第15章

"No——Ishouldliketogoaway……myfriendstheFarlowswouldletmegotothem……"Hervoicegrewfirmerandsheliftedhereyestoadd："Ishouldliketoleavetoday，ifyoudon’tmind。"

Annalistenedwitharisingwonder。

"YouwanttoleaveGivreatonce？"Shegavetheideaamoment’sswiftconsideration。"Youprefertobewithyourfriendstillyourmarriage？Iunderstandthat——butsurelyyouneedn’trushofftoday？Therearesomanydetailstodiscuss；andbeforelong，youknow，Ishallbegoingawaytoo。"

"Yes，Iknow。"Thegirlwasevidentlytryingtosteadyhervoice。"ButIshouldliketowaitafewdays——tohavealittlemoretimetomyself。"

Annacontinuedtoconsiderherkindly。ItwasevidentthatshedidnotcaretosaywhyshewishedtoleaveGivresosuddenly，butherdisturbedfaceandshakenvoicebetrayedamorepressingmotivethanthenaturaldesiretospendtheweeksbeforehermarriageunderheroldfriends’roof。

SinceshehadmadenoresponsetotheallusiontoMadamedeChantelle，AnnacouldbutconjecturethatshehadhadapassingdisagreementwithOwen；andifthiswereso，randominterferencemightdomoreharmthangood。

"Mydearchild，ifyoureallywanttogoatonceIsha’n’t，ofcourse，urgeyoutostay。IsupposeyouhavespokentoOwen？"

"No。Notyet……"

Annathrewanastonishedglanceather。"Youmeantosayyouhaven’ttoldhim？"

"Iwantedtotellyoufirst。IthoughtIoughtto，onaccountofEffie。"Herlookclearedassheputforththisreason。

"Oh，Effie！——"Anna’ssmilebrushedawaythescruple。"Owenhasarighttoaskthatyoushouldconsiderhimbeforeyouthinkofhissister……Ofcourseyoushalldojustasyouwish，"shewenton，afteranotherthoughtfulinterval。

"Oh，thankyou，"SophyVinermurmuredandrosetoherfeet。

Annarosealso，vaguelyseekingforsomewordthatshouldbreakdownthegirl’sresistance。"You’lltellOwenatonce？"shefinallyasked。

MissViner，insteadofreplying，stoodbeforeherinmanifestuncertainty，andasshedidsotherewasalighttaponthedoor，andOwenLeathwalkedintotheroom。

Anna’sfirstglancetoldherthathisfacewasunclouded。

HemethergreetingwithhishappiestsmileandturnedtoliftSophy’shandtohislips。TheperceptionthathewasutterlyunconsciousofanycauseforMissViner’sagitationcametohisstep—motherwithasharpthrillofsurprise。

"Darrow’slookingforyou，"hesaidtoher。"Heaskedmetoremindyouthatyou’dpromisedtogoforawalkwithhim。"

Annaglancedattheclock。"I’llgodownpresently。"ShewaitedandlookedagainatSophyViner，whosetroubledeyesseemedtocommittheirmessagetoher。"You’dbettertellOwen，mydear。"

Owen’slookalsoturnedonthegirl。"Tellmewhat？Why，what’shappened？"

Annasummonedalaughtoeasethevaguetensionofthemoment。"Don’tlooksostartled！Nothing，exceptthatSophyproposestodesertusforawhilefortheFarlows。"

Owen’sbrowcleared。"Iwasafraidshe’drunoffbeforelong。"HeglancedatAnna。"Dopleasekeepherhereaslongasyoucan！"

Sophyintervened："Mrs。Leath’salreadygivenmeleavetogo。"

"Already？Togowhen？"

"Today，"saidSophyinalowtone，hereyesonAnna’s。

"Today？Whyonearthshouldyougotoday？"Owendroppedbackasteportwo，flushingandpalingunderhisbewilderedfrown。Hiseyesseemedtosearchthegirlmoreclosely。

"Something’shappened。"Hetoolookedathisstep—mother。

"Isupposeshemusthavetoldyouwhatitis？"

Annawasstruckbythesuddennessandvehemenceofhisappeal。Itwasasthoughsomesmoulderingapprehensionhadlaincloseunderthesurfaceofhissecurity。

"She’stoldmenothingexceptthatshewishestobewithherfriends。It’squitenaturalthatsheshouldwanttogotothem。"

Owenvisiblycontrolledhimself。"Ofcourse——quitenatural。"HespoketoSophy。"Butwhydidn’tyoutellmeso？Whydidyoucomefirsttomystep—mother？"

Annaintervenedwithhercalmsmile。"Thatseemstomequitenatural，too。SophywasconsiderateenoughtotellmefirstbecauseofEffie。"

Heweighedit。"Verywell，then：that’squitenatural，asyousay。Andofcourseshemustdoexactlyasshepleases。"

Hestillkepthiseyesonthegirl。"Tomorrow，"heabruptlyannounced，"IshallgouptoParistoseeyou。"

"Oh，no——no！"sheprotested。

OwenturnedbacktoAnna。"NOWdoyousaythatnothing’shappened？"

UndertheinfluenceofhisagitationAnnafeltavaguetighteningoftheheart。Sheseemedtoherselflikesomeoneinadarkroomaboutwhomunseenpresencesaregroping。

"Ifit’sanythingthatSophywishestotellyou，nodoubtshe’lldoso。I’mgoingdownnow，andI’llleaveyouheretotalkitoverbyyourselves。"

Asshemovedtothedoorthegirlcaughtupwithher。"Butthere’snothingtotell：whyshouldtherebe？I’veexplainedthatIsimplywanttobequiet。"HerlookseemedtodetainMrs。Leath。

Owenbrokein："IsthatwhyImayn’tgouptomorrow？"

"Nottomorrow！"

"ThenwhenmayI？"

"Later……inalittlewhile……afewdays……"

"Inhowmanydays？"

"Owen！"hisstep—motherinterposed；butheseemednolongerawareofher。"Ifyougoawaytoday，thedaythatourengagement’smadeknown，it’sonlyfair，"hepersisted，"thatyoushouldtellmewhenIamtoseeyou。"

Sophy’seyeswaveredbetweenthetwoanddroppeddownwearily。"It’syouwhoarenotfair——whenI’vesaidI

wantedtobequiet。"

"Butwhyshouldmycomingdisturbyou？I’mnotaskingnowtocometomorrow。IonlyaskyounottoleavewithouttellingmewhenI’mtoseeyou。"

"Owen，Idon’tunderstandyou！"hisstep—motherexclaimed。

"Youdon’tunderstandmyaskingforsomeexplanation，someassurance，whenI’mleftinthisway，withoutaword，withoutasign？AllIaskhertotellmeiswhenshe’llseeme。"

AnnaturnedbacktoSophyViner，whostoodstraightandtremulousbetweenthetwo。

"Afterall，mydear，he’snotunreasonable！"

"I’llwrite——I’llwrite，"thegirlrepeated。

"WHATwillyouwrite？"hepressedhervehemently。

"Owen，"Annaexclaimed，"youareunreasonable！"

HeturnedfromSophytohisstep—mother。"Ionlywanthertosaywhatshemeans：thatshe’sgoingtowritetobreakoffourengagement。Isn’tthatwhatyou’regoingawayfor？"

Annafeltthecontagionofhisexcitement。ShelookedatSophy，whostoodmotionless，herlipsset，herwholefacedrawntoasilentfixityofresistance。

"Yououghttospeak，mydear——yououghttoanswerhim。"

"Ionlyaskhimtowait————"

"Yes，"Owen，brokein，"andyouwon’tsayhowlong！"

BothinstinctivelyaddressedthemselvestoAnna，whostood，nearlyasshakenasthemselves，betweenthedoubleshockoftheirstruggle。ShelookedagainfromSophy’sinscrutableeyestoOwen’sstormyfeatures；thenshesaid："WhatcanI

do，whenthere’sclearlysomethingbetweenyouthatIdon’tknowabout？"

"Oh，ifitWEREbetweenus！Can’tyouseeit’soutsideofus——outsideofher，draggingather，draggingherawayfromme？"Owenwheeledroundagainuponhisstep—mother。

Annaturnedfromhimtothegirl。"Isittruethatyouwanttobreakyourengagement？Ifyoudo，yououghttotellhimnow。"

Owenburstintoalaugh。"Shedoesn’tdareto——she’safraidI’llguessthereason！"

AfaintsoundescapedfromSophy’slips，butshekeptthemcloseonwhateveranswershehadready。

"Ifshedoesn’twishtomarryyou，whyshouldshebeafraidtohaveyouknowthereason？"

"She’safraidtohaveYOUknowit——notme！"

"TohaveMEknowit？"

Helaughedagain，andAnna，athislaugh，feltasuddenrushofindignation。

"Owen，youmustexplainwhatyoumean！"

Helookedatherhardbeforeanswering；then："AskDarrow！"

hesaid。

"Owen——Owen！"SophyVinermurmured。

XXIV

Annastoodlookingfromonetotheother。IthadbecomeapparenttoherinaflashthatOwen’sretort，thoughitstartledSophy，didnottakeherbysurprise；andthediscoveryshotitslightalongdarkdistancesoffear。

TheimmediateinferencewasthatOwenhadguessedthereasonofDarrow’sdisapprovalofhismarriage，orthat，atleast，hesuspectedSophyVinerofknowinganddreadingit。ThisconfirmationofherownobscuredoubtsentatremorofalarmthroughAnna。Foramomentshefeltlikeexclaiming："Allthisisreallynobusinessofmine，andIrefusetohaveyoumixmeupinit——"buthersecretfearheldherfast。

SophyVinerwasthefirsttospeak。

"Ishouldliketogonow，"shesaidinalowvoice，takingafewstepstowardthedoor。

HertonewokeAnnatothesenseofherownshareinthesituation。"Iquiteagreewithyou，mydear，thatit’suselesstocarryonthisdiscussion。ButsinceMr。Darrow’snamehasbeenbroughtintoit，forreasonswhichIfailtoguess，Iwanttotellyouthatyou’rebothmistakenifyouthinkhe’snotinsympathywithyourmarriage。Ifthat’swhatOwenmeanstoimply，theidea’sacompletedelusion。"

Shespokethewordsdeliberatelyandincisively，asifhopingthatthesoundoftheirutterancewouldstiflethewhisperinherbosom。

Sophy’sonlyanswerwasavaguemurmur，andamovementthatbroughthernearertothedoor；butbeforeshecouldreachitOwenhadplacedhimselfinherway。

"Idon’tmeantoimplywhatyouthink，"hesaid，addressinghisstep—motherbutkeepinghiseyesonthegirl。"Idon’tsayDarrowdoesn’tlikeourmarriage；Isayit’sSophywho’shateditsinceDarrow’sbeenhere！"

Hebroughtoutthechargeinatoneofforcedcomposure，buthislipswerewhiteandhegraspedthedoorknobtohidethetremorofhishand。

Anna’sangersurgedupwithherfears。"You’reabsurd，Owen！Idon’tknowwhyIlistentoyou。WhyshouldSophydislikeMr。Darrow，andifshedoes，whyshouldthathaveanythingtodowithherwishingtobreakherengagement？"

"Idon’tsayshedislikeshim！Idon’tsayshelikeshim；I

don’tknowwhatitistheysaytoeachotherwhenthey’reshutuptogetheralone。"

"Shutuptogetheralone？"Annastared。Owenseemedlikeamanindelirium；suchanexhibitionwasdegradingtothemall。Buthepushedonwithoutseeingherlook。

"Yes——thefirsteveningshecame，inthestudy；thenextmorning，early，inthepark；yesterday，again，inthespring—house，whenyouwereatthelodgewiththedoctor……I

don’tknowwhattheysaytoeachother，butthey’vetakeneverychancetheycouldtosayit……andtosayitwhentheythoughtthatnoonesawthem。"

Annalongedtosilencehim，butnowordscametoher。Itwasasthoughallherconfusedapprehensionshadsuddenlytakendefiniteshape。Therewas"something"——yes，therewas"something"……Darrow’sreticencesandevasionshadbeenmorethanafigmentofherdoubts。

Thenextinstantbroughtarecoilofpride。Sheturnedindignantlyonherstep—son。

"Idon’thalfunderstandwhatyou’vebeensaying；butwhatyouseemtohintissopreposterous，andsoinsultingbothtoSophyandtome，thatIseenoreasonwhyweshouldlistentoyouanylonger。"

ThoughhertonesteadiedOwen，sheperceivedatoncethatitwouldnotdeflecthimfromhispurpose。Hespokelessvehemently，butwithallthemoreprecision。

"Howcanitbepreposterous，sinceit’strue？Orinsulting，sinceIdon’tknow，anymorethanYOU，themeaningofwhatI’vebeenseeing？Ifyou’llbepatientwithmeI’lltrytoputitquietly。WhatImeanisthatSophyhascompletelychangedsinceshemetDarrowhere，andthat，havingnoticedthechange，I’mhardlytoblameforhavingtriedtofindoutitscause。"

Annamadeanefforttoanswerhimwiththesamecomposure。

"You’retoblame，atanyrate，forsorecklesslyassumingthatyouHAVEfounditout。Youseemtoforgetthat，tilltheymethere，SophyandMr。Darrowhardlykneweachother。"

"Ifso，it’sallthestrangerthatthey’vebeensooftenclosetedtogether！"

"Owen，Owen——"thegirlsighedout。

Heturnedhishaggardfacetoher。"CanIhelpit，ifI’veseenandknownwhatIwasn’tmeantto？ForGod’ssakegivemeareason——anyreasonIcandecentlymakeoutwith！Isitmyfaultif，thedayafteryouarrived，whenIcamebacklatethroughthegarden，thecurtainsofthestudyhadn’tbeendrawn，andIsawyoutherealonewithDarrow？"

Annalaughedimpatiently。"Really，Owen，ifyoumakeitagrievancethattwopeoplewhoarestayinginthesamehouseshouldbeseentalkingtogether————！"

"Theywerenottalking。That’sthepoint————"

"Nottalking？Howdoyouknow？Youcouldhardlyhearthemfromthegarden！"

"No；butIcouldsee。HEwassittingatmydesk，withhisfaceinhishands。SHEwasstandinginthewindow，lookingawayfromhim……"

Hewaited，asifforSophyViner’sanswer；butstillsheneitherstirrednorspoke。

"Thatwasthefirsttime，"hewenton；"andthesecondwasthenextmorninginthepark。Itwasnaturalenough，theirmeetingthere。SophyhadgoneoutwithEffie，andEffieranbacktolookforme。Shetoldmeshe’dleftSophyandDarrowinthepaththatleadstotheriver，andpresentlywesawthemaheadofus。Theydidn’tseeusatfirst，becausetheywerestandinglookingateachother；andthistimetheywerenotspeakingeither。Wecameupclosebeforetheyheardus，andallthattimetheyneverspoke，orstoppedlookingateachother。AfterthatIbegantowonder；andsoIwatchedthem。"

"Oh，Owen！"

"Oh，Ionlyhadtowait。Yesterday，whenImotoredyouandthedoctorbackfromthelodge，IsawSophycomingoutofthespring—house。Isupposedshe’dtakenshelterfromtherain，andwhenyougotoutofthemotorIstrolledbackdowntheavenuetomeether。Butshe’ddisappeared——shemusthavetakenashortcutandcomeintothehousebythesidedoor。Idon’tknowwhyIwentontothespring—house；I

supposeitwaswhatyou’dcallspying。Iwentupthestepsandfoundtheroomempty；buttwochairshadbeenmovedoutfromthewallandwerestandingnearthetable；andoneoftheChinesescreensthatlieonithaddroppedtothefloor。"

Annasoundedafaintnoteofirony。"Really？Sophy’dgonethereforshelter，andshedroppedascreenandmovedachair？"

"Isaidtwochairs————"

"Two？Whatdamningevidence——ofIdon’tknowwhat！"

"SimplyofthefactthatDarrow’dbeentherewithher。AsI

lookedoutofthewindowIsawhimcloseby，walkingaway。

Hemusthaveturnedthecornerofthespring—housejustasI

gottothedoor。"

Therewasanothersilence，duringwhichAnnapaused，notonlytocollectherownwordsbuttowaitforSophyViner’s；

then，asthegirlmadenosign，sheturnedtoher。

"I’veabsolutelynothingtosaytoallthis；butperhapsyou’dlikemetowaitandhearyouranswer？"

Sophyraisedherheadwithaquickflashofcolour。"I’venoanswereither——exceptthatOwenmustbemad。"

Intheintervalsinceshehadlastspokensheseemedtohaveregainedherself—control，andhervoicerangclear，withacoldedgeofanger。

Annalookedatherstep—son。Hehadgrownextremelypale，andhishandfellfromthedoorwithadiscouragedgesture。

"That’sallthen？Youwon’tgivemeanyreason？"

"Ididn’tsupposeitwasnecessarytogiveyouoranyoneelseareasonfortalkingwithafriendofMrs。Leath’sunderMrs。Leath’sownroof。"

Owenhardlyseemedtofeeltheretort：hekepthisdoggedstareonherface。

"Iwon’taskforone，then。I’llonlyaskyoutogivemeyourassurancethatyourtalkswithDarrowhavehadnothingtodowithyoursuddenlydecidingtoleaveGivre。"

Shehesitated，notsomuchwiththeairofweighingheranswerasofquestioninghisrighttoexactany。"Igiveyoumyassurance；andnowIshouldliketogo，"shesaid。

Assheturnedaway，Annaintervened。"Mydear，Ithinkyououghttospeak。"

Thegirldrewherselfupwithafaintlaugh。"Tohim——ortoYOU？"

"Tohim。"

Shestiffened。"I’vesaidallthereistosay。"

Annadrewback，hereyesonherstep—son。HehadleftthethresholdandwasadvancingtowardSophyVinerwithamotionofdesperateappeal；butashedidsotherewasaknockonthedoor。Amoment’ssilencefellonthethree；thenAnnasaid："Comein！"

Darrowcameintotheroom。Seeingthethreetogether，helookedrapidlyfromonetotheother；thenheturnedtoAnnawithasmile。

"Icameuptoseeifyouwereready；butpleasesendmeoffifI’mnotwanted。"

Hislook，hisvoice，thesimplesenseofhispresence，restoredAnna’sshakenbalance。ByOwen’ssidehelookedsostrong，sourbane，soexperienced，thatthelad’spassionatechargesdwindledtomereboyishvapourings。AmomentagoshehaddreadedDarrow’scoming；nowshewasgladthathewasthere。

Sheturnedtohimwithsuddendecision。"Comein，please；I

wantyoutohearwhatOwenhasbeensaying。"

ShecaughtamurmurfromSophyViner，butdisregardedit。

Anilluminatingimpulseurgedheron。She，habituallysoawareofherownlackofpenetration，hersmallskillinreadinghiddenmotivesanddetectingsecretsignals，nowfeltherselfmysteriouslyinspired。SheaddressedherselftoSophyViner。"It’smuchbetterforyouboththatthisabsurdquestionshouldbeclearedupnow"Then，turningtoDarrow，shecontinued："ForsomereasonthatIdon’tpretendtoguess，Owenhastakenitintohisheadthatyou’veinfluencedMissVinertobreakherengagement。"

Shespokeslowlyanddeliberately，becauseshewishedtogivetimeandtogainit；timeforDarrowandSophytoreceivethefullimpactofwhatshewassaying，andtimetoobserveitsfulleffectonthem。Shehadsaidtoherself：

"Ifthere’snothingbetweenthem，they’lllookateachother；ifthereISsomething，theywon’t；"andassheceasedtospeakshefeltasifallherlifewereinhereyes。

Sophy，afterastartofprotest，remainedmotionless，hergazeontheground。Darrow，hisfacegrowngrave，glancedslowlyfromOwenLeathtoAnna。Withhiseyesonthelatterheasked："HasMissVinerbrokenherengagement？"

Amoment’ssilencefollowedhisquestion；thenthegirllookedupandsaid："Yes！"

Owen，asshespoke，utteredasmotheredexclamationandwalkedoutoftheroom。Shecontinuedtostandinthesameplace，withoutappearingtonoticehisdeparture，andwithoutvouchsafinganadditionalwordofexplanation；then，beforeAnnacouldfindacrytodetainher，shetooturnedandwentout。

"ForGod’ssake，what’shappened？"Darrowasked；butAnna，withadropoftheheart，wassayingtoherselfthatheandSophyVinerhadnotlookedateachother。

XXV

Annastoodinthemiddleoftheroom，hereyesonthedoor。

Darrow’squestioninggazewasstillonher，andshesaidtoherselfwithaquick—drawnbreath："Ifonlyhedoesn’tcomenearme！"

Itseemedtoherthatshehadbeensuddenlyendowedwiththefatalgiftofreadingthesecretsenseofeveryseeminglyspontaneouslookandmovement，andthatinhisleastgestureofaffectionshewoulddetectacolddesign。

Foramomentlongerhecontinuedtolookatherenquiringly；

thenheturnedawayandtookuphishabitualstandbythemantel—piece。Shedrewadeepbreathofrelief。

"Won’tyoupleaseexplain？"hesaid。

"Ican’texplain：Idon’tknow。Ididn’tevenknow——tillshetoldyou——thatshereallymeanttobreakherengagement。

AllIknowisthatshecametomejustnowandsaidshewishedtoleaveGivretoday；andthatOwen，whenheheardofit——forshehadn’ttoldhim——atonceaccusedherofgoingawaywiththesecretintentionofthrowinghimover。"

"Andyouthinkit’sadefinitebreak？"Sheperceived，asshespoke，thathisbrowhadcleared。

"HowshouldIknow？Perhapsyoucantellme。"

"I？"Shefanciedhisfacecloudedagain，buthedidnotmovefromhistranquilattitude。

"AsItoldyou，"shewenton，"Owenhasworkedhimselfuptoimaginingthatforsomemysteriousreasonyou’veinfluencedSophyagainsthim。"

Darrowstillvisiblywondered。"Itmustindeedbeamysteriousreason！HeknowshowslightlyIknowMissViner。

Whyshouldheimagineanythingsowildlyimprobable？"

"Idon’tknowthateither。"

"Buthemusthavehintedatsomereason。"

"No：headmitshedoesn’tknowyourreason。HesimplysaysthatSophy’smannertohimhaschangedsinceshecamebacktoGivreandthathe’sseenyoutogetherseveraltimes——inthepark，thespring—house，Idon’tknowwhere——talkingaloneinawaythatseemedconfidential——almostsecret；andhedrawsthepreposterousconclusionthatyou’veusedyourinfluencetoturnheragainsthim。"

"Myinfluence？Whatkindofinfluence？"

"Hedoesn’tsay。"

Darrowagainseemedtoturnoverthefactsshegavehim。

Hisfaceremainedgrave，butwithouttheleasttraceofdiscomposure。"AndwhatdoesMissVinersay？"

"Shesaysit’sperfectlynaturalthatsheshouldoccasionallytalktomyfriendswhenshe’sundermyroof——

andrefusestogivehimanyotherexplanation。"

"Thatatleastisperfectlynatural！"

Annafelthercheeksflushassheanswered："Yes——butthereissomething————"

"Something————？"

"Somereasonforhersuddendecisiontobreakherengagement。IcanunderstandOwen’sfeeling，sorryasIamforhiswayofshowingit。Thegirloweshimsomesortofexplanation，andaslongassherefusestogiveithisimaginationissuretorunwild。"

"Shewouldhavegivenit，nodoubt，ifhedaskeditinadifferenttone。"

"Idon’tdefendOwen’stone——butsheknewwhatitwasbeforesheacceptedhim。Sheknowshe’sexcitableandundisciplined。"

"Well，she’sbeendisciplininghimalittle——probablythebestthingthatcouldhappen。Whynotletthematterrestthere？"

"LeaveOwenwiththeideathatyouHAVEbeenthecauseofthebreak？"

Hemetthequestionwithhiseasysmile。"Oh，astothat——

leavehimwithanyideaofmehechooses！Butleavehim，atanyrate，free。"

"Free？"sheechoedinsurprise。

"Simplyletthingsbe。You’vesurelydoneallyoucouldforhimandMissViner。Iftheydon’thititoffit’stheirownaffair。Whatpossiblemotivecanyouhavefortryingtointerferenow？"

Hergazewidenedtoadeeperwonder。"Why——naturally，whathesaysofyou！"

"Idon’tcareastrawwhathesaysofme！Insuchasituationaboyinlovewillsnatchatthemostfar—fetchedreasonratherthanfacethemortifyingfactthattheladymaysimplybetiredofhim。"

"YoudontquiteunderstandOwen。Thingsgodeepwithhim，andlastlong。Ittookhimalongtimetorecoverfromhisotherunluckyloveaffair。He’sromanticandextravagant：