第4章

’Ono。I’mastiredasadog。I’vehadagoodfeed，andIshallturninstraightoff。Iwanttogetoutatsixo’clockto-morrowifIcan……Ishan’tdisturbyoubymygettingup；itwillbelongbeforeyouareawake。’Andhecameforwardintotheroom。

Whilehereyesfollowedhismovements，Ellasoftlypushedthephotographfurtheroutofsight。

’Sureyou’renotill？’heasked，bendingoverher。

’No，onlywicked！’

’Nevermindthat。’Andhestoopedandkissedher。

NextmorningMarchmillwascalledatsixo’clock；andinwakingandyawningsheheardhimmutteringtohimself:’Whatthedeuceisthisthat’sbeencracklingundermeso？’Imaginingherasleephesearchedroundhimandwithdrewsomething。Throughherhalf-openedeyessheperceivedittobeMr。Trewe。

’Well，I’mdamned！’herhusbandexclaimed。

’What，dear？’saidshe。

’O，youareawake？Ha！ha！’

’WhatDOyoumean？’

’Somebloke’sphotograph——afriendofourlandlady’s，Isuppose。I

wonderhowitcamehere；whiskedoffthetablebyaccidentperhapswhentheyweremakingthebed。’

’Iwaslookingatityesterday，anditmusthavedroppedinthen。’

’O，he’safriendofyours？Blesshispicturesqueheart！’

Ella’sloyaltytotheobjectofheradmirationcouldnotenduretohearhimridiculed。’He’sacleverman！’shesaid，withatremorinhergentlevoicewhichsheherselffelttobeabsurdlyuncalledfor。

’Heisarisingpoet——thegentlemanwhooccupiedtwooftheseroomsbeforewecame，thoughI’veneverseenhim。’

’Howdoyouknow，ifyou’veneverseenhim？’

’Mrs。Hoopertoldmewhensheshowedmethephotograph。’

’O；well，Imustupandbeoff。Ishallbehomeratherearly。

SorryIcan’ttakeyouto-day，dear。Mindthechildrendon’tgogettingdrowned。’

ThatdayMrs。MarchmillinquiredifMr。Trewewerelikelytocallatanyothertime。

’Yes，’saidMrs。Hooper。’He’scomingthisdayweektostaywithafriendnearheretillyouleave。He’llbesuretocall。’

Marchmilldidreturnquiteearlyintheafternoon；and，openingsomeletterswhichhadarrivedinhisabsence，declaredsuddenlythatheandhisfamilywouldhavetoleaveaweekearlierthantheyhadexpectedtodo——inshort，inthreedays。

’Surelywecanstayaweeklonger？’shepleaded。’Ilikeithere。’

’Idon’t。Itisgettingratherslow。’

’Thenyoumightleavemeandthechildren！’

’Howperverseyouare，Ell！What’stheuse？Andhavetocometofetchyou！No:we’llallreturntogether；andwe’llmakeoutourtimeinNorthWalesorBrightonalittlelateron。Besides，you’vethreedayslongeryet。’

Itseemedtobeherdoomnottomeetthemanforwhoserivaltalentshehadadespairingadmiration，andtowhosepersonshewasnowabsolutelyattached。Yetshedeterminedtomakealasteffort；andhavinggatheredfromherlandladythatTrewewaslivinginalonelyspotnotfarfromthefashionabletownontheIslandopposite，shecrossedoverinthepacketfromtheneighbouringpierthefollowingafternoon。

Whatauselessjourneyitwas！Ellaknewbutvaguelywherethehousestood，andwhenshefanciedshehadfoundit，andventuredtoinquireofapedestrianifhelivedthere，theanswerreturnedbythemanwasthathedidnotknow。Andifhedidlivethere，howcouldshecalluponhim？Somewomenmighthavetheassurancetodoit，butshehadnot。Howcrazyhewouldthinkher。Shemighthaveaskedhimtocalluponher，perhaps；butshehadnotthecourageforthat，either。Shelingeredmournfullyaboutthepicturesqueseasideeminencetillitwastimetoreturntothetownandenterthesteamerforrecrossing，reachinghomefordinnerwithouthavingbeengreatlymissed。

Atthelastmoment，unexpectedlyenough，herhusbandsaidthatheshouldhavenoobjectiontolettingherandthechildrenstayontilltheendoftheweek，sinceshewishedtodoso，ifshefeltherselfabletogethomewithouthim。Sheconcealedthepleasurethisextensionoftimegaveher；andMarchmillwentoffthenextmorningalone。

Buttheweekpassed，andTrewedidnotcall。

OnSaturdaymorningtheremainingmembersoftheMarchmillfamilydepartedfromtheplacewhichhadbeenproductiveofsomuchfervourinher。Thedreary，drearytrain；thesunshininginmotedbeamsuponthehotcushions；thedustypermanentway；themeanrowsofwire——thesethingswereheraccompaniment:whileoutofthewindowthedeepbluesea-levelsdisappearedfromhergaze，andwiththemherpoet’shome。Heavy-hearted，shetriedtoread，andweptinstead。

Mr。Marchmillwasinathrivingwayofbusiness，andheandhisfamilylivedinalargenewhouse，whichstoodinratherextensivegroundsafewmilesoutsidethecitywhereinhecarriedonhistrade。Ella’slifewaslonelyhere，asthesuburbanlifeisapttobe，particularlyatcertainseasons；andshehadampletimetoindulgehertasteforlyricandelegiaccomposition。ShehadhardlygotbackwhensheencounteredapiecebyRobertTreweinthenewnumberofherfavouritemagazine，whichmusthavebeenwrittenalmostimmediatelybeforehervisittoSolentsea，foritcontainedtheverycoupletshehadseenpencilledonthewallpaperbythebed，andMrs。Hooperhaddeclaredtoberecent。Ellacouldresistnolonger，butseizingapenimpulsively，wrotetohimasabrother-

poet，usingthenameofJohnIvy，congratulatinghiminherletteronhistriumphantexecutionsinmetreandrhythmofthoughtsthatmovedhissoul，ascomparedwithherownbrow-beateneffortsinthesamepathetictrade。

Tothisaddresstherecamearesponseinafewdays，littleasshehaddaredtohopeforit——acivilandbriefnote，inwhichtheyoungpoetstatedthat，thoughhewasnotwellacquaintedwithMr。Ivy’sverse，herecalledthenameasbeingonehehadseenattachedtosomeverypromisingpieces；thathewasgladtogainMr。Ivy’sacquaintancebyletter，andshouldcertainlylookwithmuchinterestforhisproductionsinthefuture。

Theremusthavebeensomethingjuvenileortimidinherownepistle，asoneostensiblycomingfromaman，shedeclaredtoherself；forTrewequiteadoptedthetoneofanelderandsuperiorinthisreply。

Butwhatdiditmatter？hehadreplied；hehadwrittentoherwithhisownhandfromthatveryroomsheknewsowell，forhewasnowbackagaininhisquarters。

Thecorrespondencethusbegunwascontinuedfortwomonthsormore，EllaMarchmillsendinghimfromtimetotimesomethatsheconsideredtobethebestofherpieces，whichheverykindlyaccepted，thoughhedidnotsayhesedulouslyreadthem，nordidhesendheranyofhisowninreturn。EllawouldhavebeenmorehurtatthisthanshewasifshehadnotknownthatTrewelabouredundertheimpressionthatshewasoneofhisownsex。

Yetthesituationwasunsatisfactory。Aflatteringlittlevoicetoldherthat，wereheonlytoseeher，matterswouldbeotherwise。

Nodoubtshewouldhavehelpedonthisbymakingafrankconfessionofwomanhood，tobeginwith，ifsomethinghadnothappened，toherdelight，torenderitunnecessary。Afriendofherhusband’s，theeditorofthemostimportantnewspaperinthecityandcounty，whowasdiningwiththemoneday，observedduringtheirconversationaboutthepoetthathis(theeditor’s)brotherthelandscape-painterwasafriendofMr。Trewe’s，andthatthetwomenwereatthatverymomentinWalestogether。

Ellawasslightlyacquaintedwiththeeditor’sbrother。Thenextmorningdownshesatandwrote，invitinghimtostayatherhouseforashorttimeonhiswayback，andrequestinghimtobringwithhim，ifpracticable，hiscompanionMr。Trewe，whoseacquaintanceshewasanxioustomake。Theanswerarrivedaftersomefewdays。HercorrespondentandhisfriendTrewewouldhavemuchsatisfactioninacceptingherinvitationontheirwaysouthward，whichwouldbeonsuchandsuchadayinthefollowingweek。

Ellawasblitheandbuoyant。Herschemehadsucceeded；herbelovedthoughasyetunseenonewascoming。“Behold，hestandethbehindourwall；helookedforthatthewindows，showinghimselfthroughthelattice，“shethoughtecstatically。“And，lo，thewinterispast，therainisoverandgone，theflowersappearontheearth，thetimeofthesingingofbirdsiscome，andthevoiceoftheturtleisheardinourland。“

Butitwasnecessarytoconsiderthedetailsoflodgingandfeedinghim。Thisshedidmostsolicitously，andawaitedthepregnantdayandhour。

Itwasaboutfiveintheafternoonwhensheheardaringatthedoorandtheeditor’sbrother’svoiceinthehall。Poetessasshewas，orasshethoughtherself，shehadnotbeentoosublimethatdaytodresswithinfinitetroubleinafashionablerobeofrichmaterial，havingafaintresemblancetothechitonoftheGreeks，astylejusttheninvogueamongladiesofanartisticandromanticturn，whichhadbeenobtainedbyEllaofherBondStreetdressmakerwhenshewaslastinLondon。Hervisitorenteredthedrawing-room。Shelookedtowardshisrear；nobodyelsecamethroughthedoor。Where，inthenameoftheGodofLove，wasRobertTrewe？

’O，I’msorry，’saidthepainter，aftertheirintroductorywordshadbeenspoken。’Treweisacuriousfellow，youknow，Mrs。Marchmill。

Hesaidhe’dcome；thenhesaidhecouldn’t。He’sratherdusty。

We’vebeendoingafewmileswithknapsacks，youknow；andhewantedtogetonhome。’

’He——he’snotcoming？’

’He’snot；andheaskedmetomakehisapologies。’