“Andyouthinkaninchortwolessofhernow。”TherewasalittletremorinWinterborne’svoiceashespoke。
“Well。”saidthedoctor，withrecoveredwarmth，“IamnotsosurethatIthinklessofher。Atfirstitwasasortofblow；but，dammy！I’llstickupforher。She’scharming，everyinchofher！”
“Sosheis。”saidWinterborne，“butnottome。”
Fromthisambiguousexpressionofthereticentwoodlander’s，Dr。
FitzpiersinferredthatGilesdislikedMissMelburybecauseofsomehaughtinessinherbearingtowardshim，andhad，onthataccount，withheldhername。Thesuppositiondidnottendtodiminishhisadmirationforher。
Grace’sexhibitionofherself，intheactofpulling-tothewindow-curtains，hadbeentheresultofanunfortunateincidentinthehousethatday——nothinglessthantheillnessofGrammerOliver，awomanwhohadnevertillnowlaindownforsuchareasoninherlife。Likeotherstowhomunbrokenyearsofhealthhasmadetheideaofkeepingtheirbedalmostasrepugnantasdeathitself，shehadcontinuedonfoottillsheliterallyfellonthefloor；andthoughshehad，asyet，beenscarcelyadayoffduty，shehadsickenedintoquiteadifferentpersonagefromtheindependentGrammeroftheyardandspar-house。Illasshewas，ononepointshewasfirm。Onnoaccountwouldsheseeadoctor；
inotherwords，Fitzpiers。
TheroominwhichGracehadbeendiscernedwasnotherown，buttheoldwoman’s。Onthegirl’swaytobedshehadreceivedamessagefromGrammer，totheeffectthatshewouldmuchliketospeaktoherthatnight。
Graceentered，andsetthecandleonalowchairbesidethebed，sothattheprofileofGrammerasshelaycastitselfinakeenshadowuponthewhitenedwall，herlargeheadbeingstillfurthermagnifiedbyanenormousturban，whichwas，really，herpetticoatwoundinawreathroundhertemples。Graceputtheroomalittleinorder，andapproachingthesickwoman，said，“Iamcome，Grammer，asyouwish。Doletussendforthedoctorbeforeitgetslater。”
“Iwillnothavehim。”saidGrammerOliver，decisively。
“Thensomebodytositupwithyou。”
“Can’tabearit！No；Iwantedtoseeyou，MissGrace，because’chhavesomethingonmymind。DearMissGrace，ITOOKTHATMONEYOF
THEDOCTOR，AFTERALL！”
“Whatmoney？”
“Thetenpounds。”
Gracedidnotquiteunderstand。
“Thetenpoundsheofferedmeformyhead，becauseI’vealargebrain。IsignedapaperwhenItookthemoney，notfeelingconcernedaboutitatall。Ihavenotlikedtotellyethatitwasreallysettledwithhim，becauseyoushowedsuchhorroratthenotion。Well，havingthoughtitovermoreatlength，IwishI
hadn’tdoneit；anditweighsuponmymind。JohnSouth’sdeathoffearaboutthetreemakesmethinkthatIshalldieofthis。’Chhavebeengoingtoaskhimagaintoletmeoff，butIhadn’ttheface。”
“Why？”
“I’vespentsomeofthemoney——more’ntwopoundso’t。Itdowherritmeterribly；andIshalldieo’thethoughtofthatpaperIsignedwithmyholycross，asSouthdiedofhistrouble。”
“Ifyouaskhimtoburnthepaperhewill，I’msure，andthinknomoreofit。”
“’Chhavedoneitoncealready，miss。Buthelaughedcruellike。
’Yoursissuchafinebrain，Grammer，’ersaid，’thatsciencecouldn’taffordtoloseyou。Besides，you’vetakenmymoney。’。Don’tletyourfatherknowofthis，please，onnoaccountwhatever！”
“No，no。Iwillletyouhavethemoneytoreturntohim。”
Grammerrolledherheadnegativelyuponthepillow。“EvenifI
shouldbewellenoughtotakeittohim，hewon’tlikeit。Thoughwhyheshouldsoparticularwanttolookintotheworksofapooroldwoman’shead-piecelikeminewhenthere’ssomanyotherfolksabout，Idon’tknow。Iknowhowhe’llanswerme：’Alonelypersonlikeyou，Grammer，’erwollsay。’Whatdifferenceisittoyouwhatbecomesofyewhenthebreath’soutofyourbody？’Oh，itdotroubleme！Ifyouonlyknewhowhedochevymeroundthechimmerinmydreams，you’dpityme。HowIcoulddoitIcan’tthink！But’chwasalwayssorackless！。IfIonlyhadanybodytopleadforme！”
“Mrs。Melburywould，Iamsure。”
“Ay；buthewouldn’thearkentoshe！Itwantsayoungerfacethanherstoworkuponsuchashe。”
Gracestartedwithcomprehension。“Youdon’tthinkhewoulddoitforme？”shesaid。
“Oh，wouldn’the！”
“Icouldn’tgotohim，Grammer，onanyaccount。Idon’tknowhimatall。”
“Ah，ifIwereayounglady。”saidtheartfulGrammer，“andcouldsaveapooroldwoman’sskellingtonfromaheathendoctorinsteadofaChristiangrave，Iwoulddoit，andbegladto。Butnobodywilldoanythingforapooroldfamiliarfriendbutpushheroutoftheway。”
Youareveryungrateful，Grammer，tosaythat。Butyouareill，I
know，andthat’swhyyouspeakso。Nowbelieveme，youarenotgoingtodieyet。Rememberyoutoldmeyourselfthatyoumeanttokeephimwaitingmanyayear。”
“Ay，onecanjokewhenoneiswell，eveninoldage；butinsicknessone’sgayetyfalterstogrief；andthatwhichseemedsmalllookslarge；andthegrimfar-offseemsnear。”
Grace’seyeshadtearsinthem。“Idon’tliketogotohimonsuchanerrand，Grammer。”shesaid，brokenly。“ButIwill，toeaseyourmind。”
ItwaswithextremereluctancethatGracecloakedherselfnextmorningfortheundertaking。ShewasallthemoreindisposedtothejourneybyreasonofGrammer’sallusiontotheeffectofaprettyfaceuponDr。Fitzpiers；andhenceshemostillogicallydidthatwhich，hadthedoctorneverseenher，wouldhaveoperatedtostultifythesolemotiveofherjourney；thatistosay，sheputonawoollenveil，whichhidallherfaceexceptanoccasionalsparkofhereyes。
Herownwishthatnothingshouldbeknownofthisstrangeandgrewsomeproceeding，nolessthanGrammerOliver’sowndesire，ledGracetotakeeveryprecautionagainstbeingdiscovered。Shewentoutbythegardendoorasthesafestway，allthehouseholdhavingoccupationsattheotherside。Themorninglookedforbiddingenoughwhenshestealthilyopenedit。Thebattlebetweenfrostandthawwascontinuinginmid-air：thetreesdrippedonthegarden-plots，wherenovegetableswouldgrowforthedripping，thoughtheywereplantedyearafteryearwiththatcuriousmechanicalregularityofcountrypeopleinthefaceofhopelessness；themosswhichcoveredtheoncebroadgravelterracewasswamped；andGracestoodirresolute。ThenshethoughtofpoorGrammer，andherdreamsofthedoctorrunningafterher，scalpelinhand，andthepossibilityofacasesocuriouslysimilartoSouth’sendinginthesameway；thereuponshesteppedoutintothedrizzle。
Thenatureofhererrand，andGrammerOliver’saccountofthecompactshehadmade，lentafascinatinghorrortoGrace’sconceptionofFitzpiers。Sheknewthathewasayoungman；buthersingleobjectinseekinganinterviewwithhimputallconsiderationsofhisageandsocialaspectfromhermind。
Standingasshestood，inGrammerOliver’sshoes，hewassimplyaremorselessJoveofthesciences，whowouldnothavemercy，andwouldhavesacrifice；amanwhom，saveforthis，shewouldhavepreferredtoavoidknowing。Butsince，insuchasmallvillage，itwasimprobablethatanylongtimecouldpasswithouttheirmeeting，therewasnotmuchtodeploreinherhavingtomeethimnow。
But，asneedhardlybesaid，MissMelbury’sviewofthedoctorasamerciless，unwavering，irresistiblescientistwasnotquiteinaccordancewithfact。TherealDr。Fitzpierswasamanoftoomanyhobbiestoshowlikelihoodofrisingtoanygreateminenceintheprofessionhehadchosen，oreventoacquireanywidepracticeintheruraldistricthehadmarkedoutashisfieldofsurveyforthepresent。Inthecourseofayearhismindwasaccustomedtopassinagrandsolarsweepthroughallthezodiacalsignsoftheintellectualheaven。SometimesitwasintheRam，sometimesintheBull；onemonthhewouldbeimmersedinalchemy，anotherinpoesy；onemonthintheTwinsofastrologyandastronomy；thenintheCrabofGermanliteratureandmetaphysics。Injusticetohimitmustbestatedthathetooksuchstudiesaswereimmediatelyrelatedtohisownprofessioninturnwiththerest，andithadbeeninamonthofanatomicalardorwithoutthepossibilityofasubjectthathehadproposedtoGrammerOliverthetermsshehadmentionedtohermistress。
AsmaybeinferredfromthetoneofhisconversationwithWinterborne，hehadlatelyplungedintoabstractphilosophywithmuchzest；perhapshiskeenlyappreciative，modern，unpracticalmindfoundthisarealmmoretohistastethananyother。Thoughhisaimsweredesultory，Fitzpiers’smentalconstitutionwasnotwithoutitsadmirableside；akeeninquirerhehonestlywas，evenifthemidnightraysofhislamp，visiblesofarthroughthetreesofHintock，lightedrankliteraturesofemotionandpassionasoftenas，oroftenerthan，thebooksandmaterielofscience。
