第16章

hecan’tliveontheinterestofhisfeelings。HeworshipsSophyandsheseemedtobefondofhim。Ifshe’schangedit’sbeenverysudden。Andiftheypartlikethis，angrilyandinarticulately，itwillhurthimhorribly——hurthisverysoul。Butthat，asyousay，isbetweenthetwo。Whatconcernsmeishisassociatingyouwiththeirquarrel。

Owen’slikemyownson——ifyou’dseenhimwhenIfirstcamehereyou’dknowwhy。Wewereliketwoprisonerswhotalktoeachotherbytappingonthewall。He’sneverforgottenit，norI。WhetherhebreakswithSophy，orwhethertheymakeitup，Ican’tlethimthinkyouhadanythingtodowithit。"

SheraisedhereyesentreatinglytoDarrow’s，andreadinthemtheforbearanceofthemanresignedtothediscussionofnon—existentproblems。

"I’lldowhateveryouwantmeto，"hesaid；"butIdon’tyetknowwhatitis。"

Hissmileseemedtochargeherwithinconsequence，andthepricktoherpridemadehercontinue："Afterall，it’snotsounnaturalthatOwen，knowingyouandSophytobealmoststrangers，shouldwonderwhatyouweresayingtoeachotherwhenhesawyoutalkingtogether。"

Shefeltawarningtremorasshespoke，asthoughsomeinstinctdeeperthanreasonsurgedupindefenseofitstreasure。ButDarrow’sfacewasunstirredsavebytheflitofhishalf—amusedsmile。

"Well，mydear——andcouldn’tyouhavetoldhim？"

"I？"shefalteredoutthroughherblush。

"Youseemtoforget，oneandallofyou，thepositionyouputmeinwhenIcamedownhere：yourappealtometoseeOwenthrough，yourassurancetohimthatIwould，MadamedeChantelle’sattempttowinmeover；andmostofall，myownsenseofthefactyou’vejustrecalledtome：theimportance，forbothofus，thatOwenshouldlikeme。ItseemedtomethatthefirstthingtodowastogetasmuchlightasIcouldonthewholesituation；andtheobviouswayofdoingitwastotrytoknowMissVinerbetter。OfcourseI’vetalkedwithheralone——I’vetalkedwithherasoftenasIcould。I’vetriedmybesttofindoutifyouwererightinencouragingOwentomarryher。"

Shelistenedwithagrowingsenseofreassurance，strugglingtoseparatetheabstractsenseofhiswordsfromthepersuasioninwhichhiseyesandvoiceenvelopedthem。

"Isee——Idosee，"shemurmured。

"Youmustsee，also，thatIcouldhardlysaythistoOwenwithoutoffendinghimstillmore，andperhapsincreasingthebreachbetweenMissVinerandhimself。WhatsortoffigureshouldIcutifItoldhimI’dbeentryingtofindoutifhe’dmadeaproperchoice？Inanycase，it’snoneofmybusinesstoofferanexplanationofwhatshejustlysaysdoesn’tneedone。Ifshedeclinestospeak，it’sobviouslyonthegroundthatOwen’sinsinuationsareabsurd；andthatsurelypledgesmetosilence。"

"Yes，yes！Isee，"Annarepeated。"ButIdon’twantyoutoexplainanythingtoOwen。"

"Youhaven’tyettoldmewhatyoudowant。"

Shehesitated，consciousofthedifficultyofjustifyingherrequest；then："IwantyoutospeaktoSophy，"shesaid。

Darrowbrokeintoanincredulouslaugh。"Consideringwhatmypreviousattemptshaveresultedin————！"

Sheraisedhereyesquickly。"Theyhaven’t，atleast，resultedinyourlikingherless，inyourthinkinglesswellofherthanyou’vetoldme？"

Shefanciedhefrownedalittle。"Iwonderwhyyougobacktothat？"

"Iwanttobesure——IoweittoOwen。Won’tyoutellmetheexactimpressionshe’sproducedonyou？"

"Ihavetoldyou——IlikeMissViner。"

"Doyoustillbelieveshe’sinlovewithOwen？"

"Therewasnothinginourshorttalkstothrowanyparticularlightonthat。"

"Youstillbelieve，though，thatthere’snoreasonwhyheshouldn’tmarryher？"

Againhebetrayedarestrainedimpatience。"HowcanI

answerthatwithoutknowingherreasonsforbreakingwithhim？"

"That’sjustwhatIwantyoutofindoutfromher。"

"Andwhyintheworldshouldshetellme？"

"Because，whatevergrievanceshehasagainstOwen，shecancertainlyhavenoneagainstme。Shecan’twanttohaveOwenconnectmeinhismindwiththiswretchedquarrel；andshemustseethathewilluntilhe’sconvincedyou’vehadnoshareinit。"

Darrow’selbowdroppedfromthemantel—pieceandhetookarestlesssteportwoacrosstheroom。Thenhehaltedbeforeher。

"Whycan’tyoutellherthisyourself？"

"Don’tyousee？"

Heeyedherintently，andshepressedon："YoumusthaveguessedthatOwen’sjealousofyou。"

"Jealousofme？"Thebloodflewupunderhisbrownskin。

"Blindwithit——whatelsewoulddrivehimtothisfolly？AndIcan’thaveherthinkmejealoustoo！I’vesaidallI

could，shortofmakingherthinkso；andshe’srefusedawordmoretoeitherofus。Ouronlychancenowisthatsheshouldlistentoyou——thatyoushouldmakeherseetheharmhersilencemaydo。"

Darrowutteredaprotestingexclamation。"It’salltoopreposterous——whatyousuggest！Ican’t，atanyrate，appealtoheronsuchagroundasthat！"

Annalaidherhandonhisarm。"AppealtoheronthegroundthatI’malmostOwen’smother，andthatanyestrangementbetweenyouandhimwouldkillme。Sheknowswhatheis——

she’llunderstand。Tellhertosayanything，doanything，shewishes；butnottogoawaywithoutspeaking，nottoleaveTHATbetweenuswhenshegoes！"

Shedrewbackastepandliftedherfacetohis，tryingtolookintohiseyesmoredeeplythanshehadeverlooked；butbeforeshecoulddiscernwhattheyexpressedhehadtakenholdofherhandsandbenthisheadtokissthem。

"You’llseeher？You’llseeher？"sheentreated；andheanswered："I’lldoanythingintheworldyouwantmeto。"

XXVI

Darrowwaitedaloneinthesitting—room。

Noplacecouldhavebeenmoredistastefulasthesceneofthetalkthatlaybeforehim；buthehadaccededtoAnna’ssuggestionthatitwouldseemmorenaturalforhertosummonSophyVinerthanforhimtogoinsearchofher。Ashistroubledpacingscarriedhimbackandfortharelentlesshandseemedtobetearingawayallthetenderfibresofassociationthatboundhimtothepeacefulroom。Here，inthisveryplace，hehaddrunkhisdeepestdraughtsofhappiness，hadhadhislipsatthefountain—headofitsoverflowingrivers；butnowthatsourcewaspoisonedandhewouldtastenomoreofanuntaintedcup。

Foramomenthefeltanactualphysicalanguish；thenhisnerveshardenedforthecomingstruggle。Hehadnonotionofwhatawaitedhim；butafterthefirstinstinctiverecoilhehadseeninaflashtheurgentneedofanotherwordwithSophyViner。HehadbeeninsincereinlettingAnnathinkthathehadconsentedtospeakbecausesheaskedit。Inrealityhehadbeenfeverishlycastingaboutforthepretextshehadgivenhim；andforsomereasonthistrivialhypocrisyweighedonhimmorethanallhisheavyburdenofdeceit。

AtlengthheheardastepbehindhimandSophyVinerentered。Whenshesawhimshepausedonthethresholdandhalfdrewback。

"IwastoldthatMrs。Leathhadsentforme。"

"Mrs。LeathDIDsendforyou。She’llbeherepresently；

butIaskedhertoletmeseeyoufirst。"

Hespokeverygently，andtherewasnoinsincerityinhisgentleness。Hewasprofoundlymovedbythechangeinthegirl’sappearance。Atsightofhimshehadforcedasmile；

butitlitupherwretchednesslikeacandle—flameheldtoadeadface。

Shemadenoreply，andDarrowwenton："Youmustunderstandmywantingtospeaktoyou，afterwhatIwastoldjustnow。"

Sheinterposed，withagestureofprotest："I’mnotresponsibleforOwen’sravings！"

"Ofcourse————"。Hebrokeoffandtheystoodfacingeachother。Sheliftedahandandpushedbackherlooselockwiththegesturethatwasburntintohismemory；thenshelookedaboutheranddroppedintothenearestchair。

"Well，you’vegotwhatyouwanted，"shesaid。

"WhatdoyoumeanbywhatIwanted？"

"Myengagement’sbroken——youheardmesayso。"

"Whydoyousaythat’swhatIwanted？AllIwished，fromthebeginning，wastoadviseyou，tohelpyouasbestIcould——

——"

"That’swhatyou’vedone，"sherejoined。"You’veconvincedmethatit’sbestIshouldn’tmarryhim。"

Darrowbrokeintoadespairinglaugh。"Attheverymomentwhenyou’dconvincedmetothecontrary！"

"HadI？"Hersmileflickeredup。"Well，Ireallybelievedittillyoushowedme……warnedme……"

"Warnedyou？"

"ThatI’dbemiserableifImarriedamanIdidn’tlove。"

"Don’tyoulovehim？"

Shemadenoanswer，andDarrowstartedupandwalkedawaytotheotherendoftheroom。Hestoppedbeforethewriting—

table，wherehisphotograph，well—dressed，handsome，self—

sufficient——theportraitofamanoftheworld，confidentofhisabilitytodealadequatelywiththemostdelicatesituations——offereditshugefatuitytohisgaze。Heturnedbacktoher。"It’sratherhardonOwen，isn’tit，thatyoushouldhavewaiteduntilnowtotellhim？"

Shereflectedamomentbeforeanswering。"ItoldhimassoonasIknew。"

"Knewthatyoucouldn’tmarryhim？"

"KnewthatIcouldneverliveherewithhim。"Shelookedabouttheroom，asthoughtheverywallsmustspeakforher。

ForamomentDarrowcontinuedtosearchherfaceperplexedly；thentheireyesmetinalongdisastrousgaze。

"Yes————"shesaid，andstoodup。

BelowthewindowtheyheardEffiewhistlingforherdogs，andthen，fromtheterrace，hermothercallingher。

"There——THATforinstance，"SophyVinersaid。

Darrowbrokeout："It’sIwhooughttogo！"

Shekepthersmallpalesmile。"Whatgoodwouldthatdoanyofus——now？"

Hecoveredhisfacewithhishands。"GoodGod！"hegroaned。

"HowcouldItell？"

"Youcouldn’ttell。Weneitherofuscould。"Sheseemedtoturntheproblemovercritically。"Afterall，itmighthavebeenYOUinsteadofme！"

Hetookanotherdistractedturnabouttheroomandcomingbacktohersatdowninachairatherside。Amockinghandseemedtodashthewordsfromhislips。Therewasnothingonearththathecouldsaytoherthatwasn’tfoolishorcruelorcontemptible……

"Mydear，"hebeganatlast，"oughtn’tyou，atanyrate，totry？"

Hergazegrewgrave。"Trytoforgetyou？"

Heflushedtotheforehead。"Imeant，trytogiveOwenmoretime；togivehimachance。He’smadlyinlovewithyou；

allthegoodthat’sinhimisinyourhands。Hisstep—motherfeltthatfromthefirst。Andshethought——shebelieved————

"

"ShethoughtIcouldmakehimhappy。Wouldshethinksonow？"

"Now……？Idon’tsaynow。Butlater？Timemodifies……rubsout……morequicklythanyouthink……Goaway，butlethimhope……I’mgoingtoo——WE’REgoing——"hestumbledontheplural——"inaveryfewweeks：goingforalongtime，probably。Whatyou’rethinkingofnowmayneverhappen。Wemaynotallbeheretogetheragainforyears。"

Sheheardhimoutinsilence，herhandsclaspedonherknee，hereyesbentonthem。"Forme，"shesaid，"you’llalwaysbehere。"

"Don’tsaythat——oh，don’t！Thingschange……peoplechange……You’llsee！"

"Youdon’tunderstand。Idon’twantanythingtochange。I

don’twanttoforget——torubout。AtfirstIimaginedI

did；butthatwasafoolishmistake。AssoonasIsawyouagainIknewit……It’snotbeingherewithyouthatI’mafraidof——inthesenseyouthink。It’sbeinghere，oranywhere，withOwen。"Shestoodupandbenthertragicsmileonhim。"Iwanttokeepyoualltomyself。"

Theonlywordsthatcametohimwerefutiledenunciationsofhisfolly；butthesenseoftheirfutilitycheckedthemonhislips。"Poorchild——youpoorchild！"heheardhimselfvainlyrepeating。

Suddenlyhefeltthestrongreactionofrealityanditsimpetusbroughthimtohisfeet。"Whateverhappens，I

intendtogo——togoforgood，"heexclaimed。"Iwantyoutounderstandthat。Oh，don’tbeafraid——I’llfindareason。

Butit’sperfectlyclearthatImustgo。"

Sheutteredaprotestingcry。"Goaway？You？Don’tyouseethatthatwouldtelleverything——drageverybodyintothehorror？"

Hefoundnoanswer，andhervoicedroppedbacktoitscalmernote。"Whatgoodwouldyourgoingdo？Doyousupposeitwouldchangeanythingforme？"Shelookedathimwithamusingwistfulness。"Iwonderwhatyourfeelingformewas？

ItseemsqueerthatI’veneverreallyknown——IsupposeweDON’Tknowmuchaboutthatkindoffeeling。Isitliketakingadrinkwhenyou’rethirsty？……Iusedtofeelasifallofmewasinthepalmofyourhand……"

Hebowedhishumbledhead，butshewentonalmostexultantly："Don’tforaminutethinkI’msorry！Itwaswortheverypennyitcost。Mymistakewasinbeingashamed，justatfirst，ofitshavingcostsuchalot。Itriedtocarryitoffasajoke——totalkofittomyselfasan’adventure’。I’dalwayswantedadventures，andyou’dgivenmeone，andItriedtotakeyourattitudeaboutit，to’playthegame’andconvincemyselfthatIhadn’triskedanymoreonitthanyou。Then，whenImetyouagain，IsuddenlysawthatIHADriskedmore，butthatI’dwonmore，too——suchworlds！I’dbeentryingallthewhiletoputeverythingI

couldbetweenus；nowIwanttosweepeverythingaway。I’dbeentryingtoforgethowyoulooked；nowIwanttorememberyoualways。I’dbeentryingnottohearyourvoice；nowI

neverwanttohearanyother。I’vemademychoice——that’sall：I’vehadyouandImeantokeepyou。"Herfacewasshininglikehereyes。"Tokeepyouhiddenawayhere，"sheended，andputherhanduponherbreast。

Aftershehadlefthim，Darrowcontinuedtositmotionless，staringbackintotheirpast。Hithertoithadlingeredontheedgeofhismindinavaguepinkblur，likeoneofthelittlerose—leafcloudsthatasettingsundropsfromitsdisk。Nowitwasahugeloomingdarkness，throughwhichhiseyesvainlystrained。Thewholeepisodewasstillobscuretohim，savewherehereandthere，astheytalked，somephraseorgestureorintonationofthegirl’shadlitupalittlespotinthenight。

Shehadsaid："Iwonderwhatyourfeelingformewas？"andhefoundhimselfwonderingtoo……Heremembereddistinctlyenoughthathehadnotmeanttheperilouspassion——eveninitsmosttransientform——toplayapartintheirrelation。

Inthatrespecthisattitudehadbeenabovereproach。Shewasanunusuallyoriginalandattractivecreature，towhomhehadwantedtogiveafewdaysofharmlesspleasuring，andwhowasalertandexpertenoughtounderstandhisintentionandsparehimtheboredomofhesitationsandmisinterpretations。Thathadbeenhisfirstimpression，andhersubsequentdemeanourhadjustifiedit。Shehadbeen，fromtheoutset，justthefrankandeasycomradehehadexpectedtofindher。Wasithe，then，who，inthesequel，hadgrownimpatientoftheboundshehadsethimself？Wasithiswoundedvanitythat，seekingbalmforitshurt，yearnedtodipdeeperintothehealingpoolofhercompassion？Inhisconfusedmemoryofthesituationheseemednottohavebeenguiltlessofsuchyearnings……Yetforthefirstfewdaystheexperimenthadbeenperfectlysuccessful。Herenjoymenthadbeenuncloudedandhispleasureinitundisturbed。Itwasverygradually——heseemedtosee——thatashadeoflassitudehadcreptovertheirintercourse。

Perhapsitwasbecause，whenherlightchatteraboutpeoplefailed，hefoundshehadnootherfundtodrawon，orperhapssimplybecauseofthesweetnessofherlaugh，orofthecharmofthegesturewithwhich，onedayinthewoodsofMarly，shehadtossedoffherhatandtiltedbackherheadatthecallofacuckoo；orbecause，wheneverhelookedatherunexpectedly，hefoundthatshewaslookingathimanddidnotwanthimtoknowit；orperhaps，invaryingdegrees，becauseofallthesethings，thattherehadcomeamomentwhennowordseemedtoflyhighenoughordivedeepenoughtoutterthesenseofwell—beingeachgavetotheother，andthenaturalsubstituteforspeechhadbeenakiss。

Thekiss，atallevents，hadcomeattheprecisemomenttosavetheirventurefromdisaster。Theyhadreachedthepointwhenheramazingreminiscenceshadbeguntoflag，whenherfuturehadbeenexhaustivelydiscussed，hertheatricalprospectsminutelystudied，herquarrelwithMrs。Murrettretoldwiththelastamplificationofdetail，andwhen，perhapsconsciousofherexhaustedresourcesandhisdwindlinginterest，shehadcommittedthefatalerrorofsayingthatshecouldseehewasunhappy，andentreatinghimtotellherwhy……

Fromthebrinkofestrangingconfidences，andfromtheriskofunfavourablecomparisons，hisgesturehadsnatchedherbacktosafety；andassoonashehadkissedherhefeltthatshewouldneverborehimagain。Shewasoneoftheelementalcreatureswhoseemotionisallintheirpulses，andwhobecomeinexpressiveorsentimentalwhentheytrytoturnsensationintospeech。Hiscaresshadrestoredhertohernaturalplaceintheschemeofthings，andDarrowfeltasifhehadclaspedatreeandanymphhadbloomedfromit……

Themerefactofnothavingtolistentoheranylongeraddedimmenselytohercharm。Shecontinued，ofcourse，totalktohim，butitdidn’tmatter，becausehenolongermadeanyefforttofollowherwords，butlethervoicerunonasamusicalundercurrenttohisthoughts。

Shehadn’tadropofpoetryinher，butshehadsomeofthequalitiesthatcreateitinothers；andinmomentsofheattheimaginationdoesnotalwaysfeelthedifference……

Lyingbesideherintheshade，Darrowfeltherpresenceasapartofthecharmedstillnessofthesummerwoods，astheelementofvaguewell—beingthatsuffusedhissensesandlulledtosleeptheacheofwoundedpride。Allheaskedofher，asyet，wasatouchonthehandoronthelips——andthatsheshouldlethimgoonlyingtherethroughthelongwarmhours，whileablack—bird’ssongthrobbedlikeafountain，andthesummerwindstirredinthetrees，andcloseby，betweenthenearestbranchesandthebrimofhistiltedhat，aslightwhitefiguregatheredupallthefloatingthreadsofjoy……

Herecalled，too，havingnoticed，ashelaystaringatabreakinthetree—tops，astreamofmares’—tailscomingupthesky。Hehadsaidtohimself："Itwillrainto—morrow，"

andthethoughthadmadetheairseemwarmerandthesunmorevividonherhair……Perhapsifthemares’—tailshadnotcomeuptheskytheiradventuremighthavehadnosequel。

Butthecloudbroughtrain，andnextmorninghelookedoutofhiswindowintoacoldgreyblur。Theyhadplannedanall—dayexcursiondowntheSeine，tothetwoAndelysandRouen，andnow，withthelonghoursontheirhands，theywerebothalittleataloss……TherewastheLouvre，ofcourse，andtheLuxembourg；buthehadtriedlookingatpictureswithher，shehadfirstsopersistentlyadmiredtheworstthings，andthensofranklylapsedintoindifference，thathehadnowishtorepeattheexperiment。Sotheywentout，aimlessly，andtookacoldwetwalk，turningatlengthintothedesertedarcadesofthePalaisRoyal，andfinallydriftingintooneofitsequallydesertedrestaurants，wheretheylunchedaloneandsomewhatdolefully，servedbyawanoldwaiterwiththelookofacastawaywhohasgivenupwatchingforasail……Itwasoddhowthewaiter’sfacecamebacktohim……

Perhapsbutfortherainitmightneverhavehappened；butwhatwastheuseofthinkingofthatnow？Hetriedtoturnhisthoughtstomoreurgentissues；but，byastrangeperversityofassociation，everydetailofthedaywasforcingitselfonhismindwithaninsistencefromwhichtherewasnoescape。Reluctantlyherelivedthelongwetwalkbacktothehotel，afteratedioushouratacinematographshowontheBoulevard。Itwasstillrainingwhentheywithdrewfromthisstalespectacle，butshehadobstinatelyrefusedtotakeacab，hadeven，ontheway，insistedonloiteringunderthedrippingawningsofshop—

windowsandpokingintodraughtypassages，andfinally，whentheyhadnearlyreachedtheirdestination，hadgonesofarastosuggestthattheyshouldturnbacktohuntupsomeshowshehadheardofinatheatreattheBatignolles。Butatthathehadsomewhatirritablyprotested：herememberedthat，forthefirsttime，theywerebothratherirritable，andvaguelydisposedtoresistoneanother’ssuggestions。

Hisfeetwerewet，andhewastiredofwalking，andsickofthesmellofstuffyunairedtheatres，andhehadsaidhemustreallygetbacktowritesomeletters——andsotheyhadkeptontothehotel……

XXVII

DarrowhadnoideahowlonghehadsattherewhenheheardAnna’shandonthedoor。Theeffortofrising，andofcomposinghisfacetomeether，gavehimafactitioussenseofself—control。Hesaidtohimself："Imustdecideonsomething————"andthatliftedhimahair’sbreadthabovethewhirlingwaters。

Shecameinwithalighterstep，andheinstantlyperceivedthatsomethingunforeseenandreassuringhadhappened。

"She’sbeenwithme。Shecameandfoundmeontheterrace。

We’vehadalongtalkandshe’sexplainedeverything。I

feelasifI’dneverknownherbefore！"

Hervoicewassomovedandtenderthatitcheckedhisstartofapprehension。

"She’sexplained————？"

"It’snatural，isn’tit，thatsheshouldhavefeltalittlesoreatthekindofinspectionshe’sbeensubjectedto？Oh，notfromyou——Idon’tmeanthat！ButMadamedeChantelle’sopposition——andhersendingforAdelaidePainter！Shetoldmefranklyshedidn’tcaretooweherhusbandtoAdelaidePainter……ShethinksnowthatherannoyanceatfeelingherselfsotalkedoverandscrutinizedmayhaveshownitselfinhermannertoOwen，andsethimimaginingtheinsanethingshedid……Iunderstandallshemusthavefelt，andI

agreewithherthatit’sbestsheshouldgoawayforawhile。She’smademe，"Annasummedup，"feelasifI’dbeendreadfullythick—skinnedandobtuse！"

"YOU？"

"Yes。AsifI’dtreatedherlikethebric—a—bracthatusedtobesentdownhere’onapproval，’toseeifitwouldlookwellwiththeotherpieces。"Sheadded，withasuddenflushofenthusiasm："I’mgladshe’sgotitinhertomakeonefeellikethat！"

SheseemedtowaitforDarrowtoagreewithher，ortoputsomeotherquestion，andhefinallyfoundvoicetoask：

"Thenyouthinkit’snotafinalbreak？"

"Ihopenot——I’veneverhopeditmore！IhadawordwithOwen，too，afterIlefther，andIthinkheunderstandsthathemustlethergowithoutinsistingonanypositivepromise。She’sexcited……hemustlethercalmdown……"

Againshewaited，andDarrowsaid："Surelyyoucanmakehimseethat。"

"She’llhelpmeto——she’stoseehim，ofcourse，beforeshegoes。Shestartsimmediately，bytheway，withAdelaidePainter，whoismotoringovertoFrancheuiltocatchtheoneo’clockexpress——andwho，ofcourse，knowsnothingofallthis，andissimplytobetoldthatSophyhasbeensentforbytheFarlows。"

Darrowmutelysignedhiscomprehension，andshewenton：

"OwenisparticularlyanxiousthatneitherAdelaidenorhisgrandmothershouldhavetheleastinklingofwhat’shappened。TheneedofshieldingSophywillhelphimtocontrolhimself。He’scomingtohissenses，poorboy；he’sashamedofhiswildtalkalready。Heaskedmetotellyouso；nodoubthe’lltellyousohimself。"

Darrowmadeamovementofprotest。"Oh，astothat——thething’snotworthanotherword。"

"Oranotherthought，either？"Shebrightened。"Promisemeyouwon’teventhinkofit——promisemeyouwon’tbehardonhim！"

Hewasfindingiteasiertosmilebackather。"WhyshouldyouthinkitnecessarytoaskmyindulgenceforOwen？"

Shehesitatedamoment，hereyeswanderingfromhim。Thentheycamebackwithasmile。"PerhapsbecauseIneeditformyself。"

"Foryourself？"