takelife
in
different
ways
.
Do
n't
be
so
sure
yours
is
the
only
right
one
.
'
He
spoke
with
a
moved
gentleness
,
taking
her
hand
the
while
.
'
"
This
is
the
way
,
walk
ye
in
it
!
"
'
she
said
presently
,
with
strong
,
almost
stern
emphasis
.
'
Oh
,
those
women
,
and
that
talk
!
Hateful
!
'
He
rose
and
looked
down
on
her
from
the
mantelpiece
.
Within
him
was
a
movement
of
impatience
,
repressed
almost
at
once
by
the
thought
of
that
long
night
at
Murewell
,
when
he
had
vowed
to
himself
to
'
make
amends
'
!
And
if
that
memory
had
not
intervened
she
would
still
have
disarmed
him
wholly
.
'
Listen
!
'
she
said
to
him
suddenly
,
her
eyes
kindling
with
a
strange
childish
pleasure
.
'
Do
you
hear
the
wind
,
the
west
wind
?
Do
you
remember
how
it
used
to
shake
the
house
,
how
it
used
to
come
sweeping
through
the
trees
in
the
wood-path
?
It
must
be
trying
the
study
window
now
,
blowing
the
vine
against
it
.
'
A
yearning
passion
breathed
through
every
feature
.
It
seemed
to
him
she
saw
nothing
before
her
.
Her
longing
soul
was
back
in
the
old
haunts
,
surrounded
by
the
old
loved
forms
and
sounds
.
It
went
to
his
heart
.
He
tried
to
soothe
her
with
the
tenderest
words
remorseful
love
could
find
.
But
the
conflict
of
feeling
—
grief
,
rebellion
,
doubt
,
self-judgment
—
would
not
be
soothed
,
and
long
after
she
had
made
him
leave
her
and
he
had
fallen
asleep
,
she
knelt
on
,
a
white
and
rigid
figure
in
the
dying
firelight
,
the
wind
shaking
the
old
house
,
the
eternal
murmur
of
London
booming
outside
.
CHAPTER
XXXIV
Meanwhile
,
as
if
to
complete
the
circle
of
pain
with
which
poor
Catherine
's
life
was
compassed
,
it
began
to
be
plain
to
her
that
,
in
spite
of
the
hard
and
mocking
tone
Rose
generally
adopted
with
regard
to
him
,
Edward
Langham
was
constantly
at
the
house
in
Lerwick
Gardens
,
and
that
it
was
impossible
he
should
be
there
so
much
unless
in
some
way
or
other
Rose
encouraged
it
.
The
idea
of
such
a
marriage
—
nay
,
of
such
a
friendship
—
was
naturally
as
repugnant
as
ever
to
her
.
It
had
been
one
of
the
bitterest
moments
of
a
bitter
time
when
,
at
their
first
meeting
after
the
crisis
in
her
life
,
Langham
,
conscious
of
a
sudden
movement
of
pity
for
a
woman
he
disliked
,
had
pressed
the
hand
she
held
out
to
him
in
a
way
which
clearly
showed
her
what
was
in
his
mind
,
and
had
then
passed
on
to
chat
and
smoke
with
Robert
in
the
study
,
leaving
her
behind
to
realise
the
gulf
that
lay
between
the
present
and
that
visit
of
his
to
Murewell
,
when
Robert
and
she
had
felt
in
unison
towards
him
,
his
opinions
,
and
his
conduct
to
Rose
,
as
towards
everything
else
of
importance
in
their
life
.
Now
it
seemed
to
her
Robert
must
necessarily
look
at
the
matter
differently
,
and
she
could
not
make
up
her
mind
to
talk
to
him
about
it
.
In
reality
,
his
objections
had
never
had
the
same
basis
as
hers
,
and
he
would
have
given
her
as
strong
a
support
as
ever
,
if
she
had
asked
for
it
.
But
she
held
her
peace
,
and
he
,
absorbed
in
other
things
,
took
no
notice
.
Besides
,
he
knew
Langham
too
well
.
He
had
never
been
able
to
take
Catherine
's
alarms
seriously
.
An
attentive
onlooker
,
however
,
would
have
admitted
that
this
time
,
at
any
rate
,
they
had
their
justification
.
Why
Langham
was
so
much
in
the
Leyburns
'
drawing-room
during
these
winter
months
was
a
question
that
several
people
asked
—
himself
not
least
.
He
had
not
only
pretended
to
forget
Rose
Leyburn
during
the
eighteen
months
which
had
passed
since
their
first
acquaintance
at
Murewell
—
he
had
for
all
practical
purposes
forgotten
her
.
It
is
only
a
small
proportion
of
men
and
women
who
are
capable
of
passion
on
the
great
scale
at
all
;
and
certainly
,
as
we
have
tried
to
show
,
Langham
was
not
among
them
.
He
had
had
a
passing
moment
of
excitement
at
Murewell
,
soon
put
down
,
and
followed
by
a
week
of
extremely
pleasant
sensations
,
which
,
like
most
of
his
pleasures
,
had
ended
in
reaction
and
self-abhorrence
.
He
had
left
Murewell
remorseful
,
melancholy
,
and
ill
at
ease
,
but
conscious
,
certainly
,
of
a
great
relief
that
he
and
Rose
Leyburn
were
not
likely
to
meet
again
for
long
.
Then
his
settlement
in
London
had
absorbed
him
,
as
all
such
matters
absorb
men
who
have
become
the
slaves
of
their
own
solitary
habits
,
and
in
the
joy
of
his
new
freedom
,
and
the
fresh
zest
for
learning
it
had
aroused
in
him
,
the
beautiful
unmanageable
child
who
had
disturbed
his
peace
at
Murewell
was
not
likely
to
be
more
,
but
less
,
remembered
.
When
he
stumbled
across
her
unexpectedly
in
the
National
Gallery
,
his
determining
impulse
had
been
merely
one
of
flight
.
However
,
as
he
had
written
to
Robert
towards
the
beginning
of
his
London
residence
,
there
was
no
doubt
that
his
migration
had
made
him
for
the
time
much
more
human
,
observant
,
and
accessible
.
Oxford
had
become
to
him
an
oppression
and
a
nightmare
,
and
as
soon
as
he
had
turned
his
back
on
it
his
mental
lungs
seemed
once
more
to
fill
with
air
.
He
took
his
modest
part
in
the
life
of
the
capital
;
happy
in
the
obscurity
afforded
him
by
the
crowd
;
rejoicing
in
the
thought
that
his
life
and
his
affairs
were
once
more
his
own
,
and
the
academical
yoke
had
been
slipped
for
ever
.
It
was
in
this
mood
of
greater
cheerfulness
and
energy
that
his
fresh
sight
of
Rose
found
him
.
For
the
moment
,
he
was
perhaps
more
susceptible
than
he
ever
could
have
been
before
to
her
young
perfections
,
her
beauty
,
her
brilliancy
,
her
provoking
stimulating
ways
.
Certainly
,
from
that
first
afternoon
onwards
he
became
more
and
more
restless
to
watch
her
,
to
be
near
her
,
to
see
what
she
made
of
herself
and
her
gifts
.
In
general
,
though
it
was
certainly
owing
to
her
that
he
came
so
much
,
she
took
small
notice
of
him
.
He
regarded
,
or
chose
to
regard
,
himself
as
a
mere
'
item
'
—
something
systematically
overlooked
and
forgotten
in
the
bustle
of
her
days
and
nights
.
He
saw
that
she
thought
badly
of
him
,
that
the
friendship
he
might
have
had
was
now
proudly
refused
him
,
that
their
first
week
together
had
left
a
deep
impression
of
resentment
and
hostility
in
her
mind
.
And
all
the
same
he
came
;
and
she
asked
him
!
And
sometimes
,
after
an
hour
when
she
had
been
more
difficult
or
more
satirical
than
usual
,
ending
notwithstanding
with
a
little
change
of
tone
,
a
careless
'
You
will
find
us
next
Wednesday
as
usual
;
So-and-so
is
coming
to
play
,
'
Langham
would
walk
home
in
a
state
of
feeling
he
did
not
care
to
analyse
,
but
which
certainly
quickened
the
pace
of
life
a
good
deal
.
She
would
not
let
him
try
his
luck
at
friendship
again
,
but
in
the
strangest
slightest
ways
did
she
not
make
him
suspect
every
now
and
then
that
he
was
in
some
sort
important
to
her
,
that
he
sometimes
preoccupied
her
against
her
will
;
that
her
will
,
indeed
,
sometimes
escaped
her
,
and
failed
to
control
her
manner
to
him
?
It
was
not
only
his
relations
to
the
beauty
,
however
,
his
interest
in
her
career
,
or
his
perpetual
consciousness
of
Mrs.
Elsmere
's
cold
dislike
and
disapproval
of
his
presence
in
her
mother
's
drawing-room
,
that
accounted
for
Langham
's
heightened
mental
temperature
this
winter
.
The
existence
and
the
proceedings
of
Mr.
Hugh
Flaxman
had
a
very
considerable
share
in
it
.
'
Tell
me
about
Mr.
Langham
,
'
said
Mr.
Flaxman
once
to
Agnes
Leyburn
,
in
the
early
days
of
his
acquaintance
with
the
family
;
'
is
he
an
old
friend
?
'
'
Of
Robert
's
,
'
replied
Agnes
,
her
cheerful
impenetrable
look
fixed
upon
the
speaker
.
'
My
sister
met
him
once
for
a
week
in
the
country
at
the
Elsmeres
'
.
My
mother
and
I
have
been
only
just
introduced
to
him
.
'
Hugh
Flaxman
pondered
the
information
a
little
.
'
Does
he
strike
you
as
—
well
—
what
shall
we
say
?
—
unusual
?
'
His
smile
struck
one
out
of
her
.
'
Even
Robert
might
admit
that
,
'
she
said
demurely
.
'
Is
Elsmere
so
attached
to
him
?
I
own
I
was
provoked
just
now
by
his
tone
about
Elsmere
.
I
was
remarking
on
the
evident
physical
and
mental
strain
your
brother-in-law
had
gone
through
,
and
he
said
with
a
nonchalance
I
cannot
convey
:
"
Yes
,
it
is
astonishing
Elsmere
should
have
ventured
it
.
I
confess
I
often
wonder
whether
it
was
worth
while
.
"
"
Why
?
"
said
I
,
perhaps
a
little
hotly
.
Well
,
he
did
n't
know
—
would
n't
say
.
But
I
gathered
that
,
according
to
him
,
Elsmere
is
still
swathed
in
such
an
unconscionable
amount
of
religion
that
the
few
rags
and
patches
he
has
got
rid
of
are
hardly
worth
the
discomfort
of
the
change
.
It
seemed
to
me
the
tone
of
the
very
cool
spectator
,
rather
than
the
friend
.
However
—
does
your
sister
like
him
?
'
'
I
do
n't
know
,
'
said
Agnes
,
looking
her
questioner
full
in
the
face
.
Hugh
Flaxman
's
fair
complexion
flushed
a
little
.
He
got
up
to
go
.
He
is
one
of
the
most
extraordinarily
handsome
persons
I
ever
saw
,
'
he
remarked
as
he
buttoned
up
his
coat
.
'
Do
n't
you
think
so
?
'
'
Yes
,
'
said
Agnes
dubiously
,
'
if
he
did
n't
stoop
,
and
if
he
did
n't
in
general
look
half-asleep
.
'
Hugh
Flaxman
departed
more
puzzled
than
ever
as
to
the
reason
for
the
constant
attendance
of
this
uncomfortable
anti-social
person
at
the
Leyburns
'
house
.
Being
himself
a
man
of
very
subtle
and
fastidious
tastes
,
he
could
imagine
that
so
original
a
suitor
,
with
such
eyes
,
such
an
intellectual
reputation
so
well
sustained
by
scantiness
of
speech
and
the
most
picturesque
capacity
for
silence
,
might
have
attractions
for
a
romantic
and
wilful
girl
.
But
where
were
the
signs
of
it
?
Rose
rarely
talked
to
him
,
and
was
always
ready
to
make
him
the
target
of
a
sub-acid
raillery
.
Agnes
was
clearly
indifferent
to
him
,
and
Mrs.
Leyburn
equally
clearly
afraid
of
him
.
Mrs.
Elsmere
,
too
,
seemed
to
dislike
him
,
and
yet
there
he
was
,
week
after
week
.
Flaxman
could
not
make
it
out
.
Then
he
tried
to
explore
the
man
himself
.
He
started
various
topics
with
him
—
University
reform
,
politics
,
music
.
In
vain
.
In
his
most
characteristic
Oxford
days
Langham
had
never
assumed
a
more
wholesale
ignorance
of
all
subjects
in
heaven
and
earth
,
and
never
stuck
more
pertinaciously
to
the
flattest
forms
of
commonplace
.
Flaxman
walked
away
at
last
boiling
over
.
The
man
of
parts
masquerading
as
the
fool
is
perhaps
at
least
as
exasperating
as
the
fool
playing
at
wisdom
.
However
,
he
was
not
the
only
person
irritated
.
After
one
of
these
fragments
of
conversation
Langham
also
walked
rapidly
home
in
a
state
of
most
irrational
petulance
,
his
hands
thrust
with
energy
into
the
pockets
of
his
overcoat
.
'
No
,
my
successful
aristocrat
,
you
shall
not
have
everything
your
own
way
so
easily
with
me
or
with
her
!
You
may
break
me
,
but
you
shall
not
play
upon
me
.
And
as
for
her
,
I
will
see
it
out
—
I
will
see
it
out
!
'
And
he
stiffened
himself
as
he
walked
,
feeling
life
electric
all
about
him
,
and
a
strange
new
force
tingling
in
every
vein
.
Meanwhile
,
however
,
Mr.
Flaxman
was
certainly
having
a
good
deal
of
his
own
way
.
Since
the
moment
when
his
aunt
,
Lady
Charlotte
,
had
introduced
him
to
Miss
Leyburn
—
watching
him
the
while
with
a
half-smile
which
soon
broadened
into
one
of
sly
triumph
—
Hugh
Flaxman
had
persuaded
himself
that
country
houses
are
intolerable
even
in
the
shooting
season
,
and
that
London
is
the
only
place
of
residence
during
the
winter
for
the
man
who
aspires
to
govern
his
life
on
principles
of
reason
.
Through
his
influence
and
that
of
his
aunt
,
Rose
and
Agnes
—
Mrs.
Leyburn
never
went
out
—
were
being
carried
into
all
the
high
life
that
London
can
supply
in
November
and
January
.
Wealthy
,
high-born
,
and
popular
,
he
was
gradually
devoting
his
advantages
in
the
freest
way
to
Rose
's
service
.
He
was
an
excellent
musical
amateur
,
and
he
was
always
proud
to
play
with
her
;
he
had
a
fine
country
house
,
and
the
little
rooms
on
Campden
Hill
were
almost
always
filled
with
flowers
from
his
gardens
;
he
had
a
famous
musical
library
,
and
its
treasures
were
lavished
on
the
girl
violinist
;
he
had
a
singularly
wide
circle
of
friends
,
and
with
his
whimsical
energy
he
was
soon
inclined
to
make
kindness
to
the
two
sisters
the
one
test
of
a
friend
's
goodwill
.
He
was
clearly
touched
by
Rose
;
and
what
was
to
prevent
his
making
an
impression
on
her
?
To
her
sex
he
had
always
been
singularly
attractive
.
Like
his
sister
,
he
had
all
sorts
of
bright
impulses
and
audacities
flashing
and
darting
about
him
.
He
had
a
certain
hauteur
with
men
,
and
could
play
the
aristocrat
when
he
pleased
,
for
all
his
philosophical
radicalism
.
But
with
women
he
was
the
most
delightful
mixture
of
deference
and
high
spirits
.
He
loved
the
grace
of
them
,
the
daintiness
of
their
dress
,
the
softness
of
their
voices
.
He
would
have
done
anything
to
please
them
,
anything
to
save
them
pain
.
At
twenty-five
,
when
he
was
still
'
Citizen
Flaxman
'
to
his
college
friends
,
and
in
the
first
fervours
of
a
poetic
defiance
of
prejudice
and
convention
,
he
had
married
a
gamekeeper
's
pretty
daughter
.
She
had
died
with
her
child
—
died
,
almost
,
poor
thing
!
of
happiness
and
excitement
—
of
the
over-greatness
of
Heaven
's
boon
to
her
.
Flaxman
had
adored
her
,
and
death
had
tenderly
embalmed
a
sentiment
to
which
life
might
possibly
have
been
less
kind
.
Since
then
he
had
lived
in
music
,
letters
,
and
society
,
refusing
out
of
a
certain
fastidiousness
to
enter
politics
,
but
welcomed
and
considered
,
wherever
he
went
,
tall
,
good-looking
,
distinguished
,
one
of
the
most
agreeable
and
courted
of
men
,
and
perhaps
the
richest
parti
in
London
.
Still
,
in
spite
of
it
all
,
Langham
held
his
ground
—
Langham
would
see
it
out
!
And
indeed
Flaxman
's
footing
with
the
beauty
was
by
no
means
clear
—
least
of
all
to
himself
.
She
evidently
liked
him
,
but
she
bantered
him
a
good
deal
;
she
would
not
be
the
least
subdued
or
dazzled
by
his
birth
and
wealth
,
or
by
those
of
his
friends
;
and
if
she
allowed
him
to
provide
her
with
pleasures
,
she
would
hardly
ever
take
his
advice
,
or
knowingly
consult
his
tastes
.
Meanwhile
she
tormented
them
both
a
good
deal
by
the
artistic
acquaintance
she
gathered
about
her
.
Mrs.
Pierson
's
world
,
as
we
have
said
,
contained
a
good
many
dubious
odds
and
ends
,
and
she
had
handed
them
all
over
to
Rose
.
The
Leyburns
'
growing
intimacy
with
Mr.
Flaxman
and
his
circle
,
and
through
them
with
the
finer
types
of
the
artistic
life
,
would
naturally
and
by
degrees
have
carried
them
away
somewhat
from
this
earlier
circle
if
Rose
would
have
allowed
it
.
But
she
clung
persistently
to
its
most
unpromising
specimens
,
partly
out
of
a
natural
generosity
of
feeling
,
but
partly
also
for
the
sake
of
that
opposition
her
soul
loved
,
her
poor
prickly
soul
,
full
under
all
her
gaiety
and
indifference
of
the
most
desperate
doubt
and
soreness
,
—
opposition
to
Catherine
,
opposition
to
Mr.
Flaxman
,
but
,
above
all
,
opposition
to
Langham
.
Flaxman
could
often
avenge
himself
on
her
—
or
rather
on
the
more
obnoxious
members
of
her
following
—
by
dint
of
a
faculty
for
light
and
stinging
repartee
which
would
send
her
,
flushed
and
biting
her
lip
,
to
have
her
laugh
out
in
private
.
But
Langham
for
a
long
time
was
defenceless
.
Many
of
her
friends
in
his
opinion
were
simply
pathological
curiosities
—
their
vanity
was
so
frenzied
,
their
sensibilities
so
morbidly
developed
.
He
felt
a
doctor
's
interest
in
them
coupled
with
more
than
a
doctor
's
scepticism
as
to
all
they
had
to
say
about
themselves
.
But
Rose
would
invite
them
,
would
assume
a
quasi
-intimacy
with
them
;
and
Langham
as
well
as
everybody
else
had
to
put
up
with
it
.
Even
the
trodden
worm
,
however
—
—
And
there
came
a
time
when
the
concentration
of
a
good
many
different
lines
of
feeling
in
Langham
's
mind
betrayed
itself
at
last
in
a
sharp
and
sudden
openness
.
It
began
to
seem
to
him
that
she
was
specially
bent
often
on
tormenting
him
by
these
caprices
of
hers
,
and
he
vowed
to
himself
finally
,
with
an
outburst
of
irritation
due
in
reality
to
a
hundred
causes
,
that
he
would
assert
himself
,
that
he
would
make
an
effort
at
any
rate
to
save
her
from
her
own
follies
.
One
afternoon
,
at
a
crowded
musical
party
,
to
which
he
had
come
much
against
his
will
,
and
only
in
obedience
to
a
compulsion
he
dared
not
analyse
,
she
asked
him
in
passing
if
he
would
kindly
find
Mr.
MacFadden
,
a
bass
singer
,
whose
name
stood
next
on
the
programme
,
and
who
was
not
to
be
seen
in
the
drawing-room
.
Langham
searched
the
dining-room
and
the
hall
,
and
at
last
found
Mr.
MacFadden
—
a
fair
,
flabby
,
unwholesome
youth
—
in
the
little
study
or
cloak-room
,
in
a
state
of
collapse
,
flanked
by
whisky
and
water
,
and
attended
by
two
frightened
maids
,
who
handed
over
their
charge
to
Langham
and
fled
.
Then
it
appeared
that
the
great
man
had
been
offended
by
a
change
in
the
programme
,
which
hurt
his
vanity
,
had
withdrawn
from
the
drawing-room
on
the
brink
of
hysterics
,
had
called
for
spirits
,
which
had
been
provided
for
him
with
great
difficulty
by
Mrs.
Leyburn
's
maids
,
and
was
there
drinking
himself
into
a
state
of
rage
and
rampant
dignity
which
would
soon
have
shown
itself
in
a
melodramatic
return
to
the
drawing-room
,
and
a
public
refusal
to
sing
at
all
in
a
house
where
art
had
been
outraged
in
his
person
.
Some
of
the
old
disciplinary
instincts
of
the
Oxford
tutor
awoke
in
Langham
at
the
sight
of
the
creature
,
and
,
with
a
prompt
sternness
which
amazed
himself
,
and
nearly
set
MacFadden
whimpering
,
he
got
rid
of
the
man
,
shut
the
hall
door
on
him
,
and
went
back
to
the
drawing-room
.
'
Well
?
'
said
Rose
in
anxiety
,
coming
up
to
him
.
'
I
have
sent
him
away
,
'
he
said
briefly
,
an
eye
of
unusual
quickness
and
brightness
looking
down
upon
her
;
'
he
was
in
no
condition
to
sing
.
He
chose
to
be
offended
,
apparently
,
because
he
was
put
out
of
his
turn
,
and
has
been
giving
the
servants
trouble
.
'
Rose
flushed
deeply
,
and
drew
herself
up
with
a
look
half
trouble
,
half
defiance
,
at
Langham
.
'
I
trust
you
will
not
ask
him
again
,
'
he
said
,
with
the
same
decision
.
'
And
if
I
might
say
so
there
are
one
or
two
people
still
here
whom
I
should
like
to
see
you
exclude
at
the
same
time
.
'
They
had
withdrawn
into
the
bow
window
out
of
earshot
of
the
rest
of
the
room
.
Langham
's
look
turned
significantly
towards
a
group
near
the
piano
.
It
contained
one
or
two
men
whom
he
regarded
as
belonging
to
a
low
type
;
men
who
,
if
it
suited
their
purpose
,
would
be
quite
ready
to
tell
or
invent
malicious
stories
of
the
girl
they
were
now
flattering
,
and
whose
standards
and
instincts
represented
a
coarser
world
than
Rose
in
reality
knew
anything
about
.
Her
eyes
followed
his
.
'
I
know
,
'
she
said
petulantly
,
'
that
you
dislike
artists
.
They
are
not
your
world
.
They
are
mine
.
'
'
I
dislike
artists
?
What
nonsense
,
too
!
To
me
personally
these
men
's
ways
do
n't
matter
in
the
least
.
They
go
their
road
and
I
mine
.
But
I
deeply
resent
any
danger
of
discomfort
and
annoyance
to
you
!
'
He
still
stood
frowning
,
a
glow
of
indignant
energy
showing
itself
in
his
attitude
,
his
glance
.
She
could
not
know
that
he
was
at
that
moment
vividly
realising
the
drunken
scene
that
might
have
taken
place
in
her
presence
if
he
had
not
succeeded
in
getting
that
man
safely
out
of
the
house
.
But
she
felt
that
he
was
angry
,
and
mostly
angry
with
her
,
and
there
was
something
so
piquant
and
unexpected
in
his
anger
!
'
I
am
afraid
,
'
she
said
,
with
a
queer
sudden
submissiveness
,
'
you
have
been
going
through
something
very
disagreeable
.
I
am
very
sorry
.
Is
it
my
fault
?
'
she
added
,
with
a
whimsical
flash
of
eye
,
half
fun
,
half
serious
.
He
could
hardly
believe
his
ears
.
'
Yes
,
it
is
your
fault
,
I
think
!
'
he
answered
her
,
amazed
at
his
own
boldness
.
'
Not
that
I
was
annoyed
—
Heavens
!
what
does
that
matter
?
—
but
that
you
and
your
mother
and
sister
were
very
near
an
unpleasant
scene
.
You
will
not
take
advice
,
Miss
Leyburn
,
—
you
will
take
your
own
way
in
spite
of
what
any
one
else
can
say
or
hint
to
you
,
and
some
day
you
will
expose
yourself
to
annoyance
when
there
is
no
one
near
to
protect
you
!
'
'
Well
,
if
so
,
it
wo
n't
be
for
want
of
a
mentor
,
'
she
said
,
dropping
him
a
mock
curtsey
.
But
her
lip
trembled
under
its
smile
,
and
her
tone
had
not
lost
its
gentleness
.
At
this
moment
Mr.
Flaxman
,
who
had
gradually
established
himself
as
the
joint
leader
of
these
musical
afternoons
,
came
forward
to
summon
Rose
to
a
quartette
.
He
looked
from
one
to
the
other
,
a
little
surprise
penetrating
through
his
suavity
of
manner
.
'
Am
I
interrupting
you
?
'
'
Not
at
all
,
'
said
Rose
;
then
,
turning
back
to
Langham
,
she
said
in
a
hurried
whisper
:
'
Do
n't
say
anything
about
the
wretched
man
;
it
would
make
mamma
nervous
.
He
sha
n't
come
here
again
.
'
Mr.
Flaxman
waited
till
the
whisper
was
over
,
and
then
led
her
off
,
with
a
change
of
manner
which
she
immediately
perceived
,
and
which
lasted
for
the
rest
of
the
evening
.
Langham
went
home
,
and
sat
brooding
over
the
fire
.
Her
voice
had
not
been
so
kind
,
her
look
so
womanly
,
for
months
.
Had
she
been
reading
Shirley
,
and
would
she
have
liked
him
to
play
Louis
Moore
?
He
went
into
a
fit
of
silent
convulsive
laughter
as
the
idea
occurred
to
him
.
Some
secret
instinct
made
him
keep
away
from
her
for
a
time
.
At
last
,
one
Friday
afternoon
,
as
he
emerged
from
the
Museum
,
where
he
had
been
collating
the
MSS
.
of
some
obscure
Alexandrian
,
the
old
craving
returned
with
added
strength
,
and
he
turned
involuntarily
westward
.
An
acquaintance
of
his
,
recently
made
in
the
course
of
work
at
the
Museum
,
a
young
Russian
professor
,
ran
after
him
,
and
walked
with
him
.
Presently
they
passed
a
poster
on
the
wall
,
which
contained
in
enormous
letters
the
announcement
of
Madame
Desforêts
's
approaching
visit
to
London
,
a
list
of
plays
,
and
the
dates
of
performances
.
The
young
Russian
suddenly
stopped
and
stood
pointing
at
the
advertisement
,
with
shaking
derisive
finger
,
his
eyes
aflame
,
the
whole
man
quivering
with
what
looked
like
antagonism
and
hate
.
Then
he
broke
into
a
fierce
flood
of
French
.
Langham
listened
till
they
had
passed
Piccadilly
,
passed
the
Park
,
and
till
the
young
savant
turned
southwards
towards
his
Brompton
lodgings
.
Then
Langham
slowly
climbed
Campden
Hill
,
meditating
.
His
thoughts
were
an
odd
mixture
of
the
things
he
had
just
heard
,
and
of
a
scene
at
Murewell
long
ago
when
a
girl
had
denounced
him
for
'
calumny
.
'
At
the
door
of
Lerwick
Gardens
he
was
informed
that
Mrs.
Leyburn
was
upstairs
with
an
attack
of
bronchitis
.
But
the
servant
thought
the
young
ladies
were
at
home
.
Would
he
come
in
?
He
stood
irresolute
a
moment
,
then
went
in
on
a
pretext
of
'
inquiry
.
'
The
maid
threw
open
the
drawing-room
door
,
and
there
was
Rose
sitting
well
into
the
fire
—
for
it
was
a
raw
February
afternoon
—
with
a
book
.
She
received
him
with
all
her
old
hard
brightness
.
He
was
,
indeed
,
instantly
sorry
that
he
had
made
his
way
in
.
Tyrant
!
was
she
displeased
because
he
had
slipped
his
chain
for
rather
longer
than
usual
?
However
,
he
sat
down
,
delivered
his
book
,
and
they
talked
first
about
her
mother
's
illness
.
They
had
been
anxious
,
she
said
,
but
the
doctor
,
who
had
just
taken
his
departure
,
had
now
completely
reassured
them
.
'
Then
you
will
be
able
probably
after
all
to
put
in
an
appearance
at
Lady
Charlotte
's
this
evening
?
'
he
asked
her
.
The
omnivorous
Lady
Charlotte
of
course
had
made
acquaintance
with
him
in
the
Leyburns
'
drawing-room
,
as
she
did
with
everybody
who
crossed
her
path
,
and
three
days
before
he
had
received
a
card
from
her
for
this
evening
.
'
Oh
yes
!
But
I
have
had
to
miss
a
rehearsal
this
afternoon
.
That
concert
at
Searle
House
is
becoming
a
great
nuisance
.
'
'
It
will
be
a
brilliant
affair
,
I
suppose
.
Princes
on
one
side
of
you
—
and
Albani
on
the
other
.
I
see
they
have
given
you
the
most
conspicuous
part
as
violinist
.
'
'
Yes
,
'
she
said
with
a
little
satirical
tightening
of
the
lip
.
'
Yes
—
I
suppose
I
ought
to
be
much
flattered
.
'
'
Of
course
,
'
he
said
,
smiling
,
but
embarrassed
.
'
To
many
people
you
must
be
at
this
moment
one
of
the
most
enviable
persons
in
the
world
.
A
delightful
art
—
and
every
opportunity
to
make
it
tell
!
'
There
was
a
pause
.
She
looked
into
the
fire
.
'
I
do
n't
know
whether
it
is
a
delightful
art
,
'
she
said
presently
,
stifling
a
little
yawn
.
'
I
believe
I
am
getting
very
tired
of
London
.
Sometimes
I
think
I
should
n't
be
very
sorry
to
find
myself
suddenly
spirited
back
to
Burwood
!
'
Langham
gave
vent
to
some
incredulous
interjection
.
He
had
apparently
surprised
her
in
a
fit
of
ennui
which
was
rare
with
her
.
'
Oh
no
,
not
yet
!
'
she
said
suddenly
,
with
a
return
of
animation
.
'
Madame
Desforêts
comes
next
week
,
and
I
am
to
see
her
.
'
She
drew
herself
up
and
turned
a
beaming
face
upon
him
.
Was
there
a
shaft
of
mischief
in
her
eye
?
He
could
not
tell
.
The
firelight
was
perplexing
.
'
You
are
to
see
her
?
'
he
said
slowly
.
'
Is
she
coming
here
?
'
'
I
hope
so
.
Mrs.
Pierson
is
to
bring
her
.
I
want
mamma
to
have
the
amusement
of
seeing
her
.
My
artistic
friends
are
a
kind
of
tonic
to
her
—
they
excite
her
so
much
.
She
regards
them
as
a
sort
of
show
—
much
as
you
do
,
in
fact
,
only
in
a
more
charitable
fashion
.
'
But
he
took
no
notice
of
what
she
was
saying
.
'
Madame
Desforêts
is
coming
here
?
'
he
sharply
repeated
,
bending
forward
,
a
curious
accent
in
his
tone
.
'
Yes
!
'
she
replied
,
with
apparent
surprise
.
Then
with
a
careless
smile
:
'
Oh
,
I
remember
when
we
were
at
Murewell
,
you
were
exercised
that
we
should
know
her
.
Well
,
Mr.
Langham
,
I
told
you
then
that
you
were
only
echoing
unworthy
gossip
.
I
am
in
the
same
mind
still
.
I
have
seen
her
,
and
you
have
n't
.
To
me
she
is
the
greatest
actress
in
the
world
,
and
an
ill-used
woman
to
boot
!
'
Her
tone
had
warmed
with
every
sentence
.
It
struck
him
that
she
had
wilfully
brought
up
the
topic
—
that
it
gave
her
pleasure
to
quarrel
with
him
.
He
put
down
his
hat
deliberately
,
got
up
,
and
stood
with
his
back
to
the
fire
.
She
looked
up
at
him
curiously
.
But
the
dark
regular
face
was
almost
hidden
from
her
.
'
It
is
strange
,
'
he
said
slowly
,
'
very
strange
—
that
you
should
have
told
me
this
at
this
moment
!
Miss
Leyburn
,
a
great
deal
of
the
truth
about
Madame
Desforêts
I
could
neither
tell
,
nor
could
you
hear
.
There
are
charges
against
her
proved
in
open
court
,
again
and
again
,
which
I
could
not
even
mention
in
your
presence
.
But
one
thing
I
can
speak
of
.
Do
you
know
the
story
of
the
sister
at
St.
Petersburg
?
'
'
I
know
no
stories
against
Madame
Desforêts
,
'
said
Rose
loftily
,
her
quickened
breath
responding
to
the
energy
of
his
tone
.
'
I
have
always
chosen
not
to
know
them
.
'
'
The
newspapers
were
full
of
this
particular
story
just
before
Christmas
.
I
should
have
thought
it
must
have
reached
you
.
'
'
I
did
not
see
it
,
'
she
replied
stiffly
;
'
and
I
cannot
see
what
good
purpose
is
to
be
served
by
your
repeating
it
to
me
,
Mr.
Langham
.
'
Langham
could
have
smiled
at
her
petulance
,
if
he
had
not
for
once
been
determined
and
in
earnest
.
'
You
will
let
me
tell
it
,
I
hope
?
'
he
said
quietly
.
'
I
will
tell
it
so
that
it
shall
not
offend
your
ears
.
As
it
happens
,
I
myself
thought
it
incredible
at
the
time
.
But
,
by
an
odd
coincidence
,
it
has
just
this
afternoon
been
repeated
to
me
by
a
man
who
was
an
eyewitness
of
part
of
it
.
'
Rose
was
silent
.
Her
attitude
was
hauteur
itself
,
but
she
made
no
further
active
opposition
.
'
Three
months
ago
,
'
he
began
,
speaking
with
some
difficulty
,
but
still
with
a
suppressed
force
of
feeling
which
amazed
his
hearer
,
'
Madame
Desforêts
was
acting
in
St.
Petersburg
.
She
had
with
her
a
large
company
,
and
amongst
them
her
own
young
sister
,
Elise
Romey
,
a
girl
of
eighteen
.
This
girl
had
been
always
kept
away
from
Madame
Desforêts
by
her
parents
,
who
had
never
been
sufficiently
consoled
by
their
eldest
daughter
's
artistic
success
for
the
infamy
of
her
life
.
'
Rose
started
indignantly
.
Langham
gave
her
no
time
to
speak
.
'
Elise
Romey
,
however
,
had
developed
a
passion
for
the
stage
.
Her
parents
were
respectable
—
and
you
know
young
girls
in
France
are
brought
up
strictly
.
She
knew
next
to
nothing
of
her
sister
's
escapades
.
But
she
knew
that
she
was
held
to
be
the
greatest
actress
in
Europe
—
the
photographs
in
the
shops
told
her
that
she
was
beautiful
.
She
conceived
a
romantic
passion
for
the
woman
whom
she
had
last
seen
when
she
was
a
child
of
five
,
and
actuated
partly
by
this
hungry
affection
,
partly
by
her
own
longing
wish
to
become
an
actress
,
she
escaped
from
home
and
joined
Madame
Desforêts
in
the
South
of
France
.
Madame
Desforêts
seems
at
first
to
have
been
pleased
to
have
her
.
The
girl
's
adoration
pleased
her
vanity
.
Her
presence
with
her
gave
her
new
opportunities
of
posing
.
I
believe
,
'
and
Langham
gave
a
little
dry
laugh
,
'
they
were
photographed
together
at
Marseilles
with
their
arms
round
each
other
's
necks
,
and
the
photograph
had
an
immense
success
.
However
,
on
the
way
to
St.
Petersburg
,
difficulties
arose
.
Elise
was
pretty
,
in
a
blonde
childish
way
,
and
she
caught
the
attention
of
the
jeune
premier
of
the
company
,
a
man
'
—
the
speaker
became
somewhat
embarrassed
—
'
whom
Madame
Desforêts
seems
to
have
regarded
as
her
particular
property
.
There
were
scenes
at
different
towns
on
the
journey
.
Elise
became
frightened
—
wanted
to
go
home
.
But
the
elder
sister
,
having
begun
tormenting
her
,
seems
to
have
determined
to
keep
her
hold
on
her
,
as
a
cat
keeps
and
tortures
a
mouse
—
mainly
for
the
sake
of
annoying
the
man
of
whom
she
was
jealous
.
They
arrived
at
St.
Petersburg
in
the
depth
of
winter
.
The
girl
was
worn
out
with
travelling
,
unhappy
,
and
ill.
One
night
in
Madame
Desforêts
's
apartment
there
was
a
supper
party
,
and
after
it
a
horrible
quarrel
.
No
one
exactly
knows
what
happened
.
But
towards
twelve
o'clock
that
night
Madame
Desforêts
turned
her
young
sister
in
evening
dress
,
a
light
shawl
round
her
,
out
into
the
snowy
streets
of
St.
Petersburg
,
barred
the
door
behind
her
,
and
revolver
in
hand
dared
the
wretched
man
who
had
caused
the
fracas
to
follow
her
.
'
Rose
sat
immovable
.
She
had
grown
pale
,
but
the
firelight
was
not
revealing
.
Langham
turned
away
from
her
towards
the
blaze
,
holding
out
his
hands
to
it
mechanically
.
'
The
poor
child
,
'
he
said
,
after
a
pause
,
in
a
lower
voice
,
'
wandered
about
for
some
hours
.
It
was
a
frightful
night
—
the
great
capital
was
quite
strange
to
her
.
She
was
insulted
—
fled
this
way
and
that
—
grew
benumbed
with
cold
and
terror
,
and
was
found
unconscious
in
the
early
morning
under
the
archway
of
a
house
some
two
miles
from
her
sister
's
lodgings
.
'
There
was
a
dead
silence
.
Then
Rose
drew
a
long
quivering
breath
.
'
I
do
not
believe
it
!
'
she
said
passionately
.
'
I
cannot
believe
it
!
'
'
It
was
amply
proved
at
the
time
,
'
said
Langham
drily
,
'
though
of
course
Madame
Desforêts
tried
to
put
her
own
colour
on
it
.
But
I
told
you
I
had
private
information
.
On
one
of
the
floors
of
the
house
where
Elise
Romey
was
picked
up
,
lived
a
young
university
professor
.
He
is
editing
an
important
Greek
text
,
and
has
lately
had
business
at
the
Museum
.
I
made
friends
with
him
there
.
He
walked
home
with
me
this
afternoon
,
saw
the
announcement
of
Madame
Desforêts
's
coming
,
and
poured
out
the
story
.
He
and
his
wife
nursed
the
unfortunate
girl
with
devotion
.
She
lived
just
a
week
,
and
died
of
inflammation
of
the
lungs
.
I
never
in
my
life
heard
anything
so
pitiful
as
his
description
of
her
delirium
,
her
terror
,
her
appeals
,
her
shivering
misery
of
cold
.
'
There
was
a
pause
.
'
She
is
not
a
woman
,
'
he
said
presently
,
between
his
teeth
.
'
She
is
a
wild
beast
.
'
Still
there
was
silence
,
and
still
he
held
out
his
hand
to
the
flame
which
Rose
too
was
staring
at
.
At
last
he
turned
round
.
'
I
have
told
you
a
shocking
story
,
'
he
said
hurriedly
.
'
Perhaps
I
ought
not
to
have
done
it
.
But
,
as
you
sat
there
talking
so
lightly
,
so
gaily
,
it
suddenly
became
to
me
utterly
intolerable
that
that
woman
should
ever
sit
here
in
this
room
—
talk
to
you
—
call
you
by
your
name
—
laugh
with
you
—
touch
your
hand
!
Not
even
your
wilfulness
shall
carry
you
so
far
—
you
shall
not
do
it
!
'
He
hardly
knew
what
he
said
.
He
was
driven
on
by
a
passionate
sense
of
physical
repulsion
to
the
notion
of
any
contact
between
her
pure
fair
youth
and
something
malodorous
and
corrupt
.
And
there
was
besides
a
wild
unique
excitement
in
claiming
for
once
to
stay
—
to
control
her
.
Rose
lifted
her
head
slowly
.
The
fire
was
bright
.
He
saw
the
tears
in
her
eyes
,
tears
of
intolerable
pity
for
another
girl
's
awful
story
.
But
through
the
tears
something
gleamed
—
a
kind
of
exultation
—
the
exultation
which
the
magician
feels
when
he
has
called
spirits
from
the
vasty
deep
,
and
after
long
doubt
and
difficult
invocation
they
rise
at
last
before
his
eyes
.
'
I
will
never
see
her
again
,
'
she
said
in
a
low
wavering
voice
,
but
she
too
was
hardly
conscious
of
her
own
words
.
Their
looks
were
on
each
other
;
the
ruddy
capricious
light
touched
her
glowing
cheeks
,
her
straight-lined
grace
,
her
white
hand
.
Suddenly
from
the
gulf
of
another
's
misery
into
which
they
had
both
been
looking
there
had
sprung
up
,
by
the
strange
contrariety
of
human
things
,
a
heat
and
intoxication
of
feeling
,
wrapping
them
round
,
blotting
out
the
rest
of
the
world
from
them
like
a
golden
mist
.
'
Be
always
thus
!
'
her
parted
lips
,
her
liquid
eyes
were
saying
to
him
.
His
breath
seemed
to
fail
him
;
he
was
lost
in
bewilderment
.
There
were
sounds
outside
—
Catherine
's
voice
.
He
roused
himself
with
a
supreme
effort
.
'
To-night
—
at
Lady
Charlotte
's
?
'
'
To-night
,
'
she
said
,
and
held
out
her
hand
.
A
sudden
madness
seized
him
—
he
stooped
—
his
lips
touched
it
—
it
was
hastily
drawn
away
,
and
the
door
opened
.
CHAPTER
XXXV
'
In
the
first
place
,
my
dear
aunt
,
'
said
Mr.
Flaxman
,
throwing
himself
back
in
his
chair
in
front
of
Lady
Charlotte
's
drawing-room
fire
,
'
you
may
spare
your
admonitions
,
because
it
is
becoming
more
and
more
clear
to
me
that
,
whatever
my
sentiments
may
be
,
Miss
Leyburn
never
gives
a
serious
thought
to
me
.
'
He
turned
to
look
at
his
companion
over
his
shoulder
.
His
tone
and
manner
were
perfectly
gay
,
and
Lady
Charlotte
was
puzzled
by
him
.
'
Stuff
and
nonsense
!
'
replied
the
lady
with
her
usual
emphasis
;
'
I
never
flatter
you
,
Hugh
,
and
I
do
n't
mean
to
begin
now
,
but
it
would
be
mere
folly
not
to
recognise
that
you
have
advantages
which
must
tell
on
the
mind
of
any
girl
in
Miss
Leyburns
position
.
'
Hugh
Flaxman
rose
,
and
,
standing
before
the
fire
with
his
hands
in
his
pockets
,
made
what
seemed
to
be
a
close
inspection
of
his
irreproachable
trouser-knees
.
'
I
am
sorry
for
your
theory
,
Aunt
Charlotte
,
'
he
said
,
still
stooping
,
'
but
Miss
Leyburn
does
n't
care
twopence
about
my
advantages
.
'
'
Very
proper
of
you
to
say
so
,
'
returned
Lady
Charlotte
sharply
;
'
the
remark
,
however
,
my
good
sir
,
does
more
credit
to
your
heart
than
your
head
.
'
'
In
the
next
place
,
'
he
went
on
undisturbed
,
'
why
you
should
have
done
your
best
this
whole
winter
to
throw
Miss
Leyburn
and
me
together
,
if
you
meant
in
the
end
to
oppose
my
marrying
her
,
I
do
n't
quite
see
.
'
He
looked
up
smiling
.
Lady
Charlotte
reddened
ever
so
slightly
.
'
You
know
my
weaknesses
,
'
she
said
presently
,
with
an
effrontery
which
delighted
her
nephew
.
'
She
is
my
latest
novelty
,
she
excites
me
,
I
ca
n't
do
without
her
.
As
to
you
,
I
ca
n't
remember
that
you
wanted
much
encouragement
,
but
,
I
acknowledge
,
after
all
these
years
of
resistance
—
resistance
to
my
most
legitimate
efforts
to
dispose
of
you
—
there
was
a
certain
piquancy
in
seeing
you
caught
at
last
!
'
'
Upon
my
word
!
'
he
said
,
throwing
back
his
head
with
a
not
very
cordial
laugh
,
in
which
,
however
,
his
aunt
joined
.
She
was
sitting
opposite
to
him
,
her
powerful
loosely-gloved
hands
crossed
over
the
rich
velvet
of
her
dress
,
her
fair
large
face
and
grayish
hair
surmounted
by
a
mighty
cap
,
as
vigorous
,
shrewd
,
and
individual
a
type
of
English
middle
age
as
could
be
found
.
The
room
behind
her
and
the
second
and
third
drawing-rooms
were
brilliantly
lighted
.
Mr.
Wynnstay
was
enjoying
a
cigar
in
peace
in
the
smoking-room
,
while
his
wife
and
nephew
were
awaiting
the
arrival
of
the
evening
's
guests
upstairs
.
Lady
Charlotte
's
mind
had
been
evidently
much
perturbed
by
the
conversation
with
her
nephew
of
which
we
are
merely
describing
the
latter
half
.
She
was
labouring
under
an
uncomfortable
sense
of
being
hoist
with
her
own
petard
—
an
uncomfortable
memory
of
a
certain
warning
of
her
husband
's
,
delivered
at
Murewell
.
'
And
now
,
'
said
Mr.
Flaxman
,
'
having
confessed
in
so
many
words
that
you
have
done
your
best
to
bring
me
up
to
the
fence
,
will
you
kindly
recapitulate
the
arguments
why
in
your
opinion
I
should
not
jump
it
?
'
'
Society
,
amusement
,
flirtation
,
are
one
thing
,
'
she
replied
with
judicial
imperativeness
,
'
marriage
is
another
.
In
these
democratic
days
we
must
know
everybody
;
we
should
only
marry
our
equals
.
'
The
instant
,
however
,
the
words
were
out
of
her
mouth
,
she
regretted
them
.
Mr.
Flaxman
's
expression
changed
.
'
I
do
not
agree
with
you
,
'
he
said
calmly
,
'
and
you
know
I
do
not
.
You
could
not
,
I
imagine
,
have
relied
much
upon
that
argument
.
'
'
Good
gracious
,
Hugh
!
'
cried
Lady
Charlotte
crossly
;
'
you
talk
as
if
I
were
really
the
old
campaigner
some
people
suppose
me
to
be
.
I
have
been
amusing
myself
—
I
have
liked
to
see
you
amused
.
And
it
is
only
the
last
few
weeks
since
you
have
begun
to
devote
yourself
so
tremendously
,
that
I
have
come
to
take
the
thing
seriously
at
all
.
I
confess
,
if
you
like
,
that
I
have
got
you
into
the
scrape
—
now
I
want
to
get
you
out
of
it
!
I
am
not
thin-skinned
,
but
I
hate
family
unpleasantnesses
—
and
you
know
what
the
duke
will
say
.
'
'
The
duke
be
—
translated
!
'
said
Flaxman
coolly
.
'
Nothing
of
what
you
have
said
or
could
say
on
this
point
,
my
dear
aunt
,
has
the
smallest
weight
with
me
.
But
Providence
has
been
kinder
to
you
and
the
duke
than
you
deserve
.
Miss
Leyburn
does
not
care
for
me
,
and
she
does
care
—
or
I
am
very
much
mistaken
—
for
somebody
else
.
'
He
pronounced
the
words
deliberately
,
watching
their
effect
upon
her
.
'
What
,
that
Oxford
nonentity
,
Mr.
Langham
,
the
Elsmeres
'
friend
?
Ridiculous
!
What
attraction
could
a
man
of
that
type
have
for
a
girl
of
hers
?
'
'
I
am
not
bound
to
supply
an
answer
to
that
question
,
'
replied
her
nephew
.
'
However
,
he
is
not
a
nonentity
.
Far
from
it
!
Ten
years
ago
,
when
I
was
leaving
Cambridge
,
he
was
certainly
one
of
the
most
distinguished
of
the
young
Oxford
tutors
.
'
Another
instance
of
what
university
reputation
is
worth
!
'
said
Lady
Charlotte
scornfully
.
It
was
clear
that
even
in
the
case
of
a
beauty
whom
she
thought
it
beneath
him
to
marry
,
she
was
not
pleased
to
see
her
nephew
ousted
by
the
force
majeure
of
a
rival
—
and
that
a
rival
whom
she
regarded
as
an
utter
nobody
,
having
neither
marketable
eccentricity
,
nor
family
,
nor
social
brilliance
to
recommend
him
.
Flaxman
understood
her
perplexity
and
watched
her
with
critical
amused
eyes
.
'
I
should
like
to
know
,
'
he
said
presently
,
with
a
curious
slowness
and
suavity
,
'
I
should
greatly
like
to
know
why
you
asked
him
here
to-night
?
'
'
You
know
perfectly
well
that
I
should
ask
anybody
—
a
convict
,
a
crossing-sweeper
—
if
I
happened
to
be
half
an
hour
in
the
same
room
with
him
!
'
Flaxman
laughed
.
'
Well
,
it
may
be
convenient
to-night
,
'
he
said
reflectively
.
'
What
are
we
to
do
—
some
thought-reading
?
'
'
Yes
.
It
is
n't
a
crush
.
I
have
only
asked
about
thirty
or
forty
people
.
Mr.
Denman
is
to
manage
it
.
'
She
mentioned
an
amateur
thought-reader
greatly
in
request
at
the
moment
.
Flaxman
cogitated
for
a
while
and
then
propounded
a
little
plan
to
his
aunt
,
to
which
she
,
after
some
demur
,
agreed
.
'
I
want
to
make
a
few
notes
,
'
he
said
drily
,
when
it
was
arranged
;
'
I
should
be
glad
to
satisfy
myself
.
'
When
the
Misses
Leyburn
were
announced
,
Rose
,
though
the
younger
,
came
in
first
.
She
always
took
the
lead
by
a
sort
of
natural
right
,
and
Agnes
never
dreamt
of
protesting
.
To-night
the
sisters
were
in
white
.
Some
soft
creamy
stuff
was
folded
and
draped
about
Rose
's
slim
shapely
figure
in
such
a
way
as
to
bring
out
all
its
charming
roundness
and
grace
.
Her
neck
and
arms
bore
the
challenge
of
the
dress
victoriously
.
Her
red-gold
hair
gleamed
in
the
light
of
Lady
Charlotte
's
innumerable
candles
.
A
knot
of
dusky
blue
feathers
on
her
shoulder
,
and
a
Japanese
fan
of
the
same
colour
,
gave
just
that
touch
of
purpose
and
art
which
the
spectator
seems
to
claim
as
the
tribute
answering
to
his
praise
in
the
dress
of
a
young
girl
.
She
moved
with
perfect
self-possession
,
distributing
a
few
smiling
looks
to
the
people
she
knew
as
she
advanced
towards
Lady
Charlotte
.
Any
one
with
a
discerning
eye
could
have
seen
that
she
was
in
that
stage
of
youth
when
a
beautiful
woman
is
like
a
statue
to
which
the
master
is
giving
the
finishing
touches
.
Life
,
the
sculptor
,
had
been
at
work
upon
her
,
refining
here
,
softening
there
,
planing
away
awkwardness
,
emphasising
grace
,
disengaging
as
it
were
,
week
by
week
,
and
month
by
month
,
all
the
beauty
of
which
the
original
conception
was
capable
.
And
the
process
is
one
attended
always
by
a
glow
and
sparkle
,
a
kind
of
effluence
of
youth
and
pleasure
,
which
makes
beauty
more
beautiful
and
grace
more
graceful
.
The
little
murmur
and
rustle
of
persons
turning
to
look
,
which
had
already
begun
to
mark
her
entrance
into
a
room
,
surrounded
Rose
as
she
walked
up
to
Lady
Charlotte
.
Mr.
Flaxman
,
who
had
been
standing
absently
silent
,
woke
up
directly
she
appeared
,
and
went
to
greet
her
before
his
aunt
.
'
You
failed
us
at
rehearsal
,
'
he
said
with
smiling
reproach
;
'
we
were
all
at
sixes
and
sevens
.
'
'
I
had
a
sick
mother
,
unfortunately
,
who
kept
me
at
home
.
Lady
Charlotte
,
Catherine
could
n't
come
.
Agnes
and
I
are
alone
in
the
world
.
Will
you
chaperon
us
?
'
'
I
do
n't
know
whether
I
will
accept
the
responsibility
to-night
—
in
that
new
gown
,
'
replied
Lady
Charlotte
grimly
,
putting
up
her
eyeglass
to
look
at
it
and
the
wearer
.
Rose
bore
the
scrutiny
with
a
light
smiling
silence
,
even
though
she
knew
Mr.
Flaxman
was
looking
too
.
'
On
the
contrary
,
'
she
said
,
'
one
always
feels
so
particularly
good
and
prim
in
a
new
frock
.
'
'
Really
?
I
should
have
thought
it
one
of
Satan
's
likeliest
moments
,
'
said
Flaxman
,
laughing
—
his
eyes
,
however
,
the
while
saying
quite
other
things
to
her
,
as
they
finished
their
inspection
of
her
dress
.
Lady
Charlotte
threw
a
sharp
glance
first
at
him
and
then
at
Rose
's
smiling
ease
,
before
she
hurried
off
to
other
guests
.
'
I
have
made
a
muddle
as
usual
,
'
she
said
to
herself
in
disgust
,
'
perhaps
even
a
worse
one
than
I
thought
!
'
Whatever
might
be
Hugh
Flaxman
's
state
of
mind
,
however
,
he
never
showed
greater
self-possession
than
on
this
particular
evening
.
A
few
minutes
after
Rose
's
entry
he
introduced
her
for
the
first
time
to
his
sister
Lady
Helen
.
The
Varleys
had
only
just
come
up
to
town
for
the
opening
of
Parliament
,
and
Lady
Helen
had
come
to-night
to
Martin
Street
,
all
ardour
to
see
Hugh
's
new
adoration
,
and
the
girl
whom
all
the
world
was
beginning
to
talk
about
—
both
as
a
beauty
and
as
an
artist
.
She
rushed
at
Rose
,
if
any
word
so
violent
can
be
applied
to
anything
so
light
and
airy
as
Lady
Helen
's
movements
,
caught
the
girl
's
hands
in
both
hers
,
and
,
gazing
up
at
her
with
undisguised
admiration
,
said
to
her
the
prettiest
,
daintiest
,
most
effusive
things
possible
.
Rose
—
who
with
all
her
lithe
shapeliness
,
looked
over-tall
and
even
a
trifle
stiff
beside
the
tiny
bird-like
Lady
Helen
—
took
the
advances
of
Hugh
Flaxman
's
sister
with
a
pretty
flush
of
flattered
pride
.
She
looked
down
at
the
small
radiant
creature
with
soft
and
friendly
eyes
,
and
Hugh
Flaxman
stood
by
,
so
far
well
pleased
.
Then
he
went
off
to
fetch
Mr.
Denman
,
the
hero
of
the
evening
,
to
be
introduced
to
her
.
While
he
was
away
,
Agnes
,
who
was
behind
her
sister
,
saw
Rose
's
eyes
wandering
from
Lady
Helen
to
the
door
,
restlessly
searching
and
then
returning
.
Presently
through
the
growing
crowd
round
the
entrance
Agnes
spied
a
well-known
form
emerging
.
'
Mr
.
Langham
!
But
Rose
never
told
me
he
was
to
be
here
to-night
,
and
how
dreadful
he
looks
!
'
Agnes
was
so
startled
that
her
eyes
followed
Langham
closely
across
the
room
.
Rose
had
seen
him
at
once
;
and
they
had
greeted
each
other
across
the
crowd
.
Agnes
was
absorbed
,
trying
to
analyse
what
had
struck
her
so
.
The
face
was
always
melancholy
,
always
pale
,
but
to-night
it
was
ghastly
,
and
from
the
whiteness
of
cheek
and
brow
,
the
eyes
,
the
jet-black
hair
stood
out
in
intense
and
disagreeable
relief
.
She
would
have
remarked
on
it
to
Rose
,
but
that
Rose
's
attention
was
claimed
by
the
young
thought-reader
,
Mr.
Denman
,
whom
Mr.
Flaxman
had
brought
up
.
Mr.
Denman
was
a
fair-haired
young
Hercules
,
whose
tremulous
agitated
manner
contrasted
oddly
with
his
athlete
's
looks
.
Among
other
magnetisms
he
was
clearly
open
to
the
magnetism
of
women
,
and
he
stayed
talking
to
Rose
,
staring
furtively
at
her
the
while
from
under
his
heavy
lids
,
—
much
longer
than
the
girl
thought
fair
.
'
Have
you
seen
any
experiments
in
the
working
of
this
new
force
before
?
'
he
asked
her
,
with
a
solemnity
which
sat
oddly
on
his
commonplace
bearded
face
.
'
Oh
yes
!
'
she
said
flippantly
.
'
We
have
tried
it
sometimes
.
It
is
very
good
fun
.
'
He
drew
himself
up
.
'
Not
fun
,
'
he
said
impressively
,
'
not
fun
.
Thought-reading
wants
seriousness
;
the
most
tremendous
things
depend
upon
it
.
If
established
it
will
revolutionise
our
whole
views
of
life
.
Even
a
Huxley
could
not
deny
that
!
'
She
studied
him
with
mocking
eyes
.
'
Do
you
imagine
this
party
to-night
looks
very
serious
?
'
His
face
fell
.
'
One
can
seldom
get
people
to
take
it
scientifically
,
'
he
admitted
,
sighing
.
Rose
,
impatiently
,
thought
him
a
most
preposterous
young
man
.
Why
was
he
not
cricketing
or
shooting
or
exploring
,
or
using
the
muscles
Nature
had
given
him
so
amply
,
to
some
decent
practical
purpose
,
instead
of
making
a
business
out
of
ruining
his
own
nerves
and
other
people
's
night
after
night
in
hot
drawing-rooms
?
And
when
would
he
go
away
?
'
Come
,
Mr.
Denman
,
'
said
Flaxman
,
laying
hands
upon
him
;
'
the
audience
is
about
collected
,
I
think
.
Ah
,
there
you
are
!
'
and
he
gave
Langham
a
cool
greeting
.
'
Have
you
seen
anything
yet
of
these
fashionable
dealings
with
the
devil
?
'
'
Nothing
.
Are
you
a
believer
?
'
Flaxman
shrugged
his
shoulders
.
'
I
never
refuse
an
experiment
of
any
kind
,
'
he
added
with
an
odd
change
of
voice
.
'
Come
,
Denman
.
'
And
the
two
went
off
.
Langham
came
to
a
stand
beside
Rose
,
while
old
Lord
Rupert
,
as
jovial
as
ever
,
and
bubbling
over
with
gossip
about
the
Queen
's
Speech
,
appropriated
Lady
Helen
,
who
was
the
darling
of
all
elderly
men
.
They
did
not
speak
.
Rose
sent
him
a
ray
from
eyes
full
of
a
new
divine
shyness
.
He
smiled
gently
in
answer
to
it
,
and
full
of
her
own
young
emotion
,
and
of
the
effort
to
conceal
it
from
all
the
world
,
she
noticed
none
of
that
change
which
had
struck
Agnes
.
And
all
the
while
,
if
she
could
have
penetrated
the
man
's
silence
!
An
hour
before
this
moment
Langham
had
vowed
that
nothing
should
take
him
to
Lady
Charlotte
's
that
night
.
And
yet
here
he
was
,
riveted
to
her
side
,
alive
like
any
normal
human
being
to
every
detail
of
her
loveliness
,
shaken
to
his
inmost
being
by
the
intoxicating
message
of
her
look
,
of
the
transformation
which
had
passed
in
an
instant
over
the
teasing
difficult
creature
of
the
last
few
months
.
At
Murewell
his
chagrin
had
been
not
to
feel
,
not
to
struggle
,
to
have
been
cheated
out
of
experience
.
Well
,
here
is
the
experience
in
good
earnest
!
And
Langham
is
wrestling
with
it
for
dear
life
.
And
how
little
the
exquisite
child
beside
him
knows
of
it
,
or
of
the
man
on
whom
she
is
spending
her
first
wilful
passion
!
She
stands
strangely
exulting
in
her
own
strange
victory
over
a
life
,
a
heart
,
which
had
defied
and
eluded
her
.
The
world
throbs
and
thrills
about
her
,
the
crowd
beside
her
is
all
unreal
,
the
air
is
full
of
whisper
,
of
romance
.
The
thought-reading
followed
its
usual
course
.
A
murder
and
its
detection
were
given
in
dumb
show
.
Then
it
was
the
turn
of
card-guessing
,
bank-note-finding
,
and
the
various
other
forms
of
telepathic
hide
and
seek
.
Mr.
Flaxman
superintended
them
all
,
his
restless
eye
wandering
every
other
minute
to
the
farther
drawing-room
in
which
the
lights
had
been
lowered
,
catching
there
always
the
same
patch
of
black
and
white
,
—
Rose
's
dress
and
the
dark
form
beside
her
.
'
Are
you
convinced
?
Do
you
believe
?
'
said
Rose
,
merrily
looking
up
at
her
companion
.
