
him
that
Katharine
had
known
William
enter
thus
deliberately
and
without
sign
of
emotion
upon
a
statement
of
his
own
feelings
.
He
was
wont
to
discourage
such
intimate
discussions
by
a
little
laugh
or
turn
of
the
conversation
,
as
much
as
to
say
that
men
,
or
men
of
the
world
,
find
such
topics
a
little
silly
,
or
in
doubtful
taste
.
His
obvious
wish
to
explain
something
puzzled
her
,
interested
her
,
and
neutralized
the
wound
to
her
vanity
.
For
some
reason
,
too
,
she
felt
more
at
ease
with
him
than
usual
;
or
her
ease
was
more
the
ease
of
equality
—
she
could
not
stop
to
think
of
that
at
the
moment
though
.
His
remarks
interested
her
too
much
for
the
light
that
they
threw
upon
certain
problems
of
her
own
.
“
What
is
this
romance
?
”
she
mused
.
“
Ah
,
that’s
the
question
.
I’ve
never
come
across
a
definition
that
satisfied
me
,
though
there
are
some
very
good
ones
”
—
he
glanced
in
the
direction
of
his
books
.
“
It’s
not
altogether
knowing
the
other
person
,
perhaps
—
it’s
ignorance
,
”
she
hazarded
.
“
Some
authorities
say
it’s
a
question
of
distance
—
romance
in
literature
,
that
is
—
”
“
Possibly
,
in
the
case
of
art
.
But
in
the
case
of
people
it
may
be
—
”
she
hesitated
.
“
Have
you
no
personal
experience
of
it
?
”
he
asked
,
letting
his
eyes
rest
upon
her
swiftly
for
a
moment
.
“
I
believe
it’s
influenced
me
enormously
,
”
she
said
,
in
the
tone
of
one
absorbed
by
the
possibilities
of
some
view
just
presented
to
them
;
“
but
in
my
life
there’s
so
little
scope
for
it
,
”
she
added
.
She
reviewed
her
daily
task
,
the
perpetual
demands
upon
her
for
good
sense
,
self-control
,
and
accuracy
in
a
house
containing
a
romantic
mother
.
Ah
,
but
her
romance
wasn’t
that
romance
.
It
was
a
desire
,
an
echo
,
a
sound
;
she
could
drape
it
in
color
,
see
it
in
form
,
hear
it
in
music
,
but
not
in
words
;
no
,
never
in
words
.
She
sighed
,
teased
by
desires
so
incoherent
,
so
incommunicable
.
“
But
isn’t
it
curious
,
”
William
resumed
,
“
that
you
should
neither
feel
it
for
me
,
nor
I
for
you
?
”
Katharine
agreed
that
it
was
curious
—
very
;
but
even
more
curious
to
her
was
the
fact
that
she
was
discussing
the
question
with
William
.
It
revealed
possibilities
which
opened
a
prospect
of
a
new
relationship
altogether
.
Somehow
it
seemed
to
her
that
he
was
helping
her
to
understand
what
she
had
never
understood
;
and
in
her
gratitude
she
was
conscious
of
a
most
sisterly
desire
to
help
him
,
too
—
sisterly
,
save
for
one
pang
,
not
quite
to
be
subdued
,
that
for
him
she
was
without
romance
.
“
I
think
you
might
be
very
happy
with
some
one
you
loved
in
that
way
,
”
she
said
.
“
You
assume
that
romance
survives
a
closer
knowledge
of
the
person
one
loves
?
”
He
asked
the
question
formally
,
to
protect
himself
from
the
sort
of
personality
which
he
dreaded
.
The
whole
situation
needed
the
most
careful
management
lest
it
should
degenerate
into
some
degrading
and
disturbing
exhibition
such
as
the
scene
,
which
he
could
never
think
of
without
shame
,
upon
the
heath
among
the
dead
leaves
.
And
yet
each
sentence
brought
him
relief
.
He
was
coming
to
understand
something
or
other
about
his
own
desires
hitherto
undefined
by
him
,
the
source
of
his
difficulty
with
Katharine
.
The
wish
to
hurt
her
,
which
had
urged
him
to
begin
,
had
completely
left
him
,
and
he
felt
that
it
was
only
Katharine
now
who
could
help
him
to
be
sure
.
He
must
take
his
time
.
There
were
so
many
things
that
he
could
not
say
without
the
greatest
difficulty
—
that
name
,
for
example
,
Cassandra
.
Nor
could
he
move
his
eyes
from
a
certain
spot
,
a
fiery
glen
surrounded
by
high
mountains
,
in
the
heart
of
the
coals
.
He
waited
in
suspense
for
Katharine
to
continue
.
She
had
said
that
he
might
be
very
happy
with
some
one
he
loved
in
that
way
.
“
I
don’t
see
why
it
shouldn’t
last
with
you
,
”
she
resumed
.
“
I
can
imagine
a
certain
sort
of
person
—
”
she
paused
;
she
was
aware
that
he
was
listening
with
the
greatest
intentness
,
and
that
his
formality
was
merely
the
cover
for
an
extreme
anxiety
of
some
sort
.
There
was
some
person
then
—
some
woman
—
who
could
it
be
?
Cassandra
?
Ah
,
possibly
—
“
A
person
,
”
she
added
,
speaking
in
the
most
matter-of-fact
tone
she
could
command
,
“
like
Cassandra
Otway
,
for
instance
.
Cassandra
is
the
most
interesting
of
the
Otways
—
with
the
exception
of
Henry
.
Even
so
,
I
like
Cassandra
better
.
She
has
more
than
mere
cleverness
.
She
is
a
character
—
a
person
by
herself
.
”
“
Those
dreadful
insects
!
”
burst
from
William
,
with
a
nervous
laugh
,
and
a
little
spasm
went
through
him
as
Katharine
noticed
.
It
was
Cassandra
then
.
Automatically
and
dully
she
replied
,
“
You
could
insist
that
she
confined
herself
to
—
to
—
something
else
...
.
But
she
cares
for
music
;
I
believe
she
writes
poetry
;
and
there
can
be
no
doubt
that
she
has
a
peculiar
charm
—
”
She
ceased
,
as
if
defining
to
herself
this
peculiar
charm
.
After
a
moment’s
silence
William
jerked
out
:
“
I
thought
her
affectionate
?
”
“
Extremely
affectionate
.
She
worships
Henry
.
When
you
think
what
a
house
that
is
—
Uncle
Francis
always
in
one
mood
or
another
—
”
“
Dear
,
dear
,
dear
,
”
William
muttered
.
“
And
you
have
so
much
in
common
.
”
“
My
dear
Katharine
!
”
William
exclaimed
,
flinging
himself
back
in
his
chair
,
and
uprooting
his
eyes
from
the
spot
in
the
fire
.
“
I
really
don’t
know
what
we’re
talking
about
...
.
I
assure
you
...
.
”
He
was
covered
with
an
extreme
confusion
.
He
withdrew
the
finger
that
was
still
thrust
between
the
pages
of
Gulliver
,
opened
the
book
,
and
ran
his
eye
down
the
list
of
chapters
,
as
though
he
were
about
to
select
the
one
most
suitable
for
reading
aloud
.
As
Katharine
watched
him
,
she
was
seized
with
preliminary
symptoms
of
his
own
panic
.
At
the
same
time
she
was
convinced
that
,
should
he
find
the
right
page
,
take
out
his
spectacles
,
clear
his
throat
,
and
open
his
lips
,
a
chance
that
would
never
come
again
in
all
their
lives
would
be
lost
to
them
both
.
“
We’re
talking
about
things
that
interest
us
both
very
much
,
”
she
said
.
“
Shan’t
we
go
on
talking
,
and
leave
Swift
for
another
time
?
I
don’t
feel
in
the
mood
for
Swift
,
and
it’s
a
pity
to
read
any
one
when
that’s
the
case
—
particularly
Swift
.
”
The
presence
of
wise
literary
speculation
,
as
she
calculated
,
restored
William’s
confidence
in
his
security
,
and
he
replaced
the
book
in
the
bookcase
,
keeping
his
back
turned
to
her
as
he
did
so
,
and
taking
advantage
of
this
circumstance
to
summon
his
thoughts
together
.
But
a
second
of
introspection
had
the
alarming
result
of
showing
him
that
his
mind
,
when
looked
at
from
within
,
was
no
longer
familiar
ground
.
He
felt
,
that
is
to
say
,
what
he
had
never
consciously
felt
before
;
he
was
revealed
to
himself
as
other
than
he
was
wont
to
think
him
;
he
was
afloat
upon
a
sea
of
unknown
and
tumultuous
possibilities
.
He
paced
once
up
and
down
the
room
,
and
then
flung
himself
impetuously
into
the
chair
by
Katharine’s
side
.
He
had
never
felt
anything
like
this
before
;
he
put
himself
entirely
into
her
hands
;
he
cast
off
all
responsibility
.
He
very
nearly
exclaimed
aloud
:
“
You’ve
stirred
up
all
these
odious
and
violent
emotions
,
and
now
you
must
do
the
best
you
can
with
them
.
”
Her
near
presence
,
however
,
had
a
calming
and
reassuring
effect
upon
his
agitation
,
and
he
was
conscious
only
of
an
implicit
trust
that
,
somehow
,
he
was
safe
with
her
,
that
she
would
see
him
through
,
find
out
what
it
was
that
he
wanted
,
and
procure
it
for
him
.
“
I
wish
to
do
whatever
you
tell
me
to
do
,
”
he
said
.
“
I
put
myself
entirely
in
your
hands
,
Katharine
.
”
“
You
must
try
to
tell
me
what
you
feel
,
”
she
said
.
“
My
dear
,
I
feel
a
thousand
things
every
second
.
I
don’t
know
,
I’m
sure
,
what
I
feel
.
That
afternoon
on
the
heath
—
it
was
then
—
then
—
”
He
broke
off
;
he
did
not
tell
her
what
had
happened
then
.
“
Your
ghastly
good
sense
,
as
usual
,
has
convinced
me
—
for
the
moment
—
but
what
the
truth
is
,
Heaven
only
knows
!
”
he
exclaimed
.
“
Isn’t
it
the
truth
that
you
are
,
or
might
be
,
in
love
with
Cassandra
?
”
she
said
gently
.
William
bowed
his
head
.
After
a
moment’s
silence
he
murmured
:
“
I
believe
you’re
right
,
Katharine
.
”
She
sighed
,
involuntarily
.
She
had
been
hoping
all
this
time
,
with
an
intensity
that
increased
second
by
second
against
the
current
of
her
words
,
that
it
would
not
in
the
end
come
to
this
.
After
a
moment
of
surprising
anguish
,
she
summoned
her
courage
to
tell
him
how
she
wished
only
that
she
might
help
him
,
and
had
framed
the
first
words
of
her
speech
when
a
knock
,
terrific
and
startling
to
people
in
their
overwrought
condition
,
sounded
upon
the
door
.
“
Katharine
,
I
worship
you
,
”
he
urged
,
half
in
a
whisper
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
replied
,
withdrawing
with
a
little
shiver
,
“
but
you
must
open
the
door
.
”
CHAPTER
XXIII
When
Ralph
Denham
entered
the
room
and
saw
Katharine
seated
with
her
back
to
him
,
he
was
conscious
of
a
change
in
the
grade
of
the
atmosphere
such
as
a
traveler
meets
with
sometimes
upon
the
roads
,
particularly
after
sunset
,
when
,
without
warning
,
he
runs
from
clammy
chill
to
a
hoard
of
unspent
warmth
in
which
the
sweetness
of
hay
and
beanfield
is
cherished
,
as
if
the
sun
still
shone
although
the
moon
is
up
.
He
hesitated
;
he
shuddered
;
he
walked
elaborately
to
the
window
and
laid
aside
his
coat
.
He
balanced
his
stick
most
carefully
against
the
folds
of
the
curtain
.
Thus
occupied
with
his
own
sensations
and
preparations
,
he
had
little
time
to
observe
what
either
of
the
other
two
was
feeling
.
Such
symptoms
of
agitation
as
he
might
perceive
(
and
they
had
left
their
tokens
in
brightness
of
eye
and
pallor
of
cheeks
)
seemed
to
him
well
befitting
the
actors
in
so
great
a
drama
as
that
of
Katharine
Hilbery’s
daily
life
.
Beauty
and
passion
were
the
breath
of
her
being
,
he
thought
.
She
scarcely
noticed
his
presence
,
or
only
as
it
forced
her
to
adopt
a
manner
of
composure
,
which
she
was
certainly
far
from
feeling
.
William
,
however
,
was
even
more
agitated
than
she
was
,
and
her
first
instalment
of
promised
help
took
the
form
of
some
commonplace
upon
the
age
of
the
building
or
the
architect’s
name
,
which
gave
him
an
excuse
to
fumble
in
a
drawer
for
certain
designs
,
which
he
laid
upon
the
table
between
the
three
of
them
.
Which
of
the
three
followed
the
designs
most
carefully
it
would
be
difficult
to
tell
,
but
it
is
certain
that
not
one
of
the
three
found
for
the
moment
anything
to
say
.
Years
of
training
in
a
drawing-room
came
at
length
to
Katharine’s
help
,
and
she
said
something
suitable
,
at
the
same
moment
withdrawing
her
hand
from
the
table
because
she
perceived
that
it
trembled
.
William
agreed
effusively
;
Denham
corroborated
him
,
speaking
in
rather
high-pitched
tones
;
they
thrust
aside
the
plans
,
and
drew
nearer
to
the
fireplace
.
“
I’d
rather
live
here
than
anywhere
in
the
whole
of
London
,
”
said
Denham
.
(
“
And
I’ve
got
nowhere
to
live
”
)
Katharine
thought
,
as
she
agreed
aloud
.
“
You
could
get
rooms
here
,
no
doubt
,
if
you
wanted
to
,
”
Rodney
replied
.
“
But
I’m
just
leaving
London
for
good
—
I’ve
taken
that
cottage
I
was
telling
you
about
.
”
The
announcement
seemed
to
convey
very
little
to
either
of
his
hearers
.
“
Indeed
?
—
that’s
sad
...
.
You
must
give
me
your
address
.
But
you
won’t
cut
yourself
off
altogether
,
surely
—
”
“
You’ll
be
moving
,
too
,
I
suppose
,
”
Denham
remarked
.
William
showed
such
visible
signs
of
floundering
that
Katharine
collected
herself
and
asked
:
“
Where
is
the
cottage
you’ve
taken
?
”
In
answering
her
,
Denham
turned
and
looked
at
her
.
As
their
eyes
met
,
she
realized
for
the
first
time
that
she
was
talking
to
Ralph
Denham
,
and
she
remembered
,
without
recalling
any
details
,
that
she
had
been
speaking
of
him
quite
lately
,
and
that
she
had
reason
to
think
ill
of
him
.
What
Mary
had
said
she
could
not
remember
,
but
she
felt
that
there
was
a
mass
of
knowledge
in
her
mind
which
she
had
not
had
time
to
examine
—
knowledge
now
lying
on
the
far
side
of
a
gulf
.
But
her
agitation
flashed
the
queerest
lights
upon
her
past
.
She
must
get
through
the
matter
in
hand
,
and
then
think
it
out
in
quiet
.
She
bent
her
mind
to
follow
what
Ralph
was
saying
.
He
was
telling
her
that
he
had
taken
a
cottage
in
Norfolk
,
and
she
was
saying
that
she
knew
,
or
did
not
know
,
that
particular
neighborhood
.
But
after
a
moment’s
attention
her
mind
flew
to
Rodney
,
and
she
had
an
unusual
,
indeed
unprecedented
,
sense
that
they
were
in
touch
and
shared
each
other’s
thoughts
.
If
only
Ralph
were
not
there
,
she
would
at
once
give
way
to
her
desire
to
take
William’s
hand
,
then
to
bend
his
head
upon
her
shoulder
,
for
this
was
what
she
wanted
to
do
more
than
anything
at
the
moment
,
unless
,
indeed
,
she
wished
more
than
anything
to
be
alone
—
yes
,
that
was
what
she
wanted
.
She
was
sick
to
death
of
these
discussions
;
she
shivered
at
the
effort
to
reveal
her
feelings
.
She
had
forgotten
to
answer
.
William
was
speaking
now
.
“
But
what
will
you
find
to
do
in
the
country
?
”
she
asked
at
random
,
striking
into
a
conversation
which
she
had
only
half
heard
,
in
such
a
way
as
to
make
both
Rodney
and
Denham
look
at
her
with
a
little
surprise
.
But
directly
she
took
up
the
conversation
,
it
was
William’s
turn
to
fall
silent
.
He
at
once
forgot
to
listen
to
what
they
were
saying
,
although
he
interposed
nervously
at
intervals
,
“
Yes
,
yes
,
yes
.
”
As
the
minutes
passed
,
Ralph’s
presence
became
more
and
more
intolerable
to
him
,
since
there
was
so
much
that
he
must
say
to
Katharine
;
the
moment
he
could
not
talk
to
her
,
terrible
doubts
,
unanswerable
questions
accumulated
,
which
he
must
lay
before
Katharine
,
for
she
alone
could
help
him
now
.
Unless
he
could
see
her
alone
,
it
would
be
impossible
for
him
ever
to
sleep
,
or
to
know
what
he
had
said
in
a
moment
of
madness
,
which
was
not
altogether
mad
,
or
was
it
mad
?
He
nodded
his
head
,
and
said
,
nervously
,
“
Yes
,
yes
,
”
and
looked
at
Katharine
,
and
thought
how
beautiful
she
looked
;
there
was
no
one
in
the
world
that
he
admired
more
.
There
was
an
emotion
in
her
face
which
lent
it
an
expression
he
had
never
seen
there
.
Then
,
as
he
was
turning
over
means
by
which
he
could
speak
to
her
alone
,
she
rose
,
and
he
was
taken
by
surprise
,
for
he
had
counted
on
the
fact
that
she
would
outstay
Denham
.
His
only
chance
,
then
,
of
saying
something
to
her
in
private
,
was
to
take
her
downstairs
and
walk
with
her
to
the
street
.
While
he
hesitated
,
however
,
overcome
with
the
difficulty
of
putting
one
simple
thought
into
words
when
all
his
thoughts
were
scattered
about
,
and
all
were
too
strong
for
utterance
,
he
was
struck
silent
by
something
that
was
still
more
unexpected
.
Denham
got
up
from
his
chair
,
looked
at
Katharine
,
and
said
:
“
I’m
going
,
too
.
Shall
we
go
together
?
”
And
before
William
could
see
any
way
of
detaining
him
—
or
would
it
be
better
to
detain
Katharine
?
—
he
had
taken
his
hat
,
stick
,
and
was
holding
the
door
open
for
Katharine
to
pass
out
.
The
most
that
William
could
do
was
to
stand
at
the
head
of
the
stairs
and
say
good-night
.
He
could
not
offer
to
go
with
them
.
He
could
not
insist
that
she
should
stay
.
He
watched
her
descend
,
rather
slowly
,
owing
to
the
dusk
of
the
staircase
,
and
he
had
a
last
sight
of
Denham’s
head
and
of
Katharine’s
head
near
together
,
against
the
panels
,
when
suddenly
a
pang
of
acute
jealousy
overcame
him
,
and
had
he
not
remained
conscious
of
the
slippers
upon
his
feet
,
he
would
have
run
after
them
or
cried
out
.
As
it
was
he
could
not
move
from
the
spot
.
At
the
turn
of
the
staircase
Katharine
turned
to
look
back
,
trusting
to
this
last
glance
to
seal
their
compact
of
good
friendship
.
Instead
of
returning
her
silent
greeting
,
William
grinned
back
at
her
a
cold
stare
of
sarcasm
or
of
rage
.
She
stopped
dead
for
a
moment
,
and
then
descended
slowly
into
the
court
.
She
looked
to
the
right
and
to
the
left
,
and
once
up
into
the
sky
.
She
was
only
conscious
of
Denham
as
a
block
upon
her
thoughts
.
She
measured
the
distance
that
must
be
traversed
before
she
would
be
alone
.
But
when
they
came
to
the
Strand
no
cabs
were
to
be
seen
,
and
Denham
broke
the
silence
by
saying
:
“
There
seem
to
be
no
cabs
.
Shall
we
walk
on
a
little
?
”
“
Very
well
,
”
she
agreed
,
paying
no
attention
to
him
.
Aware
of
her
preoccupation
,
or
absorbed
in
his
own
thoughts
,
Ralph
said
nothing
further
;
and
in
silence
they
walked
some
distance
along
the
Strand
.
Ralph
was
doing
his
best
to
put
his
thoughts
into
such
order
that
one
came
before
the
rest
,
and
the
determination
that
when
he
spoke
he
should
speak
worthily
,
made
him
put
off
the
moment
of
speaking
till
he
had
found
the
exact
words
and
even
the
place
that
best
suited
him
.
The
Strand
was
too
busy
.
There
was
too
much
risk
,
also
,
of
finding
an
empty
cab
.
Without
a
word
of
explanation
he
turned
to
the
left
,
down
one
of
the
side
streets
leading
to
the
river
.
On
no
account
must
they
part
until
something
of
the
very
greatest
importance
had
happened
.
He
knew
perfectly
well
what
he
wished
to
say
,
and
had
arranged
not
only
the
substance
,
but
the
order
in
which
he
was
to
say
it
.
Now
,
however
,
that
he
was
alone
with
her
,
not
only
did
he
find
the
difficulty
of
speaking
almost
insurmountable
,
but
he
was
aware
that
he
was
angry
with
her
for
thus
disturbing
him
,
and
casting
,
as
it
was
so
easy
for
a
person
of
her
advantages
to
do
,
these
phantoms
and
pitfalls
across
his
path
.
He
was
determined
that
he
would
question
her
as
severely
as
he
would
question
himself
;
and
make
them
both
,
once
and
for
all
,
either
justify
her
dominance
or
renounce
it
.
But
the
longer
they
walked
thus
alone
,
the
more
he
was
disturbed
by
the
sense
of
her
actual
presence
.
Her
skirt
blew
;
the
feathers
in
her
hat
waved
;
sometimes
he
saw
her
a
step
or
two
ahead
of
him
,
or
had
to
wait
for
her
to
catch
him
up
.
The
silence
was
prolonged
,
and
at
length
drew
her
attention
to
him
.
First
she
was
annoyed
that
there
was
no
cab
to
free
her
from
his
company
;
then
she
recalled
vaguely
something
that
Mary
had
said
to
make
her
think
ill
of
him
;
she
could
not
remember
what
,
but
the
recollection
,
combined
with
his
masterful
ways
—
why
did
he
walk
so
fast
down
this
side
street
?
—
made
her
more
and
more
conscious
of
a
person
of
marked
,
though
disagreeable
,
force
by
her
side
.
She
stopped
and
,
looking
round
her
for
a
cab
,
sighted
one
in
the
distance
.
He
was
thus
precipitated
into
speech
.
“
Should
you
mind
if
we
walked
a
little
farther
?
”
he
asked
.
“
There’s
something
I
want
to
say
to
you
.
”
“
Very
well
,
”
she
replied
,
guessing
that
his
request
had
something
to
do
with
Mary
Datchet
.
“
It’s
quieter
by
the
river
,
”
he
said
,
and
instantly
he
crossed
over
.
“
I
want
to
ask
you
merely
this
,
”
he
began
.
But
he
paused
so
long
that
she
could
see
his
head
against
the
sky
;
the
slope
of
his
thin
cheek
and
his
large
,
strong
nose
were
clearly
marked
against
it
.
While
he
paused
,
words
that
were
quite
different
from
those
he
intended
to
use
presented
themselves
.
“
I’ve
made
you
my
standard
ever
since
I
saw
you
.
I’ve
dreamt
about
you
;
I’ve
thought
of
nothing
but
you
;
you
represent
to
me
the
only
reality
in
the
world
.
”
His
words
,
and
the
queer
strained
voice
in
which
he
spoke
them
,
made
it
appear
as
if
he
addressed
some
person
who
was
not
the
woman
beside
him
,
but
some
one
far
away
.
“
And
now
things
have
come
to
such
a
pass
that
,
unless
I
can
speak
to
you
openly
,
I
believe
I
shall
go
mad
.
I
think
of
you
as
the
most
beautiful
,
the
truest
thing
in
the
world
,
”
he
continued
,
filled
with
a
sense
of
exaltation
,
and
feeling
that
he
had
no
need
now
to
choose
his
words
with
pedantic
accuracy
,
for
what
he
wanted
to
say
was
suddenly
become
plain
to
him
.
“
I
see
you
everywhere
,
in
the
stars
,
in
the
river
;
to
me
you’re
everything
that
exists
;
the
reality
of
everything
.
Life
,
I
tell
you
,
would
be
impossible
without
you
.
And
now
I
want
—
”
She
had
heard
him
so
far
with
a
feeling
that
she
had
dropped
some
material
word
which
made
sense
of
the
rest
.
She
could
hear
no
more
of
this
unintelligible
rambling
without
checking
him
.
She
felt
that
she
was
overhearing
what
was
meant
for
another
.
“
I
don’t
understand
,
”
she
said
.
“
You’re
saying
things
that
you
don’t
mean
.
”
“
I
mean
every
word
I
say
,
”
he
replied
,
emphatically
.
He
turned
his
head
towards
her
.
She
recovered
the
words
she
was
searching
for
while
he
spoke
.
“
Ralph
Denham
is
in
love
with
you
.
”
They
came
back
to
her
in
Mary
Datchet’s
voice
.
Her
anger
blazed
up
in
her
.
“
I
saw
Mary
Datchet
this
afternoon
,
”
she
exclaimed
.
He
made
a
movement
as
if
he
were
surprised
or
taken
aback
,
but
answered
in
a
moment
:
“
She
told
you
that
I
had
asked
her
to
marry
me
,
I
suppose
?
”
“
No
!
”
Katharine
exclaimed
,
in
surprise
.
“
I
did
though
.
It
was
the
day
I
saw
you
at
Lincoln
,
”
he
continued
.
“
I
had
meant
to
ask
her
to
marry
me
,
and
then
I
looked
out
of
the
window
and
saw
you
.
After
that
I
didn’t
want
to
ask
any
one
to
marry
me
.
But
I
did
it
;
and
she
knew
I
was
lying
,
and
refused
me
.
I
thought
then
,
and
still
think
,
that
she
cares
for
me
.
I
behaved
very
badly
.
I
don’t
defend
myself
.
”
“
No
,
”
said
Katharine
,
“
I
should
hope
not
.
There’s
no
defence
that
I
can
think
of
.
If
any
conduct
is
wrong
,
that
is
.
”
She
spoke
with
an
energy
that
was
directed
even
more
against
herself
than
against
him
.
“
It
seems
to
me
,
”
she
continued
,
with
the
same
energy
,
“
that
people
are
bound
to
be
honest
.
There’s
no
excuse
for
such
behavior
.
”
She
could
now
see
plainly
before
her
eyes
the
expression
on
Mary
Datchet’s
face
.
After
a
short
pause
,
he
said
:
“
I
am
not
telling
you
that
I
am
in
love
with
you
.
I
am
not
in
love
with
you
.
”
“
I
didn’t
think
that
,
”
she
replied
,
conscious
of
some
bewilderment
.
“
I
have
not
spoken
a
word
to
you
that
I
do
not
mean
,
”
he
added
.
“
Tell
me
then
what
it
is
that
you
mean
,
”
she
said
at
length
.
As
if
obeying
a
common
instinct
,
they
both
stopped
and
,
bending
slightly
over
the
balustrade
of
the
river
,
looked
into
the
flowing
water
.
“
You
say
that
we’ve
got
to
be
honest
,
”
Ralph
began
.
“
Very
well
.
I
will
try
to
tell
you
the
facts
;
but
I
warn
you
,
you’ll
think
me
mad
.
It’s
a
fact
,
though
,
that
since
I
first
saw
you
four
or
five
months
ago
I
have
made
you
,
in
an
utterly
absurd
way
,
I
expect
,
my
ideal
.
I’m
almost
ashamed
to
tell
you
what
lengths
I’ve
gone
to
.
It’s
become
the
thing
that
matters
most
in
my
life
.
”
He
checked
himself
.
“
Without
knowing
you
,
except
that
you’re
beautiful
,
and
all
that
,
I’ve
come
to
believe
that
we’re
in
some
sort
of
agreement
;
that
we’re
after
something
together
;
that
we
see
something
...
.
I’ve
got
into
the
habit
of
imagining
you
;
I’m
always
thinking
what
you’d
say
or
do
;
I
walk
along
the
street
talking
to
you
;
I
dream
of
you
.
It’s
merely
a
bad
habit
,
a
schoolboy
habit
,
day-dreaming
;
it’s
a
common
experience
;
half
one’s
friends
do
the
same
;
well
,
those
are
the
facts
.
”
Simultaneously
,
they
both
walked
on
very
slowly
.
“
If
you
were
to
know
me
you
would
feel
none
of
this
,
”
she
said
.
“
We
don’t
know
each
other
—
we’ve
always
been
—
interrupted
...
.
Were
you
going
to
tell
me
this
that
day
my
aunts
came
?
”
she
asked
,
recollecting
the
whole
scene
.
He
bowed
his
head
.
“
The
day
you
told
me
of
your
engagement
,
”
he
said
.
She
thought
,
with
a
start
,
that
she
was
no
longer
engaged
.
“
I
deny
that
I
should
cease
to
feel
this
if
I
knew
you
,
”
he
went
on
.
“
I
should
feel
it
more
reasonably
—
that’s
all
.
I
shouldn’t
talk
the
kind
of
nonsense
I’ve
talked
to-night
...
.
But
it
wasn’t
nonsense
.
It
was
the
truth
,
”
he
said
doggedly
.
“
It’s
the
important
thing
.
You
can
force
me
to
talk
as
if
this
feeling
for
you
were
an
hallucination
,
but
all
our
feelings
are
that
.
The
best
of
them
are
half
illusions
.
Still
,
”
he
added
,
as
if
arguing
to
himself
,
“
if
it
weren’t
as
real
a
feeling
as
I’m
capable
of
,
I
shouldn’t
be
changing
my
life
on
your
account
.
”
“
What
do
you
mean
?
”
she
inquired
.
“
I
told
you
.
I’m
taking
a
cottage
.
I’m
giving
up
my
profession
.
”
“
On
my
account
?
”
she
asked
,
in
amazement
.
“
Yes
,
on
your
account
,
”
he
replied
.
He
explained
his
meaning
no
further
.
“
But
I
don’t
know
you
or
your
circumstances
,
”
she
said
at
last
,
as
he
remained
silent
.
“
You
have
no
opinion
about
me
one
way
or
the
other
?
”
“
Yes
,
I
suppose
I
have
an
opinion
—
”
she
hesitated
.
He
controlled
his
wish
to
ask
her
to
explain
herself
,
and
much
to
his
pleasure
she
went
on
,
appearing
to
search
her
mind
.
“
I
thought
that
you
criticized
me
—
perhaps
disliked
me
.
I
thought
of
you
as
a
person
who
judges
—
”
“
No
;
I’m
a
person
who
feels
,
”
he
said
,
in
a
low
voice
.
“
Tell
me
,
then
,
what
has
made
you
do
this
?
”
she
asked
,
after
a
break
.
He
told
her
in
an
orderly
way
,
betokening
careful
preparation
,
all
that
he
had
meant
to
say
at
first
;
how
he
stood
with
regard
to
his
brothers
and
sisters
;
what
his
mother
had
said
,
and
his
sister
Joan
had
refrained
from
saying
;
exactly
how
many
pounds
stood
in
his
name
at
the
bank
;
what
prospect
his
brother
had
of
earning
a
livelihood
in
America
;
how
much
of
their
income
went
on
rent
,
and
other
details
known
to
him
by
heart
.
She
listened
to
all
this
,
so
that
she
could
have
passed
an
examination
in
it
by
the
time
Waterloo
Bridge
was
in
sight
;
and
yet
she
was
no
more
listening
to
it
than
she
was
counting
the
paving-stones
at
her
feet
.
She
was
feeling
happier
than
she
had
felt
in
her
life
.
If
Denham
could
have
seen
how
visibly
books
of
algebraic
symbols
,
pages
all
speckled
with
dots
and
dashes
and
twisted
bars
,
came
before
her
eyes
as
they
trod
the
Embankment
,
his
secret
joy
in
her
attention
might
have
been
dispersed
.
She
went
on
,
saying
,
“
Yes
,
I
see
...
.
But
how
would
that
help
you
?
...
Your
brother
has
passed
his
examination
?
”
so
sensibly
,
that
he
had
constantly
to
keep
his
brain
in
check
;
and
all
the
time
she
was
in
fancy
looking
up
through
a
telescope
at
white
shadow-cleft
disks
which
were
other
worlds
,
until
she
felt
herself
possessed
of
two
bodies
,
one
walking
by
the
river
with
Denham
,
the
other
concentrated
to
a
silver
globe
aloft
in
the
fine
blue
space
above
the
scum
of
vapors
that
was
covering
the
visible
world
.
She
looked
at
the
sky
once
,
and
saw
that
no
star
was
keen
enough
to
pierce
the
flight
of
watery
clouds
now
coursing
rapidly
before
the
west
wind
.
She
looked
down
hurriedly
again
.
There
was
no
reason
,
she
assured
herself
,
for
this
feeling
of
happiness
;
she
was
not
free
;
she
was
not
alone
;
she
was
still
bound
to
earth
by
a
million
fibres
;
every
step
took
her
nearer
home
.
Nevertheless
,
she
exulted
as
she
had
never
exulted
before
.
The
air
was
fresher
,
the
lights
more
distinct
,
the
cold
stone
of
the
balustrade
colder
and
harder
,
when
by
chance
or
purpose
she
struck
her
hand
against
it
.
No
feeling
of
annoyance
with
Denham
remained
;
he
certainly
did
not
hinder
any
flight
she
might
choose
to
make
,
whether
in
the
direction
of
the
sky
or
of
her
home
;
but
that
her
condition
was
due
to
him
,
or
to
anything
that
he
had
said
,
she
had
no
consciousness
at
all
.
They
were
now
within
sight
of
the
stream
of
cabs
and
omnibuses
crossing
to
and
from
the
Surrey
side
of
the
river
;
the
sound
of
the
traffic
,
the
hooting
of
motor-horns
,
and
the
light
chime
of
tram-bells
sounded
more
and
more
distinctly
,
and
,
with
the
increase
of
noise
,
they
both
became
silent
.
With
a
common
instinct
they
slackened
their
pace
,
as
if
to
lengthen
the
time
of
semi-privacy
allowed
them
.
To
Ralph
,
the
pleasure
of
these
last
yards
of
the
walk
with
Katharine
was
so
great
that
he
could
not
look
beyond
the
present
moment
to
the
time
when
she
should
have
left
him
.
He
had
no
wish
to
use
the
last
moments
of
their
companionship
in
adding
fresh
words
to
what
he
had
already
said
.
Since
they
had
stopped
talking
,
she
had
become
to
him
not
so
much
a
real
person
,
as
the
very
woman
he
dreamt
of
;
but
his
solitary
dreams
had
never
produced
any
such
keenness
of
sensation
as
that
which
he
felt
in
her
presence
.
He
himself
was
also
strangely
transfigured
.
He
had
complete
mastery
of
all
his
faculties
.
For
the
first
time
he
was
in
possession
of
his
full
powers
.
The
vistas
which
opened
before
him
seemed
to
have
no
perceptible
end
.
But
the
mood
had
none
of
the
restlessness
or
feverish
desire
to
add
one
delight
to
another
which
had
hitherto
marked
,
and
somewhat
spoilt
,
the
most
rapturous
of
his
imaginings
.
It
was
a
mood
that
took
such
clear-eyed
account
of
the
conditions
of
human
life
that
he
was
not
disturbed
in
the
least
by
the
gliding
presence
of
a
taxicab
,
and
without
agitation
he
perceived
that
Katharine
was
conscious
of
it
also
,
and
turned
her
head
in
that
direction
.
Their
halting
steps
acknowledged
the
desirability
of
engaging
the
cab
;
and
they
stopped
simultaneously
,
and
signed
to
it
.
“
Then
you
will
let
me
know
your
decision
as
soon
as
you
can
?
”
he
asked
,
with
his
hand
on
the
door
.
She
hesitated
for
a
moment
.
She
could
not
immediately
recall
what
the
question
was
that
she
had
to
decide
.
“
I
will
write
,
”
she
said
vaguely
.
“
No
,
”
she
added
,
in
a
second
,
bethinking
her
of
the
difficulties
of
writing
anything
decided
upon
a
question
to
which
she
had
paid
no
attention
,
“
I
don’t
see
how
to
manage
it
.
”
She
stood
looking
at
Denham
,
considering
and
hesitating
,
with
her
foot
upon
the
step
.
He
guessed
her
difficulties
;
he
knew
in
a
second
that
she
had
heard
nothing
;
he
knew
everything
that
she
felt
.
“
There’s
only
one
place
to
discuss
things
satisfactorily
that
I
know
of
,
”
he
said
quickly
;
“
that’s
Kew
.
”
“
Kew
?
”
“
Kew
,
”
he
repeated
,
with
immense
decision
.
He
shut
the
door
and
gave
her
address
to
the
driver
.
She
instantly
was
conveyed
away
from
him
,
and
her
cab
joined
the
knotted
stream
of
vehicles
,
each
marked
by
a
light
,
and
indistinguishable
one
from
the
other
.
He
stood
watching
for
a
moment
,
and
then
,
as
if
swept
by
some
fierce
impulse
,
from
the
spot
where
they
had
stood
,
he
turned
,
crossed
the
road
at
a
rapid
pace
,
and
disappeared
.
He
walked
on
upon
the
impetus
of
this
last
mood
of
almost
supernatural
exaltation
until
he
reached
a
narrow
street
,
at
this
hour
empty
of
traffic
and
passengers
.
Here
,
whether
it
was
the
shops
with
their
shuttered
windows
,
the
smooth
and
silvered
curve
of
the
wood
pavement
,
or
a
natural
ebb
of
feeling
,
his
exaltation
slowly
oozed
and
deserted
him
.
He
was
now
conscious
of
the
loss
that
follows
any
revelation
;
he
had
lost
something
in
speaking
to
Katharine
,
for
,
after
all
,
was
the
Katharine
whom
he
loved
the
same
as
the
real
Katharine
?
She
had
transcended
her
entirely
at
moments
;
her
skirt
had
blown
,
her
feather
waved
,
her
voice
spoken
;
yes
,
but
how
terrible
sometimes
the
pause
between
the
voice
of
one’s
dreams
and
the
voice
that
comes
from
the
object
of
one’s
dreams
!
He
felt
a
mixture
of
disgust
and
pity
at
the
figure
cut
by
human
beings
when
they
try
to
carry
out
,
in
practice
,
what
they
have
the
power
to
conceive
.
How
small
both
he
and
Katharine
had
appeared
when
they
issued
from
the
cloud
of
thought
that
enveloped
them
!
He
recalled
the
small
,
inexpressive
,
commonplace
words
in
which
they
had
tried
to
communicate
with
each
other
;
he
repeated
them
over
to
himself
.
By
repeating
Katharine’s
words
,
he
came
in
a
few
moments
to
such
a
sense
of
her
presence
that
he
worshipped
her
more
than
ever
.
But
she
was
engaged
to
be
married
,
he
remembered
with
a
start
.
The
strength
of
his
feeling
was
revealed
to
him
instantly
,
and
he
gave
himself
up
to
an
irresistible
rage
and
sense
of
frustration
.
The
image
of
Rodney
came
before
him
with
every
circumstance
of
folly
and
indignity
.
That
little
pink-cheeked
dancing-master
to
marry
Katharine
?
that
gibbering
ass
with
the
face
of
a
monkey
on
an
organ
?
that
posing
,
vain
,
fantastical
fop
?
with
his
tragedies
and
his
comedies
,
his
innumerable
spites
and
prides
and
pettinesses
?
Lord
!
marry
Rodney
!
She
must
be
as
great
a
fool
as
he
was
.
His
bitterness
took
possession
of
him
,
and
as
he
sat
in
the
corner
of
the
underground
carriage
,
he
looked
as
stark
an
image
of
unapproachable
severity
as
could
be
imagined
.
Directly
he
reached
home
he
sat
down
at
his
table
,
and
began
to
write
Katharine
a
long
,
wild
,
mad
letter
,
begging
her
for
both
their
sakes
to
break
with
Rodney
,
imploring
her
not
to
do
what
would
destroy
for
ever
the
one
beauty
,
the
one
truth
,
the
one
hope
;
not
to
be
a
traitor
,
not
to
be
a
deserter
,
for
if
she
were
—
and
he
wound
up
with
a
quiet
and
brief
assertion
that
,
whatever
she
did
or
left
undone
,
he
would
believe
to
be
the
best
,
and
accept
from
her
with
gratitude
.
He
covered
sheet
after
sheet
,
and
heard
the
early
carts
starting
for
London
before
he
went
to
bed
.
CHAPTER
XXIV
The
first
signs
of
spring
,
even
such
as
make
themselves
felt
towards
the
middle
of
February
,
not
only
produce
little
white
and
violet
flowers
in
the
more
sheltered
corners
of
woods
and
gardens
,
but
bring
to
birth
thoughts
and
desires
comparable
to
those
faintly
colored
and
sweetly
scented
petals
in
the
minds
of
men
and
women
.
Lives
frozen
by
age
,
so
far
as
the
present
is
concerned
,
to
a
hard
surface
,
which
neither
reflects
nor
yields
,
at
this
season
become
soft
and
fluid
,
reflecting
the
shapes
and
colors
of
the
present
,
as
well
as
the
shapes
and
colors
of
the
past
.
In
the
case
of
Mrs.
Hilbery
,
these
early
spring
days
were
chiefly
upsetting
inasmuch
as
they
caused
a
general
quickening
of
her
emotional
powers
,
which
,
as
far
as
the
past
was
concerned
,
had
never
suffered
much
diminution
.
But
in
the
spring
her
desire
for
expression
invariably
increased
.
She
was
haunted
by
the
ghosts
of
phrases
.
She
gave
herself
up
to
a
sensual
delight
in
the
combinations
of
words
.
She
sought
them
in
the
pages
of
her
favorite
authors
.
She
made
them
for
herself
on
scraps
of
paper
,
and
rolled
them
on
her
tongue
when
there
seemed
no
occasion
for
such
eloquence
.
She
was
upheld
in
these
excursions
by
the
certainty
that
no
language
could
outdo
the
splendor
of
her
father’s
memory
,
and
although
her
efforts
did
not
notably
further
the
end
of
his
biography
,
she
was
under
the
impression
of
living
more
in
his
shade
at
such
times
than
at
others
.
No
one
can
escape
the
power
of
language
,
let
alone
those
of
English
birth
brought
up
from
childhood
,
as
Mrs.
Hilbery
had
been
,
to
disport
themselves
now
in
the
Saxon
plainness
,
now
in
the
Latin
splendor
of
the
tongue
,
and
stored
with
memories
,
as
she
was
,
of
old
poets
exuberating
in
an
infinity
of
vocables
.
Even
Katharine
was
slightly
affected
against
her
better
judgment
by
her
mother’s
enthusiasm
.
Not
that
her
judgment
could
altogether
acquiesce
in
the
necessity
for
a
study
of
Shakespeare’s
sonnets
as
a
preliminary
to
the
fifth
chapter
of
her
grandfather’s
biography
.
Beginning
with
a
perfectly
frivolous
jest
,
Mrs.
Hilbery
had
evolved
a
theory
that
Anne
Hathaway
had
a
way
,
among
other
things
,
of
writing
Shakespeare’s
sonnets
;
the
idea
,
struck
out
to
enliven
a
party
of
professors
,
who
forwarded
a
number
of
privately
printed
manuals
within
the
next
few
days
for
her
instruction
,
had
submerged
her
in
a
flood
of
Elizabethan
literature
;
she
had
come
half
to
believe
in
her
joke
,
which
was
,
she
said
,
at
least
as
good
as
other
people’s
facts
,
and
all
her
fancy
for
the
time
being
centered
upon
Stratford-on-Avon
.
She
had
a
plan
,
she
told
Katharine
,
when
,
rather
later
than
usual
,
Katharine
came
into
the
room
the
morning
after
her
walk
by
the
river
,
for
visiting
Shakespeare’s
tomb
.
Any
fact
about
the
poet
had
become
,
for
the
moment
,
of
far
greater
interest
to
her
than
the
immediate
present
,
and
the
certainty
that
there
was
existing
in
England
a
spot
of
ground
where
Shakespeare
had
undoubtedly
stood
,
where
his
very
bones
lay
directly
beneath
one’s
feet
,
was
so
absorbing
to
her
on
this
particular
occasion
that
she
greeted
her
daughter
with
the
exclamation
:
“
D’you
think
he
ever
passed
this
house
?
”
The
question
,
for
the
moment
,
seemed
to
Katharine
to
have
reference
to
Ralph
Denham
.
“
On
his
way
to
Blackfriars
,
I
mean
,
”
Mrs.
Hilbery
continued
,
“
for
you
know
the
latest
discovery
is
that
he
owned
a
house
there
.
”
Katharine
still
looked
about
her
in
perplexity
,
and
Mrs.
Hilbery
added
:
“
Which
is
a
proof
that
he
wasn’t
as
poor
as
they’ve
sometimes
said
.
I
should
like
to
think
that
he
had
enough
,
though
I
don’t
in
the
least
want
him
to
be
rich
.
”
Then
,
perceiving
her
daughter’s
expression
of
perplexity
,
Mrs.
Hilbery
burst
out
laughing
.
“
My
dear
,
I’m
not
talking
about
your
William
,
though
that’s
another
reason
for
liking
him
.
I’m
talking
,
I’m
thinking
,
I’m
dreaming
of
my
William
—
William
Shakespeare
,
of
course
.
Isn’t
it
odd
,
”
she
mused
,
standing
at
the
window
and
tapping
gently
upon
the
pane
,
“
that
for
all
one
can
see
,
that
dear
old
thing
in
the
blue
bonnet
,
crossing
the
road
with
her
basket
on
her
arm
,
has
never
heard
that
there
was
such
a
person
?
Yet
it
all
goes
on
:
lawyers
hurrying
to
their
work
,
cabmen
squabbling
for
their
fares
,
little
boys
rolling
their
hoops
,
little
girls
throwing
bread
to
the
gulls
,
as
if
there
weren’t
a
Shakespeare
in
the
world
.
I
should
like
to
stand
at
that
crossing
all
day
long
and
say
:
‘People
,
read
Shakespeare
!
’
”
Katharine
sat
down
at
her
table
and
opened
a
long
dusty
envelope
.
As
Shelley
was
mentioned
in
the
course
of
the
letter
as
if
he
were
alive
,
it
had
,
of
course
,
considerable
value
.
Her
immediate
task
was
to
decide
whether
the
whole
letter
should
be
printed
,
or
only
the
paragraph
which
mentioned
Shelley’s
name
,
and
she
reached
out
for
a
pen
and
held
it
in
readiness
to
do
justice
upon
the
sheet
.
Her
pen
,
however
,
remained
in
the
air
.
Almost
surreptitiously
she
slipped
a
clean
sheet
in
front
of
her
,
and
her
hand
,
descending
,
began
drawing
square
boxes
halved
and
quartered
by
straight
lines
,
and
then
circles
which
underwent
the
same
process
of
dissection
.
“
Katharine
!
I’ve
hit
upon
a
brilliant
idea
!
”
Mrs.
Hilbery
exclaimed
—
“
to
lay
out
,
say
,
a
hundred
pounds
or
so
on
copies
of
Shakespeare
,
and
give
them
to
working
men
.
Some
of
your
clever
friends
who
get
up
meetings
might
help
us
,
Katharine
.
And
that
might
lead
to
a
playhouse
,
where
we
could
all
take
parts
.
You’d
be
Rosalind
—
but
you’ve
a
dash
of
the
old
nurse
in
you
.
Your
father’s
Hamlet
,
come
to
years
of
discretion
;
and
I’m
—
well
,
I’m
a
bit
of
them
all
;
I’m
quite
a
large
bit
of
the
fool
,
but
the
fools
in
Shakespeare
say
all
the
clever
things
.
Now
who
shall
William
be
?
A
hero
?
Hotspur
?
Henry
the
Fifth
?
No
,
William’s
got
a
touch
of
Hamlet
in
him
,
too
.
I
can
fancy
that
William
talks
to
himself
when
he’s
alone
.
Ah
,
Katharine
,
you
must
say
very
beautiful
things
when
you’re
together
!
”
she
added
wistfully
,
with
a
glance
at
her
daughter
,
who
had
told
her
nothing
about
the
dinner
the
night
before
.
“
Oh
,
we
talk
a
lot
of
nonsense
,
”
said
Katharine
,
hiding
her
slip
of
paper
as
her
mother
stood
by
her
,
and
spreading
the
old
letter
about
Shelley
in
front
of
her
.
“
It
won’t
seem
to
you
nonsense
in
ten
years’
time
,
”
said
Mrs.
Hilbery
.
“
Believe
me
,
Katharine
,
you’ll
look
back
on
these
days
afterwards
;
you’ll
remember
all
the
silly
things
you’ve
said
;
and
you’ll
find
that
your
life
has
been
built
on
them
.
The
best
of
life
is
built
on
what
we
say
when
we’re
in
love
.
It
isn’t
nonsense
,
Katharine
,
”
she
urged
,
“
it’s
the
truth
,
it’s
the
only
truth
.
”
Katharine
was
on
the
point
of
interrupting
her
mother
,
and
then
she
was
on
the
point
of
confiding
in
her
.
They
came
strangely
close
together
sometimes
.
But
,
while
she
hesitated
and
sought
for
words
not
too
direct
,
her
mother
had
recourse
to
Shakespeare
,
and
turned
page
after
page
,
set
upon
finding
some
quotation
which
said
all
this
about
love
far
,
far
better
than
she
could
.
Accordingly
,
Katharine
did
nothing
but
scrub
one
of
her
circles
an
intense
black
with
her
pencil
,
in
the
midst
of
which
process
the
telephone-bell
rang
,
and
she
left
the
room
to
answer
it
.
When
she
returned
,
Mrs.
Hilbery
had
found
not
the
passage
she
wanted
,
but
another
of
exquisite
beauty
as
she
justly
observed
,
looking
up
for
a
second
to
ask
Katharine
who
that
was
?
“
Mary
Datchet
,
”
Katharine
replied
briefly
.
“
Ah
—
I
half
wish
I’d
called
you
Mary
,
but
it
wouldn’t
have
gone
with
Hilbery
,
and
it
wouldn’t
have
gone
with
Rodney
.
Now
this
isn’t
the
passage
I
wanted
.
(
I
never
can
find
what
I
want
.
)
But
it’s
spring
;
it’s
the
daffodils
;
it’s
the
green
fields
;
it’s
the
birds
.
”
She
was
cut
short
in
her
quotation
by
another
imperative
telephone-bell
.
Once
more
Katharine
left
the
room
.
“
My
dear
child
,
how
odious
the
triumphs
of
science
are
!
”
Mrs.
Hilbery
exclaimed
on
her
return
.
“
They’ll
be
linking
us
with
the
moon
next
—
but
who
was
that
?
”
“
William
,
”
Katharine
replied
yet
more
briefly
.
“
I’ll
forgive
William
anything
,
for
I’m
certain
that
there
aren’t
any
Williams
in
the
moon
.
I
hope
he’s
coming
to
luncheon
?
”
“
He’s
coming
to
tea
.
”
“
Well
,
that’s
better
than
nothing
,
and
I
promise
to
leave
you
alone
.
”
“
There’s
no
need
for
you
to
do
that
,
”
said
Katharine
.
She
swept
her
hand
over
the
faded
sheet
,
and
drew
herself
up
squarely
to
the
table
as
if
she
refused
to
waste
time
any
longer
.
The
gesture
was
not
lost
upon
her
mother
.
It
hinted
at
the
existence
of
something
stern
and
unapproachable
in
her
daughter’s
character
,
which
struck
chill
upon
her
,
as
the
sight
of
poverty
,
or
drunkenness
,
or
the
logic
with
which
Mr.
Hilbery
sometimes
thought
good
to
demolish
her
certainty
of
an
approaching
millennium
struck
chill
upon
her
.
She
went
back
to
her
own
table
,
and
putting
on
her
spectacles
with
a
curious
expression
of
quiet
humility
,
addressed
herself
for
the
first
time
that
morning
to
the
task
before
her
.
The
shock
with
an
unsympathetic
world
had
a
sobering
effect
on
her
.
For
once
,
her
industry
surpassed
her
daughter’s
.
Katharine
could
not
reduce
the
world
to
that
particular
perspective
in
which
Harriet
Martineau
,
for
instance
,
was
a
figure
of
solid
importance
,
and
possessed
of
a
genuine
relationship
to
this
figure
or
to
that
date
.
Singularly
enough
,
the
sharp
call
of
the
telephone-bell
still
echoed
in
her
ear
,
and
her
body
and
mind
were
in
a
state
of
tension
,
as
if
,
at
any
moment
,
she
might
hear
another
summons
of
greater
interest
to
her
than
the
whole
of
the
nineteenth
century
.
She
did
not
clearly
realize
what
this
call
was
to
be
;
but
when
the
ears
have
got
into
the
habit
of
listening
,
they
go
on
listening
involuntarily
,
and
thus
Katharine
spent
the
greater
part
of
the
morning
in
listening
to
a
variety
of
sounds
in
the
back
streets
of
Chelsea
.
For
the
first
time
in
her
life
,
probably
,
she
wished
that
Mrs.
Hilbery
would
not
keep
so
closely
to
her
work
.
A
quotation
from
Shakespeare
would
not
have
come
amiss
.
Now
and
again
she
heard
a
sigh
from
her
mother’s
table
,
but
that
was
the
only
proof
she
gave
of
her
existence
,
and
Katharine
did
not
think
of
connecting
it
with
the
square
aspect
of
her
own
position
at
the
table
,
or
,
perhaps
,
she
would
have
thrown
her
pen
down
and
told
her
mother
the
reason
of
her
restlessness
.
The
only
writing
she
managed
to
accomplish
in
the
course
of
the
morning
was
one
letter
,
addressed
to
her
cousin
,
Cassandra
Otway
—
a
rambling
letter
,
long
,
affectionate
,
playful
and
commanding
all
at
once
.
She
bade
Cassandra
put
her
creatures
in
the
charge
of
a
groom
,
and
come
to
them
for
a
week
or
so
.
They
would
go
and
hear
some
music
together
.
Cassandra’s
dislike
of
rational
society
,
she
said
,
was
an
affectation
fast
hardening
into
a
prejudice
,
which
would
,
in
the
long
run
,
isolate
her
from
all
interesting
people
and
pursuits
.
She
was
finishing
the
sheet
when
the
sound
she
was
anticipating
all
the
time
actually
struck
upon
her
ears
.
She
jumped
up
hastily
,
and
slammed
the
door
with
a
sharpness
which
made
Mrs.
Hilbery
start
.
Where
was
Katharine
off
to
?
In
her
preoccupied
state
she
had
not
heard
the
bell
.
The
alcove
on
the
stairs
,
in
which
the
telephone
was
placed
,
was
screened
for
privacy
by
a
curtain
of
purple
velvet
.
It
was
a
pocket
for
superfluous
possessions
,
such
as
exist
in
most
houses
which
harbor
the
wreckage
of
three
generations
.
Prints
of
great-uncles
,
famed
for
their
prowess
in
the
East
,
hung
above
Chinese
teapots
,
whose
sides
were
riveted
by
little
gold
stitches
,
and
the
precious
teapots
,
again
,
stood
upon
bookcases
containing
the
complete
works
of
William
Cowper
and
Sir
Walter
Scott
.
The
thread
of
sound
,
issuing
from
the
telephone
,
was
always
colored
by
the
surroundings
which
received
it
,
so
it
seemed
to
Katharine
.
Whose
voice
was
now
going
to
combine
with
them
,
or
to
strike
a
discord
?
“
Whose
voice
?
”
she
asked
herself
,
hearing
a
man
inquire
,
with
great
determination
,
for
her
number
.
The
unfamiliar
voice
now
asked
for
Miss
Hilbery
.
Out
of
all
the
welter
of
voices
which
crowd
round
the
far
end
of
the
telephone
,
out
of
the
enormous
range
of
possibilities
,
whose
voice
,
what
possibility
,
was
this
?
A
pause
gave
her
time
to
ask
herself
this
question
.
It
was
solved
next
moment
.
“
I’ve
looked
out
the
train
...
.
Early
on
Saturday
