overher
mistress
,
she
whispered
as
softly
as
she
could
,
choking
down
the
tears
that
might
have
disturbed
the
peace
which
,
mercifully
,
seemed
to
have
come
with
dying
,
"
Yes
,
you
are
going
very
soon
—
to
God
.
He
will
watch
over
baby
,
and
give
him
back
to
you
again
some
day
quite
safe
.
"
"
Will
He
?
"
The
tone
was
submissive
,
half-inquiring
;
like
that
of
a
child
learning
something
it
had
never
learned
before
—
as
Selina
was
now
learning
.
Perhaps
even
those
three
short
weeks
of
motherhood
had
power
so
to
raise
her
whole
nature
that
she
now
gained
the
composure
with
which
even
the
weakest
soul
can
sometimes
meet
death
,
and
had
grown
not
unworthy
of
the
dignity
of
a
Christian
's
dying
.
Suddenly
she
shivered
.
"
I
am
afraid
;
I
never
thought
of
—
this
.
Will
nobody
come
and
speak
to
me
?
"
Oh
,
how
Elizabeth
longed
for
Miss
Hilary
,
for
any
body
,
who
would
have
known
what
to
say
to
the
dying
woman
;
who
perhaps
,
as
her
look
and
words
implied
,
till
this
hour
had
never
thought
of
dying
.
Once
it
crossed
the
servant
's
mind
to
send
for
some
clergyman
;
but
she
knew
none
,
and
was
aware
that
Mrs.
Ascott
did
not
either
.
She
had
no
superstitious
feeling
that
any
clergyman
would
do
;
just
to
give
a
sort
of
spiritual
extreme
unction
to
the
departing
soul
.
Her
own
religious
faith
was
of
such
an
intensely
personal
silent
kind
,
that
she
did
not
believe
in
any
good
to
be
derived
from
a
strange
gentleman
coming
and
praying
by
the
bedside
of
a
stranger
,
repeating
set
sayings
with
a
set
countenance
,
and
going
away
again
.
And
yet
with
that
instinct
which
comes
to
almost
every
human
soul
,
fast
departing
,
Mrs.
Ascott
's
white
lips
whispered
,
"
Pray
.
"
Elizabeth
had
no
words
,
except
those
which
Miss
Leaf
used
to
say
night
after
night
in
the
little
parlor
at
Stowbury
.
She
knelt
down
,
and
in
a
trembling
voice
repeated
in
her
mistress
's
ear
—
"
Our
Father
which
art
in
heaven
"
—
to
the
end
.
After
it
Mrs.
Ascott
lay
very
quiet
.
At
length
she
said
,
"
Please
—
bring
—
my
—
baby
.
"
It
had
been
from
the
first
,
and
was
to
the
last
,
"
my
"
baby
.
The
small
face
was
laid
close
to
hers
that
she
might
kiss
it
.
"
He
looks
well
;
he
does
not
miss
me
much
yet
,
poor
little
fellow
!
"
And
the
strong
natural
agony
came
upon
her
,
conquering
even
the
weakness
of
her
last
hour
.
"
Oh
,
it
's
hard
,
hard
!
Will
nobody
teach
my
baby
to
remember
me
?
"
And
then
lifting
herself
up
on
her
elbow
she
caught
hold
of
nurse
.
"
Tell
Mr.
Ascott
that
Elizabeth
is
to
take
care
of
baby
.
Promise
,
Elizabeth
.
Johanna
is
old
—
Hilary
may
be
married
;
you
will
take
care
of
my
baby
?
"
"
I
will
—
as
long
as
I
live
,
"
said
Elizabeth
Hand
.
She
took
the
child
in
her
arms
,
and
for
almost
another
hour
stood
beside
the
bed
thus
,
until
nurse
whispered
,
"
Carry
it
away
;
its
mother
does
n't
know
it
now
.
"
But
she
did
;
for
she
feebly
moved
her
fingers
as
if
in
search
of
something
.
Baby
was
still
asleep
,
but
Elizabeth
contrived
,
by
kneeling
down
close
to
the
bed
,
to
put
the
tiny
hand
under
those
cold
fingers
;
they
closed
immediately
upon
it
,
and
so
remained
till
the
last
.
When
Miss
Leaf
and
Miss
Hilary
came
in
,
Elizabeth
was
still
kneeling
there
,
trying
softly
to
take
the
little
hand
away
;
for
the
baby
had
wakened
and
began
its
piteous
wail
.
But
it
did
not
disturb
the
mother
now
.
"
Poor
Selina
"
was
no
more
.
Nothing
of
her
was
left
to
her
child
except
the
name
of
a
mother
.
It
may
have
been
better
so
.
CHAPTER
XXV
.
"
IN
MEMORY
OF
SELINA
,
THE
BELOVED
WIFE
OF
PETER
ASCOTT
,
ESQ.
,
OF
RUSSELL
SQUARE
,
LONDON
,
AND
DAUGHTER
OF
THE
LATE
HENRY
LEAF
,
ESQ.
,
OF
THIS
TOWN
.
DIED
DECEMBER
24
,
1839.
AGED
41
YEARS
.
"
Such
was
the
inscription
which
now
,
for
six
months
,
had
met
the
eyes
of
the
inhabitants
of
Stowbury
,
on
a
large
,
dazzlingly
white
marble
monument
,
the
first
that
was
placed
in
the
Church-yard
of
the
New
Church
.
What
motive
induced
Mr.
Ascott
to
inter
his
wife
here
—
whether
it
was
a
natural
wish
to
lay
her
,
and
some
day
lay
beside
her
,
in
their
native
earth
;
or
the
less
creditable
desire
of
showing
how
rich
he
had
become
,
and
of
joining
his
once
humble
name
,
even
on
a
tombstone
,
with
one
of
the
oldest
names
in
the
annals
of
Stowbury
—
nobody
could
find
out
.
Probably
nobody
cared
.
The
Misses
Leaf
were
content
that
he
should
do
as
he
pleased
in
the
matter
:
he
had
shown
strong
but
not
exaggerated
grief
at
his
loss
;
if
any
remorse
mingled
therewith
,
Selina
's
sisters
happily
did
not
know
it
.
Nobody
ever
did
know
the
full
history
of
things
except
Elizabeth
,
and
she
kept
it
to
herself
.
So
the
family
skeleton
was
buried
quietly
in
Mrs.
Ascott
's
grave
.
Peter
Ascott
showed
,
in
his
coarse
fashion
,
much
sympathy
and
consideration
for
his
wife
's
sisters
.
He
had
them
staying
in
the
house
till
a
week
after
the
funeral
was
over
,
and
provided
them
with
the
deepest
and
handsomest
mourning
.
He
even
,
in
a
formal
way
took
counsel
with
them
as
to
the
carrying
out
of
Mrs.
Ascott
's
wishes
,
and
the
retaining
of
Elizabeth
in
charge
of
the
son
and
heir
,
which
was
accordingly
settled
.
And
then
they
went
back
to
their
old
life
at
Richmond
,
and
the
widower
returned
to
his
solitary
bachelor
ways
.
He
looked
as
usual
;
went
to
and
from
the
City
as
usual
;
and
his
brief
married
life
seemed
to
have
passed
away
from
him
like
a
dream
.
Not
altogether
a
dream
.
Gradually
he
began
to
awake
to
the
consciousness
of
an
occasional
child
's
cry
in
the
house
—
that
large
,
silent
,
dreary
house
,
where
he
was
once
more
the
sole
,
solitary
master
.
Sometimes
,
when
he
came
in
from
church
of
Sundays
,
he
would
mount
another
flight
of
stairs
,
walk
into
the
nursery
at
the
top
of
the
house
,
and
stare
with
distant
curiosity
at
the
little
creature
in
Elizabeth
's
arms
,
pronounce
it
a
"
fine
child
,
and
did
her
great
credit
!
"
and
then
walk
down
again
.
He
never
seemed
to
consider
it
as
his
child
,
this
poor
old
bachelor
of
so
many
years
'
standing
;
he
had
outgrown
apparently
all
sense
of
the
affections
or
the
duties
of
a
father
.
Whether
they
ever
would
come
into
him
;
whether
,
after
babyhood
was
passed
,
he
would
begin
to
take
an
interest
in
the
little
creature
who
throve
and
blossomed
into
beauty
—
which
,
as
if
watched
by
guardian
angles
,
dead
mothers
'
children
often
seem
to
do
—
was
a
source
of
earnest
speculation
to
Elizabeth
.
In
the
mean
time
he
treated
both
her
and
the
baby
with
extreme
consideration
,
allowed
her
to
do
just
as
she
liked
,
and
gave
her
indefinite
sums
of
money
to
expend
upon
the
nursery
.
When
summer
came
,
and
the
doctor
ordered
change
of
air
,
Mr.
Ascott
consented
to
her
suggestion
of
taking
a
lodging
for
herself
and
baby
near
baby
's
aunts
at
Richmond
;
only
desiring
that
the
lodging
should
be
as
handsome
as
could
be
secured
,
and
that
every
other
Sunday
she
should
bring
up
his
son
to
spend
the
day
at
Russell
Square
.
And
so
,
during
the
long
summer
months
,
the
motherless
child
,
in
its
deep
mourning
—
which
looks
so
pathetic
on
a
very
young
baby
—
might
be
seen
carried
about
in
Elizabeth
's
arms
every
where
.
When
,
after
the
first
six
weeks
,
the
wet
nurse
left
—
in
fact
,
two
or
three
nurses
successively
were
abolished
—
she
took
little
Henry
solely
under
her
own
charge
.
She
had
comparatively
small
experience
,
but
she
had
common
sense
,
and
the
strong
motherly
instinct
which
comes
by
nature
to
some
women
.
Besides
,
her
whole
soul
was
wrapped
up
in
this
little
child
.
From
the
hour
when
,
even
with
her
mistress
dying
before
her
eyes
,
Elizabeth
had
felt
a
strange
thrill
of
comfort
in
the
new
duty
which
had
come
into
her
blank
life
,
she
took
to
this
duty
as
women
only
can
whose
life
has
become
a
blank
.
She
received
the
child
as
a
blessing
sent
direct
from
God
;
by
unconscious
hands
—
for
Mrs.
Ascott
knew
nothing
of
what
happened
;
something
that
would
heal
her
wounded
heart
,
and
make
her
forget
Tom
.
And
so
it
did
.
Women
and
mothers
well
know
how
engrossing
is
the
care
of
an
infant
;
how
each
minute
of
the
day
is
filled
up
with
something
to
be
done
or
thought
of
;
so
that
"
fretting
"
about
extraneous
things
becomes
quite
impossible
.
How
gradually
the
fresh
life
growing
up
and
expanding
puts
the
worn
out
or
blighted
life
into
the
back
ground
,
and
all
the
hopes
and
fancies
cling
around
the
small
,
beautiful
present
,
the
ever
developing
,
the
ever
marvelous
mystery
of
a
young
child
's
existence
!
Why
it
should
be
so
,
we
can
only
guess
;
but
that
it
is
so
,
many
a
wretched
wife
,
many
a
widowed
mother
,
many
a
broken
hearted
,
forlorn
aunt
,
has
thankfully
proved
.
Elizabeth
proved
it
likewise
.
She
did
not
exactly
lose
all
memory
of
her
trouble
,
but
it
seemed
lighter
;
it
was
swallowed
up
in
this
second
passion
of
adopted
motherhood
.
And
so
she
sank
,
quietly
and
at
once
,
into
the
condition
of
a
middle
aged
woman
,
whose
life
's
story
—
and
her
sort
of
women
have
but
one
—
was
a
mere
episode
,
told
and
ended
.
For
Esther
had
left
and
been
married
to
Tom
Cliffe
within
a
few
week
's
of
Mrs.
Ascott
's
funeral
.
Of
course
,
the
household
knew
every
thing
;
but
nobody
condoled
with
Elizabeth
.
There
was
a
certain
stand-off-ishness
about
her
which
made
them
hold
their
tongues
.
They
treated
her
with
much
respect
,
as
her
new
position
demanded
.
She
took
this
,
as
she
took
every
thing
,
with
the
grave
quietness
which
was
her
fashion
from
her
youth
up
;
assumed
her
place
as
a
confidential
upper
servant
;
dressed
well
but
soberly
,
like
a
woman
of
forty
,
and
was
called
"
Mrs.
Hand
.
"
The
only
trace
her
"
disappointment
"
left
upon
her
was
a
slightly
bitter
way
of
speaking
about
men
in
general
,
and
a
dislike
to
any
chatter
about
love
affairs
and
matrimony
.
Her
own
story
she
was
never
known
to
refer
to
in
the
most
distant
way
,
except
once
.
Miss
Hilary
—
who
,
of
course
,
had
heard
all
,
but
delicately
kept
silence
—
one
night
,
when
little
Henry
was
not
well
,
remained
in
the
lodgings
on
Richmond
Hill
,
and
slept
in
the
nursery
,
Elizabeth
making
up
for
herself
a
bed
on
the
floor
close
beside
baby
and
cradle
.
In
the
dead
of
night
,
the
two
women
,
mistress
and
maid
,
by
some
chance
,
said
a
few
things
to
one
another
which
never
might
have
been
said
in
the
daylight
,
and
which
,
by
tacit
consent
,
were
never
afterward
referred
to
by
either
,
any
more
than
if
they
had
been
spoken
in
a
dream
.
Elizabeth
told
briefly
,
though
not
without
emotion
,
all
that
had
happened
between
herself
and
Tom
,
and
how
he
was
married
to
Esther
Martin
.
And
then
both
women
went
back
,
in
a
moralizing
way
,
to
the
days
when
they
had
both
been
"
young
"
at
Stowbury
,
and
how
different
life
was
from
what
they
then
thought
and
looked
forward
to
—
Miss
Hilary
and
her
"
bower
maiden
.
"
"
Yes
,
"
answered
the
former
with
a
sigh
,
"
things
are
indeed
not
as
people
fancy
when
they
are
girls
.
We
dream
,
and
dream
,
and
think
we
see
very
far
into
the
future
,
which
nobody
sees
but
God
.
I
often
wonder
how
my
life
will
end
.
"
Elizabeth
said
,
after
a
pause
,
"
I
always
felt
sure
you
would
be
married
,
Miss
Hilary
.
There
was
one
person
—
Is
he
alive
still
?
Is
he
ever
coming
home
?
"
"
I
do
n't
know
.
"
"
I
am
sure
he
was
very
fond
of
you
.
And
he
looked
like
a
good
man
.
"
"
He
was
the
best
man
I
ever
knew
.
"
This
was
all
Miss
Hilary
said
,
and
she
said
it
softly
and
mournfully
.
She
might
never
have
said
it
at
all
;
but
it
dropped
from
her
unawares
in
the
deep
feeling
of
the
moment
,
when
her
heart
was
tender
over
Elizabeth
's
own
sad
,
simply
told
story
.
Also
because
of
a
sudden
and
great
darkness
which
had
come
over
her
own
.
Literally
,
she
did
not
now
know
whether
Robert
Lyon
were
alive
or
dead
.
Two
months
ago
his
letters
had
suddenly
ceased
,
without
any
explanation
,
his
last
being
exactly
the
same
as
the
others
—
as
frank
,
as
warmly
affectionate
,
as
cheerful
and
brave
.
One
solution
to
this
was
his
possible
coming
home
.
But
she
did
not
,
after
careful
reasoning
on
the
subject
,
believe
that
likely
.
She
knew
exactly
his
business
relations
with
his
employers
;
that
there
was
a
fixed
time
for
his
return
to
England
,
which
nothing
except
the
very
strongest
necessity
could
alter
.
Even
in
the
chance
of
his
health
breaking
,
so
as
to
incapacitate
him
for
work
,
he
should
,
he
always
said
,
have
to
go
to
the
hills
,
rather
than
take
the
voyage
home
prematurely
.
And
in
that
case
he
certainly
would
have
informed
his
friends
of
his
movements
.
There
was
nothing
erratic
,
or
careless
,
or
eccentric
about
Robert
Lyon
;
he
was
a
practical
,
business-like
Scotchman
—
far
too
cautious
and
too
regular
in
all
his
habits
to
be
guilty
of
those
accidental
negligences
by
which
wanderers
abroad
sometimes
cause
such
cruel
anxieties
to
friends
at
home
.
For
the
same
reason
,
the
other
terrible
possibility
—
his
death
—
was
not
likely
to
have
happened
without
their
hearing
of
it
.
Hilary
felt
sure
,
with
the
strong
confidence
of
love
,
that
he
would
have
taken
every
means
to
leave
her
some
last
word
—
some
farewell
token
—
which
would
reach
hereafter
he
was
gone
,
and
comfort
her
with
the
assurance
of
what
,
living
,
he
had
never
plainly
told
.
Sometimes
,
when
a
wild
terror
of
his
death
seized
her
,
this
settled
conviction
drove
it
back
again
.
He
must
be
living
,
or
she
would
have
heard
.
There
was
another
interpretation
of
the
silence
,
which
many
would
have
considered
the
most
probable
of
all
—
he
might
be
married
.
Not
deliberately
,
but
suddenly
;
drawn
into
it
by
some
of
those
impelling
trains
of
circumstance
which
are
the
cause
of
so
many
marriages
,
especially
with
men
;
or
,
impelled
by
one
of
those
violent
passions
which
occasionally
seize
on
an
exceedingly
good
man
,
fascinating
him
against
his
conscience
,
reason
,
and
will
,
until
he
wakes
up
to
find
himself
fettered
and
ruined
for
life
.
Such
things
do
happen
,
strangely
,
pitifully
often
.
The
like
might
have
happened
to
Robert
Lyon
.
Hilary
did
not
actually
believe
it
,
but
still
her
common
sense
told
her
that
it
was
possible
.
She
was
not
an
inexperienced
girl
now
;
she
looked
on
the
world
with
the
eyes
of
a
woman
of
thirty
;
and
though
,
thank
Heaven
!
the
romance
had
never
gone
out
of
her
—
the
faith
,
and
trust
,
and
tender
love
—
still
it
had
sobered
down
a
little
.
She
knew
it
was
quite
within
the
bounds
of
possibility
that
a
young
man
,
separated
from
her
for
seven
years
,
thrown
into
all
kinds
of
circumstances
and
among
all
sorts
of
people
,
should
have
changed
very
much
in
himself
,
and
,
consequently
,
toward
her
.
That
,
without
absolute
faithlessness
,
he
might
suddenly
have
seen
some
other
woman
he
liked
better
,
and
have
married
at
once
.
Or
,
if
he
came
back
unmarried
—
she
had
taught
herself
to
look
this
probability
also
steadily
in
the
face
—
he
might
find
the
reality
of
her
—
Hilary
Leaf
—
different
from
his
remembrance
of
her
;
and
so
,
without
actual
falseness
to
the
old
true
love
,
might
not
love
her
any
more
.
These
fears
made
her
resolutely
oppose
Johanna
's
wish
to
write
to
the
house
of
business
at
Liverpool
,
and
ask
what
had
become
of
Mr.
Lyon
.
It
seemed
like
seeking
after
him
,
trying
to
hold
him
by
the
slender
chain
which
he
had
never
attempted
to
make
any
stronger
,
and
which
,
already
,
he
might
have
broken
,
or
desired
to
break
.
She
could
not
do
it
.
Something
forbade
her
;
that
something
in
the
inmost
depths
of
a
woman
's
nature
which
makes
her
feel
her
own
value
,
and
exact
that
she
shall
be
sought
;
that
,
if
her
love
be
worth
having
,
it
is
worth
seeking
;
that
,
however
dear
a
man
may
be
to
her
,
she
refuses
to
drop
into
his
mouth
like
an
overripe
peach
from
a
garden
wall
.
In
her
sharpest
agony
of
anxiety
concerning
him
,
Hilary
felt
that
she
could
not
,
on
her
part
,
take
any
step
that
seemed
to
compel
love
—
or
even
friendship
—
from
Robert
Lyon
.
It
was
not
pride
,
she
could
hardly
be
called
a
proud
woman
;
it
was
an
innate
sense
of
the
dignity
of
that
love
which
,
as
a
free
gift
,
is
precious
as
"
much
fine
gold
.
"
yet
becomes
the
merest
dross
,
utterly
and
insulting
poor
—
when
paid
as
a
debt
of
honor
,
or
offered
as
a
benevolent
largess
.
And
so
,
though
oftentimes
her
heart
felt
breaking
,
Hilary
labored
on
;
sat
the
long
day
patiently
at
her
desk
;
interested
herself
in
the
young
people
over
whom
she
ruled
;
became
Miss
Balquidder
's
right
hand
in
all
sorts
of
schemes
which
that
good
woman
was
forever
carrying
out
for
the
benefit
of
her
fellow-creatures
;
and
at
leisure
times
occupied
herself
with
Johanna
,
or
with
Elizabeth
and
the
baby
,
trying
to
think
it
was
a
very
beautiful
and
happy
world
,
with
love
still
in
it
,
and
a
God
of
love
ruling
over
it
—
only
,
only
—
Women
are
very
humble
in
their
cruelest
pride
.
Many
a
day
she
felt
as
if
she
could
have
crawled
a
hundred
miles
in
the
dust
—
like
some
Catholic
pilgrim
—
just
to
get
one
sight
of
Robert
Lyon
.
Autumn
came
—
lovely
and
lingering
late
.
It
was
November
,
and
yet
the
air
felt
mild
as
May
,
and
the
sunshine
had
that
peculiar
genial
brightness
which
autumnal
sunshine
alone
possesses
;
even
as
,
perhaps
,
late
happiness
has
in
it
a
holy
calm
and
sweetness
which
no
youthful
ecstasy
can
ever
boast
.
The
day
happened
to
be
Hilary
's
birthday
.
She
had
taken
a
holiday
,
which
she
,
Johanna
,
Elizabeth
,
and
the
baby
,
had
spent
in
Richmond
Park
,
watching
the
rabbits
darting
about
under
the
brown
fern
,
and
the
deer
grazing
contentedly
hard
by
.
They
had
sat
a
long
time
under
one
of
the
oak
trees
with
which
the
Park
abounds
,
listening
for
the
sudden
drop
,
drop
of
an
occasional
acorn
among
the
fallen
leaves
;
or
making
merry
with
the
child
,
as
a
healthy
,
innocent
,
playful
child
always
can
make
good
women
merry
.
Still
,
Master
Henry
was
not
a
remarkable
specimen
of
infanthood
,
and
had
never
occupied
more
than
his
proper
nepotal
corner
in
Hilary
's
heart
.
She
left
him
chiefly
to
Elizabeth
,
and
to
his
aunt
Johanna
,
in
whom
the
grandmotherly
character
had
blossomed
out
in
full
perfection
.
And
when
these
two
became
engrossed
in
his
infant
majesty
.
Hilary
sat
a
little
apart
,
unconsciously
folding
her
hands
and
fixing
her
eyes
on
vacancy
;
becoming
fearfully
alive
to
the
sharp
truth
,
that
of
all
griefs
,
a
strong
love
unreturned
or
unfulfilled
is
the
grief
which
most
blights
a
woman
's
life
.
Say
,
rather
,
any
human
life
;
but
it
is
worst
to
a
woman
,
because
she
must
necessarily
endure
passively
.
So
enduring
,
it
is
very
difficult
to
recognize
the
good
hand
of
God
therein
.
Why
should
He
ordain
longings
,
neither
selfish
nor
unholy
,
which
yet
are
never
granted
;
tenderness
which
expends
itself
in
vain
;
sacrifices
which
are
wholly
unheeded
;
and
sufferings
which
seem
quite
thrown
away
?
That
is
,
if
we
dared
allege
of
any
thing
in
the
moral
or
in
the
material
world
,
where
so
much
loveliness
,
so
much
love
,
appear
continually
wasted
,
that
it
is
really
"
thrown
away
.
"
We
never
know
through
what
divine
mysteries
of
compensation
the
Great
Father
of
the
universe
may
be
carrying
out
his
sublime
plan
;
and
those
three
words
,
"
God
is
love
,
"
ought
to
contain
,
to
every
doubting
soul
,
the
solution
of
all
things
.
As
Hilary
rose
from
under
the
tree
there
was
a
shadow
on
her
sweet
face
,
a
listless
weariness
in
her
movements
,
which
caught
Johanna
's
attention
.
Johanna
had
been
very
good
to
her
child
.
When
,
do
what
she
would
,
Hilary
could
not
keep
down
fits
of
occasional
dullness
or
impatience
,
it
was
touching
to
see
how
this
woman
of
over
sixty
years
slipped
from
her
due
pedestal
of
honor
and
dignity
,
to
be
patient
with
her
younger
sister
's
unspoken
bitterness
and
incommunicable
care
.
She
now
,
seeing
how
restless
Hilary
was
,
rose
when
she
rose
,
put
her
arm
in
hers
,
and
accompanied
her
,
speaking
or
silent
,
with
quick
steps
or
slow
,
as
she
chose
,
across
the
beautiful
park
,
than
which
,
perhaps
,
all
England
can
not
furnish
a
scene
more
thoroughly
sylvan
,
thoroughly
English
.
They
rested
on
that
high
ground
near
the
gate
of
Pembroke
Lodge
,
where
the
valley
of
the
Thames
lies
spread
out
like
a
map
,
stretching
miles
and
miles
away
in
luxuriant
greenery
.
"
How
beautiful
!
I
wonder
what
a
foreigner
would
think
of
this
view
?
Or
any
one
who
had
been
long
abroad
?
How
inexpressibly
sweet
and
home-like
it
would
seem
to
him
!
"
Hilary
turned
sharply
away
,
and
Johanna
saw
at
once
what
her
words
had
implied
.
She
felt
so
sorry
,
so
vexed
with
herself
;
but
it
was
best
to
leave
it
alone
.
So
they
made
their
way
homeward
,
speaking
of
something
else
;
and
then
that
happened
which
Johanna
had
been
almost
daily
expecting
would
happen
,
though
she
dared
not
communicate
her
hopes
to
Hilary
,
lest
they
might
prove
fallacious
.
The
two
figures
,
both
in
deep
mourning
,
might
have
attracted
any
one
's
attention
:
they
caught
that
of
a
gentleman
,
who
was
walking
quickly
and
looking
about
him
,
as
if
in
search
of
something
.
He
passed
them
at
a
little
distance
,
then
repassed
,
then
turned
,
holding
out
both
his
hands
.
"
Miss
Leaf
;
I
was
sure
it
was
you
.
"
Only
the
voice
;
every
thing
else
about
him
was
so
changed
that
Hilary
herself
would
certainly
have
passed
him
in
the
street
,
that
brown
,
foreign
looking
,
middle
aged
man
,
nor
recognized
him
as
Robert
Lyon
.
But
for
all
that
it
was
himself
;
it
was
Robert
Lyon
.
Nobody
screamed
,
nobody
fainted
.
People
seldom
do
that
in
real
life
,
even
when
a
friend
turns
up
suddenly
from
the
other
end
of
the
world
.
They
only
hold
out
a
warm
hand
,
and
look
silently
in
one
another
's
faces
,
and
try
to
believe
that
all
is
real
,
as
these
did
.
Robert
Lyon
shook
hands
with
both
ladies
,
one
after
the
other
,
Hilary
last
,
then
placed
himself
between
them
.
"
Miss
Leaf
,
will
you
take
my
arm
?
"
The
tone
,
the
manner
,
were
so
exactly
like
himself
,
that
in
a
moment
all
these
intervening
years
seemed
crushed
into
an
atom
of
time
.
Hilary
felt
certain
,
morally
and
absolutely
certain
,
that
,
in
spite
of
all
outward
change
,
he
was
the
same
Robert
Lyon
who
had
bade
them
all
good-by
that
Sunday
night
in
the
parlor
at
Stowbury
.
The
same
,
even
in
his
love
for
herself
,
though
he
had
simply
drawn
her
little
hand
under
his
arm
,
and
never
spoken
a
single
word
.
Hilary
Leaf
,
down
,
secretly
,
on
your
heart
's
lowest
knees
,
and
thank
God
!
Repent
of
all
your
bitterness
,
doubts
,
and
pains
;
be
joyful
,
be
joyful
!
But
,
oh
,
remember
to
be
so
humble
withal
.
She
was
.
As
she
walked
silently
along
by
Robert
Lyon
's
side
,
she
pulled
down
her
veil
to
hide
the
sweetest
,
most
contrite
,
most
child-like
tears
.
What
did
she
deserve
,
more
than
her
neighbors
,
that
she
should
be
so
very
,
very
happy
?
And
when
,
a
good
distance
across
the
park
,
she
saw
the
dark
,
solitary
figure
of
Elizabeth
carrying
baby
,
she
quietly
guided
her
companions
into
a
different
path
,
so
as
to
avoid
meeting
,
lest
the
sight
of
her
happiness
might
in
any
way
,
hurt
poor
Elizabeth
.
"
I
only
landed
last
night
at
Southampton
,
"
Mr.
Lyon
explained
to
Miss
Leaf
,
after
the
fashion
people
have
,
at
such
meetings
,
of
falling
upon
the
most
practical
and
uninteresting
details
.
"
I
came
by
the
Overland
Mail
.
It
was
a
sudden
journey
,
I
had
scarcely
more
than
a
few
hours
'
notice
.
The
cause
of
it
was
some
very
unpleasant
defalcations
in
our
firm
.
"
Under
any
other
circumstances
Hilary
might
have
smiled
;
maybe
she
did
smile
,
and
tease
him
many
a
time
afterward
,
because
the
first
thing
he
could
find
to
talk
about
,
after
seven
years
'
absence
,
was
"
defalcations
in
our
firm
.
But
now
she
listened
gravely
,
and
by-and-by
took
her
part
in
the
unimportant
conversation
which
always
occurs
after
such
a
meeting
as
this
.
"
Were
you
going
home
,
Miss
Leaf
?
They
told
me
at
your
house
you
were
expected
to
dinner
.
May
I
come
with
you
?
for
I
have
only
a
few
hours
to
stay
.
To-night
I
must
go
on
to
Liverpool
.
"
"
But
we
shall
hope
soon
to
see
you
again
?
"
"
I
hope
so
.
And
I
trust
,
Miss
Leaf
,
that
I
do
not
intrude
to-day
.
"
He
said
this
with
his
Scotch
shyness
,
or
pride
,
or
whatever
it
was
;
so
like
his
old
self
,
that
it
made
somebody
smile
!
But
somebody
loved
it
.
Somebody
lifted
up
to
his
face
eyes
of
silent
welcome
;
sweet
,
soft
,
brown
eyes
,
where
never
,
since
he
knew
them
,
had
he
seen
one
cloud
of
anger
darken
,
one
shadow
of
unkindness
rise
.
"
This
is
something
worth
coming
home
to
,
"
he
said
in
a
low
voice
,
and
not
over
lucidly
.
Ay
,
it
was
.
"
I
am
by
no
means
disinterested
in
the
matter
of
dinner
,
Miss
Leaf
;
for
I
have
no
doubt
of
finding
good
English
roast
beef
and
plum
pudding
on
your
sister
's
birth
day
.
—
Happy
returns
of
the
day
,
Miss
Hilary
.
"
She
was
so
touched
by
his
remembering
this
,
that
,
to
hide
it
,
she
put
on
a
spice
of
her
old
mischievousness
,
and
asked
him
if
he
was
aware
how
old
she
was
?
"
Yes
;
you
are
thirty
;
I
have
known
you
for
fifteen
years
.
"
"
It
is
a
long
time
,
"
said
Johanna
,
thoughtfully
.
Johanna
would
not
have
been
human
had
she
not
been
a
little
thoughtful
and
silent
on
the
way
home
,
and
had
she
not
many
times
,
out
of
the
corners
of
her
eyes
,
sharply
investigated
Mr.
Robert
Lyon
.
He
was
much
altered
;
there
was
no
doubt
of
that
.
Seven
years
of
Indian
life
would
change
any
body
;
take
the
youthfulness
out
of
any
body
.
It
was
so
with
Robert
Lyon
.
When
coming
into
the
parlor
he
removed
his
hat
,
many
a
white
thread
was
visible
in
his
hair
,
and
besides
the
spare
,
dried-up
look
which
is
always
noticeable
in
people
who
have
lived
long
in
hot
climates
,
there
was
an
"
old
"
expression
in
his
face
,
indicating
many
a
worldly
battle
fought
and
won
,
but
not
without
leaving
scars
behind
.
Even
Hilary
,
as
she
sat
opposite
to
him
,
at
table
,
could
not
but
feel
that
he
was
no
longer
a
young
man
either
in
appearance
or
reality
.
We
ourselves
grow
old
,
or
older
,
without
knowing
it
,
but
when
we
suddenly
come
upon
the
same
fact
in
another
it
startles
us
.
Hilary
had
scarcely
recognized
how
far
she
herself
had
left
her
girlish
days
behind
till
she
saw
Robert
Lyon
.
"
You
think
me
very
much
changed
?
"
said
he
,
guessing
by
his
curiously
swift
intuition
of
old
what
she
was
thinking
of
.
"
Yes
,
a
good
deal
changed
,
"
she
answered
truthfully
;
at
which
he
was
silent
.
He
could
not
read
—
perhaps
no
man
's
heart
could
—
all
the
emotion
that
swelled
in
hers
as
she
looked
at
him
,
the
love
of
her
youth
,
no
longer
young
.
How
the
ghostly
likeness
of
the
former
face
gleamed
out
under
the
hard
worn
lines
of
the
face
that
now
was
touching
her
with
ineffable
tenderness
.
Also
,
with
solemn
content
came
a
sense
of
the
entire
indestructibleness
of
that
love
which
through
all
decay
or
alteration
traces
the
ideal
image
still
,
clings
to
it
,
and
cherishes
it
with
a
tenacity
that
laughs
to
scorn
the
grim
dread
of
"
growing
old
.
"
In
his
premature
and
not
specially
comely
middle
age
,
in
his
gray
hairs
,
in
the
painful
,
anxious
,
half
melancholy
expression
which
occasionally
flitted
across
his
features
,
as
if
life
had
gone
hard
with
him
,
Robert
Lyon
was
a
thousand
times
dearer
to
her
than
when
the
world
was
all
before
them
both
in
the
early
days
at
Stowbury
.
There
is
a
great
deal
of
a
sentimental
nonsense
talked
about
people
having
been
"
young
together
.
"
Not
necessarily
is
that
a
bond
.
Many
a
tie
formed
in
youth
dwindles
away
and
breaks
off
naturally
in
maturer
years
.
Characters
alter
,
circumstances
divide
.
No
one
will
dare
to
allege
that
there
may
not
be
loves
and
friendships
formed
in
middle
life
as
dear
,
as
close
,
as
firm
as
any
of
those
of
youth
;
perhaps
,
with
some
temperaments
,
infinitely
more
so
.
But
when
the
two
go
together
,
when
the
calm
election
of
maturity
confirms
the
early
instinct
,
and
the
lives
have
been
parallel
,
as
it
were
,
for
many
years
,
there
can
be
no
bond
like
that
of
those
who
say
as
these
two
did
,
"
We
were
young
together
.
"
He
said
so
when
,
after
dinner
,
he
came
and
stood
by
the
window
where
Hilary
was
sitting
sewing
.
Johanna
had
just
gone
out
of
the
room
;
whether
intentionally
or
not
,
this
history
can
not
avouch
.
Let
us
give
her
the
benefit
of
the
doubt
;
she
was
a
generous
woman
.
During
the
three
hours
that
Mr.
Lyon
had
been
with
her
,
Hilary
's
first
agitation
had
subsided
.
That
exceeding
sense
of
rest
which
she
had
always
felt
beside
him
—
the
sure
index
of
people
who
,
besides
loving
,
are
meant
to
guide
and
help
and
bless
one
another
—
returned
as
strong
as
ever
.
That
deep
affection
which
should
underlie
all
love
revived
and
clung
to
him
with
a
chidlike
confidence
strengthening
at
every
word
he
said
,
every
familiar
look
and
way
.
He
was
by
no
means
so
composed
as
she
was
,
especially
now
when
coming
up
to
her
side
and
watching
her
hands
moving
for
a
minute
or
so
,
he
asked
her
to
tell
him
,
a
little
more
explicitly
,
of
what
had
happened
to
her
since
they
parted
.
"
Things
are
rather
different
from
what
I
thought
;
"
and
he
glanced
with
a
troubled
air
round
the
neat
but
very
humbly
furnished
parlor
.
"
And
about
the
shop
?
"
"
Johanna
told
you
.
"
"
Yes
;
but
her
letters
have
been
so
few
,
so
short
—
not
that
I
could
expect
more
.
Still
—
now
,
if
you
will
trust
me
—
tell
me
all
.
"
Hilary
turned
to
him
,
her
friend
for
fifteen
years
.
He
was
that
if
he
was
nothing
more
.
And
he
had
been
very
true
;
he
deserved
to
be
trusted
.
She
told
him
,
in
brief
,
the
history
of
the
last
year
or
two
,
and
then
added
:
"
But
after
all
it
is
hardly
worth
the
telling
,
because
,
you
see
,
we
are
very
comfortable
now
.
Poor
Ascott
,
we
suppose
,
must
be
in
Australia
.
I
earn
enough
to
keep
Johanna
and
myself
,
and
Miss
Balquidder
is
a
good
friend
to
us
.
We
have
repaid
her
,
and
owe
nobody
any
thing
.
Still
,
we
have
suffered
a
great
deal
.
Two
years
ago
;
oh
!
it
was
a
dreadful
time
.
"
She
was
hardly
aware
of
it
,
but
her
candid
tell-tale
face
betrayed
more
even
than
her
words
.
It
cut
Robert
Lyon
to
the
heart
.
"
You
suffered
,
and
I
never
knew
it
.
"
"
I
never
meant
you
to
know
.
"
"
Why
not
?
"
He
walked
the
room
in
great
excitement
.
"
I
ought
to
have
been
told
;
it
was
cruel
not
to
tell
me
.
Suppose
you
had
sunk
under
it
;
suppose
you
had
died
,
or
been
driven
to
do
what
many
a
woman
does
for
the
sake
of
mere
bread
and
a
home
—
what
your
poor
sister
did
—
married
.
But
I
beg
your
pardon
.
"
For
Hilary
had
started
up
with
her
face
all
aglow
.
"
No
,
"
she
cried
;
"
no
poverty
would
have
sunk
me
as
low
as
that
.
I
might
have
starved
,
but
I
should
never
have
married
.
"
Robert
Lyon
looked
at
her
,
evidently
uncomprehending
,
then
said
humbly
,
though
rather
formally
,
"
I
beg
your
pardon
once
more
.
I
had
no
right
to
allude
to
any
thing
of
the
kind
.
"
Hilary
replied
not
.
It
seemed
as
if
now
,
close
together
,
they
were
further
apart
than
when
the
Indian
seas
rolled
between
them
.
Mr.
Lyon
's
brown
cheek
turned
paler
and
paler
;
he
pressed
his
lips
hard
together
;
they
moved
once
or
twice
,
but
still
he
did
not
utter
a
word
.
At
last
,
with
a
sort
of
desperate
courage
,
and
in
a
tone
that
Hilary
had
never
heard
from
him
in
her
life
before
,
he
said
:
"
Yes
,
I
believe
I
have
a
right
,
the
right
that
every
man
has
when
his
whole
happiness
depends
upon
it
,
to
ask
you
one
question
.
You
know
every
thing
concerning
me
;
you
always
have
known
;
I
meant
that
you
should
—
I
have
taken
the
utmost
care
that
you
should
.
There
is
not
a
bit
of
my
life
that
has
not
been
as
open
to
you
as
if
—
as
if
—
.
But
I
know
nothing
whatever
concerning
you
.
"
"
What
do
you
wish
to
know
?
"
she
faltered
.
"
Seven
years
is
a
long
time
.
Are
you
free
?
I
mean
,
are
you
engaged
to
be
married
?
"
"
No.
"
"
Thank
God
!
"
He
dropped
his
head
down
between
his
hands
and
did
not
speak
for
a
long
time
.
And
then
with
difficulty
—
for
it
was
always
hard
to
him
to
speak
out
—
he
told
her
,
at
least
he
somehow
made
her
understand
,
how
he
had
loved
her
.
No
light
fancy
of
sentimental
youth
,
captivated
by
every
fresh
face
it
sees
,
putting
upon
each
one
the
coloring
of
his
own
imagination
,
and
adorning
not
what
is
,
but
what
itself
creates
;
no
sudden
,
selfish
,
sensuous
passion
,
caring
only
to
attain
its
object
,
irrespective
of
reason
,
right
,
or
conscience
;
but
the
strong
deep
love
of
a
just
man
,
deliberately
choosing
one
woman
as
the
best
woman
out
of
all
the
world
,
and
setting
himself
resolutely
to
win
her
.
Battling
for
her
sake
with
all
hard
fortune
;
keeping
,
for
her
sake
,
his
heart
pure
from
all
the
temptations
of
the
world
;
never
losing
sight
of
her
;
watching
over
her
so
far
as
he
could
,
consistently
with
the
sense
of
honor
(
or
masculine
pride
—
which
was
it
?
but
Hilary
forgave
it
,
any
how
)
which
made
him
resolutely
compel
himself
to
silence
;
holding
her
perfectly
free
,
while
he
held
himself
bound
.
Bound
by
a
faithfulness
perfect
as
that
of
the
knights
of
old
—
asking
nothing
,
and
yet
giving
all
.
Such
was
his
love
—
this
brave
,
plain
spoken
,
single
hearted
Scotsman
.
Would
that
there
were
more
such
men
and
more
such
love
in
the
world
!
Few
women
could
have
resisted
it
,
certainly
not
Hilary
,
especially
with
a
little
secret
of
her
own
lying
perdu
at
the
bottom
of
her
heart
;
that
"
sleeping
angel
"
whence
half
her
strength
and
courage
had
come
;
the
noble
,
faithful
,
generous
love
of
a
good
woman
for
a
good
man
.
But
this
secret
Robert
Lyon
had
evidently
never
guessed
,
or
deemed
himself
wholly
unworthy
of
such
a
possession
.
He
took
her
hand
at
last
,
and
held
it
firmly
.
"
And
now
that
you
know
all
,
do
you
think
in
time
—
I
'll
not
hurry
you
—
but
in
time
,
do
you
think
I
could
make
you
love
me
?
"
She
looked
up
in
his
face
with
her
honest
eyes
.
Smiling
as
they
were
,
there
was
pathos
in
them
;
the
sadness
left
by
those
long
years
of
hidden
suffering
,
now
forever
ended
.
"
I
have
loved
you
all
my
life
,
"
said
Hilary
.
CHAPTER
XXVI
.
Let
us
linger
a
little
over
this
chapter
of
happy
love
:
so
sweet
,
so
rare
a
thing
.
Aye
,
most
rare
:
though
hundreds
continually
meet
,
love
,
or
fancy
they
do
,
engage
themselves
,
and
marry
;
and
hundreds
more
go
through
the
same
proceeding
,
with
the
slight
difference
of
the
love
omitted
—
Hamlet
,
with
the
part
of
Hamlet
left
out
.
But
the
real
love
,
steady
and
true
:
tried
in
the
balance
,
and
not
found
wanting
:
tested
by
time
,
silence
,
separation
;
by
good
and
ill
fortune
;
by
the
natural
and
inevitable
change
which
years
make
in
every
character
—
this
is
the
rarest
thing
to
be
found
on
earth
,
and
the
most
precious
.
I
do
not
say
that
all
love
is
worthless
which
is
not
exactly
this
sort
of
love
.
There
have
been
people
who
have
succumbed
instantly
and
permanently
to
some
mysterious
attraction
,
higher
than
all
reasoning
;
the
same
which
made
Hilary
"
take
an
interest
"
in
Robert
Lyon
's
face
at
church
,
and
made
him
,
he
afterward
confessed
,
the
very
first
time
he
gave
Ascott
a
lesson
in
the
parlor
at
Stowbury
,
say
to
himself
,
"
If
I
did
marry
,
I
think
I
should
like
such
a
wife
as
that
brown-eyed
bit
lassie
.
"
And
there
have
been
other
people
,
who
choosing
their
partners
from
accidental
circumstances
,
or
from
mean
worldly
motives
,
have
found
Providence
kinder
to
them
than
they
deserved
,
and
settled
down
into
happy
,
affectionate
husbands
and
wives
.
But
none
of
these
loves
can
possibly
have
the
sweetness
,
the
completeness
of
such
a
love
as
that
between
Hilary
Leaf
and
Robert
Lyon
.
There
was
nothing
very
romantic
about
it
.
From
the
moment
when
Johanna
entered
the
parlor
,
found
them
standing
hand-in-hand
at
the
fireside
,
and
Hilary
came
forward
and
kissed
her
,
and
after
a
slight
hesitation
Robert
did
the
same
,
the
affair
proceeded
in
most
millpond
fashion
:
"
Unruffled
by
those
cataracts
and
breaks
,
That
humor
interposed
too
often
makes
.
'
:
There
were
no
lovers
'
quarrels
;
Robert
Lyon
had
chosen
that
best
blessing
next
to
a
good
woman
,
a
sweet
tempered
woman
;
and
there
was
no
reason
why
they
should
quarrel
more
as
lovers
than
they
had
done
as
friends
.
And
,
let
it
be
said
to
the
eternal
honor
of
both
,
now
,
no
more
than
in
their
friendship
days
,
was
there
any
of
that
hungry
engrossment
of
each
other
's
society
,
which
is
only
another
form
of
selfishness
,
and
by
which
lovers
so
often
make
their
own
happy
courting
time
a
season
of
never-to-be-forgotten
bitterness
to
every
body
connected
with
them
.
Johanna
suffered
a
little
:
all
people
do
when
the
new
rights
clash
with
the
old
ones
;
but
she
rarely
betrayed
it
.
She
was
exceedingly
good
:
she
saw
her
child
happy
,
and
she
loved
Robert
Lyon
dearly
.
He
was
very
mindful
of
her
,
very
tender
;
and
as
Hilary
still
persisted
in
doing
her
daily
duty
in
the
shop
,
he
spent
more
of
his
time
with
the
elder
sister
than
he
did
with
the
younger
,
and
sometimes
declared
solemnly
that
if
Hilary
did
not
treat
him
well
he
intended
to
make
an
offer
to
Johanna
!
Oh
,
the
innumerable
little
jokes
of
those
happy
days
!
Oh
,
the
long
,
quiet
walks
by
the
river
side
,
through
the
park
,
across
Ham
Common
—
any
where
—
it
did
not
matter
;
the
whole
world
looked
lovely
,
even
on
the
dullest
winter
day
!
Oh
,
the
endless
talks
;
the
renewed
mingling
of
two
lives
,
which
,
though
divided
,
had
never
been
really
apart
,
for
neither
had
any
thing
to
conceal
;
neither
had
ever
loved
any
but
the
other
.
Robert
Lyon
was
,
as
I
have
said
,
a
good
deal
changed
,
outwardly
and
inwardly
.
He
had
mixed
much
in
society
,
taken
an
excellent
position
therein
,
and
this
had
given
him
not
only
a
more
polished
manner
,
but
an
air
of
decision
and
command
,
as
of
one
used
to
be
obeyed
.
There
could
not
be
the
slightest
doubt
,
as
Johanna
once
laughingly
told
him
,
that
he
would
always
be
"
master
in
his
own
house
.
"
But
he
was
very
gentle
with
his
"
little
woman
"
as
he
called
her
.
He
would
sit
for
hours
at
the
"
ingle-neuk
"
—
how
he
did
luxuriate
in
the
English
fires
!
—
with
Hilary
on
a
footstool
beside
him
,
her
arm
resting
on
his
knee
,
or
her
hand
fast
clasped
in
his
.
And
sometimes
,
when
Johanna
went
out
of
the
room
,
he
would
stoop
and
gather
her
close
to
his
heart
.
But
I
shall
tell
no
tales
;
the
world
has
no
business
with
these
sort
of
things
.
Hilary
was
very
shy
of
parading
her
happiness
;
she
disliked
any
demonstrations
thereof
,
even
before
Johanna
.
And
when
Miss
Balquidder
,
who
had
,
of
course
,
been
told
of
the
engagement
,
came
down
one
day
expressly
to
see
her
"
fortunate
fellow
countryman
,
"
this
Machiavellian
little
woman
actually
persuaded
her
lover
to
have
an
important
engagement
in
London
!
She
could
not
bear
him
to
be
"
looked
at
.
"
"
Ah
,
well
,
you
must
leave
me
,
and
I
will
miss
you
terribly
,
my
deal
,
"
said
the
old
Scotch
woman
.
But
it
's
an
ill
wind
that
blows
nobody
good
,
and
I
have
another
young
lady
quite
ready
to
step
into
your
shoes
.
When
shall
you
be
married
?
"
"
I
do
n't
know
—
hush
:
we
'll
talk
another
time
,
"
said
Hilary
,
glancing
at
Johanna
.
Miss
Balquidder
took
the
hint
and
was
silent
.
That
important
question
was
indeed
beginning
to
weigh
heavily
on
Hilary
's
mind
.
She
was
fully
aware
of
what
Mr.
Lyon
wished
,
and
indeed
,
expected
;
that
when
,
the
business
of
the
firm
being
settled
,
in
six
months
hence
he
returned
to
India
,
he
should
not
return
alone
.
When
he
said
this
,
she
had
never
dared
to
answer
,
hardly
even
to
think
.
She
let
the
peaceful
present
float
on
,
day
by
day
,
without
recognizing
such
a
thing
as
the
future
.
But
this
could
not
be
always
.
It
came
to
an
end
one
January
afternoon
,
when
he
had
returned
from
a
second
absence
in
Liverpool
.
They
were
walking
up
Richmond
Hill
.
The
sun
had
set
frostily
and
red
over
the
silver
curve
of
the
Thames
,
and
Venus
,
large
and
bright
,
was
shining
like
a
great
eye
in
the
western
sky
.
Hilary
long
remembered
exactly
how
every
thing
looked
,
even
to
the
very
tree
they
stood
under
,
when
Robert
Lyon
asked
her
to
fix
definitely
the
day
that
she
would
marry
him
.
Would
she
consent
—
there
seemed
no
special
reason
to
the
contrary
—
that
it
should
be
immediately
?
Or
would
she
like
to
remain
with
Johanna
as
she
was
,
till
just
before
they
sailed
?
He
wished
to
be
as
good
as
possible
to
Johanna
—
still
.
And
something
in
his
manner
impressed
Hilary
more
than
ever
before
with
the
conviction
of
all
she
was
to
him
;
likewise
,
all
he
was
to
her
.
More
,
much
more
than
even
a
few
short
weeks
since
.
Then
,
intense
as
it
was
,
the
love
had
a
dream
like
unreality
;
now
it
was
close
,
home-like
,
familiar
.
Instinctively
she
clung
to
his
arm
;
she
had
become
so
used
to
being
Robert
's
darling
now
.
She
shivered
as
she
thought
of
the
wide
seas
rolling
between
them
;
of
the
time
when
she
should
look
for
him
at
the
daily
meal
and
daily
fireside
,
and
find
him
no
more
.
"
Robert
,
I
want
to
talk
to
you
about
Johanna
.
"
"
I
guess
what
it
is
,
"
said
he
,
smiling
;
"
you
would
like
her
to
go
out
to
India
with
us
.
Certainly
,
if
she
chooses
.
I
hope
you
did
not
suppose
I
should
object
.
"
"
No
;
but
it
is
not
that
.
She
would
not
live
six
months
in
a
hot
climate
;
the
doctor
tells
me
so
.
"
"
You
consulted
him
?
"
"
Yes
,
confidentially
,
without
her
knowing
it
.
But
I
thought
it
right
.
I
wanted
to
make
quite
sure
before
—
before
—
Oh
,
Robert
—
.
"
The
grief
of
her
tone
caused
him
to
suspect
what
was
coming
,
He
started
.
"
You
do
n't
mean
that
?
Oh
no
,
you
can
not
!
My
little
woman
,
my
own
little
woman
—
she
could
not
be
so
unkind
.
"
Hilary
turned
sick
at
heart
.
The
dim
landscape
,
the
bright
sky
,
seemed
to
mingle
and
dance
before
her
,
and
Venus
to
stare
at
her
with
a
piercing
,
threatening
,
baleful
lustre
.
"
Robert
,
let
me
sit
down
on
the
bench
,
and
sit
you
beside
me
.
It
is
too
dark
for
people
to
notice
us
,
and
we
shall
not
be
very
cold
.
"
"
No
,
my
darling
;
"
and
he
slipped
his
plaid
round
her
shoulders
,
and
his
arm
with
it
.
She
looked
up
pitifully
.
"
Do
n't
be
vexed
with
me
,
Robert
,
dear
;
I
have
thought
it
all
over
;
weighed
it
on
every
side
;
nights
and
nights
I
have
been
awake
pondering
what
was
right
to
do
.
And
it
always
comes
to
the
same
thing
.
"
"
What
?
"
"
It
's
the
old
story
,
"
she
answered
with
a
feeble
smile
.
"
'
I
canna
leave
my
minnie
.
'
There
is
nobody
in
the
world
to
take
care
of
Johanna
but
me
,
not
even
Elizabeth
,
who
is
engrossed
in
little
Henry
.
If
I
left
her
,
I
am
sure
it
would
kill
her
.
And
she
can
not
come
with
me
.
Dear
!
"
(
the
only
fond
name
she
ever
called
him
)
"
for
these
three
years
—
you
say
it
need
only
be
three
years
—
you
will
have
to
go
back
to
India
alone
.
"
Robert
Lyon
was
a
very
good
man
;
but
he
was
only
a
man
,
not
an
angle
;
and
though
he
made
comparatively
little
show
of
it
,
he
was
a
man
very
deeply
in
love
.
With
that
jealous
tenacity
over
his
treasure
,
hardly
blamable
,
since
the
love
is
worth
little
which
does
not
wish
to
have
its
object
"
all
to
itself
,
"
he
had
,
I
am
afraid
,
contemplated
not
without
pleasure
the
carrying
off
of
Hilary
to
his
Indian
home
;
and
it
had
cost
him
something
to
propose
that
Johanna
should
go
too
.
He
was
very
fond
of
Johanna
;
still
—
If
I
tell
what
followed
will
it
forever
lower
Robert
Lyon
in
the
estimation
of
all
readers
?
He
said
,
coldly
,
"
As
you
please
,
Hilary
;
"
rose
up
,
and
never
spoke
another
word
till
they
reached
home
.
It
was
the
first
dull
tea
table
they
had
ever
known
;
the
first
time
Hilary
had
ever
looked
at
that
dear
face
,
and
seen
an
expression
there
which
made
her
look
away
again
.
He
did
not
sulk
;
he
was
too
gentlemanly
for
that
;
he
even
exerted
himself
to
make
the
meal
pass
pleasantly
as
usual
;
but
he
was
evidently
deeply
wounded
;
nay
,
more
,
displeased
.
The
strong
,
stern
man
's
nature
within
him
had
rebelled
;
the
sweetness
had
gone
out
of
his
face
,
and
something
had
come
into
it
which
the
very
best
of
men
have
sometimes
:
alas
for
the
woman
who
cannot
understand
and
put
up
with
it
!
I
am
not
going
to
preach
the
doctrine
of
tyrants
and
slaves
;
but
when
two
walk
together
they
must
be
agreed
,
or
if
by
any
chance
they
are
not
agreed
,
one
must
yield
.
It
may
not
always
be
the
weaker
,
or
in
weakness
may
lie
the
chiefest
strength
;
but
it
must
be
one
or
other
of
the
two
who
has
to
be
the
first
to
give
way
;
and
,
save
in
very
exceptional
cases
,
it
is
,
and
it
ought
to
be
,
the
woman
.
God
's
law
and
nature
's
which
is
also
God
's
,
ordains
this
;
instinct
teaches
it
;
Christianity
enforces
it
.
Will
it
inflict
a
death
blow
upon
any
admiration
she
may
have
excited
,
this
brave
little
Hilary
,
who
fought
through
the
world
by
herself
;
who
did
not
shrink
from
traversing
London
streets
alone
at
seemly
and
unseemly
hours
;
from
going
into
sponging
houses
and
debtor
's
prisons
;
from
earning
her
own
livelihood
,
even
in
a
shop
—
if
I
confess
that
Robert
Lyon
,
being
angry
with
her
,
justly
or
unjustly
,
and
she
,
looking
upon
him
as
her
future
husband
,
her
"
lord
and
master
"
if
you
will
,
whom
she
would
one
day
promise
,
and
intended
,
literally
"
to
obey
"
—
she
thought
it
her
duty
,
not
only
her
pleasure
but
her
duty
,
to
be
the
first
to
make
reconciliation
between
them
?
ay
,
and
at
every
sacrifice
,
except
that
of
principle
.
And
I
am
afraid
,
in
spite
of
all
that
"
strong-minded
"
women
may
preach
to
the
contrary
,
that
all
good
women
will
have
to
do
this
to
all
men
who
stand
in
any
close
relation
toward
them
,
whether
fathers
,
husbands
,
brothers
,
or
lovers
,
if
they
wish
to
preserve
peace
,
and
love
,
and
holy
domestic
influence
;
and
that
so
it
must
be
to
the
end
of
time
.
Miss
Leaf
might
have
discovered
that
something
was
amiss
;
but
she
was
too
wise
to
take
any
notice
,
and
being
more
than
usually
feeble
that
day
,
immediately
after
tea
she
went
to
lie
down
.
When
Hilary
followed
her
,
arranged
her
pillows
,
and
covered
her
up
,
Johanna
drew
her
child
's
face
close
to
her
and
whispered
,
"
That
will
do
,
love
.
Do
n't
stay
with
me
.
I
would
not
keep
you
from
Robert
on
any
account
.
"
Hilary
all
but
broke
down
;
and
yet
the
words
made
her
stronger
firmer
;
set
more
clearly
before
her
the
solemn
duty
which
young
folks
in
love
are
so
apt
to
forget
,
that
there
can
be
no
blessing
on
the
new
tie
,
if
for
any
thing
short
of
inevitable
necessity
they
let
go
one
link
of
the
old
.
Yet
,
Robert
—
It
was
such
a
new
and
dreadful
feeling
to
be
standing
outside
the
door
and
shrink
from
going
in
to
him
;
to
see
him
rise
up
formally
,
saying
,
"
Perhaps
he
had
better
leave
;
"
and
have
to
answer
with
equal
formality
,
"
Not
unless
you
are
obliged
;
"
and
for
him
then
,
with
a
shallow
pretence
of
being
at
ease
,
to
take
up
a
book
and
offer
to
read
aloud
to
her
while
she
worked
.
He
—
who
used
always
to
set
his
face
strongly
against
all
sewing
of
evenings
—
because
it
deprived
him
temporarily
of
the
sweet
eyes
,
and
the
little
soft
hand
.
Oh
,
it
was
hard
,
hard
!
Nevertheless
,
she
sat
still
and
tried
to
listen
;
but
the
words
went
in
at
one
ear
and
out
at
the
other
;
she
retained
nothing
.
By-and-by
her
throat
began
to
swell
,
and
she
could
not
see
her
needle
and
thread
.
Yet
still
he
went
on
reading
.
It
was
only
when
,
by
some
blessed
chance
,
turning
to
reach
a
paper
cutter
,
he
caught
sight
of
her
,
that
he
closed
the
book
and
looked
discomposed
;
not
softened
,
only
discomposed
.
Who
shall
be
first
to
speak
?
Who
shall
catch
the
passing
angel
's
wing
?
One
minute
,
and
it
may
have
passed
over
.
I
am
not
apologizing
for
Hilary
the
least
in
the
world
.
I
do
not
know
even
if
she
considered
whether
it
was
her
place
or
Robert
's
to
make
the
first
advance
.
Indeed
,
I
fear
she
did
not
consider
it
at
all
,
but
just
acted
upon
impulse
,
because
it
was
so
cruel
,
so
heart
breaking
,
to
be
at
variance
with
him
.
But
if
she
had
considered
it
I
doubt
not
she
would
have
done
from
duty
exactly
what
she
did
by
instinct
—
crept
up
to
him
as
he
sat
at
the
fireside
,
and
laid
her
little
hand
on
his
.
"
Robert
,
what
makes
you
so
angry
with
me
still
?
"
"
Not
angry
;
I
have
no
right
to
be
.
"
"
Yes
,
you
would
have
if
I
had
really
done
wrong
.
Have
I
?
"
"
You
must
judge
for
yourself
.
For
me
—
I
thought
you
loved
