afternoonwould
suit
me
best
...
.
I’m
Ralph
Denham
...
.
But
I’ll
write
it
down
...
.
”
With
more
than
the
usual
sense
of
being
impinged
upon
the
point
of
a
bayonet
,
Katharine
replied
:
“
I
think
I
could
come
.
I’ll
look
at
my
engagements
...
.
Hold
on
.
”
She
dropped
the
machine
,
and
looked
fixedly
at
the
print
of
the
great-uncle
who
had
not
ceased
to
gaze
,
with
an
air
of
amiable
authority
,
into
a
world
which
,
as
yet
,
beheld
no
symptoms
of
the
Indian
Mutiny
.
And
yet
,
gently
swinging
against
the
wall
,
within
the
black
tube
,
was
a
voice
which
recked
nothing
of
Uncle
James
,
of
China
teapots
,
or
of
red
velvet
curtains
.
She
watched
the
oscillation
of
the
tube
,
and
at
the
same
moment
became
conscious
of
the
individuality
of
the
house
in
which
she
stood
;
she
heard
the
soft
domestic
sounds
of
regular
existence
upon
staircases
and
floors
above
her
head
,
and
movements
through
the
wall
in
the
house
next
door
.
She
had
no
very
clear
vision
of
Denham
himself
,
when
she
lifted
the
telephone
to
her
lips
and
replied
that
she
thought
Saturday
would
suit
her
.
She
hoped
that
he
would
not
say
good-bye
at
once
,
although
she
felt
no
particular
anxiety
to
attend
to
what
he
was
saying
,
and
began
,
even
while
he
spoke
,
to
think
of
her
own
upper
room
,
with
its
books
,
its
papers
pressed
between
the
leaves
of
dictionaries
,
and
the
table
that
could
be
cleared
for
work
.
She
replaced
the
instrument
,
thoughtfully
;
her
restlessness
was
assuaged
;
she
finished
her
letter
to
Cassandra
without
difficulty
,
addressed
the
envelope
,
and
fixed
the
stamp
with
her
usual
quick
decision
.
A
bunch
of
anemones
caught
Mrs.
Hilbery’s
eye
when
they
had
finished
luncheon
.
The
blue
and
purple
and
white
of
the
bowl
,
standing
in
a
pool
of
variegated
light
on
a
polished
Chippendale
table
in
the
drawing-room
window
,
made
her
stop
dead
with
an
exclamation
of
pleasure
.
“
Who
is
lying
ill
in
bed
,
Katharine
?
”
she
demanded
.
“
Which
of
our
friends
wants
cheering
up
?
Who
feels
that
they’ve
been
forgotten
and
passed
over
,
and
that
nobody
wants
them
?
Whose
water
rates
are
overdue
,
and
the
cook
leaving
in
a
temper
without
waiting
for
her
wages
?
There
was
somebody
I
know
—
”
she
concluded
,
but
for
the
moment
the
name
of
this
desirable
acquaintance
escaped
her
.
The
best
representative
of
the
forlorn
company
whose
day
would
be
brightened
by
a
bunch
of
anemones
was
,
in
Katharine’s
opinion
,
the
widow
of
a
general
living
in
the
Cromwell
Road
.
In
default
of
the
actually
destitute
and
starving
,
whom
she
would
much
have
preferred
,
Mrs.
Hilbery
was
forced
to
acknowledge
her
claims
,
for
though
in
comfortable
circumstances
,
she
was
extremely
dull
,
unattractive
,
connected
in
some
oblique
fashion
with
literature
,
and
had
been
touched
to
the
verge
of
tears
,
on
one
occasion
,
by
an
afternoon
call
.
It
happened
that
Mrs.
Hilbery
had
an
engagement
elsewhere
,
so
that
the
task
of
taking
the
flowers
to
the
Cromwell
Road
fell
upon
Katharine
.
She
took
her
letter
to
Cassandra
with
her
,
meaning
to
post
it
in
the
first
pillar-box
she
came
to
.
When
,
however
,
she
was
fairly
out
of
doors
,
and
constantly
invited
by
pillar-boxes
and
post-offices
to
slip
her
envelope
down
their
scarlet
throats
,
she
forbore
.
She
made
absurd
excuses
,
as
that
she
did
not
wish
to
cross
the
road
,
or
that
she
was
certain
to
pass
another
post-office
in
a
more
central
position
a
little
farther
on
.
The
longer
she
held
the
letter
in
her
hand
,
however
,
the
more
persistently
certain
questions
pressed
upon
her
,
as
if
from
a
collection
of
voices
in
the
air
.
These
invisible
people
wished
to
be
informed
whether
she
was
engaged
to
William
Rodney
,
or
was
the
engagement
broken
off
?
Was
it
right
,
they
asked
,
to
invite
Cassandra
for
a
visit
,
and
was
William
Rodney
in
love
with
her
,
or
likely
to
fall
in
love
?
Then
the
questioners
paused
for
a
moment
,
and
resumed
as
if
another
side
of
the
problem
had
just
come
to
their
notice
.
What
did
Ralph
Denham
mean
by
what
he
said
to
you
last
night
?
Do
you
consider
that
he
is
in
love
with
you
?
Is
it
right
to
consent
to
a
solitary
walk
with
him
,
and
what
advice
are
you
going
to
give
him
about
his
future
?
Has
William
Rodney
cause
to
be
jealous
of
your
conduct
,
and
what
do
you
propose
to
do
about
Mary
Datchet
?
What
are
you
going
to
do
?
What
does
honor
require
you
to
do
?
they
repeated
.
“
Good
Heavens
!
”
Katharine
exclaimed
,
after
listening
to
all
these
remarks
,
“
I
suppose
I
ought
to
make
up
my
mind
.
”
But
the
debate
was
a
formal
skirmishing
,
a
pastime
to
gain
breathing-space
.
Like
all
people
brought
up
in
a
tradition
,
Katharine
was
able
,
within
ten
minutes
or
so
,
to
reduce
any
moral
difficulty
to
its
traditional
shape
and
solve
it
by
the
traditional
answers
.
The
book
of
wisdom
lay
open
,
if
not
upon
her
mother’s
knee
,
upon
the
knees
of
many
uncles
and
aunts
.
She
had
only
to
consult
them
,
and
they
would
at
once
turn
to
the
right
page
and
read
out
an
answer
exactly
suited
to
one
in
her
position
.
The
rules
which
should
govern
the
behavior
of
an
unmarried
woman
are
written
in
red
ink
,
graved
upon
marble
,
if
,
by
some
freak
of
nature
,
it
should
fall
out
that
the
unmarried
woman
has
not
the
same
writing
scored
upon
her
heart
.
She
was
ready
to
believe
that
some
people
are
fortunate
enough
to
reject
,
accept
,
resign
,
or
lay
down
their
lives
at
the
bidding
of
traditional
authority
;
she
could
envy
them
;
but
in
her
case
the
questions
became
phantoms
directly
she
tried
seriously
to
find
an
answer
,
which
proved
that
the
traditional
answer
would
be
of
no
use
to
her
individually
.
Yet
it
had
served
so
many
people
,
she
thought
,
glancing
at
the
rows
of
houses
on
either
side
of
her
,
where
families
,
whose
incomes
must
be
between
a
thousand
and
fifteen-hundred
a
year
lived
,
and
kept
,
perhaps
,
three
servants
,
and
draped
their
windows
with
curtains
which
were
always
thick
and
generally
dirty
,
and
must
,
she
thought
,
since
you
could
only
see
a
looking-glass
gleaming
above
a
sideboard
on
which
a
dish
of
apples
was
set
,
keep
the
room
inside
very
dark
.
But
she
turned
her
head
away
,
observing
that
this
was
not
a
method
of
thinking
the
matter
out
.
The
only
truth
which
she
could
discover
was
the
truth
of
what
she
herself
felt
—
a
frail
beam
when
compared
with
the
broad
illumination
shed
by
the
eyes
of
all
the
people
who
are
in
agreement
to
see
together
;
but
having
rejected
the
visionary
voices
,
she
had
no
choice
but
to
make
this
her
guide
through
the
dark
masses
which
confronted
her
.
She
tried
to
follow
her
beam
,
with
an
expression
upon
her
face
which
would
have
made
any
passer-by
think
her
reprehensibly
and
almost
ridiculously
detached
from
the
surrounding
scene
.
One
would
have
felt
alarmed
lest
this
young
and
striking
woman
were
about
to
do
something
eccentric
.
But
her
beauty
saved
her
from
the
worst
fate
that
can
befall
a
pedestrian
;
people
looked
at
her
,
but
they
did
not
laugh
.
To
seek
a
true
feeling
among
the
chaos
of
the
unfeelings
or
half-feelings
of
life
,
to
recognize
it
when
found
,
and
to
accept
the
consequences
of
the
discovery
,
draws
lines
upon
the
smoothest
brow
,
while
it
quickens
the
light
of
the
eyes
;
it
is
a
pursuit
which
is
alternately
bewildering
,
debasing
,
and
exalting
,
and
,
as
Katharine
speedily
found
,
her
discoveries
gave
her
equal
cause
for
surprise
,
shame
,
and
intense
anxiety
.
Much
depended
,
as
usual
,
upon
the
interpretation
of
the
word
love
;
which
word
came
up
again
and
again
,
whether
she
considered
Rodney
,
Denham
,
Mary
Datchet
,
or
herself
;
and
in
each
case
it
seemed
to
stand
for
something
different
,
and
yet
for
something
unmistakable
and
something
not
to
be
passed
by
.
For
the
more
she
looked
into
the
confusion
of
lives
which
,
instead
of
running
parallel
,
had
suddenly
intersected
each
other
,
the
more
distinctly
she
seemed
to
convince
herself
that
there
was
no
other
light
on
them
than
was
shed
by
this
strange
illumination
,
and
no
other
path
save
the
one
upon
which
it
threw
its
beams
.
Her
blindness
in
the
case
of
Rodney
,
her
attempt
to
match
his
true
feeling
with
her
false
feeling
,
was
a
failure
never
to
be
sufficiently
condemned
;
indeed
,
she
could
only
pay
it
the
tribute
of
leaving
it
a
black
and
naked
landmark
unburied
by
attempt
at
oblivion
or
excuse
.
With
this
to
humiliate
there
was
much
to
exalt
.
She
thought
of
three
different
scenes
;
she
thought
of
Mary
sitting
upright
and
saying
,
“
I’m
in
love
—
I’m
in
love
”
;
she
thought
of
Rodney
losing
his
self-consciousness
among
the
dead
leaves
,
and
speaking
with
the
abandonment
of
a
child
;
she
thought
of
Denham
leaning
upon
the
stone
parapet
and
talking
to
the
distant
sky
,
so
that
she
thought
him
mad
.
Her
mind
,
passing
from
Mary
to
Denham
,
from
William
to
Cassandra
,
and
from
Denham
to
herself
—
if
,
as
she
rather
doubted
,
Denham’s
state
of
mind
was
connected
with
herself
—
seemed
to
be
tracing
out
the
lines
of
some
symmetrical
pattern
,
some
arrangement
of
life
,
which
invested
,
if
not
herself
,
at
least
the
others
,
not
only
with
interest
,
but
with
a
kind
of
tragic
beauty
.
She
had
a
fantastic
picture
of
them
upholding
splendid
palaces
upon
their
bent
backs
.
They
were
the
lantern-bearers
,
whose
lights
,
scattered
among
the
crowd
,
wove
a
pattern
,
dissolving
,
joining
,
meeting
again
in
combination
.
Half
forming
such
conceptions
as
these
in
her
rapid
walk
along
the
dreary
streets
of
South
Kensington
,
she
determined
that
,
whatever
else
might
be
obscure
,
she
must
further
the
objects
of
Mary
,
Denham
,
William
,
and
Cassandra
.
The
way
was
not
apparent
.
No
course
of
action
seemed
to
her
indubitably
right
.
All
she
achieved
by
her
thinking
was
the
conviction
that
,
in
such
a
cause
,
no
risk
was
too
great
;
and
that
,
far
from
making
any
rules
for
herself
or
others
,
she
would
let
difficulties
accumulate
unsolved
,
situations
widen
their
jaws
unsatiated
,
while
she
maintained
a
position
of
absolute
and
fearless
independence
.
So
she
could
best
serve
the
people
who
loved
.
Read
in
the
light
of
this
exaltation
,
there
was
a
new
meaning
in
the
words
which
her
mother
had
penciled
upon
the
card
attached
to
the
bunch
of
anemones
.
The
door
of
the
house
in
the
Cromwell
Road
opened
;
gloomy
vistas
of
passage
and
staircase
were
revealed
;
such
light
as
there
was
seemed
to
be
concentrated
upon
a
silver
salver
of
visiting-cards
,
whose
black
borders
suggested
that
the
widow’s
friends
had
all
suffered
the
same
bereavement
.
The
parlor-maid
could
hardly
be
expected
to
fathom
the
meaning
of
the
grave
tone
in
which
the
young
lady
proffered
the
flowers
,
with
Mrs.
Hilbery’s
love
;
and
the
door
shut
upon
the
offering
.
The
sight
of
a
face
,
the
slam
of
a
door
,
are
both
rather
destructive
of
exaltation
in
the
abstract
;
and
,
as
she
walked
back
to
Chelsea
,
Katharine
had
her
doubts
whether
anything
would
come
of
her
resolves
.
If
you
cannot
make
sure
of
people
,
however
,
you
can
hold
fairly
fast
to
figures
,
and
in
some
way
or
other
her
thought
about
such
problems
as
she
was
wont
to
consider
worked
in
happily
with
her
mood
as
to
her
friends’
lives
.
She
reached
home
rather
late
for
tea
.
On
the
ancient
Dutch
chest
in
the
hall
she
perceived
one
or
two
hats
,
coats
,
and
walking-sticks
,
and
the
sound
of
voices
reached
her
as
she
stood
outside
the
drawing-room
door
.
Her
mother
gave
a
little
cry
as
she
came
in
;
a
cry
which
conveyed
to
Katharine
the
fact
that
she
was
late
,
that
the
teacups
and
milk-jugs
were
in
a
conspiracy
of
disobedience
,
and
that
she
must
immediately
take
her
place
at
the
head
of
the
table
and
pour
out
tea
for
the
guests
.
Augustus
Pelham
,
the
diarist
,
liked
a
calm
atmosphere
in
which
to
tell
his
stories
;
he
liked
attention
;
he
liked
to
elicit
little
facts
,
little
stories
,
about
the
past
and
the
great
dead
,
from
such
distinguished
characters
as
Mrs.
Hilbery
for
the
nourishment
of
his
diary
,
for
whose
sake
he
frequented
tea-tables
and
ate
yearly
an
enormous
quantity
of
buttered
toast
.
He
,
therefore
,
welcomed
Katharine
with
relief
,
and
she
had
merely
to
shake
hands
with
Rodney
and
to
greet
the
American
lady
who
had
come
to
be
shown
the
relics
,
before
the
talk
started
again
on
the
broad
lines
of
reminiscence
and
discussion
which
were
familiar
to
her
.
Yet
,
even
with
this
thick
veil
between
them
,
she
could
not
help
looking
at
Rodney
,
as
if
she
could
detect
what
had
happened
to
him
since
they
met
.
It
was
in
vain
.
His
clothes
,
even
the
white
slip
,
the
pearl
in
his
tie
,
seemed
to
intercept
her
quick
glance
,
and
to
proclaim
the
futility
of
such
inquiries
of
a
discreet
,
urbane
gentleman
,
who
balanced
his
cup
of
tea
and
poised
a
slice
of
bread
and
butter
on
the
edge
of
the
saucer
.
He
would
not
meet
her
eye
,
but
that
could
be
accounted
for
by
his
activity
in
serving
and
helping
,
and
the
polite
alacrity
with
which
he
was
answering
the
questions
of
the
American
visitor
.
It
was
certainly
a
sight
to
daunt
any
one
coming
in
with
a
head
full
of
theories
about
love
.
The
voices
of
the
invisible
questioners
were
reinforced
by
the
scene
round
the
table
,
and
sounded
with
a
tremendous
self-confidence
,
as
if
they
had
behind
them
the
common
sense
of
twenty
generations
,
together
with
the
immediate
approval
of
Mr.
Augustus
Pelham
,
Mrs.
Vermont
Bankes
,
William
Rodney
,
and
,
possibly
,
Mrs.
Hilbery
herself
.
Katharine
set
her
teeth
,
not
entirely
in
the
metaphorical
sense
,
for
her
hand
,
obeying
the
impulse
towards
definite
action
,
laid
firmly
upon
the
table
beside
her
an
envelope
which
she
had
been
grasping
all
this
time
in
complete
forgetfulness
.
The
address
was
uppermost
,
and
a
moment
later
she
saw
William’s
eye
rest
upon
it
as
he
rose
to
fulfil
some
duty
with
a
plate
.
His
expression
instantly
changed
.
He
did
what
he
was
on
the
point
of
doing
,
and
then
looked
at
Katharine
with
a
look
which
revealed
enough
of
his
confusion
to
show
her
that
he
was
not
entirely
represented
by
his
appearance
.
In
a
minute
or
two
he
proved
himself
at
a
loss
with
Mrs.
Vermont
Bankes
,
and
Mrs.
Hilbery
,
aware
of
the
silence
with
her
usual
quickness
,
suggested
that
,
perhaps
,
it
was
now
time
that
Mrs.
Bankes
should
be
shown
“
our
things
.
”
Katharine
accordingly
rose
,
and
led
the
way
to
the
little
inner
room
with
the
pictures
and
the
books
.
Mrs.
Bankes
and
Rodney
followed
her
.
She
turned
on
the
lights
,
and
began
directly
in
her
low
,
pleasant
voice
:
“
This
table
is
my
grandfather’s
writing-table
.
Most
of
the
later
poems
were
written
at
it
.
And
this
is
his
pen
—
the
last
pen
he
ever
used
.
”
She
took
it
in
her
hand
and
paused
for
the
right
number
of
seconds
.
“
Here
,
”
she
continued
,
“
is
the
original
manuscript
of
the
‘Ode
to
Winter.’
The
early
manuscripts
are
far
less
corrected
than
the
later
ones
,
as
you
will
see
directly
...
.
Oh
,
do
take
it
yourself
,
”
she
added
,
as
Mrs.
Bankes
asked
,
in
an
awestruck
tone
of
voice
,
for
that
privilege
,
and
began
a
preliminary
unbuttoning
of
her
white
kid
gloves
.
“
You
are
wonderfully
like
your
grandfather
,
Miss
Hilbery
,
”
the
American
lady
observed
,
gazing
from
Katharine
to
the
portrait
,
“
especially
about
the
eyes
.
Come
,
now
,
I
expect
she
writes
poetry
herself
,
doesn’t
she
?
”
she
asked
in
a
jocular
tone
,
turning
to
William
.
“
Quite
one’s
ideal
of
a
poet
,
is
it
not
,
Mr.
Rodney
?
I
cannot
tell
you
what
a
privilege
I
feel
it
to
be
standing
just
here
with
the
poet’s
granddaughter
.
You
must
know
we
think
a
great
deal
of
your
grandfather
in
America
,
Miss
Hilbery
.
We
have
societies
for
reading
him
aloud
.
What
!
His
very
own
slippers
!
”
Laying
aside
the
manuscript
,
she
hastily
grasped
the
old
shoes
,
and
remained
for
a
moment
dumb
in
contemplation
of
them
.
While
Katharine
went
on
steadily
with
her
duties
as
show-woman
,
Rodney
examined
intently
a
row
of
little
drawings
which
he
knew
by
heart
already
.
His
disordered
state
of
mind
made
it
necessary
for
him
to
take
advantage
of
these
little
respites
,
as
if
he
had
been
out
in
a
high
wind
and
must
straighten
his
dress
in
the
first
shelter
he
reached
.
His
calm
was
only
superficial
,
as
he
knew
too
well
;
it
did
not
exist
much
below
the
surface
of
tie
,
waistcoat
,
and
white
slip
.
On
getting
out
of
bed
that
morning
he
had
fully
made
up
his
mind
to
ignore
what
had
been
said
the
night
before
;
he
had
been
convinced
,
by
the
sight
of
Denham
,
that
his
love
for
Katharine
was
passionate
,
and
when
he
addressed
her
early
that
morning
on
the
telephone
,
he
had
meant
his
cheerful
but
authoritative
tones
to
convey
to
her
the
fact
that
,
after
a
night
of
madness
,
they
were
as
indissolubly
engaged
as
ever
.
But
when
he
reached
his
office
his
torments
began
.
He
found
a
letter
from
Cassandra
waiting
for
him
.
She
had
read
his
play
,
and
had
taken
the
very
first
opportunity
to
write
and
tell
him
what
she
thought
of
it
.
She
knew
,
she
wrote
,
that
her
praise
meant
absolutely
nothing
;
but
still
,
she
had
sat
up
all
night
;
she
thought
this
,
that
,
and
the
other
;
she
was
full
of
enthusiasm
most
elaborately
scratched
out
in
places
,
but
enough
was
written
plain
to
gratify
William’s
vanity
exceedingly
.
She
was
quite
intelligent
enough
to
say
the
right
things
,
or
,
even
more
charmingly
,
to
hint
at
them
.
In
other
ways
,
too
,
it
was
a
very
charming
letter
.
She
told
him
about
her
music
,
and
about
a
Suffrage
meeting
to
which
Henry
had
taken
her
,
and
she
asserted
,
half
seriously
,
that
she
had
learnt
the
Greek
alphabet
,
and
found
it
“
fascinating
.
”
The
word
was
underlined
.
Had
she
laughed
when
she
drew
that
line
?
Was
she
ever
serious
?
Didn’t
the
letter
show
the
most
engaging
compound
of
enthusiasm
and
spirit
and
whimsicality
,
all
tapering
into
a
flame
of
girlish
freakishness
,
which
flitted
,
for
the
rest
of
the
morning
,
as
a
will-o’-the-wisp
,
across
Rodney’s
landscape
.
He
could
not
resist
beginning
an
answer
to
her
there
and
then
.
He
found
it
particularly
delightful
to
shape
a
style
which
should
express
the
bowing
and
curtsying
,
advancing
and
retreating
,
which
are
characteristic
of
one
of
the
many
million
partnerships
of
men
and
women
.
Katharine
never
trod
that
particular
measure
,
he
could
not
help
reflecting
;
Katharine
—
Cassandra
;
Cassandra
—
Katharine
—
they
alternated
in
his
consciousness
all
day
long
.
It
was
all
very
well
to
dress
oneself
carefully
,
compose
one’s
face
,
and
start
off
punctually
at
half-past
four
to
a
tea-party
in
Cheyne
Walk
,
but
Heaven
only
knew
what
would
come
of
it
all
,
and
when
Katharine
,
after
sitting
silent
with
her
usual
immobility
,
wantonly
drew
from
her
pocket
and
slapped
down
on
the
table
beneath
his
eyes
a
letter
addressed
to
Cassandra
herself
,
his
composure
deserted
him
.
What
did
she
mean
by
her
behavior
?
He
looked
up
sharply
from
his
row
of
little
pictures
.
Katharine
was
disposing
of
the
American
lady
in
far
too
arbitrary
a
fashion
.
Surely
the
victim
herself
must
see
how
foolish
her
enthusiasms
appeared
in
the
eyes
of
the
poet’s
granddaughter
.
Katharine
never
made
any
attempt
to
spare
people’s
feelings
,
he
reflected
;
and
,
being
himself
very
sensitive
to
all
shades
of
comfort
and
discomfort
,
he
cut
short
the
auctioneer’s
catalog
,
which
Katharine
was
reeling
off
more
and
more
absent-mindedly
,
and
took
Mrs.
Vermont
Bankes
,
with
a
queer
sense
of
fellowship
in
suffering
,
under
his
own
protection
.
But
within
a
few
minutes
the
American
lady
had
completed
her
inspection
,
and
inclining
her
head
in
a
little
nod
of
reverential
farewell
to
the
poet
and
his
shoes
,
she
was
escorted
downstairs
by
Rodney
.
Katharine
stayed
by
herself
in
the
little
room
.
The
ceremony
of
ancestor-worship
had
been
more
than
usually
oppressive
to
her
.
Moreover
,
the
room
was
becoming
crowded
beyond
the
bounds
of
order
.
Only
that
morning
a
heavily
insured
proof-sheet
had
reached
them
from
a
collector
in
Australia
,
which
recorded
a
change
of
the
poet’s
mind
about
a
very
famous
phrase
,
and
,
therefore
,
had
claims
to
the
honor
of
glazing
and
framing
.
But
was
there
room
for
it
?
Must
it
be
hung
on
the
staircase
,
or
should
some
other
relic
give
place
to
do
it
honor
?
Feeling
unable
to
decide
the
question
,
Katharine
glanced
at
the
portrait
of
her
grandfather
,
as
if
to
ask
his
opinion
.
The
artist
who
had
painted
it
was
now
out
of
fashion
,
and
by
dint
of
showing
it
to
visitors
,
Katharine
had
almost
ceased
to
see
anything
but
a
glow
of
faintly
pleasing
pink
and
brown
tints
,
enclosed
within
a
circular
scroll
of
gilt
laurel-leaves
.
The
young
man
who
was
her
grandfather
looked
vaguely
over
her
head
.
The
sensual
lips
were
slightly
parted
,
and
gave
the
face
an
expression
of
beholding
something
lovely
or
miraculous
vanishing
or
just
rising
upon
the
rim
of
the
distance
.
The
expression
repeated
itself
curiously
upon
Katharine’s
face
as
she
gazed
up
into
his
.
They
were
the
same
age
,
or
very
nearly
so
.
She
wondered
what
he
was
looking
for
;
were
there
waves
beating
upon
a
shore
for
him
,
too
,
she
wondered
,
and
heroes
riding
through
the
leaf-hung
forests
?
For
perhaps
the
first
time
in
her
life
she
thought
of
him
as
a
man
,
young
,
unhappy
,
tempestuous
,
full
of
desires
and
faults
;
for
the
first
time
she
realized
him
for
herself
,
and
not
from
her
mother’s
memory
.
He
might
have
been
her
brother
,
she
thought
.
It
seemed
to
her
that
they
were
akin
,
with
the
mysterious
kinship
of
blood
which
makes
it
seem
possible
to
interpret
the
sights
which
the
eyes
of
the
dead
behold
so
intently
,
or
even
to
believe
that
they
look
with
us
upon
our
present
joys
and
sorrows
.
He
would
have
understood
,
she
thought
,
suddenly
;
and
instead
of
laying
her
withered
flowers
upon
his
shrine
,
she
brought
him
her
own
perplexities
—
perhaps
a
gift
of
greater
value
,
should
the
dead
be
conscious
of
gifts
,
than
flowers
and
incense
and
adoration
.
Doubts
,
questionings
,
and
despondencies
she
felt
,
as
she
looked
up
,
would
be
more
welcome
to
him
than
homage
,
and
he
would
hold
them
but
a
very
small
burden
if
she
gave
him
,
also
,
some
share
in
what
she
suffered
and
achieved
.
The
depth
of
her
own
pride
and
love
were
not
more
apparent
to
her
than
the
sense
that
the
dead
asked
neither
flowers
nor
regrets
,
but
a
share
in
the
life
which
they
had
given
her
,
the
life
which
they
had
lived
.
Rodney
found
her
a
moment
later
sitting
beneath
her
grandfather’s
portrait
.
She
laid
her
hand
on
the
seat
next
her
in
a
friendly
way
,
and
said
:
“
Come
and
sit
down
,
William
.
How
glad
I
was
you
were
here
!
I
felt
myself
getting
ruder
and
ruder
.
”
“
You
are
not
good
at
hiding
your
feelings
,
”
he
returned
dryly
.
“
Oh
,
don’t
scold
me
—
I’ve
had
a
horrid
afternoon
.
”
She
told
him
how
she
had
taken
the
flowers
to
Mrs.
McCormick
,
and
how
South
Kensington
impressed
her
as
the
preserve
of
officers’
widows
.
She
described
how
the
door
had
opened
,
and
what
gloomy
avenues
of
busts
and
palm-trees
and
umbrellas
had
been
revealed
to
her
.
She
spoke
lightly
,
and
succeeded
in
putting
him
at
his
ease
.
Indeed
,
he
rapidly
became
too
much
at
his
ease
to
persist
in
a
condition
of
cheerful
neutrality
.
He
felt
his
composure
slipping
from
him
.
Katharine
made
it
seem
so
natural
to
ask
her
to
help
him
,
or
advise
him
,
to
say
straight
out
what
he
had
in
his
mind
.
The
letter
from
Cassandra
was
heavy
in
his
pocket
.
There
was
also
the
letter
to
Cassandra
lying
on
the
table
in
the
next
room
.
The
atmosphere
seemed
charged
with
Cassandra
.
But
,
unless
Katharine
began
the
subject
of
her
own
accord
,
he
could
not
even
hint
—
he
must
ignore
the
whole
affair
;
it
was
the
part
of
a
gentleman
to
preserve
a
bearing
that
was
,
as
far
as
he
could
make
it
,
the
bearing
of
an
undoubting
lover
.
At
intervals
he
sighed
deeply
.
He
talked
rather
more
quickly
than
usual
about
the
possibility
that
some
of
the
operas
of
Mozart
would
be
played
in
the
summer
.
He
had
received
a
notice
,
he
said
,
and
at
once
produced
a
pocket-book
stuffed
with
papers
,
and
began
shuffling
them
in
search
.
He
held
a
thick
envelope
between
his
finger
and
thumb
,
as
if
the
notice
from
the
opera
company
had
become
in
some
way
inseparably
attached
to
it
.
“
A
letter
from
Cassandra
?
”
said
Katharine
,
in
the
easiest
voice
in
the
world
,
looking
over
his
shoulder
.
“
I’ve
just
written
to
ask
her
to
come
here
,
only
I
forgot
to
post
it
.
”
He
handed
her
the
envelope
in
silence
.
She
took
it
,
extracted
the
sheets
,
and
read
the
letter
through
.
The
reading
seemed
to
Rodney
to
take
an
intolerably
long
time
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
observed
at
length
,
“
a
very
charming
letter
.
”
Rodney’s
face
was
half
turned
away
,
as
if
in
bashfulness
.
Her
view
of
his
profile
almost
moved
her
to
laughter
.
She
glanced
through
the
pages
once
more
.
“
I
see
no
harm
,
”
William
blurted
out
,
“
in
helping
her
—
with
Greek
,
for
example
—
if
she
really
cares
for
that
sort
of
thing
.
”
“
There’s
no
reason
why
she
shouldn’t
care
,
”
said
Katharine
,
consulting
the
pages
once
more
.
“
In
fact
—
ah
,
here
it
is
—
‘The
Greek
alphabet
is
absolutely
fascinating
.’
Obviously
she
does
care
.
”
“
Well
,
Greek
may
be
rather
a
large
order
.
I
was
thinking
chiefly
of
English
.
Her
criticisms
of
my
play
,
though
they’re
too
generous
,
evidently
immature
—
she
can’t
be
more
than
twenty-two
,
I
suppose
?
—
they
certainly
show
the
sort
of
thing
one
wants
:
real
feeling
for
poetry
,
understanding
,
not
formed
,
of
course
,
but
it’s
at
the
root
of
everything
after
all
.
There’d
be
no
harm
in
lending
her
books
?
”
“
No.
Certainly
not
.
”
“
But
if
it
—
hum
—
led
to
a
correspondence
?
I
mean
,
Katharine
,
I
take
it
,
without
going
into
matters
which
seem
to
me
a
little
morbid
,
I
mean
,
”
he
floundered
,
“
you
,
from
your
point
of
view
,
feel
that
there’s
nothing
disagreeable
to
you
in
the
notion
?
If
so
,
you’ve
only
to
speak
,
and
I
never
think
of
it
again
.
”
She
was
surprised
by
the
violence
of
her
desire
that
he
never
should
think
of
it
again
.
For
an
instant
it
seemed
to
her
impossible
to
surrender
an
intimacy
,
which
might
not
be
the
intimacy
of
love
,
but
was
certainly
the
intimacy
of
true
friendship
,
to
any
woman
in
the
world
.
Cassandra
would
never
understand
him
—
she
was
not
good
enough
for
him
.
The
letter
seemed
to
her
a
letter
of
flattery
—
a
letter
addressed
to
his
weakness
,
which
it
made
her
angry
to
think
was
known
to
another
.
For
he
was
not
weak
;
he
had
the
rare
strength
of
doing
what
he
promised
—
she
had
only
to
speak
,
and
he
would
never
think
of
Cassandra
again
.
She
paused
.
Rodney
guessed
the
reason
.
He
was
amazed
.
“
She
loves
me
,
”
he
thought
.
The
woman
he
admired
more
than
any
one
in
the
world
,
loved
him
,
as
he
had
given
up
hope
that
she
would
ever
love
him
.
And
now
that
for
the
first
time
he
was
sure
of
her
love
,
he
resented
it
.
He
felt
it
as
a
fetter
,
an
encumbrance
,
something
which
made
them
both
,
but
him
in
particular
,
ridiculous
.
He
was
in
her
power
completely
,
but
his
eyes
were
open
and
he
was
no
longer
her
slave
or
her
dupe
.
He
would
be
her
master
in
future
.
The
instant
prolonged
itself
as
Katharine
realized
the
strength
of
her
desire
to
speak
the
words
that
should
keep
William
for
ever
,
and
the
baseness
of
the
temptation
which
assailed
her
to
make
the
movement
,
or
speak
the
word
,
which
he
had
often
begged
her
for
,
which
she
was
now
near
enough
to
feeling
.
She
held
the
letter
in
her
hand
.
She
sat
silent
.
At
this
moment
there
was
a
stir
in
the
other
room
;
the
voice
of
Mrs.
Hilbery
was
heard
talking
of
proof-sheets
rescued
by
miraculous
providence
from
butcher’s
ledgers
in
Australia
;
the
curtain
separating
one
room
from
the
other
was
drawn
apart
,
and
Mrs.
Hilbery
and
Augustus
Pelham
stood
in
the
doorway
.
Mrs.
Hilbery
stopped
short
.
She
looked
at
her
daughter
,
and
at
the
man
her
daughter
was
to
marry
,
with
her
peculiar
smile
that
always
seemed
to
tremble
on
the
brink
of
satire
.
“
The
best
of
all
my
treasures
,
Mr.
Pelham
!
”
she
exclaimed
.
“
Don’t
move
,
Katharine
.
Sit
still
,
William
.
Mr.
Pelham
will
come
another
day
.
”
Mr.
Pelham
looked
,
smiled
,
bowed
,
and
,
as
his
hostess
had
moved
on
,
followed
her
without
a
word
.
The
curtain
was
drawn
again
either
by
him
or
by
Mrs.
Hilbery
.
But
her
mother
had
settled
the
question
somehow
.
Katharine
doubted
no
longer
.
“
As
I
told
you
last
night
,
”
she
said
,
“
I
think
it’s
your
duty
,
if
there’s
a
chance
that
you
care
for
Cassandra
,
to
discover
what
your
feeling
is
for
her
now
.
It’s
your
duty
to
her
,
as
well
as
to
me
.
But
we
must
tell
my
mother
.
We
can’t
go
on
pretending
.
”
“
That
is
entirely
in
your
hands
,
of
course
,
”
said
Rodney
,
with
an
immediate
return
to
the
manner
of
a
formal
man
of
honor
.
“
Very
well
,
”
said
Katharine
.
Directly
he
left
her
she
would
go
to
her
mother
,
and
explain
that
the
engagement
was
at
an
end
—
or
it
might
be
better
that
they
should
go
together
?
“
But
,
Katharine
,
”
Rodney
began
,
nervously
attempting
to
stuff
Cassandra’s
sheets
back
into
their
envelope
;
“
if
Cassandra
—
should
Cassandra
—
you’ve
asked
Cassandra
to
stay
with
you
.
”
“
Yes
;
but
I’ve
not
posted
the
letter
.
”
He
crossed
his
knees
in
a
discomfited
silence
.
By
all
his
codes
it
was
impossible
to
ask
a
woman
with
whom
he
had
just
broken
off
his
engagement
to
help
him
to
become
acquainted
with
another
woman
with
a
view
to
his
falling
in
love
with
her
.
If
it
was
announced
that
their
engagement
was
over
,
a
long
and
complete
separation
would
inevitably
follow
;
in
those
circumstances
,
letters
and
gifts
were
returned
;
after
years
of
distance
the
severed
couple
met
,
perhaps
at
an
evening
party
,
and
touched
hands
uncomfortably
with
an
indifferent
word
or
two
.
He
would
be
cast
off
completely
;
he
would
have
to
trust
to
his
own
resources
.
He
could
never
mention
Cassandra
to
Katharine
again
;
for
months
,
and
doubtless
years
,
he
would
never
see
Katharine
again
;
anything
might
happen
to
her
in
his
absence
.
Katharine
was
almost
as
well
aware
of
his
perplexities
as
he
was
.
She
knew
in
what
direction
complete
generosity
pointed
the
way
;
but
pride
—
for
to
remain
engaged
to
Rodney
and
to
cover
his
experiments
hurt
what
was
nobler
in
her
than
mere
vanity
—
fought
for
its
life
.
“
I’m
to
give
up
my
freedom
for
an
indefinite
time
,
”
she
thought
,
“
in
order
that
William
may
see
Cassandra
here
at
his
ease
.
He’s
not
the
courage
to
manage
it
without
my
help
—
he’s
too
much
of
a
coward
to
tell
me
openly
what
he
wants
.
He
hates
the
notion
of
a
public
breach
.
He
wants
to
keep
us
both
.
”
When
she
reached
this
point
,
Rodney
pocketed
the
letter
and
elaborately
looked
at
his
watch
.
Although
the
action
meant
that
he
resigned
Cassandra
,
for
he
knew
his
own
incompetence
and
distrusted
himself
entirely
,
and
lost
Katharine
,
for
whom
his
feeling
was
profound
though
unsatisfactory
,
still
it
appeared
to
him
that
there
was
nothing
else
left
for
him
to
do
.
He
was
forced
to
go
,
leaving
Katharine
free
,
as
he
had
said
,
to
tell
her
mother
that
the
engagement
was
at
an
end
.
But
to
do
what
plain
duty
required
of
an
honorable
man
,
cost
an
effort
which
only
a
day
or
two
ago
would
have
been
inconceivable
to
him
.
That
a
relationship
such
as
he
had
glanced
at
with
desire
could
be
possible
between
him
and
Katharine
,
he
would
have
been
the
first
,
two
days
ago
,
to
deny
with
indignation
.
But
now
his
life
had
changed
;
his
attitude
had
changed
;
his
feelings
were
different
;
new
aims
and
possibilities
had
been
shown
him
,
and
they
had
an
almost
irresistible
fascination
and
force
.
The
training
of
a
life
of
thirty-five
years
had
not
left
him
defenceless
;
he
was
still
master
of
his
dignity
;
he
rose
,
with
a
mind
made
up
to
an
irrevocable
farewell
.
“
I
leave
you
,
then
,
”
he
said
,
standing
up
and
holding
out
his
hand
with
an
effort
that
left
him
pale
,
but
lent
him
dignity
,
“
to
tell
your
mother
that
our
engagement
is
ended
by
your
desire
.
”
She
took
his
hand
and
held
it
.
“
You
don’t
trust
me
?
”
she
said
.
“
I
do
,
absolutely
,
”
he
replied
.
“
No.
You
don’t
trust
me
to
help
you
...
.
I
could
help
you
?
”
“
I’m
hopeless
without
your
help
!
”
he
exclaimed
passionately
,
but
withdrew
his
hand
and
turned
his
back
.
When
he
faced
her
,
she
thought
that
she
saw
him
for
the
first
time
without
disguise
.
“
It’s
useless
to
pretend
that
I
don’t
understand
what
you’re
offering
,
Katharine
.
I
admit
what
you
say
.
Speaking
to
you
perfectly
frankly
,
I
believe
at
this
moment
that
I
do
love
your
cousin
;
there
is
a
chance
that
,
with
your
help
,
I
might
—
but
no
,
”
he
broke
off
,
“
it’s
impossible
,
it’s
wrong
—
I’m
infinitely
to
blame
for
having
allowed
this
situation
to
arise
.
”
“
Sit
beside
me
.
Let’s
consider
sensibly
—
”
“
Your
sense
has
been
our
undoing
—
”
he
groaned
.
“
I
accept
the
responsibility
.
”
“
Ah
,
but
can
I
allow
that
?
”
he
exclaimed
.
“
It
would
mean
—
for
we
must
face
it
,
Katharine
—
that
we
let
our
engagement
stand
for
the
time
nominally
;
in
fact
,
of
course
,
your
freedom
would
be
absolute
.
”
“
And
yours
too
.
”
“
Yes
,
we
should
both
be
free
.
Let
us
say
that
I
saw
Cassandra
once
,
twice
,
perhaps
,
under
these
conditions
;
and
then
if
,
as
I
think
certain
,
the
whole
thing
proves
a
dream
,
we
tell
your
mother
instantly
.
Why
not
tell
her
now
,
indeed
,
under
pledge
of
secrecy
?
”
“
Why
not
?
It
would
be
over
London
in
ten
minutes
,
besides
,
she
would
never
even
remotely
understand
.
”
“
Your
father
,
then
?
This
secrecy
is
detestable
—
it’s
dishonorable
.
”
“
My
father
would
understand
even
less
than
my
mother
.
”
“
Ah
,
who
could
be
expected
to
understand
?
”
Rodney
groaned
;
“
but
it’s
from
your
point
of
view
that
we
must
look
at
it
.
It’s
not
only
asking
too
much
,
it’s
putting
you
into
a
position
—
a
position
in
which
I
could
not
endure
to
see
my
own
sister
.
”
“
We’re
not
brothers
and
sisters
,
”
she
said
impatiently
,
“
and
if
we
can’t
decide
,
who
can
?
I’m
not
talking
nonsense
,
”
she
proceeded
.
“
I’ve
done
my
best
to
think
this
out
from
every
point
of
view
,
and
I’ve
come
to
the
conclusion
that
there
are
risks
which
have
to
be
taken
,
—
though
I
don’t
deny
that
they
hurt
horribly
.
”
“
Katharine
,
you
mind
?
You’ll
mind
too
much
.
”
“
No
I
shan’t
,
”
she
said
stoutly
.
“
I
shall
mind
a
good
deal
,
but
I’m
prepared
for
that
;
I
shall
get
through
it
,
because
you
will
help
me
.
You’ll
both
help
me
.
In
fact
,
we’ll
help
each
other
.
That’s
a
Christian
doctrine
,
isn’t
it
?
”
“
It
sounds
more
like
Paganism
to
me
,
”
Rodney
groaned
,
as
he
reviewed
the
situation
into
which
her
Christian
doctrine
was
plunging
them
.
And
yet
he
could
not
deny
that
a
divine
relief
possessed
him
,
and
that
the
future
,
instead
of
wearing
a
lead-colored
mask
,
now
blossomed
with
a
thousand
varied
gaieties
and
excitements
.
He
was
actually
to
see
Cassandra
within
a
week
or
perhaps
less
,
and
he
was
more
anxious
to
know
the
date
of
her
arrival
than
he
could
own
even
to
himself
.
It
seemed
base
to
be
so
anxious
to
pluck
this
fruit
of
Katharine’s
unexampled
generosity
and
of
his
own
contemptible
baseness
.
And
yet
,
though
he
used
these
words
automatically
,
they
had
now
no
meaning
.
He
was
not
debased
in
his
own
eyes
by
what
he
had
done
,
and
as
for
praising
Katharine
,
were
they
not
partners
,
conspirators
,
people
bent
upon
the
same
quest
together
,
so
that
to
praise
the
pursuit
of
a
common
end
as
an
act
of
generosity
was
meaningless
.
He
took
her
hand
and
pressed
it
,
not
in
thanks
so
much
as
in
an
ecstasy
of
comradeship
.
“
We
will
help
each
other
,
”
he
said
,
repeating
her
words
,
seeking
her
eyes
in
an
enthusiasm
of
friendship
.
Her
eyes
were
grave
but
dark
with
sadness
as
they
rested
on
him
.
“
He’s
already
gone
,
”
she
thought
,
“
far
away
—
he
thinks
of
me
no
more
.
”
And
the
fancy
came
to
her
that
,
as
they
sat
side
by
side
,
hand
in
hand
,
she
could
hear
the
earth
pouring
from
above
to
make
a
barrier
between
them
,
so
that
,
as
they
sat
,
they
were
separated
second
by
second
by
an
impenetrable
wall
.
The
process
,
which
affected
her
as
that
of
being
sealed
away
and
for
ever
from
all
companionship
with
the
person
she
cared
for
most
,
came
to
an
end
at
last
,
and
by
common
consent
they
unclasped
their
fingers
,
Rodney
touching
hers
with
his
lips
,
as
the
curtain
parted
,
and
Mrs.
Hilbery
peered
through
the
opening
with
her
benevolent
and
sarcastic
expression
to
ask
whether
Katharine
could
remember
was
it
Tuesday
or
Wednesday
,
and
did
she
dine
in
Westminster
?
“
Dearest
William
,
”
she
said
,
pausing
,
as
if
she
could
not
resist
the
pleasure
of
encroaching
for
a
second
upon
this
wonderful
world
of
love
and
confidence
and
romance
.
“
Dearest
children
,
”
she
added
,
disappearing
with
an
impulsive
gesture
,
as
if
she
forced
herself
to
draw
the
curtain
upon
a
scene
which
she
refused
all
temptation
to
interrupt
.
CHAPTER
XXV
At
a
quarter-past
three
in
the
afternoon
of
the
following
Saturday
Ralph
Denham
sat
on
the
bank
of
the
lake
in
Kew
Gardens
,
dividing
the
dial-plate
of
his
watch
into
sections
with
his
forefinger
.
The
just
and
inexorable
nature
of
time
itself
was
reflected
in
his
face
.
He
might
have
been
composing
a
hymn
to
the
unhasting
and
unresting
march
of
that
divinity
.
He
seemed
to
greet
the
lapse
of
minute
after
minute
with
stern
acquiescence
in
the
inevitable
order
.
His
expression
was
so
severe
,
so
serene
,
so
immobile
,
that
it
seemed
obvious
that
for
him
at
least
there
was
a
grandeur
in
the
departing
hour
which
no
petty
irritation
on
his
part
was
to
mar
,
although
the
wasting
time
wasted
also
high
private
hopes
of
his
own
.
His
face
was
no
bad
index
to
what
went
on
within
him
.
He
was
in
a
condition
of
mind
rather
too
exalted
for
the
trivialities
of
daily
life
.
He
could
not
accept
the
fact
that
a
lady
was
fifteen
minutes
late
in
keeping
her
appointment
without
seeing
in
that
accident
the
frustration
of
his
entire
life
.
Looking
at
his
watch
,
he
seemed
to
look
deep
into
the
springs
of
human
existence
,
and
by
the
light
of
what
he
saw
there
altered
his
course
towards
the
north
and
the
midnight
...
.
Yes
,
one’s
voyage
must
be
made
absolutely
without
companions
through
ice
and
black
water
—
towards
what
goal
?
Here
he
laid
his
finger
upon
the
half-hour
,
and
decided
that
when
the
minute-hand
reached
that
point
he
would
go
,
at
the
same
time
answering
the
question
put
by
another
of
the
many
voices
of
consciousness
with
the
reply
that
there
was
undoubtedly
a
goal
,
but
that
it
would
need
the
most
relentless
energy
to
keep
anywhere
in
its
direction
.
Still
,
still
,
one
goes
on
,
the
ticking
seconds
seemed
to
assure
him
,
with
dignity
,
with
open
eyes
,
with
determination
not
to
accept
the
second-rate
,
not
to
be
tempted
by
the
unworthy
,
not
to
yield
,
not
to
compromise
.
Twenty-five
minutes
past
three
were
now
marked
upon
the
face
of
the
watch
.
The
world
,
he
assured
himself
,
since
Katharine
Hilbery
was
now
half
an
hour
behind
her
time
,
offers
no
happiness
,
no
rest
from
struggle
,
no
certainty
.
In
a
scheme
of
things
utterly
bad
from
the
start
the
only
unpardonable
folly
is
that
of
hope
.
Raising
his
eyes
for
a
moment
from
the
face
of
his
watch
,
he
rested
them
upon
the
opposite
bank
,
reflectively
and
not
without
a
certain
wistfulness
,
as
if
the
sternness
of
their
gaze
were
still
capable
of
mitigation
.
Soon
a
look
of
the
deepest
satisfaction
filled
them
,
though
,
for
a
moment
,
he
did
not
move
.
He
watched
a
lady
who
came
rapidly
,
and
yet
with
a
trace
of
hesitation
,
down
the
broad
grass-walk
towards
him
.
She
did
not
see
him
.
Distance
lent
her
figure
an
indescribable
height
,
and
romance
seemed
to
surround
her
from
the
floating
of
a
purple
veil
which
the
light
air
filled
and
curved
from
her
shoulders
.
“
Here
she
comes
,
like
a
ship
in
full
sail
,
”
he
said
to
himself
,
half
remembering
some
line
from
a
play
or
poem
where
the
heroine
bore
down
thus
with
feathers
flying
and
airs
saluting
her
.
The
greenery
and
the
high
presences
of
the
trees
surrounded
her
as
if
they
stood
forth
at
her
coming
.
He
rose
,
and
she
saw
him
;
her
little
exclamation
proved
that
she
was
glad
to
find
him
,
and
then
that
she
blamed
herself
for
being
late
.
“
Why
did
you
never
tell
me
?
I
didn’t
know
there
was
this
,
”
she
remarked
,
alluding
to
the
lake
,
the
broad
green
space
,
the
vista
of
trees
,
with
the
ruffled
gold
of
the
Thames
in
the
distance
and
the
Ducal
castle
standing
in
its
meadows
.
She
paid
the
rigid
tail
of
the
Ducal
lion
the
tribute
of
incredulous
laughter
.
“
You’ve
never
been
to
Kew
?
”
Denham
remarked
.
But
it
appeared
that
she
had
come
once
as
a
small
child
,
when
the
geography
of
the
place
was
entirely
different
,
and
the
fauna
included
certainly
flamingoes
and
,
possibly
,
camels
.
They
strolled
on
,
refashioning
these
legendary
gardens
.
She
was
,
as
he
felt
,
glad
merely
to
stroll
and
loiter
and
let
her
fancy
touch
upon
anything
her
eyes
encountered
—
a
bush
,
a
park-keeper
,
a
decorated
goose
—
as
if
the
relaxation
soothed
her
.
The
warmth
of
the
afternoon
,
the
first
of
spring
,
tempted
them
to
sit
upon
a
seat
in
a
glade
of
beech-trees
,
with
forest
drives
striking
green
paths
this
way
and
that
around
them
.
She
sighed
deeply
.
“
It’s
so
peaceful
,
”
she
said
,
as
if
in
explanation
of
her
sigh
.
Not
a
single
person
was
in
sight
,
and
the
stir
of
the
wind
in
the
branches
,
that
sound
so
seldom
heard
by
Londoners
,
seemed
to
her
as
if
wafted
from
fathomless
oceans
of
sweet
air
in
the
distance
.
While
she
breathed
and
looked
,
Denham
was
engaged
in
uncovering
with
the
point
of
his
stick
a
group
of
green
spikes
half
smothered
by
the
dead
leaves
.
He
did
this
with
the
peculiar
touch
of
the
botanist
.
In
naming
the
little
green
plant
to
her
he
used
the
Latin
name
,
thus
disguising
some
flower
familiar
even
to
Chelsea
,
and
making
her
exclaim
,
half
in
amusement
,
at
his
knowledge
.
Her
own
ignorance
was
vast
,
she
confessed
.
What
did
one
call
that
tree
opposite
,
for
instance
,
supposing
one
condescended
to
call
it
by
its
English
name
?
Beech
or
elm
or
sycamore
?
It
chanced
,
by
the
testimony
of
a
dead
leaf
,
to
be
oak
;
and
a
little
attention
to
a
diagram
which
Denham
proceeded
to
draw
upon
an
envelope
soon
put
Katharine
in
possession
of
some
of
the
fundamental
distinctions
between
our
British
trees
.
She
then
asked
him
to
inform
her
about
flowers
.
To
her
they
were
variously
shaped
and
colored
petals
,
poised
,
at
different
seasons
of
the
year
,
upon
very
similar
green
stalks
;
but
to
him
they
were
,
in
the
first
instance
,
bulbs
or
seeds
,
and
later
,
living
things
endowed
with
sex
,
and
pores
,
and
susceptibilities
which
adapted
themselves
by
all
manner
of
ingenious
devices
to
live
and
beget
life
,
and
could
be
fashioned
squat
or
tapering
,
flame-colored
or
pale
,
pure
or
spotted
,
by
processes
which
might
reveal
the
secrets
of
human
existence
.
Denham
spoke
with
increasing
ardor
of
a
hobby
which
had
long
been
his
in
secret
.
No
discourse
could
have
worn
a
more
welcome
sound
in
Katharine’s
ears
.
For
weeks
she
had
heard
nothing
that
made
such
pleasant
music
in
her
mind
.
It
wakened
echoes
in
all
those
remote
fastnesses
of
her
being
where
loneliness
had
brooded
so
long
undisturbed
.
She
wished
he
would
go
on
for
ever
talking
of
plants
,
and
showing
her
how
science
felt
not
quite
blindly
for
the
law
that
ruled
their
endless
variations
.
A
law
that
might
be
inscrutable
but
was
certainly
omnipotent
appealed
to
her
at
the
moment
,
because
she
could
find
nothing
like
it
in
possession
of
human
lives
.
Circumstances
had
long
forced
her
,
as
they
force
most
women
in
the
flower
of
youth
,
to
consider
,
painfully
and
minutely
,
all
that
part
of
life
which
is
conspicuously
without
order
;
she
had
had
to
consider
moods
and
wishes
,
degrees
of
liking
or
disliking
,
and
their
effect
upon
the
destiny
of
people
dear
to
her
;
she
had
been
forced
to
deny
herself
any
contemplation
of
that
other
part
of
life
where
thought
constructs
a
destiny
which
is
independent
of
human
beings
.
As
Denham
spoke
,
she
followed
his
words
and
considered
their
bearing
with
an
easy
vigor
which
spoke
of
a
capacity
long
hoarded
and
unspent
.
The
very
trees
and
the
green
merging
into
the
blue
distance
became
symbols
of
the
vast
external
world
which
recks
so
little
of
the
happiness
,
of
the
marriages
or
deaths
of
individuals
.
In
order
to
give
her
examples
of
what
he
was
saying
,
Denham
led
the
way
,
first
to
the
Rock
Garden
,
and
then
to
the
Orchid
House
.
For
him
there
was
safety
in
the
direction
which
the
talk
had
taken
.
His
emphasis
might
come
from
feelings
more
personal
than
those
science
roused
in
him
,
but
it
was
disguised
,
and
naturally
he
found
it
easy
to
expound
and
explain
.
Nevertheless
,
when
he
saw
Katharine
among
the
orchids
,
her
beauty
strangely
emphasized
by
the
fantastic
plants
,
which
seemed
to
peer
and
gape
at
her
from
striped
hoods
and
fleshy
throats
,
his
ardor
for
botany
waned
,
and
a
more
complex
feeling
replaced
it
.
She
fell
silent
.
The
orchids
seemed
to
suggest
absorbing
reflections
.
In
defiance
of
the
rules
she
stretched
her
ungloved
hand
and
touched
one
.
The
sight
of
the
rubies
upon
her
finger
affected
him
so
disagreeably
that
he
started
and
turned
away
.
But
next
moment
he
controlled
himself
;
he
looked
at
her
taking
in
one
strange
shape
after
another
with
the
contemplative
,
considering
gaze
of
a
person
who
sees
not
exactly
what
is
before
him
,
but
gropes
in
regions
that
lie
beyond
it
.
The
far-away
look
entirely
lacked
self-consciousness
.
Denham
doubted
whether
she
remembered
his
presence
.
He
could
recall
himself
,
of
course
,
by
a
word
or
a
movement
—
but
why
?
She
was
happier
thus
.
She
needed
nothing
that
he
could
give
her
.
And
for
him
,
too
,
perhaps
,
it
was
best
to
keep
aloof
,
only
to
know
that
she
existed
,
to
preserve
what
he
already
had
—
perfect
,
remote
,
and
unbroken
.
Further
,
her
still
look
,
standing
among
the
orchids
in
that
hot
atmosphere
,
strangely
illustrated
some
scene
that
he
had
imagined
in
his
room
at
home
.
The
sight
,
mingling
with
his
recollection
,
kept
him
silent
when
the
door
was
shut
and
they
were
walking
on
again
.
But
though
she
did
not
speak
,
Katharine
had
an
uneasy
sense
that
silence
on
her
part
was
selfishness
.
It
was
selfish
of
her
to
continue
,
as
she
wished
to
do
,
a
discussion
of
subjects
not
remotely
connected
with
any
human
beings
.
She
roused
herself
to
consider
their
exact
position
upon
the
turbulent
map
of
the
emotions
.
Oh
yes
—
it
was
a
question
whether
Ralph
Denham
should
live
in
the
country
and
write
a
book
;
it
was
getting
late
;
they
must
waste
no
more
time
;
Cassandra
arrived
to-night
for
dinner
;
she
flinched
and
roused
herself
,
and
discovered
that
she
ought
to
be
holding
something
in
her
hands
.
But
they
were
empty
.
She
held
them
out
with
an
exclamation
.
“
I’ve
left
my
bag
somewhere
—
where
?
”
The
gardens
had
no
points
of
the
compass
,
so
far
as
she
was
concerned
.
She
had
been
walking
for
the
most
part
on
grass
—
that
was
all
she
knew
.
Even
the
road
to
the
Orchid
House
had
now
split
itself
into
three
.
But
there
was
no
bag
in
the
Orchid
House
.
It
must
,
therefore
,
have
been
left
upon
the
seat
.
They
retraced
their
steps
in
the
preoccupied
manner
of
people
who
have
to
think
about
something
that
is
lost
.
What
did
this
bag
look
like
?
What
did
it
contain
?
“
A
purse
—
a
ticket
—
some
letters
,
papers
,
”
Katharine
counted
,
becoming
more
agitated
as
she
recalled
the
list
.
Denham
went
on
quickly
in
advance
of
her
,
and
she
heard
him
shout
that
he
had
found
it
before
she
reached
the
seat
.
In
order
to
make
sure
that
all
was
safe
she
spread
the
contents
on
her
knee
.
It
was
a
queer
collection
,
Denham
thought
,
gazing
with
the
deepest
interest
.
Loose
gold
coins
were
tangled
in
a
narrow
strip
of
lace
;
there
were
letters
which
somehow
suggested
the
extreme
of
intimacy
;
there
were
two
or
three
keys
,
and
lists
of
commissions
against
which
crosses
were
set
at
intervals
.
But
she
did
not
seem
satisfied
until
she
had
made
sure
of
a
certain
paper
so
folded
that
Denham
could
not
judge
what
it
contained
.
In
her
relief
and
gratitude
she
began
at
once
to
say
that
she
had
been
thinking
over
what
Denham
had
told
her
of
his
plans
.
He
cut
her
short
.
“
Don’t
let’s
discuss
that
dreary
business
.
”
“
But
I
thought
—
”
“
It’s
a
dreary
business
.
I
ought
never
to
have
bothered
you
—
”
“
Have
you
decided
,
then
?
”
He
made
an
impatient
sound
.
“
It’s
not
a
thing
that
matters
.
”
She
could
only
say
rather
flatly
,
“
Oh
!
”
“
I
mean
it
matters
to
me
,
but
it
matters
to
no
one
else
.
Anyhow
,
”
he
continued
,
more
amiably
,
“
I
see
no
reason
why
you
should
be
bothered
with
other
people’s
nuisances
.
”
She
supposed
that
she
had
let
him
see
too
clearly
her
weariness
of
this
side
of
life
.
“
I’m
afraid
I’ve
been
absent-minded
,
”
she
began
,
remembering
how
often
William
had
brought
this
charge
against
her
.
“
You
have
a
good
deal
to
make
you
absent-minded
,
”
he
replied
.
“
Yes
,
”
she
replied
,
flushing
.
“
No
,
”
she
contradicted
herself
.
“
Nothing
particular
,
I
mean
.
But
I
was
thinking
about
plants
.
I
was
enjoying
myself
.
In
fact
,
I’ve
seldom
enjoyed
an
afternoon
more
.
But
I
want
to
hear
what
you’ve
settled
,
if
you
don’t
mind
telling
me
.
”
“
Oh
,
it’s
all
settled
,
”
he
replied
.
“
I’m
going
to
this
infernal
cottage
to
write
a
worthless
book
.
”
“
How
I
envy
you
,
”
she
replied
,
with
the
utmost
sincerity
.
“
Well
,
cottages
are
to
be
had
for
fifteen
shillings
a
week
.
”
“
Cottages
are
to
be
had
—
yes
,
”
she
replied
.
“
The
question
is
—
”
She
checked
herself
.
“
Two
rooms
are
all
I
should
want
,
”
she
continued
,
with
a
curious
sigh
;
“
one
for
eating
,
one
for
sleeping
.
Oh
,
but
I
should
like
another
,
a
large
one
at
the
top
,
and
a
little
garden
where
one
could
grow
flowers
.
A
path
—
so
—
down
to
a
river
,
or
up
to
a
wood
,
and
the
sea
not
very
far
off
,
so
that
one
could
hear
the
waves
at
night
.
Ships
just
vanishing
on
the
horizon
—
”
She
broke
off
.
“
Shall
you
be
near
the
sea
?
”
“
My
notion
of
perfect
happiness
,
”
he
began
,
not
replying
to
her
question
,
“
is
to
live
as
you’ve
said
.
”
“
Well
,
now
you
can
.
You
will
work
,
I
suppose
,
”
she
continued
;
“
you’ll
work
all
the
morning
and
again
after
tea
and
perhaps
at
night
.
You
won’t
have
