whenthe
sparkle
of
mischief
,
wit
,
and
vanity
was
out
of
her
eyes
,
and
the
large
look
of
abstracted
sorrow
was
there
,
you
would
have
been
surprised
by
a
certain
grandeur
which
the
smiles
had
hidden
.
That
changing
face
was
the
perfect
symbol
of
her
mixed
susceptible
nature
,
in
which
battle
was
inevitable
,
and
the
side
of
victory
uncertain
.
She
began
to
look
on
all
that
had
passed
between
herself
and
Felix
as
something
not
buried
,
but
embalmed
and
kept
as
a
relic
in
a
private
sanctuary
.
The
very
entireness
of
her
preoccupation
about
him
,
the
perpetual
repetition
in
her
memory
of
all
that
had
passed
between
them
,
tended
to
produce
this
effect
.
She
lived
with
him
in
the
past
;
in
the
future
she
seemed
shut
out
from
him
.
He
was
an
influence
above
her
life
,
rather
than
a
part
of
it
;
some
time
or
other
,
perhaps
,
he
would
be
to
her
as
if
he
belonged
to
the
solemn
admonishing
skies
,
checking
her
self-satisfied
pettiness
with
the
suggestion
of
a
wider
life
.
But
not
yet
—
not
while
her
trouble
was
so
fresh
.
For
it
was
still
her
trouble
,
and
not
Felix
Holt
's
.
Perhaps
it
was
a
subtraction
from
his
power
over
her
,
that
she
could
never
think
of
him
with
pity
,
because
he
always
seemed
to
her
too
great
and
strong
to
be
pitied
:
he
wanted
nothing
.
He
evaded
calamity
by
choosing
privation
.
The
best
part
of
a
woman
's
love
is
worship
;
but
it
is
hard
to
her
to
be
sent
away
with
her
precious
spikenard
rejected
,
and
her
long
tresses
too
,
that
were
let
fall
ready
to
soothe
the
wearied
feet
.
While
Esther
was
carrying
these
things
in
her
heart
,
the
January
days
were
beginning
to
pass
by
with
their
wonted
wintry
monotony
,
except
that
there
was
rather
more
of
good
cheer
than
usual
remaining
from
the
feast
of
Twelfth
Night
among
the
triumphant
Tories
,
and
rather
more
scandal
than
usual
excited
among
the
mortified
Dissenters
by
the
wilfulness
of
their
minister
.
He
had
actually
mentioned
Felix
Holt
by
name
in
his
evening
sermon
and
offered
up
a
petition
for
him
in
the
evening
prayer
,
also
by
name
—
not
as
"
a
young
Ishmaelite
,
whom
we
would
fain
see
brought
back
from
the
lawless
life
of
the
desert
,
and
seated
in
the
same
fold
even
with
the
sons
of
Judah
and
of
Benjamin
,
"
a
suitable
periphrasis
which
Brother
Kemp
threw
off
without
any
effort
,
and
with
all
the
felicity
of
a
suggestive
critic
.
Poor
Mrs
Holt
,
indeed
,
even
in
the
midst
of
her
grief
,
experienced
a
proud
satisfaction
,
that
though
not
a
church
member
she
was
now
an
object
of
congregational
remark
and
ministerial
allusion
.
Feeling
herself
a
spotless
character
standing
out
in
relief
on
a
dark
background
of
affliction
,
and
a
practical
contradiction
to
that
extreme
doctrine
of
human
depravity
which
she
had
never
"
given
in
to
,
"
she
was
naturally
gratified
and
soothed
by
a
notice
which
must
be
a
recognition
.
But
more
influential
hearers
were
of
opinion
,
that
in
a
man
who
had
so
many
long
sentences
at
command
as
Mr
Lyon
,
so
many
parentheses
and
modifying
clauses
,
this
naked
use
of
a
non-scriptural
Treby
name
in
an
address
to
the
Almighty
was
all
the
more
offensive
.
In
a
low
unlettered
local
preacher
of
the
Wesleyan
persuasion
such
things
might
pass
;
but
a
certain
style
in
prayer
was
demanded
from
Independents
,
the
most
educated
body
in
the
ranks
of
orthodox
Dissent
.
To
Mr
Lyon
such
notions
seemed
painfully
perverse
,
and
the
next
morning
he
was
declaring
to
Esther
his
resolution
stoutly
to
withstand
them
,
and
to
count
nothing
common
or
unclean
on
which
a
blessing
could
be
asked
,
when
the
tenor
of
his
thoughts
was
completely
changed
by
a
great
shock
of
surprise
which
made
both
himself
and
Esther
sit
looking
at
each
other
in
speechless
amazement
.
The
cause
was
a
letter
brought
by
a
special
messenger
from
Duffield
;
a
heavy
letter
addressed
to
Esther
in
a
business-like
manner
,
quite
unexampled
in
her
correspondence
.
And
the
contents
of
the
letter
were
more
startling
than
its
exterior
.
It
began
:
Madam
,
—
Herewith
we
send
you
a
brief
abstract
of
evidence
which
has
come
within
our
knowledge
,
that
the
right
of
remainder
whereby
the
lineal
issue
of
Edward
Bycliffe
can
claim
possession
of
the
estates
of
which
the
entail
was
settled
by
John
Justus
Transome
in
1729
,
now
first
accrues
to
you
as
the
sole
and
lawful
issue
of
Maurice
Christian
Bycliffe
.
We
are
confident
of
success
in
the
prosecution
of
this
claim
,
which
will
result
to
you
in
the
possession
of
estates
to
the
value
,
at
the
lowest
,
of
from
five
to
six
thousand
per
annum
—
It
was
at
this
point
that
Esther
,
who
was
reading
aloud
,
let
her
hand
fall
with
the
letter
on
her
lap
,
and
with
a
palpitating
heart
looked
at
her
father
,
who
looked
again
,
in
silence
that
lasted
for
two
or
three
minutes
.
A
certain
terror
was
upon
them
both
,
though
the
thoughts
that
laid
that
weight
on
the
tongue
of
each
were
different
.
It
was
Mr
Lyon
who
spoke
first
.
"
This
,
then
,
is
what
the
man
named
Christian
referred
to
.
I
distrusted
him
,
yet
it
seems
he
spoke
truly
.
"
"
But
,
"
said
Esther
,
whose
imagination
ran
necessarily
to
those
conditions
of
wealth
which
she
could
best
appreciate
,
"
do
they
mean
that
the
Transomes
would
be
turned
out
of
Transome
Court
,
and
that
I
should
go
and
live
there
?
It
seems
quite
an
impossible
thing
.
"
"
Nay
,
child
,
I
know
not
.
I
am
ignorant
in
these
things
,
and
the
thought
of
worldly
grandeur
for
you
hath
more
of
terror
than
of
gladness
for
me
.
Nevertheless
we
must
duly
weigh
all
things
,
not
considering
aught
that
befalls
us
as
a
bare
event
,
but
rather
as
an
occasion
for
faithful
stewardship
.
Let
us
go
to
my
study
and
consider
this
writing
further
.
"
How
this
announcement
,
which
to
Esther
seemed
as
unprepared
as
if
it
had
fallen
from
the
skies
,
came
to
be
made
to
her
by
solicitors
other
than
Batt
+
Cowley
,
the
old
lawyers
of
the
Bycliffes
,
was
by
a
sequence
as
natural
,
that
is
to
say
,
as
legally-natural
,
as
any
in
the
world
.
The
secret
worker
of
the
apparent
wonder
was
Mr
Johnson
,
who
,
on
the
very
day
when
he
wrote
to
give
his
patron
,
Mr
Jermyn
,
the
serious
warning
that
a
bill
was
likely
to
be
filed
in
Chancery
against
him
,
had
carried
forward
with
added
zeal
the
business
already
commenced
,
of
arranging
with
another
firm
his
share
in
the
profits
likely
to
result
from
the
prosecution
of
Esther
Bycliffe
's
claim
.
Jermyn
's
star
was
certainly
going
down
,
and
Johnson
did
not
feel
an
unmitigated
grief
.
Beyond
some
troublesome
declarations
as
to
his
actual
share
in
transactions
in
which
his
name
had
been
used
,
Johnson
saw
nothing
formidable
in
prospect
for
himself
.
He
was
not
going
to
be
ruined
,
though
Jermyn
probably
was
:
he
was
not
a
highflyer
,
but
a
mere
climbing-bird
,
who
could
hold
on
and
get
his
livelihood
just
as
well
if
his
wings
were
clipped
a
little
.
And
,
in
the
mean
time
,
here
was
something
to
be
gained
in
this
Bycliffe
business
,
which
,
it
was
not
unpleasant
to
think
,
was
a
nut
that
Jermyn
had
intended
to
keep
for
his
own
particular
cracking
,
and
which
would
be
rather
a
severe
astonishment
to
Mr
Harold
Transome
,
whose
manners
towards
respectable
agents
were
such
as
leave
a
smart
in
a
man
of
spirit
.
Under
the
stimulus
of
small
many-mixed
motives
like
these
,
a
great
deal
of
business
has
been
done
in
the
world
by
well-clad
and
,
in
1833
,
clean-shaven
men
,
whose
names
are
on
charity-lists
,
and
who
do
not
know
that
they
are
base
.
Mr
Johnson
's
character
was
not
much
more
exceptional
than
his
double
chin
.
No
system
,
religious
or
political
,
I
believe
,
has
laid
it
down
as
a
principle
that
all
men
are
alike
virtuous
,
or
even
that
all
the
people
rated
for
£
80
houses
are
an
honour
to
their
species
.
CHAPTER
XXXVIII
.
The
down
we
rest
on
in
our
aëry
dreams
Has
not
been
plucked
from
birds
that
live
and
smart
:
'
Tis
but
warm
snow
,
that
melts
not
.
The
story
and
the
prospect
revealed
to
Esther
by
the
lawyers
'
letter
,
which
she
and
her
father
studied
together
,
had
made
an
impression
on
her
very
different
from
what
she
had
been
used
to
figure
to
herself
in
her
many
day-dreams
as
to
the
effect
of
a
sudden
elevation
in
rank
and
fortune
.
In
her
day-dreams
she
had
not
traced
out
the
means
by
which
such
a
change
could
be
brought
about
;
in
fact
,
the
change
had
seemed
impossible
to
her
,
except
in
her
little
private
Utopia
,
which
,
like
other
Utopias
,
was
filled
with
delightful
results
,
independent
of
processes
.
But
her
mind
had
fixed
itself
habitually
on
the
signs
and
luxuries
of
ladyhood
,
for
which
she
had
the
keenest
perception
.
She
had
seen
the
very
mat
in
her
carriage
,
had
scented
the
dried
rose-leaves
in
her
corridors
,
had
felt
the
soft
carpets
under
her
pretty
feet
,
and
seen
herself
,
as
she
rose
from
her
sofa
cushions
,
in
the
crystal
panel
that
reflected
a
long
drawing-room
,
where
the
conservatory
flowers
and
the
pictures
of
fair
women
left
her
still
with
the
supremacy
of
charm
.
She
had
trodden
the
marble-firm
gravel
of
her
garden-walks
and
the
soft
deep
turf
of
her
lawn
;
she
had
had
her
servants
about
her
filled
with
adoring
respect
,
because
of
her
kindness
as
well
as
her
grace
and
beauty
;
and
she
had
had
several
accomplished
cavaliers
all
at
once
suing
for
her
hand
—
one
of
whom
,
uniting
very
high
birth
with
long
dark
eyelashes
and
the
most
distinguished
talents
,
she
secretly
preferred
,
though
his
pride
and
hers
hindered
an
avowal
,
and
supplied
the
inestimable
interest
of
retardation
.
The
glimpses
she
had
had
in
her
brief
life
as
a
family
governess
,
supplied
her
ready
faculty
with
details
enough
of
delightful
still
life
to
furnish
her
day-dreams
;
and
no
one
who
has
not
,
like
Esther
,
a
strong
natural
prompting
and
susceptibility
towards
such
things
,
and
has
at
the
same
time
suffered
from
the
presence
of
opposite
conditions
,
can
understand
how
powerfully
those
minor
accidents
of
rank
which
please
the
fastidious
sense
can
preoccupy
the
imagination
.
It
seemed
that
almost
everything
in
her
day-dreams
—
cavaliers
apart
—
must
be
found
at
Transome
Court
.
But
now
that
fancy
was
becoming
real
,
and
the
impossible
appeared
possible
,
Esther
found
the
balance
of
her
attention
reversed
:
now
that
her
ladyhood
was
not
simply
in
Utopia
,
she
found
herself
arrested
and
painfully
grasped
by
the
means
through
which
the
ladyhood
was
to
be
obtained
.
To
her
inexperience
this
strange
story
of
an
alienated
inheritance
,
of
such
a
last
representative
of
pure-blooded
lineage
as
old
Thomas
Transome
the
bill-sticker
,
above
all
of
the
dispossession
hanging
over
those
who
actually
held
,
and
had
expected
always
to
hold
,
the
wealth
and
position
which
were
suddenly
announced
to
be
rightfully
hers
—
all
these
things
made
a
picture
,
not
for
her
own
tastes
and
fancies
to
float
in
with
Elysian
indulgence
,
but
in
which
she
was
compelled
to
gaze
on
the
degrading
hard
experience
of
other
human
beings
,
and
on
a
humiliating
loss
which
was
the
obverse
of
her
own
proud
gain
.
Even
in
her
times
of
most
untroubled
egoism
Esther
shrank
from
anything
ungenerous
;
and
the
fact
that
she
had
a
very
lively
image
of
Harold
Transome
and
his
gipsy-eyed
boy
in
her
mind
,
gave
additional
distinctness
to
the
thought
that
if
she
entered
they
must
depart
.
Of
the
elder
Transomes
she
had
a
dimmer
vision
,
and
they
were
necessarily
in
the
background
to
her
sympathy
.
She
and
her
father
sat
with
their
hands
locked
,
as
they
might
have
done
if
they
had
been
listening
to
a
solemn
oracle
in
the
days
of
old
revealing
unknown
kinship
and
rightful
heirdom
.
It
was
not
that
Esther
had
any
thought
of
renouncing
her
fortune
;
she
was
incapable
,
in
these
moments
,
of
condensing
her
vague
ideas
and
feelings
into
any
distinct
plan
of
action
,
nor
indeed
did
it
seem
that
she
was
called
upon
to
act
with
any
promptitude
.
It
was
only
that
she
was
conscious
of
being
strangely
awed
by
something
that
was
called
good
fortune
;
and
the
awe
shut
out
any
scheme
of
rejection
as
much
as
any
triumphant
joy
in
acceptance
.
Her
first
father
,
she
learned
,
had
died
disappointed
and
in
wrongful
imprisonment
,
and
an
undefined
sense
of
Nemesis
seemed
half
to
sanctify
her
inheritance
,
and
counteract
its
apparent
arbitrariness
.
Felix
Holt
was
present
in
her
mind
throughout
:
what
he
would
say
was
an
imaginary
commentary
that
she
was
constantly
framing
,
and
the
words
that
she
most
frequently
gave
him
—
for
she
dramatised
under
the
inspiration
of
a
sadness
slightly
bitter
—
were
of
this
kind
:
"
That
is
clearly
your
destiny
—
to
be
aristocratic
,
to
be
rich
.
I
always
saw
that
our
lots
lay
widely
apart
.
You
are
not
fit
for
poverty
,
or
any
work
of
difficulty
.
But
remember
what
I
once
said
to
you
about
a
vision
of
consequences
;
take
care
where
your
fortune
leads
you
.
"
Her
father
had
not
spoken
since
they
had
ended
their
study
and
discussion
of
the
story
and
the
evidence
as
it
was
presented
to
them
.
Into
this
he
had
entered
with
his
usual
penetrating
activity
;
but
he
was
so
accustomed
to
the
impersonal
study
of
narrative
,
that
even
in
these
exceptional
moments
the
habit
of
half
a
century
asserted
itself
,
and
he
seemed
sometimes
not
to
distinguish
the
case
of
Esther
's
inheritance
from
a
story
in
ancient
history
,
until
some
detail
recalled
him
to
the
profound
feeling
that
a
great
,
great
change
might
be
coming
over
the
life
of
this
child
who
was
so
close
to
him
.
At
last
he
relapsed
into
total
silence
,
and
for
some
time
Esther
was
not
moved
to
interrupt
it
.
He
had
sunk
back
in
his
chair
,
with
his
hand
locked
in
hers
,
and
was
pursuing
a
sort
of
prayerful
meditation
:
he
lifted
up
no
formal
petition
,
but
it
was
as
if
his
soul
travelled
again
over
the
facts
he
had
been
considering
in
the
company
of
a
guide
ready
to
inspire
and
correct
him
.
He
was
striving
to
purify
his
feeling
in
this
matter
from
selfish
or
worldly
dross
—
a
striving
which
is
that
prayer
without
ceasing
,
sure
to
wrest
an
answer
by
its
sublime
importunity
.
There
is
no
knowing
how
long
they
might
have
sat
in
this
way
,
if
it
had
not
been
for
the
inevitable
Lyddy
reminding
them
dismally
of
dinner
.
"
Yes
,
Lyddy
,
we
come
,
"
said
Esther
;
and
then
,
before
moving
,
"
Is
there
any
advice
you
have
in
your
mind
for
me
,
father
?
"
The
sense
of
awe
was
growing
in
Esther
.
Her
intensest
life
was
no
longer
in
her
dreams
,
where
she
made
things
to
her
own
mind
:
she
was
moving
in
a
world
charged
with
forces
.
"
Not
yet
,
my
dear
—
save
this
:
that
you
will
seek
special
illumination
in
this
juncture
,
and
,
above
all
,
be
watchful
that
your
soul
be
not
lifted
up
within
you
by
what
,
rightly
considered
,
is
rather
an
increase
of
charge
,
and
a
call
upon
you
to
walk
along
a
path
which
is
indeed
easy
to
the
flesh
,
but
dangerous
to
the
spirit
.
"
"
You
would
always
live
with
me
,
father
?
"
Esther
spoke
under
a
strong
impulse
—
partly
affection
,
partly
the
need
to
grasp
at
some
moral
help
.
But
she
had
no
sooner
uttered
the
words
than
they
raised
a
vision
,
showing
,
as
by
a
flash
of
lightning
,
the
incongruity
of
that
past
which
had
created
the
sanctities
and
affections
of
her
life
with
that
future
which
was
coming
to
her
.
...
The
little
rusty
old
minister
,
with
the
one
luxury
of
his
Sunday
evening
pipe
,
smoked
up
the
kitchen
chimney
,
coming
to
live
in
the
midst
of
grandeur
...
but
no
!
her
father
,
with
the
grandeur
of
his
past
sorrow
and
his
long
struggling
labours
,
forsaking
his
vocation
,
and
vulgarly
accepting
an
existence
unsuited
to
him
.
...
Esther
's
face
flushed
with
the
excitement
of
this
vision
and
its
reversed
interpretation
,
which
five
months
ago
she
would
have
been
incapable
of
seeing
.
Her
question
to
her
father
seemed
like
a
mockery
;
she
was
ashamed
.
He
answered
slowly
,
"
Touch
not
that
chord
yet
,
child
.
I
must
learn
to
think
of
thy
lot
according
to
the
demands
of
Providence
.
We
will
rest
a
while
from
the
subject
;
and
I
will
seek
calmness
in
my
ordinary
duties
.
"
The
next
morning
nothing
more
was
said
.
Mr
Lyon
was
absorbed
in
his
sermon-making
,
for
it
was
near
the
end
of
the
week
,
and
Esther
was
obliged
to
attend
to
her
pupils
.
Mrs
Holt
came
by
invitation
with
little
Job
to
share
their
dinner
of
roast-meat
;
and
,
after
much
of
what
the
minister
called
unprofitable
discourse
,
she
was
quitting
the
house
when
she
hastened
back
with
an
astonished
face
,
to
tell
Mr
Lyon
and
Esther
,
who
were
already
in
wonder
at
crashing
,
thundering
sounds
on
the
pavement
,
that
there
was
a
carriage
stopping
and
stamping
at
the
entry
into
Malthouse
Yard
,
with
"
all
sorts
of
fine
liveries
,
"
and
a
lady
and
gentleman
inside
.
Mr
Lyon
and
Esther
looked
at
each
other
,
both
having
the
same
name
in
their
minds
.
"
If
it
's
Mr
Transome
or
somebody
else
as
is
great
,
Mr
Lyon
,
"
urged
Mrs
Holt
,
"
you
'll
remember
my
son
,
and
say
he
's
got
a
mother
with
a
character
they
may
inquire
into
as
much
as
they
like
.
And
never
mind
what
Felix
says
,
for
he
's
so
masterful
he
'd
stay
in
prison
and
be
transported
whether
or
no
,
only
to
have
his
own
way
.
For
it
's
not
to
be
thought
but
what
the
great
people
could
get
him
off
if
they
would
;
and
it
's
very
hard
with
a
King
in
the
country
and
all
the
texts
in
Proverbs
about
the
King
's
countenance
,
and
Solomon
and
the
live
baby
—
"
Mr
Lyon
lifted
up
his
hand
deprecatingly
,
and
Mrs
Holt
retreated
from
the
parlour-door
to
a
corner
of
the
kitchen
,
the
outer
doorway
being
occupied
by
Dominic
,
who
was
inquiring
if
Mr
and
Miss
Lyon
were
at
home
,
and
could
receive
Mrs
Transome
and
Mr
Harold
Transome
.
While
Dominic
went
back
to
the
carriage
Mrs
Holt
escaped
with
her
tiny
companion
to
Zachary
's
,
the
pew-opener
,
observing
to
Lyddy
that
she
knew
herself
,
and
was
not
that
woman
to
stay
where
she
might
not
be
wanted
;
whereupon
Lyddy
,
differing
fundamentally
,
admonished
her
parting
ear
that
it
was
well
if
she
knew
herself
to
be
dust
and
ashes
—
silently
extending
the
application
of
this
remark
to
Mrs
Transome
as
she
saw
the
tall
lady
sweep
in
arrayed
in
her
rich
black
and
fur
,
with
that
fine
gentleman
behind
her
whose
thick
topknot
of
wavy
hair
,
sparkling
ring
,
dark
complexion
,
and
general
air
of
worldly
exaltation
unconnected
with
chapel
,
were
painfully
suggestive
to
Lyddy
of
Herod
,
Pontius
Pilate
,
or
the
much-quoted
Gallio
.
Harold
Transome
,
greeting
Esther
gracefuly
,
presented
his
mother
,
whose
eagle-like
glance
,
fixed
on
her
from
the
first
moment
of
entering
,
seemed
to
Esther
to
pierce
her
through
.
Mrs
Transome
hardly
noticed
Mr
Lyon
,
not
from
studied
haughtiness
,
but
from
sheer
mental
inability
to
consider
him
—
as
a
person
ignorant
of
natural
history
is
unable
to
consider
a
fresh-water
polype
otherwise
than
as
a
sort
of
animated
weed
,
certainly
not
fit
for
table
.
But
Harold
saw
that
his
mother
was
agreeably
struck
by
Esther
,
who
indeed
showed
to
much
advantage
.
She
was
not
at
all
taken
by
surprise
,
and
maintained
a
dignified
quietude
;
but
her
previous
knowledge
and
reflection
about
the
possible
dispossession
of
these
Transomes
gave
her
a
softened
feeling
towards
them
which
tinged
her
manners
very
agreeably
.
Harold
was
carefully
polite
to
the
minister
,
throwing
out
a
word
to
make
him
understand
that
he
had
an
important
part
in
the
important
business
which
had
brought
this
unannounced
visit
;
and
the
four
made
a
group
seated
not
far
off
each
other
near
the
window
,
Mrs
Transome
and
Esther
being
on
the
sofa
.
"
You
must
be
astonished
at
a
visit
from
me
,
Miss
Lyon
,
"
Mrs
Transome
began
;
"
I
seldom
come
to
Treby
Magna
.
Now
I
see
you
,
the
visit
is
an
unexpected
pleasure
;
but
the
cause
of
my
coming
is
business
of
a
serious
nature
,
which
my
son
will
communicate
to
you
.
"
"
I
ought
to
begin
by
saying
that
what
I
have
to
announce
to
you
is
the
reverse
of
disagreeable
,
Miss
Lyon
,
"
said
Harold
,
with
lively
ease
.
"
I
do
n't
suppose
the
world
would
consider
it
very
good
news
for
me
;
but
a
rejected
candidate
,
Mr
Lyon
,
"
Harold
went
on
,
turning
graciously
to
the
minister
,
"
begins
to
be
inured
to
loss
and
misfortune
.
"
"
Truly
,
sir
,
"
said
Mr
Lyon
,
with
a
rather
sad
solemnity
,
"
your
allusion
hath
a
grievous
bearing
for
me
,
but
I
will
not
retard
your
present
purpose
by
further
remark
.
"
"
You
will
never
guess
what
I
have
to
disclose
,
"
said
Harold
,
again
looking
at
Esther
,
"
unless
,
indeed
,
you
have
had
some
previous
intimation
of
it
.
"
"
Does
it
refer
to
law
and
inheritance
?
"
said
Esther
,
with
a
smile
.
She
was
already
brightened
by
Harold
's
manner
.
The
news
seemed
to
be
losing
its
chillness
,
and
to
be
something
really
belonging
to
warm
,
comfortable
,
interesting
life
.
"
Then
you
have
already
heard
of
it
?
"
said
Harold
,
inwardly
vexed
,
but
sufficiently
prepared
not
to
seem
so
.
"
Only
yesterday
,
"
said
Esther
,
quite
simply
"
I
received
a
letter
from
some
lawyers
with
a
statement
of
many
surprising
things
,
showing
that
I
was
an
heiress
"
—
here
she
turned
very
prettily
to
address
Mrs
Transome
—
"
which
,
as
you
may
imagine
,
is
one
of
the
last
things
I
could
have
supposed
myself
to
be
.
"
"
My
dear
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
with
elderly
grace
,
just
laying
her
hand
for
an
instant
on
Esther
's
,
"
it
is
a
lot
that
would
become
you
admirably
.
"
Esther
blushed
,
and
said
playfully
,
"
O
,
I
know
what
to
buy
with
fifty
pounds
a-year
,
but
I
know
the
price
of
nothing
beyond
that
.
"
Her
father
sat
looking
at
her
through
his
spectacles
,
stroking
his
chin
.
It
was
amazing
to
herself
that
she
was
taking
so
lightly
now
what
had
caused
her
such
deep
emotion
yesterday
.
"
I
daresay
,
then
,
"
said
Harold
,
"
you
are
more
fully
possessed
of
particulars
than
I
am
.
So
that
my
mother
and
I
need
only
tell
you
what
no
one
else
can
tell
you
—
that
is
,
what
are
her
and
my
feelings
and
wishes
under
these
new
and
unexpected
circumstances
.
"
"
I
am
most
anxious
,
"
said
Esther
,
with
a
grave
beautiful
look
of
respect
to
Mrs
Transome
—
"
most
anxious
on
that
point
.
Indeed
,
being
of
course
in
uncertainty
about
it
,
I
have
not
yet
known
whether
I
could
rejoice
.
"
Mrs
Transome
's
glance
had
softened
.
She
liked
Esther
to
look
at
her
.
"
Our
chief
anxiety
,
"
she
said
,
knowing
what
Harold
wished
her
to
say
,
"
is
,
that
there
may
be
no
contest
,
no
useless
expenditure
of
money
.
Of
course
we
will
surrender
what
can
be
rightfully
claimed
.
"
"
My
mother
expresses
our
feeling
precisely
,
Miss
Lyon
,
"
said
Harold
.
"
And
I
'm
sure
,
Mr
Lyon
,
you
will
understand
our
desire
.
"
"
Assuredly
,
sir
.
My
daughter
would
in
any
case
have
had
my
advice
to
seek
a
conclusion
which
would
involve
no
strife
.
We
endeavour
,
sir
,
in
our
body
,
to
hold
to
the
apostolic
rule
that
one
Christian
brother
should
not
go
to
law
with
another
;
and
I
,
for
my
part
,
would
extend
this
rule
to
all
my
fellow-men
,
apprehending
that
the
practice
of
our
courts
is
little
consistent
with
the
simplicity
that
is
in
Christ
.
"
"
If
it
is
to
depend
on
my
will
,
"
said
Esther
,
"
there
is
nothing
that
would
be
more
repugnant
to
me
than
any
struggle
on
such
a
subject
.
But
ca
n't
the
lawyers
go
on
doing
what
they
will
in
spite
of
me
?
It
seems
that
this
is
what
they
mean
.
"
"
Not
exactly
,
"
said
Harold
,
smiling
.
"
Of
course
they
live
by
such
struggles
as
you
dislike
.
But
we
can
thwart
them
by
determining
not
to
quarrel
.
It
is
desirable
that
we
should
consider
the
affair
together
,
and
put
it
into
the
hands
of
honourable
solicitors
.
I
assure
you
we
Transomes
will
not
contend
for
what
is
not
our
own
.
"
"
And
this
is
what
I
have
come
to
beg
of
you
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
.
"
It
is
that
you
will
come
to
Transome
Court
—
and
let
us
take
full
time
to
arrange
matters
.
Do
oblige
me
:
you
shall
not
be
teazed
more
than
you
like
by
an
old
woman
:
you
shall
do
just
as
you
please
,
and
become
acquainted
with
your
future
home
,
since
it
is
to
be
yours
.
I
can
tell
you
a
world
of
things
that
you
will
want
to
know
;
and
the
business
can
proceed
properly
.
"
"
Do
consent
,
"
said
Harold
,
with
winning
brevity
.
Esther
was
flushed
,
and
her
eyes
were
bright
.
It
was
impossible
for
her
not
to
feel
that
the
proposal
was
a
more
tempting
step
towards
her
change
of
condition
than
she
could
have
thought
of
beforehand
.
She
had
forgotten
that
she
was
in
any
trouble
.
But
she
looked
towards
her
father
,
who
was
again
stroking
his
chin
,
as
was
his
habit
when
he
was
doubting
and
deliberating
.
"
I
hope
you
do
not
disapprove
of
Miss
Lyon
's
granting
us
this
favour
?
"
said
Harold
to
the
minister
.
"
I
have
nothing
to
oppose
to
it
,
sir
,
if
my
daughter
's
own
mind
is
clear
as
to
her
course
.
"
"
You
will
come
—
now
—
with
us
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
persuasively
.
"
You
will
go
back
with
us
in
the
carriage
.
"
Harold
was
highly
gratified
with
the
perfection
of
his
mother
's
manner
on
this
occasion
,
which
he
had
looked
forward
to
as
difficult
.
Since
he
had
come
home
again
,
he
had
never
seen
her
so
much
at
her
ease
,
or
with
so
much
benignancy
in
her
face
.
The
secret
lay
in
the
charm
of
Esther
's
sweet
young
deference
,
a
sort
of
charm
that
had
not
before
entered
into
Mrs
Transome
's
elderly
life
.
Esther
's
pretty
behaviour
,
it
must
be
confessed
,
was
not
fed
entirely
from
lofty
moral
sources
:
over
and
above
her
really
generous
feeling
,
she
enjoyed
Mrs
Transome
's
accent
,
the
high-bred
quietness
of
her
speech
,
the
delicate
odour
of
her
drapery
.
She
had
always
thought
that
life
must
be
particularly
easy
if
one
could
pass
it
among
refined
people
;
and
so
it
seemed
at
this
moment
.
She
wished
,
unmixedly
,
to
go
to
Transome
Court
.
"
Since
my
father
has
no
objection
,
"
she
said
,
"
and
you
urge
me
so
kindly
.
But
I
must
beg
for
time
to
pack
up
a
few
clothes
.
"
"
By
all
means
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
.
"
We
are
not
at
all
pressed
.
"
When
Esther
had
left
the
room
,
Harold
said
,
"
Apart
from
our
immediate
reason
for
coming
,
Mr
Lyon
,
I
could
have
wished
to
see
you
about
these
unhappy
consequences
of
the
election
contest
.
But
you
will
understand
that
I
have
been
much
preoccupied
with
private
affairs
.
"
"
You
have
well
said
that
the
consequences
are
unhappy
sir
.
And
but
for
a
reliance
on
something
more
than
human
calculation
,
I
know
not
which
I
should
most
bewail
—
the
scandal
which
wrong-dealing
has
brought
on
right
principles
,
or
the
snares
which
it
laid
for
the
feet
of
a
young
man
who
is
dear
to
me
.
'
One
soweth
,
and
another
reapeth
,
'
is
a
verity
that
applies
to
evil
as
well
as
good
.
"
"
You
are
referring
to
Felix
Holt
.
I
have
not
neglected
steps
to
secure
the
best
legal
help
for
the
prisoners
;
but
I
am
given
to
understand
that
Holt
refuses
any
aid
from
me
.
I
hope
he
will
not
go
rashly
to
work
in
speaking
in
his
own
defence
without
any
legal
instruction
.
It
is
an
opprobrium
of
our
law
that
no
counsel
is
allowed
to
plead
for
the
prisoner
in
cases
of
felony
.
A
ready
tongue
may
do
a
man
as
much
harm
as
good
in
a
court
of
justice
.
He
piques
himself
on
making
a
display
,
and
displays
a
little
too
much
.
"
"
Sir
,
you
know
him
not
,
"
said
the
little
minister
,
in
his
deeper
tone
.
"
He
would
not
accept
,
even
if
it
were
accorded
,
a
defence
wherein
the
truth
was
screened
or
avoided
,
—
not
from
a
vainglorious
spirit
of
self-exhibition
,
for
he
hath
a
singular
directness
and
simplicity
of
speech
;
but
from
an
averseness
to
a
profession
wherein
a
man
may
without
shame
seek
to
justify
the
wicked
for
reward
,
and
take
away
the
righteousness
of
the
righteous
from
him
.
"
"
It
's
a
pity
a
fine
young
fellow
should
do
himself
harm
by
fanatical
notions
of
that
sort
.
I
could
at
least
have
procured
the
advantage
of
first-rate
consultation
.
He
did
n't
look
to
me
like
a
dreamy
personage
.
"
"
Nor
is
he
dreamy
;
rather
,
his
excess
lies
in
being
too
practical
.
"
"
Well
,
I
hope
you
will
not
encourage
him
in
such
irrationality
:
the
question
is
not
one
of
misrepresentation
,
but
of
adjusting
fact
,
so
as
to
raise
it
to
the
power
of
evidence
.
Do
n't
you
see
that
?
"
"
I
do
,
I
do
.
But
I
distrust
not
Felix
Holt
's
discernment
in
regard
to
his
own
case
.
He
builds
not
on
doubtful
things
,
and
hath
no
illusory
hopes
;
on
the
contrary
,
he
is
of
a
too-scornful
incredulity
where
I
would
fain
see
a
more
childlike
faith
.
But
he
will
hold
no
belief
without
action
corresponding
thereto
;
and
the
occasion
of
his
return
to
this
his
native
place
at
a
time
which
has
proved
fatal
,
was
no
other
than
his
resolve
to
hinder
the
sale
of
some
drugs
,
which
had
chiefly
supported
his
mother
,
but
which
his
better
knowledge
showed
him
to
be
pernicious
to
the
human
frame
.
He
undertook
to
support
her
by
his
own
labour
:
but
,
sir
,
I
pray
you
to
mark
—
and
old
as
I
am
,
I
will
not
deny
that
this
young
man
instructs
me
herein
—
I
pray
you
to
mark
the
poisonous
confusion
of
good
and
evil
which
is
the
wide-spreading
effect
of
vicious
practices
.
Through
the
use
of
undue
electioneering
means
—
concerning
which
,
however
,
I
do
not
accuse
you
father
than
of
having
acted
the
part
of
him
who
washes
his
hands
when
he
delivers
up
to
others
the
exercise
of
an
iniquitous
power
—
Felix
Holt
is
,
I
will
not
scruple
to
say
,
the
innocent
victim
of
a
riot
;
and
that
deed
of
strict
honesty
,
whereby
he
took
on
himself
the
charge
of
his
aged
mother
,
seems
now
to
have
deprived
her
of
sufficient
bread
,
and
is
even
an
occasion
of
reproach
to
him
from
the
weaker
brethren
.
"
"
I
shall
be
proud
to
supply
her
as
amply
as
you
think
desirable
,
"
said
Harold
,
not
enjoying
this
lecture
.
"
I
will
pray
you
to
speak
of
this
question
with
my
daughter
,
who
,
it
appears
,
may
herself
have
large
means
at
command
,
and
would
desire
to
minister
to
Mistress
Holt
's
needs
with
all
friendship
and
delicacy
.
For
the
present
,
I
can
take
care
that
she
lacks
nothing
essential
.
"
As
Mr
Lyon
was
speaking
,
Esther
re-entered
,
equipped
for
her
drive
.
She
laid
her
hand
on
her
father
's
arm
,
and
said
,
"
You
will
let
my
pupils
know
at
once
,
will
you
,
father
?
"
"
Doubtless
,
my
dear
,
"
said
the
old
man
,
trembling
a
little
under
the
feeling
that
this
departure
of
Esther
's
was
a
crisis
.
Nothing
again
would
be
as
it
had
been
in
their
mutual
life
.
But
he
feared
that
he
was
being
mastered
by
a
too-tender
self-regard
,
and
struggled
to
keep
himself
calm
.
Mrs
Transome
and
Harold
had
both
risen
.
"
If
you
are
quite
ready
,
Miss
Lyon
,
"
said
Harold
,
divining
that
the
father
and
daughter
would
like
to
have
an
unobserved
moment
,
"
I
will
take
my
mother
to
the
carriage
,
and
come
back
for
you
.
"
When
they
were
alone
,
Esther
put
her
hands
on
her
father
's
shoulders
,
and
kissed
him
.
"
This
will
not
be
a
grief
to
you
,
I
hope
,
father
?
You
think
it
is
better
that
I
should
go
?
"
"
Nay
,
child
,
I
am
weak
.
But
I
would
fain
be
capable
of
a
joy
quite
apart
from
the
accidents
of
my
aged
earthly
existence
,
which
,
indeed
,
is
a
petty
and
almost
dried-up
fountain
—
whereas
to
the
receptive
soul
the
river
of
life
pauseth
not
,
nor
is
diminished
.
"
"
Perhaps
you
will
see
Felix
Holt
again
,
and
tell
him
everything
?
"
"
Shall
I
say
aught
to
him
for
you
?
"
"
O
no
;
only
that
Job
Tudge
has
a
little
flannel
shirt
and
a
box
of
lozenges
,
"
said
Esther
,
smiling
.
"
Ah
,
I
hear
Mr
Transome
coming
back
.
I
must
say
good-bye
to
Lyddy
,
else
she
will
cry
over
my
hard
heart
.
"
In
spite
of
all
the
grave
thoughts
that
had
been
,
Esther
felt
it
a
very
pleasant
as
well
as
new
experience
to
be
led
to
the
carriage
by
Harold
Transome
,
to
be
seated
on
soft
cushions
,
and
bowled
along
,
looked
at
admiringly
and
deferentially
by
a
person
opposite
,
whom
it
was
agreeable
to
look
at
in
return
,
and
talked
to
with
suavity
and
liveliness
.
Towards
what
prospect
was
that
easy
carriage
really
leading
her
?
She
could
not
be
always
asking
herself
Mentor-like
questions
.
Her
young
bright
nature
was
rather
weary
of
the
sadness
that
had
grown
heavier
in
these
last
weeks
,
like
a
chill
white
mist
hopelessly
veiling
the
day
.
Her
fortune
was
beginning
to
appear
worthy
of
being
called
good
fortune
.
She
had
come
to
a
new
stage
in
her
journey
;
a
new
day
had
arisen
on
new
scenes
,
and
her
young
untired
spirit
was
full
of
curiosity
.
CHAPTER
XXXIX
.
No
man
believes
that
many-textured
knowledge
and
skill
—
as
a
just
idea
of
the
solar
system
,
or
the
power
of
painting
flesh
,
or
of
reading
written
harmonies
—
can
come
late
and
of
a
sudden
;
yet
many
will
not
stick
at
believing
that
happiness
can
come
at
any
day
and
hour
solely
by
a
new
disposition
of
events
;
though
there
is
nought
less
capable
of
a
magical
production
than
a
mortal
's
happiness
,
which
is
mainly
a
complex
of
habitual
relations
and
dispositions
not
to
be
wrought
by
news
from
foreign
parts
,
or
any
whirling
of
fortune
's
wheel
for
one
on
whose
brow
Time
has
written
legibly
.
Some
days
after
Esther
's
arrival
at
Transome
Court
,
Denner
,
coming
to
dress
Mrs
Transome
before
dinner
—
a
labour
of
love
for
which
she
had
ample
leisure
now
—
found
her
mistress
seated
with
more
than
ever
of
that
marble
aspect
of
self-absorbed
suffering
,
which
to
the
waiting-woman
's
keen
observation
had
been
gradually
intensifying
itself
during
the
past
week
.
She
had
tapped
at
the
door
without
having
been
summoned
,
and
she
had
ventured
to
enter
though
she
had
heard
no
voice
saying
"
Come
in
.
"
Mrs
Transome
had
on
a
dark
warm
dressing-gown
,
hanging
in
thick
folds
about
her
,
and
she
was
seated
before
a
mirror
which
filled
a
panel
from
the
floor
to
the
ceiling
.
The
room
was
bright
with
the
light
of
the
fire
and
of
wax
candles
.
For
some
reason
,
contrary
to
her
usual
practice
,
Mrs
Transome
had
herself
unfastened
her
abundant
grey
hair
,
which
rolled
backward
in
a
pale
sunless
stream
over
her
dark
dress
.
She
was
seated
before
the
mirror
apparently
looking
at
herself
,
her
brow
knit
in
one
deep
furrow
,
and
her
jewelled
hands
laid
one
above
the
other
on
her
knee
.
Probably
she
had
ceased
to
see
the
reflection
in
the
mirror
,
for
her
eyes
had
the
fixed
wide-open
look
that
belong
not
to
examination
,
but
to
reverie
.
Motionless
in
that
way
,
her
clear-cut
features
keeping
distinct
record
of
past
beauty
,
she
looked
like
an
image
faded
,
dried
,
and
bleached
by
uncounted
suns
,
rather
than
a
breathing
woman
who
had
numbered
the
years
as
they
passed
,
and
had
a
consciousness
within
her
which
was
the
slow
deposit
of
those
ceaseless
rolling
years
.
Denner
,
with
all
her
ingrained
and
systematic
reserve
,
could
not
help
showing
signs
that
she
was
startled
,
when
,
peering
from
between
her
half-closed
eyelids
,
she
saw
the
motionless
image
in
the
mirror
opposite
to
her
as
she
entered
.
Her
gentle
opening
of
the
door
had
not
roused
her
mistress
,
to
whom
the
sensations
produced
by
Denner
's
presence
were
as
little
disturbing
as
those
of
a
favourite
cat
.
But
the
slight
cry
,
and
the
start
reflected
in
the
glass
,
were
unusual
enough
to
break
the
reverie
:
Mrs
Transome
moved
,
leaned
back
in
her
chair
,
and
said
,
"
So
you
're
come
at
last
,
Denner
?
"
"
Yes
,
madam
;
it
is
not
late
.
I
'm
sorry
you
should
have
undone
your
hair
yourself
.
"
"
I
undid
it
to
see
what
an
old
hag
I
am
.
These
fine
clothes
you
put
on
me
,
Denner
,
are
only
a
smart
shroud
.
"
"
Pray
do
n't
talk
so
,
madam
.
If
there
's
anybody
does
n't
think
it
pleasant
to
look
at
you
,
so
much
the
worse
for
them
.
For
my
part
,
I
've
seen
no
young
ones
fit
to
hold
up
your
train
.
Look
at
your
likeness
down
below
;
and
though
you
're
older
now
,
what
signifies
?
I
would
n't
be
Letty
in
the
scullery
because
she
's
got
red
cheeks
.
She
may
n't
know
she
's
a
poor
creature
,
but
I
know
it
,
and
that
's
enough
for
me
:
I
know
what
sort
of
a
dowdy
draggletail
she
'll
be
in
ten
years
'
time
.
I
would
change
with
nobody
,
madam
.
And
if
troubles
were
put
up
to
market
,
I
'd
sooner
buy
old
than
new
.
It
's
something
to
have
seen
the
worst
.
"
"
A
woman
never
has
seen
the
worst
till
she
is
old
,
Denner
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
bitterly
.
The
keen
little
waiting-woman
was
not
clear
as
to
the
cause
of
her
mistress
's
added
bitterness
;
but
she
rarely
brought
herself
to
ask
questions
,
when
Mrs
Transome
did
not
authorise
them
by
beginning
to
give
her
information
.
Banks
the
bailiff
and
the
head-servant
had
nodded
and
winked
a
good
deal
over
the
certainty
that
Mr
Harold
was
"
none
so
fond
"
of
Jermyn
,
but
this
was
a
subject
on
which
Mrs
Transome
had
never
made
up
her
mind
to
speak
,
and
Denner
knew
nothing
definite
.
Again
,
she
felt
quite
sure
that
there
was
some
important
secret
connected
with
Esther
's
presence
in
the
house
;
she
suspected
that
the
close
Dominic
knew
the
secret
,
and
was
more
trusted
than
she
was
,
in
spite
of
her
forty
years
'
service
;
but
any
resentment
on
this
ground
would
have
been
an
entertained
reproach
against
her
mistress
,
inconsistent
with
Denner
's
creed
and
character
.
She
inclined
to
the
belief
that
Esther
was
the
immediate
cause
of
the
new
discontent
.
"
If
there
's
anything
worse
coming
to
you
,
I
should
like
to
know
what
it
is
,
madam
,
"
she
said
,
after
a
moment
's
silence
,
speaking
always
in
the
same
low
quick
way
,
and
keeping
up
her
quiet
labours
.
"
When
I
awake
at
cock-crow
,
I
'd
sooner
have
one
real
grief
on
my
mind
than
twenty
false
.
It
's
better
to
know
one
's
robbed
than
to
think
one
's
going
to
be
murdered
.
"
"
I
believe
you
are
the
creature
in
the
world
that
loves
me
best
,
Denner
;
yet
you
will
never
understand
what
I
suffer
.
It
's
of
no
use
telling
you
.
There
's
no
folly
in
you
,
and
no
heartache
.
You
are
made
of
iron
.
You
have
never
had
any
trouble
.
"
"
I
've
had
some
of
your
trouble
,
madam
.
"
"
Yes
,
you
good
thing
.
But
as
a
sick-nurse
,
that
never
caught
the
fever
.
You
never
even
had
a
child
.
"
"
I
can
feel
for
things
I
never
went
through
.
I
used
to
be
sorry
for
the
poor
French
Queen
when
I
was
young
:
I
'd
have
lain
cold
for
her
to
lie
warm
.
I
know
people
have
feelings
according
to
their
birth
and
station
.
And
you
always
took
things
to
heart
,
madam
,
beyond
anybody
else
.
But
I
hope
there
's
nothing
new
,
to
make
you
talk
of
the
worst
.
"
"
Yes
,
Denner
,
there
is
—
there
is
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
speaking
in
a
low
tone
of
misery
,
while
she
bent
for
her
head-dress
to
be
pinned
on
.
"
Is
it
this
young
lady
?
"
"
Why
,
what
do
you
think
about
her
,
Denner
?
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
in
a
tone
of
more
spirit
,
rather
curious
to
hear
what
the
old
woman
would
say
.
"
I
do
n't
deny
she
's
graceful
,
and
she
has
a
pretty
smile
and
very
good
manners
:
it
's
quite
unaccountable
by
what
Banks
says
about
her
father
.
I
know
nothing
of
those
Treby
townsfolk
myself
,
but
for
my
part
I
'm
puzzled
.
I
'm
fond
of
Mr
Harold
.
I
always
shall
be
,
madam
.
I
was
at
his
bringing
into
the
world
,
and
nothing
but
his
doing
wrong
by
you
would
turn
me
against
him
.
But
the
servants
all
say
he
's
in
love
with
Miss
Lyon
.
"
"
I
wish
it
were
true
,
Denner
,
"
said
Mrs
Transome
,
energetically
.
"
I
wish
he
were
in
love
with
her
,
so
that
she
could
master
him
,
and
make
him
do
what
she
pleased
.
"
"
Then
it
is
not
true
—
what
they
say
?
"
"
Not
true
that
she
will
ever
master
him
.
No
woman
ever
will
.
He
will
make
her
fond
of
him
,
and
afraid
of
him
.
That
's
one
of
the
things
you
have
never
gone
through
,
Denner
.
A
woman
's
love
is
always
freezing
into
fear
.
She
wants
everything
,
she
is
secure
of
nothing
.
This
girl
has
a
fine
spirit
—
plenty
of
fire
and
pride
and
wit
.
Men
like
such
captives
,
as
they
like
horses
that
champ
the
bit
and
paw
the
ground
:
they
feel
more
triumph
in
their
mastery
.
What
is
the
use
of
a
woman
's
will
?
—
if
she
tries
,
she
does
n't
get
it
,
and
she
ceases
to
be
loved
.
God
was
cruel
when
he
made
women
.
"
Denner
was
used
to
such
outbursts
as
this
.
Her
mistress
's
rhetoric
and
temper
belonged
to
her
superior
rank
,
her
grand
person
,
and
her
piercing
black
eyes
.
Mrs
Transome
had
a
sense
of
impiety
in
her
words
which
made
them
all
the
more
tempting
to
her
impotent
anger
.
The
waiting-woman
had
none
of
that
awe
which
could
be
turned
into
defiance
:
the
Sacred
Grove
was
a
common
thicket
to
her
.
"
It
may
n't
be
good-luck
to
be
a
woman
,
"
she
said
.
"
But
one
begins
with
it
from
a
baby
:
one
gets
used
to
it
.
And
I
should
n't
like
to
be
a
man
—
to
cough
so
loud
,
and
stand
straddling
about
on
a
wet
day
,
and
be
so
wasteful
with
meat
and
drink
.
They
're
a
coarse
lot
,
I
think
.
Then
I
need
n't
make
a
trouble
of
this
young
lady
,
madam
,
"
she
added
,
after
a
moment
's
pause
.
"
No
,
Denner
.
I
like
her
.
If
that
were
all
—
I
should
like
Harold
to
marry
her
.
It
would
be
the
best
thing
.
If
the
truth
were
known
—
and
it
will
be
known
soon
—
the
estate
is
hers
by
law
—
such
law
as
it
is
.
It
's
a
strange
story
:
she
's
a
Bycliffe
really
.
"
Denner
did
not
look
amazed
,
but
went
on
fastening
her
mistress
's
dress
,
as
she
said
,
"
Well
,
madam
,
I
was
sure
there
was
something
wonderful
at
the
bottom
of
it
.
And
turning
the
old
lawsuits
and
everything
else
over
in
my
mind
,
I
thought
the
law
might
have
something
to
do
with
it
.
Then
she
is
a
born
lady
?
"
"
Yes
;
she
has
good
blood
in
her
veins
.
"
"
We
talked
that
over
in
the
housekeeper
's
room
—
what
a
hand
and
an
instep
she
has
,
and
how
her
head
is
set
on
her
shoulders
—
almost
like
your
own
,
madam
.
But
her
lightish
complexion
spoils
her
,
to
my
thinking
.
And
Dominic
said
Mr
Harold
never
admired
that
sort
of
woman
before
.
There
's
nothing
that
smooth
fellow
could
n't
tell
you
if
he
would
:
he
knows
the
answers
to
riddles
before
they
're
made
.
However
,
he
knows
how
to
hold
his
tongue
;
I
'll
say
that
for
him
.
And
so
do
I
,
madam
.
"
"
Yes
,
yes
;
you
will
not
talk
of
it
till
other
people
are
talking
of
it
.
"
"
And
so
,
if
Mr
Harold
married
her
,
it
would
save
all
fuss
and
mischief
?
"
"
Yes
—
about
the
estate
.
"
"
And
he
seems
inclined
;
and
she
'll
not
refuse
him
,
I
'll
answer
for
it
.
And
you
like
her
,
madam
.
There
's
everything
to
set
your
mind
at
rest
.
"
Denner
was
putting
the
finishing-touch
to
Mrs
Transome
's
dress
by
throwing
an
Indian
scarf
over
her
shoulders
,
and
so
completing
the
contrast
between
the
majestic
lady
in
costume
and
the
dishevelled
Hecuba-like
woman
whom
she
had
found
half
an
hour
before
.
"
I
am
not
at
rest
!
"
Mrs
Transome
said
,
with
slow
distinctness
,
moving
from
the
mirror
to
the
window
,
where
the
blind
was
not
drawn
down
,
and
she
could
see
the
chill
white
landscape
and
the
far-off
unheeding
stars
.
Denner
,
more
distressed
by
her
mistress
's
suffering
than
she
could
have
been
by
anything
else
,
took
up
with
the
instinct
of
affection
a
gold
vinaigrette
which
Mrs
Transome
often
liked
to
carry
with
her
,
and
going
up
to
her
put
it
into
her
hand
gently
.
Mrs
Transome
grasped
the
little
woman
's
hand
hard
,
and
held
it
so
.
"
Denner
,
"
she
said
,
in
a
low
tone
,
"
if
I
could
choose
at
this
moment
,
I
would
choose
that
Harold
should
never
have
been
born
.
"
"
Nay
,
my
dear
"
(
Denner
had
only
once
before
in
her
life
said
"
my
dear
"
to
her
mistress
)
,
"
it
was
a
happiness
to
you
then
.
"
"
I
do
n't
believe
I
felt
the
happiness
then
as
I
feel
the
misery
now
.
It
is
foolish
to
say
people
ca
n't
feel
much
when
they
are
getting
old
.
Not
pleasure
,
perhaps
—
little
comes
.
But
they
can
feel
they
are
forsaken
—
why
,
every
fibre
in
me
seems
to
be
a
memory
that
makes
a
pang
.
They
can
feel
that
all
the
love
in
their
lives
is
turned
to
hatred
or
contempt
.
"
"
Not
mine
,
madam
,
not
mine
.
Let
what
would
be
,
I
should
want
to
live
for
your
sake
,
for
fear
you
should
have
nobody
to
do
for
you
as
I
would
.
"
"
Ah
,
then
,
you
are
a
happy
woman
,
Denner
;
you
have
loved
somebody
for
forty
years
who
is
old
and
weak
now
,
and
ca
n't
do
without
you
.
"
The
sound
of
the
dinner-gong
resounded
below
,
and
Mrs
Transome
let
the
faithful
hand
fall
again
.
CHAPTER
XL
.
"
She
's
beautiful
;
and
therefore
to
be
wooed
:
She
is
a
woman
;
therefore
to
be
won
.
"
—
Henry
VI
.
If
Denner
had
had
a
suspicion
that
Esther
's
presence
at
Transome
Court
was
not
agreeable
to
her
mistress
,
it
was
impossible
to
entertain
such
a
suspicion
with
regard
to
the
other
members
of
the
family
.
Between
her
and
little
Harry
there
was
an
extraordinary
fascination
.
This
creature
,
with
the
soft
broad
brown
cheeks
,
low
forehead
,
great
black
eyes
,
tiny
well-defined
nose
,
fierce
biting
tricks
towards
every
person
and
thing
he
disliked
,
and
insistance
on
entirely
occupying
those
he
liked
,
was
a
human-specimen
such
as
Esther
had
never
seen
before
,
and
she
seemed
to
be
equally
original
in
Harry
's
experience
.
At
first
sight
her
light
complexion
and
her
blue
gown
,
probably
also
her
sunny
smile
and
her
hands
stretched
out
towards
him
,
seemed
to
make
a
show
for
him
as
of
a
new
sort
of
bird
:
he
threw
himself
backward
against
his
"
Gappa
,
"
as
he
called
old
Mr
Transome
,
and
stared
at
this
new-comer
with
the
gravity
of
a
wild
animal
.
But
she
had
no
sooner
sat
down
on
the
sofa
in
the
library
than
he
climbed
up
to
her
,
and
began
to
treat
her
as
an
attractive
object
in
natural
history
,
snatched
up
her
curls
with
his
brown
fist
,
and
,
discovering
that
there
was
a
little
ear
under
them
,
pinched
it
and
blew
into
it
,
pulled
at
her
coronet
of
plaits
,
and
seemed
to
discover
with
satisfaction
that
it
did
not
grow
at
the
summit
of
her
head
,
but
could
be
dragged
down
and
altogether
undone
.
Then
finding
that
she
laughed
,
tossed
him
back
,
kissed
,
and
pretended
to
bite
him
—
in
fact
,
was
an
animal
that
understood
fun
—
he
rushed
off
and
made
Dominic
bring
a
small
menagerie
of
white-mice
,
squirrels
,
and
birds
,
with
Moro
,
the
black
spaniel
,
to
make
her
acquaintance
.
Whomsoever
Harry
liked
,
it
followed
that
Mr
Transome
must
like
:
"
Gappa
,
"
along
with
Nimrod
the
retriever
,
was
part
of
the
menagerie
,
and
perhaps
endured
more
than
all
the
other
live
creatures
in
the
way
of
being
tumbled
about
.
Seeing
that
Esther
bore
having
her
hair
pulled
down
quite
merrily
,
and
that
she
was
willing
to
be
harnessed
and
beaten
,
the
old
man
began
to
confide
to
her
,
in
his
feeble
,
smiling
,
and
rather
jerking
fashion
,
Harry
's
remarkable
feats
:
how
he
had
one
day
,
when
Gappa
was
asleep
,
unpinned
a
whole
drawerful
of
beetles
,
to
see
if
they
would
fly
away
;
then
disgusted
with
their
stupidity
,
was
about
to
throw
them
all
on
the
ground
and
stamp
on
them
,
when
Dominic
came
in
and
rescued
these
valuable
specimens
;
also
,
how
he
had
subtly
watched
Mrs
Transome
at
the
cabinet
where
she
kept
her
medicines
,
and
,
when
she
had
left
it
for
a
little
while
without
locking
it
,
had
gone
to
the
drawers
and
scattered
half
the
contents
on
the
floor
.
But
what
old
Mr
Transome
thought
the
most
wonderful
proof
of
an
almost
preternatural
cleverness
was
,
that
Harry
would
hardly
ever
talk
,
but
preferred
making
inarticulate
noises
,
or
combining
syllables
after
a
method
of
his
own
.
"
He
can
talk
well
enough
if
he
likes
,
"
said
Gappa
,
evidently
thinking
that
Harry
,
like
the
monkeys
,
had
deep
reasons
for
his
reticence
.
"
You
mind
him
,
"
he
added
,
nodding
at
Esther
,
and
shaking
with
low-toned
laughter
.
"
You
'll
hear
:
he
knows
the
right
names
of
things
well
enough
,
but
he
likes
to
make
his
own
.
He
'll
give
you
one
all
to
yourself
before
long
.
"
And
when
Harry
seemed
to
have
made
up
his
mind
distinctly
that
Esther
's
name
was
"
Boo
,
"
Mr
Transome
nodded
at
her
with
triumphant
satisfaction
,
and
then
told
her
in
a
low
whisper
,
looking
round
cautiously
beforehand
,
that
Harry
would
never
call
Mrs
Transome
"
Gamma
,
"
but
always
"
Bite
.
"
"
It
's
wonderful
!
"
said
he
,
laughing
slyly
.
The
old
man
seemed
so
happy
now
in
the
new
world
created
for
him
by
Dominic
and
Harry
,
that
he
would
perhaps
have
made
a
holocaust
of
his
flies
and
beetles
if
it
had
been
necessary
in
order
to
keep
this
living
,
lively
kindness
about
him
.
He
no
longer
confined
himself
to
the
library
,
but
shuffled
along
from
room
to
room
,
staying
and
looking
on
at
what
was
going
forward
wherever
he
did
not
find
Mrs
Transome
alone
.
To
Esther
the
sight
of
this
feeble-minded
,
timid
,
paralytic
man
,
who
had
long
abdicated
all
mastery
over
the
things
that
were
his
,
was
something
piteous
.
Certainly
this
had
never
been
part
of
the
furniture
she
had
imagined
for
the
delightful
aristocratic
dwelling
in
her
Utopia
;
and
the
sad
irony
of
such
a
lot
impressed
her
the
more
because
in
her
father
she
was
accustomed
to
age
accompanied
with
mental
acumen
and
activity
.
Her
thoughts
went
back
in
conjecture
over
the
past
life
of
Mr
and
Mrs
Transome
,
a
couple
so
strangely
different
from
each
other
.
She
found
it
impossible
to
arrange
their
existence
in
the
seclusion
of
this
fine
park
and
in
this
lofty
large-roomed
house
,
where
it
seemed
quite
ridiculous
to
be
anything
so
small
as
a
human
being
,
without
finding
it
rather
dull
.
Mr
Transome
had
always
had
his
beetles
,
but
Mrs
Transome
—
?
It
was
not
easy
to
conceive
that
the
husband
and
wife
had
ever
been
very
fond
of
each
other
.
Esther
felt
at
her
ease
with
Mrs
Transome
:
she
was
gratified
by
the
consciousness
—
for
on
this
point
Esther
was
very
quick
—
that
Mrs
Transome
admired
her
,
and
looked
at
her
with
satisfied
eyes
.
But
when
they
were
together
in
the
early
days
of
her
stay
,
the
conversation
turned
chiefly
on
what
happened
in
Mrs
Transome
's
youth
—
what
she
