第11章

Sheglanceddownthelongwalkaheadofthemandthenbackinthedirectionofthehouse。"Ifyoulike，"shesaidinalowvoice，withoneofherquickfluctuationsofcolour；butinsteadoftakingthewayheproposedsheturnedtowardanarrowpathwhichbranchedoffobliquelythroughthetrees。

Darrowwasstruck，andvaguelytroubled，bythechangeinherlookandtone。Therewasinthemanundefinableappeal，whetherforhelporforbearancehecouldnottell。Thenitoccurredtohimthattheremighthavebeensomethingmisleadinginhissopointedlyseekingher，andhefeltamomentaryconstraint。Toeaseithemadeanabruptdashatthetruth。

"Icameouttolookforyoubecauseourtalkofyesterdaywassounsatisfactory。Iwanttohearmoreaboutyou——aboutyourplansandprospects。I’vebeenwonderingeversincewhyyou’vesocompletelygivenupthetheatre。"

Herfaceinstantlysharpenedtodistrust。"Ihadtolive，"

shesaidinanoff—handtone。

"Iunderstandperfectlythatyoushouldlikeithere——foratime。"Hisglancestrayeddownthegold—roofedwindingsaheadofthem。"It’sdelightful：youcouldn’tbebetterplaced。OnlyIwonderalittleatyourhavingsocompletelygivenupanyideaofadifferentfuture。"

Shewaitedforamomentbeforeanswering："IsupposeI’mlessrestlessthanIusedtobe。"

"It’scertainlynaturalthatyoushouldbelessrestlessherethanatMrs。Murrett’s；yetsomehowIdon’tseemtoseeyoupermanentlygivenuptoformingtheyoung。"

"What——exactly——DOyouseemtoseemepermanentlygivenupto？Youknowyouwarnedmeratheremphaticallyagainstthetheatre。"Shethrewoffthestatementwithoutimpatience，asthoughtheywerediscussingtogetherthefateofathirdpersoninwhombothwerebenevolentlyinterested。

Darrowconsideredhisreply。"IfIdid，itwasbecauseyousoemphaticallyrefusedtoletmehelpyoutoastart。"

Shestoppedshortandfacedhim"AndyouthinkImayletyounow？"

Darrowfeltthebloodinhischeek。Hecouldnotunderstandherattitude——ifindeedshehadconsciouslytakenone，andherchangesoftonedidnotmerelyreflecttheinvoluntaryalternationsofhermood。Ithumbledhimtoperceiveoncemorehowlittlehehadtoguidehiminhisjudgmentofher。

Hesaidtohimself："IfI’devercaredastrawforherI

shouldknowhowtoavoidhurtinghernow"——andhisinsensibilitystruckhimasnobetterthanavulgarobtuseness。Buthehadafixedpurposeaheadandcouldonlypushontoit。

"Ihope，atanyrate，you’lllistentomyreasons。There’sbeentime，onbothsides，tothinkthemoversince————"Hecaughthimselfbackandhunghelplessonthe"since"：

whateverwordshechose，heseemedtostumbleamongremindersoftheirpast。

Shewalkedonbesidehim，hereyesontheground。"ThenI’mtounderstand——definitely——thatyouDOrenewyouroffer？"sheasked"Withallmyheart！Ifyou’llonlyletme————"

Sheraisedahand，asthoughtocheckhim。"It’sextremelyfriendlyofyou——IDObelieveyoumeanitasafriend——

butIdon’tquiteunderstandwhy，findingme，asyousay，sowellplacedhere，youshouldshowmoreanxietyaboutmyfuturethanatatimewhenIwasactually，andratherdesperately，adrift。"

"Oh，no，notmore！"

"Ifyoushowanyatall，itmust，atanyrate，befordifferentreasons。——Infact，itcanonlybe，"shewenton，withoneofherdisconcertingflashesofastuteness，"foroneoftworeasons；eitherbecauseyoufeelyououghttohelpme，orbecause，forsomereason，youthinkyouoweittoMrs。Leathtoletherknowwhatyouknowofme。"

Darrowstoodstillinthepath。BehindhimheheardEffie’scall，andatthechild’svoicehesawSophyturnherheadwiththealertnessofonewhoisobscurelyonthewatch。

Thelookwassofugitivethathecouldnothavesaidwhereinitdifferedfromhernormalprofessionalairofhavingherpupilonhermind。

Effiesprangpastthem，andDarrowtookupthegirl’schallenge。

"WhatyousuggestaboutMrs。Leathishardlyworthanswering。Astomyreasonsforwantingtohelpyou，agooddealdependsonthewordsoneusestodefineratherindefinitethings。It’strueenoughthatIwanttohelpyou；butthewishisn’tdueto……toanypastkindnessonyourpart，butsimplytomyowninterestinyou。WhynotputitthatourfriendshipgivesmetherighttointerveneforwhatIbelievetobeyourbenefit？"

Shetookafewhesitatingstepsandthenpausedagain。

Darrownoticedthatshehadgrownpaleandthattherewereringsofshadeabouthereyes。

"You’veknownMrs。Leathalongtime？"sheaskedhimsuddenly。

Hepausedwithasenseofapproachingperil。"Alongtime——

yes。"

"Shetoldmeyouwerefriends——greatfriends"

"Yes，"headmitted，"we’regreatfriends。"

"Thenyoumightnaturallyfeelyourselfjustifiedintellingherthatyoudon’tthinkI’mtherightpersonforEffie。"

Heutteredasoundofprotest，butshedisregardedit。"I

don’tsayyou’dLIKEtodoit。Youwouldn’t：you’dhateit。AndthenaturalalternativewouldbetotrytopersuademethatI’dbebetteroffsomewhereelsethanhere。Butsupposingthatfailed，andyousawIwasdeterminedtostay？

THENyoumightthinkityourdutytotellMrs。Leath。"

Shelaidthecasebeforehimwithacoldlucidity。"I

should，inyourplace，Ibelieve，"sheendedwithalittlelaugh。

"Ishouldn’tfeeljustifiedintellingher，behindyourback，ifIthoughtyouunsuitedfortheplace；butIshouldcertainlyfeeljustified，"herejoinedafterapause，"intellingYOUifIthoughttheplaceunsuitedtoyou。"

"Andthat’swhatyou’retryingtotellmenow？"

"Yes；butnotforthereasonsyouimagine。"

"What，then，areyourreasons，ifyouplease？"

"I’vealreadyimpliedtheminadvisingyounottogiveupallideaofthetheatre。You’retoovarious，toogifted，toopersonal，totieyourselfdown，atyourage，tothedismaldrudgeryofteaching。"

"AndisTHATwhatyou’vetoldMrs。Leath？"

Sherushedthequestionoutathimasifsheexpectedtotriphimupoverit。Hewasmovedbythesimplicityofthestratagem。

"I’vetoldherexactlynothing，"hereplied。

"Andwhat——exactly——doyoumeanby’nothing’？YouandsheweretalkingaboutmewhenIcameintohersitting—roomyesterday。"

Darrowfelthisbloodriseatthethrust。

"I’vetoldher，simply，thatI’dseenyouonceortwiceatMrs。Murrett’s。"

"Andnotthatyou’veeverseenmesince？"

"AndnotthatI’veeverseenyousince……"

"Andshebelievesyou——shecompletelybelievesyou？"

Heutteredaprotestingexclamation，andhisflushreflecteditselfinthegirl’scheek。

"Oh，Ibegyourpardon！Ididn’tmeantoaskyouthat。"Shehalted，andagaincastarapidglancebehindandaheadofher。Thensheheldoutherhand。"Well，then，thankyou——

andletmerelieveyourfears。Isha’n’tbeEffie’sgovernessmuchlonger。"

Attheannouncement，Darrowtriedtomergehislookofreliefintotheexpressionoffriendlyinterestwithwhichhegraspedherhand。"Youreallydoagreewithme，then？

Andyou’llgivemeachancetotalkthingsoverwithyou？"

Sheshookherheadwithafaintsmile。"I’mnotthinkingofthestage。I’vehadanotheroffer：that’sall。"

Thereliefwashardlylessgreat。Afterall，hispersonalresponsibilityceasedwithherdeparturefromGivre。

"You’lltellmeaboutthat，then——won’tyou？"

Hersmileflickeredup。"Oh，you’llhearaboutitsoon……I

mustcatchEffienowanddragherbacktotheblackboard。"

Shewalkedonforafewyards，andthenpausedagainandconfrontedhim。"I’vebeenodioustoyou——andnotquitehonest，"shebrokeoutsuddenly。

"Notquitehonest？"herepeated，caughtinafreshwaveofwonder。

"Imean，inseemingnottotrustyou。It’scomeovermeagainaswetalkedthat，atheart，I’vealwaysKNOWNI

could……"

Hercolourroseinabrightwave，andhereyesclungtohisforaswiftinstantofreminderandappeal。Forthesamespaceoftimethepastsurgedupinhimconfusedly；thenaveildroppedbetweenthem。

"Here’sEffienow！"sheexclaimed。

Heturnedandsawthelittlegirltrottingbacktothem，herhandinOwenLeath’s。

EventhroughthestirofhissubsidingexcitementDarrowwasatonceawareofthechangeeffectedbytheyoungman’sapproach。ForamomentSophyViner’scheeksburnedredder；

thentheyfadedtothepalenessofwhitepetals。Shelost，however，nothingofthebrightbraverywhichitwasherwaytoturnontheunexpected。PerhapsnoonelessfamiliarwithherfacethanDarrowwouldhavediscernedthetensionofthesmileshetransferredfromhimselftoOwenLeath，orhaveremarkedthathereyeshadhardenedfrommistygreytoashiningdarkness。ButherobserverwaslessstruckbythisthanbythecorrespondingchangeinOwenLeath。Thelatter，whenhecameinsight，hadbeenlaughingandtalkingunconcernedlywithEffie；butashiseyefellonMissVinerhisexpressionalteredassuddenlyashers。

Thechange，forDarrow，waslessdefinable；but，perhapsforthatreason，itstruckhimasmoresharplysignificant。

Only——justwhatdiditsignify？Owen，likeSophyViner，hadthekindoffacewhichseemslessthestageonwhichemotionsmovethantheverystufftheyworkin。Inmomentsofexcitementhisoddirregularfeaturesseemedtogrowfluid，tounmakeandremakethemselvesliketheshadowsofcloudsonastream。Darrow，throughtherapidflightoftheshadows，couldnotseizeonanyspecificindicationoffeeling：hemerelyperceivedthattheyoungmanwasunaccountablysurprisedatfindinghimwithMissViner，andthattheextentofhissurprisemightcoverallmannerofimplications。

Darrow’sfirstideawasthatOwen，ifhesuspectedthattheconversationwasnottheresultofanaccidentalencounter，mightwonderathisstep—mother’ssuitorbeingengaged，atsuchanhour，inprivatetalkwithherlittlegirl’sgoverness。Thethoughtwassodisturbingthat，asthethreeturnedbacktothehouse，hewasonthepointofsayingtoOwen："Icameouttolookforyourmother。"But，inthecontingencyhefeared，evensosimpleaphrasemightseemlikeanawkwardattemptatexplanation；andhewalkedoninsilenceatMissViner’sside。PresentlyhewasstruckbythefactthatOwenLeathandthegirlweresilentalso；andthisgaveanewturntohisthoughts。Silencemaybeasvariouslyshadedasspeech；andthatwhichenfoldedDarrowandhistwocompanionsseemedtohiswatchfulperceptionstobequiveringwithcross—threadsofcommunication。Atfirsthewasawareonlyofthosethatcentredinhisowntroubledconsciousness；thenitoccurredtohimthatanequalactivityofintercoursewasgoingonoutsideofit。

SomethingwasinfactpassingmutelyandrapidlybetweenyoungLeathandSophyViner；butwhatitwas，andwhitherittended，Darrow，whentheyreachedthehouse，wasbutjustbeginningtodivine……

XVIII

AnnaLeath，fromtheterrace，watchedthereturnofthelittlegroup。

Shelookeddownonthem，astheyadvancedacrossthegarden，fromthesereneheightofherunassailablehappiness。Theretheywere，comingtowardherinthemildmorninglight，herchild，herstep—son，herpromisedhusband：thethreebeingswhofilledherlife。Shesmiledalittleatthehappypicturetheypresented，Effie’sgambolsencirclingitinamovingframewithinwhichthetwomencameslowlyforwardinthesilenceoffriendlyunderstanding。Itseemedpartofthedeepintimacyofthescenethattheyshouldnotbetalkingtoeachother，anditdidnottillafterwardstrikeherasoddthatneitherofthemapparentlyfeltitnecessarytoaddressawordtoSophyViner。

Annaherself，atthemoment，wasfloatinginthemid—currentoffelicity，onatidesobrightandbuoyantthatsheseemedtobeonewithitswarmwaves。Thefirstrushofblisshadstunnedanddazzledher；butnowthat，eachmorning，shewoketothecalmcertaintyofitsrecurrence，shewasgrowingusedtothesenseofsecurityitgave。

"IfeelasifIcouldtrustmyhappinesstocarryme；asifithadgrownoutofmelikewings。"SoshephrasedittoDarrow，as，laterinthemorning，theypacedthegarden—

pathstogether。Hisansweringlookgaveherthesameassuranceofsafety。Theeveningbeforehehadseemedpreoccupied，andtheshadowofhismoodhadfaintlyencroachedonthegreatgoldenorboftheirblessedness；butnowitwasuneclipsedagain，andhungabovethemhighandbrightasthesunatnoon。

Upstairsinhersitting—room，thatafternoon，shewasthinkingofthesethings。Themorningmistshadturnedtorain，compellingthepostponementofanexcursioninwhichthewholepartyweretohavejoined。Effie，withhergoverness，hadbeendespatchedinthemotortodosomeshoppingatFrancheuil；andAnnahadpromisedDarrowtojoinhim，laterintheafternoon，foraquickwalkintherain。

Hehadgonetohisroomafterluncheontogetsomebelatedlettersoffhisconscience；andwhenhehadlefthershehadcontinuedtositinthesameplace，herhandscrossedonherknees，herheadslightlybent，inanattitudeofbroodingretrospection。Asshelookedbackatherpastlife，itseemedtohertohaveconsistedofoneceaselessefforttopackintoeachhourenoughtofilloutitsslackfolds；butnoweachmomentwaslikeamiser’sbagstretchedtoburstingwithpuregold。

ShewasrousedbythesoundofOwen’sstepinthegalleryoutsideherroom。Itpausedatherdoorandinanswertohisknockshecalledout"Comein！"

Asthedoorclosedbehindhimshewasstruckbyhislookofpaleexcitement，andanimpulseofcompunctionmadehersay：

"You’vecometoaskmewhyIhaven’tspokentoyourgrandmother！"

HesentabouthimaglancevaguelyremindingherofthestrangelookwithwhichSophyVinerhadswepttheroomthenightbefore；thenhisbrillianteyescamebacktoher。

"I’vespokentohermyself，"hesaid。

Annastartedup，incredulous。

"You’vespokentoher？When？"

"Justnow。Ilefthertocomehere。"

Anna’sfirstfeelingwasoneofannoyance。Therewasreallysomethingcomicallyincongruousinthisboyishsurrendertoimpulseonthepartofayoungmansoeagertoassumetheresponsibilitiesoflife。Shelookedathimwithafaintlyveiledamusement。

"YouaskedmetohelpyouandIpromisedyouIwould。Itwashardlyworthwhiletoworkoutsuchanelaborateplanofactionifyouintendedtotakethematteroutofmyhandswithouttellingme。"

"Oh，don’ttakethattonewithme！"hebrokeout，almostangrily。

"Thattone？Whattone？"Shestaredathisquiveringface。

"Imight，"shepursued，stillhalf—laughing，"moreproperlymakethatrequestofYOU！"

Owenreddenedandhisvehemencesuddenlysubsided。

"ImeantthatIHADtospeak——that’sall。Youdon’tgivemeachancetoexplain……"

Shelookedathimgently，wonderingalittleatherownimpatience。

"Owen！Don’tIalwayswanttogiveyoueverychance？It’sbecauseIDOthatIwantedtotalktoyourgrandmotherfirst——thatIwaswaitingandwatchingfortherightmoment……"

"Therightmoment？SowasI。That’swhyI’vespoken。"Hisvoiceroseagainandtookthesharpedgeithadinmomentsofhighpressure。

Hisstep—motherturnedawayandseatedherselfinhersofa—

corner。"Oh，mydear，it’snotaprivilegetoquarrelover！

You’vetakenaloadoffmyshoulders。Sitdownandtellmeallaboutit。"

Hestoodbeforeher，irresolute。"Ican’tsitdown，"hesaid。

"Walkabout，then。Onlytellme：I’mimpatient。"

Hisimmediateresponsewastothrowhimselfintothearmchairatherside，whereheloungedforamomentwithoutspeaking，hislegsstretchedout，hisarmslockedbehindhisthrown—backhead。Anna，hereyesonhisface，waitedquietlyforhimtospeak。

"Well——ofcourseitwasjustwhatoneexpected。"

"Shetakesitsobadly，youmean？"

"Alltheheavybatterieswerebroughtup：myfather，Givre，MonsieurdeChantelle，thethroneandthealtar。Evenmypoormotherwasdraggedoutofoblivionandarmedwithimaginaryprotests。"

Annasighedouthersympathy。"Well——youwerepreparedforallthat？"

"IthoughtIwas，tillIbegantohearhersayit。ThenitsoundedsoincrediblysillythatItoldherso。"

"Oh，Owen——Owen！"

"Yes：Iknow。Iwasafool；butIcouldn’thelpit。"

"Andyou’vemortallyoffendedher，Isuppose？That’sexactlywhatIwantedtoprevent。"Shelaidahandonhisshoulder。

"Youtiresomeboy，nottowaitandletmespeakforyou！"

Hemovedslightlyaway，sothatherhandslippedfromitsplace。"Youdon’tunderstand，"hesaid，frowning。

"Idon’tseehowIcan，tillyouexplain。Ifyouthoughtthetimehadcometotellyourgrandmother，whynothaveaskedmetodoit？Ihadmyreasonsforwaiting；butifyou’dtoldmetospeakIshouldhavedoneso，naturally。"

Heevadedherappealbyasuddenturn。"WhatWEREyourreasonsforwaiting？"

Annadidnotimmediatelyanswer。Herstep—son’seyeswereonherface，andunderhisgazeshefeltafaintdisquietude。

"Iwasfeelingmyway……Iwantedtobeabsolutelysure……"

"Absolutelysureofwhat？"

Shedelayedagainforajustperceptibleinstant。"Why，simplyofOURsideofthecase。"

"Butyoutoldmeyouwere，theotherday，whenwetalkeditoverbeforetheycamebackfromOuchy。"

"Oh，mydear——ifyouthinkthat，insuchacomplicatedmatter，everyday，everyhour，doesn’tmoreorlessmodifyone’ssurestsureness！"

"That’sjustwhatI’mdrivingat。Iwanttoknowwhathasmodifiedyours。"

Shemadeaslightgestureofimpatience。"Whatdoesitmatter，nowthething’sdone？Idon’tknowthatIcouldgiveanyclearreason……"

Hegottohisfeetandstoodlookingdownonherwithatormentedbrow。"Butit’sabsolutelynecessarythatyoushould。"

Athistoneherimpatienceflaredup。"It’snotnecessarythatIshouldgiveyouanyexplanationwhatever，sinceyou’vetakenthematteroutofmyhands。AllIcansayisthatIwastryingtohelpyou：thatnootherthoughteverenteredmymind。"Shepausedamomentandthenadded："Ifyoudoubtedit，youwererighttodowhatyou’vedone。"

"Oh，IneverdoubtedYOU！"heretorted，withafugitivestressonthepronoun。Hisfacehadclearedtoitsoldlookoftrust。"Don’tbeoffendedifI’veseemedto，"hewenton。"Ican’tquiteexplainmyself，either……it’sallakindoftangle，isn’tit？That’swhyIthoughtI’dbetterspeakatonce；orratherwhyIdidn’tthinkatall，butjustsuddenlyblurtedthethingout————"

Annagavehimbackhislookofconciliation。"Well，thehowandwhydon’tmuchmatternow。Thepointishowtodealwithyourgrandmother。You’venottoldmewhatshemeanstodo。"

"Oh，shemeanstosendforAdelaidePainter。"

Thenamedrewafaintnoteofmirthfromhimandrelaxedboththeirfacestoasmile。

"Perhaps，"Annaadded，"it’sreallythebestthingforusall。"

Owenshruggedhisshoulders。"It’stoopreposterousandhumiliating。Draggingthatwomanintooursecrets————！"

"Thiscouldhardlybeasecretmuchlonger。"

Hehadmovedtothehearth，wherehestoodpushingaboutthesmallornamentsonthemantel—shelf；butatheranswerheturnedbacktoher。

"Youhaven’t，ofcourse，spokenofittoanyone？"

"No；butIintendtonow。"

Shepausedforhisreply，andasitdidnotcomeshecontinued："IfAdelaidePainter’stobetoldthere’snopossiblereasonwhyIshouldn’ttellMr。Darrow。"

Owenabruptlysetdownthelittlestatuettebetweenhisfingers。"Nonewhatever：Iwanteveryonetoknow。"

Shesmiledalittleathisover—emphasis，andwasabouttomeetitwithawordofbanterwhenhecontinued，facingher：

"Youhaven’t，asyet，saidawordtohim？"

"I’vetoldhimnothing，exceptwhatthediscussionofourownplans——hisandmine——obligedmeto：thatyouwerethinkingofmarrying，andthatIwasn’twillingtoleaveFrancetillI’ddonewhatIcouldtoseeyouthrough。"

Atherfirstwordsthecolourhadrushedtohisforehead；

butasshecontinuedshesawhisfacecomposeitselfandhisbloodsubside。

"You’reabrick，mydear！"heexclaimed。

"Youhadmyword，youknow。"

"Yes；yes——Iknow。"Hisfacehadcloudedagain。"Andthat’sall——positivelyall——you’veeversaidtohim？"

"Positivelyall。Butwhydoyouask？"

Hehadamoment’sembarrassedhesitation。"Itwasunderstood，wasn’tit，thatmygrandmotherwastobethefirsttoknow？"

"Well——andsoshehasbeen，hasn’tshe，sinceyou’vetoldher？"

Heturnedbacktohisrestlessshiftingoftheknick—knacks。

"Andyou’resurethatnothingyou’vesaidtoDarrowcouldpossiblyhavegivenhimahint————？"

"NothingI’vesaidtohim——certainly。"

Heswungaboutonher。"Whydoyouputitinthatway？"

"Inwhatway？"

"Why——asifyouthoughtsomeoneelsemighthavespoken……"

"Someoneelse？Whoelse？"Sherosetoherfeet。"Whatonearth，mydearboy，canyoubedrivingat？"

"I’mtryingtofindoutwhetheryouthinkheknowsanythingdefinite。"

"WhyshouldIthinkso？DoYOU？"

"Idon’tknow。Iwanttofindout。"

Shelaughedathisobstinateinsistence。"Totestmyveracity，Isuppose？"Atthesoundofastepinthegallerysheadded："Hereheis——youcanaskhimyourself。"

ShemetDarrow’sknockwithaninvitationtoenter，andhecameintotheroomandpausedbetweenherselfandOwen。Shewasstruck，ashestoodthere，bythecontrastbetweenhishappycarelessgood—looksandherstep—son’sfrowningagitation。

Darrowmethereyeswithasmile。"AmItoosoon？Orisourwalkgivenup？"

"No；Iwasjustgoingtogetready。"Shecontinuedtolingerbetweenthetwo，lookingslowlyfromonetotheother。"Butthere’ssomethingwewanttotellyoufirst：OwenisengagedtoMissViner。"

ThesenseofanindefinableinterrogationinOwen’smindmadeher，asshespoke，fixhereyessteadilyonDarrow。

Hehadpausedjustoppositethewindow，sothat，evenintherainyafternoonlight，hisfacewasclearlyopentoherscrutiny。Forasecond，immensesurprisewasalonevisibleonit：sovisiblethatshehalfturnedtoherstep—son，withafaintsmileforhisrefutedsuspicions。Why，shewondered，shouldOwenhavethoughtthatDarrowhadalreadyguessedhissecret，andwhat，afterall，couldbesodisturbingtohiminthisnotimprobablecontingency？Atanyrate，hisdoubtmusthavebeendispelled：therewasnothingfeignedaboutDarrow’sastonishment。WhenhereyesturnedbacktohimhewasalreadycrossingtoOwenwithoutstretchedhand，andshehad，throughanunaccountablefaintflutterofmisgiving，amereconfusedsenseoftheirexchangingthecustomaryphrases。HernextperceptionwasofOwen’stranquillizedlook，andofhissmilingreturnofDarrow’scongratulatorygrasp。Shehadtheeeriefeelingofhavingbeenoversweptbyashadowwhichtherehadbeennocloudtocast……

AmomentlaterOwenhadlefttheroomandsheandDarrowwerealone。Hehadturnedawaytothewindowandstoodstaringoutintothedown—pour。

"You’resurprisedatOwen’snews？"sheasked。

"Yes：Iamsurprised，"heanswered。

"Youhadn’tthoughtofitsbeingMissViner？"