“Nevermind。Iwasyoungthen，andIkissedthem。IwonderedhowIcouldmakethemostofmytrouvaille，anddecidedthatIwouldcallatyourhotelwiththemthatafternoon。Itrained，andI
waitedtillnextday。Icalled，andyouweregone。”
“Yes。”answeredshe，withdrymelancholy。“Mymother，knowingmydisposition，saidshehadnowishforsuchachitasmetogofallinginlovewithanimpecuniousstudent，andspiritedmeawaytoBaden。AsitisalloverandpastI’lltellyouonething：I
shouldhavesentyoualinepassingwarmhadIknownyourname。
ThatnameIneverknewtillmymaidsaid，asyoupassedupthehotelstairsamonthago，’There’sDr。Fitzpiers。’“
“GoodHeaven！”saidFitzpiers，musingly。“Howthetimecomesbacktome！Theevening，themorning，thedew，thespot。WhenIfoundthatyoureallyweregoneitwasasifacoldironhadbeenpasseddownmyback。IwentuptowhereyouhadstoodwhenIlastsawyou——Iflungmyselfonthegrass，and——beingnotmuchmorethanaboy——myeyeswereliterallyblindedwithtears。Nameless，unknowntomeasyouwere，Icouldn’tforgetyourvoice。”
“Forhowlong？”
“Oh——eversolong。Daysanddays。”
“Daysanddays！ONLYdaysanddays？Oh，theheartofaman！Daysanddays！”
“But，mydearmadam，Ihadnotknownyoumorethanadayortwo。
Itwasnotafull-blownlove——itwasthemerestbud——red，fresh，vivid，butsmall。Itwasacolossalpassioninposse，agiantinembryo。Itnevermatured。”
“Somuchthebetter，perhaps。”
“Perhaps。Butseehowpowerlessisthehumanwillagainstpredestination。Wewerepreventedmeeting；wehavemet。Onefeatureofthecaseremainsthesameamidmanychanges。Youarestillrich，andIamstillpoor。Betterthanthat，youhave(judgingbyyourlastremark)outgrownthefoolish，impulsivepassionsofyourearlygirl-hood。Ihavenotoutgrownmine。”
“Ibegyourpardon。”saidshe，withvibrationsofstrongfeelinginherwords。“Ihavebeenplacedinapositionwhichhinderssuchoutgrowings。Besides，Idon’tbelievethatthegenuinesubjectsofemotiondooutgrowthem；Ibelievethattheoldersuchpeoplegettheworsetheyare。Possiblyatninetyorahundredtheymayfeeltheyarecured；butamerethreescoreandtenwon’tdoit——atleastforme。”
Hegazedatherinundisguisedadmiration。Herewasasoulofsouls！
“Mrs。Charmond，youspeaktruly。”heexclaimed。“Butyouspeaksadlyaswell。Whyisthat？”
“IalwaysamsadwhenIcomehere。”shesaid，droppingtoalowtonewithasenseofhavingbeentoodemonstrative。
“ThenmayIinquirewhyyoucame？”
“Amanbroughtme。Womenarealwayscarriedaboutlikecorksuponthewavesofmasculinedesires。IhopeIhavenotalarmedyou；
butHintockhasthecuriouseffectofbottlinguptheemotionstillonecannolongerholdthem；Iamoftenobligedtoflyawayanddischargemysentimentssomewhere，orIshoulddieoutright。”
“Thereisverygoodsocietyinthecountyforthosewhohavetheprivilegeofenteringit。”
“Perhapsso。Butthemiseryofremotecountrylifeisthatyourneighborshavenotolerationfordifferenceofopinionandhabit。
MyneighborsthinkIamanatheist，exceptthosewhothinkIamaRomanCatholic；andwhenIspeakdisrespectfullyoftheweatherorthecropstheythinkIamablasphemer。”
Shebrokeintoalowmusicallaughattheidea。
“Youdon’twishmetostayanylonger？”heinquired，whenhefoundthatsheremainedmusing。
“No——Ithinknot。”
“ThentellmethatIamtobegone。”
“Why？Cannotyougowithout？”
“Imayconsultmyownfeelingsonly，iflefttomyself。”
“Well，ifyoudo，whatthen？Doyousupposeyou’llbeinmyway？”
“Ifeareditmightbeso。”
“Thenfearnomore。Butgood-night。Cometo-morrowandseeifI
amgoingonright。Thisrenewalofacquaintancetouchesme。I
havealreadyafriendshipforyou。”
“Ifitdependsuponmyselfitshalllastforever。”
“Mybesthopesthatitmay。Good-by。”
Fitzpierswentdownthestairsabsolutelyunabletodecidewhethershehadsentforhiminthenaturalalarmwhichmighthavefollowedhermishap，orwiththesingleviewofmakingherselfknowntohimasshehaddone，forwhichthecapsizehadaffordedexcellentopportunity。Outsidethehousehemusedoverthespotunderthelightofthestars。Itseemedverystrangethatheshouldhavecometheremorethanoncewhenitsinhabitantwasabsent，andobservedthehousewithanamelessinterest；thatheshouldhaveassumedoff-handbeforeheknewGracethatitwashereshelived；that，inshort，atsundrytimesandseasonstheindividualityofHintockHouseshouldhaveforceditselfuponhimasappertainingtosomeexistencewithwhichhewasconcerned。
TheintersectionofhistemporalorbitwithMrs。Charmond’sforadayortwointhepasthadcreatedasentimentalinterestinheratthetime，butithadbeensoevanescentthatintheordinaryonwardrollofaffairshewouldscarceeverhaverecalleditagain。Tofindherhere，however，inthesesomewhatromanticcircumstances，magnifiedthatby-goneandtransitorytendernesstoindescribableproportions。
OnenteringLittleHintockhefoundhimselfregardingitinanewway——fromtheHintockHousepointofviewratherthanfromhisownandtheMelburys’。Thehouseholdhadallgonetobed，andashewentup-stairsheheardthesnoreofthetimber-merchantfromhisquarterofthebuilding，andturnedintothepassagecommunicatingwithhisownroomsinastrangeaccessofsadness。Alightwasburningforhiminthechamber；butGrace，thoughinbed，wasnotasleep。Inamomenthersympatheticvoicecamefrombehindthecurtains。
“Edgar，issheveryseriouslyhurt？”
FitzpiershadsoentirelylostsightofMrs。Charmondasapatientthathewasnotontheinstantreadywithareply。
“Ohno。”hesaid。“Therearenobonesbroken，butsheisshaken。
Iamgoingagainto-morrow。”
Anotherinquiryortwo，andGracesaid，“Didsheaskforme？”
“Well——Ithinkshedid——Idon’tquiteremember；butIamundertheimpressionthatshespokeofyou。”
“Cannotyourecollectatallwhatshesaid？”
“Icannot，justthisminute。”
“Atanyrateshedidnottalkmuchaboutme？”saidGracewithdisappointment。
“Ohno。”
“Butyoudid，perhaps。”sheadded，innocentlyfishingforacompliment。
“Ohyes——youmaydependuponthat！”repliedhe，warmly，thoughscarcelythinkingofwhathewassaving，sovividlywastherepresenttohismindthepersonalityofMrs。Charmond。
Thedoctor’sprofessionalvisittoHintockHousewaspromptlyrepeatedthenextdayandthenext。HealwaysfoundMrs。Charmondrecliningonasofa，andbehavinggenerallyasbecameapatientwhowasinnogreathurrytolosethattitle。Oneachoccasionhelookedgravelyatthelittlescratchonherarm，asifithadbeenaseriouswound。
Hehadalso，tohisfurthersatisfaction，foundaslightscaronhertemple，anditwasveryconvenienttoputapieceofblackplasteronthisconspicuouspartofherpersoninpreferencetogold-beater’sskin，sothatitmightcatchtheeyesoftheservants，andmakehispresenceappeardecidedlynecessary，incasethereshouldbeanydoubtofthefact。
“Oh——youhurtme！”sheexclaimedoneday。
Hewaspeelingoffthebitofplasteronherarm，underwhichthescrapehadturnedthecolorofanunripeblackberryprevioustovanishingaltogether。“Waitamoment，then——I’lldampit。”saidFitzpiers。Heputhislipstotheplaceandkeptthemtheretilltheplastercameoffeasily。“ItwasatyourrequestIputiton。”saidhe。
“Iknowit。”shereplied。“Isthatblueveinstillinmytemplethatusedtoshowthere？Thescarmustbejustuponit。Ifthecuthadbeenalittledeeperitwouldhavespiltmyhotbloodindeed！”Fitzpiersexaminedsocloselythathisbreathtouchedhertenderly，atwhichtheireyesrosetoanencounter——hersshowingthemselvesasdeepandmysteriousasinterstellarspace。Sheturnedherfaceawaysuddenly。“Ah！noneofthat！noneofthat——I
cannotcoquetwithyou！”shecried。“Don’tsupposeIconsenttoforonemoment。Ourpoor，brief，youthfulhouroflove-makingwastoolongagotobearcontinuingnow。Itisaswellthatweshouldunderstandeachotheronthatpointbeforewegofurther。”
“Coquet！NorIwithyou。AsitwaswhenIfoundthehistoricgloves，soitisnow。Imighthavebeenandmaybefoolish；butI
amnotrifler。InaturallycannotforgetthatlittlespaceinwhichIflittedacrossthefieldofyourvisioninthosedaysofthepast，andtherecollectionopensupallsortsofimaginings。”
“Supposemymotherhadnottakenmeaway？”shemurmured，herdreamyeyesrestingontheswayingtipofadistanttree。
“Ishouldhaveseenyouagain。”
“Andthen？”
“Thenthefirewouldhaveburnedhigherandhigher。WhatwouldhaveimmediatelyfollowedIknownot；butsorrowandsicknessofheartatlast。”
“Why？”
“Well——that’stheendofalllove，accordingtoNature’slaw。I
cangivenootherreason。”
“Oh，don’tspeaklikethat。”sheexclaimed。“Sinceweareonlypicturingthepossibilitiesofthattime，don’t，forpity’ssake，spoilthepicture。”Hervoicesankalmosttoawhisperassheadded，withanincipientpoutuponherfulllips，“Letmethinkatleastthatifyouhadreallylovedmeatallseriously，youwouldhavelovedmeforeverandever！”
“Youareright——thinkitwithallyourheart。”saidhe。“Itisapleasantthought，andcostsnothing。”
Sheweighedthatremarkinsilenceawhile。“Didyoueverhearanythingofmefromthentillnow？”sheinquired。
“Notaword。”
“Somuchthebetter。Ihadtofightthebattleoflifeaswellasyou。Imaytellyouaboutitsomeday。Butdon’teveraskmetodoit，andparticularlydonotpressmetotellyounow。”
ThusthetwoorthreedaysthattheyhadspentintenderacquaintanceontheromanticslopesabovetheNeckarwerestretchedoutinretrospecttothelengthandimportanceofyears；
madetoformacanvasforinfinitefancies，idledreams，luxuriousmelancholies，andsweet，alluringassertionswhichcouldneitherbeprovednordisproved。Gracewasnevermentionedbetweenthem，butarumorofhisproposeddomesticchangessomehowreachedherears。
“Doctor，youaregoingaway。”sheexclaimed，confrontinghimwithaccusatoryreproachinherlargedarkeyesnolessthaninherrichcooingvoice。“Ohyes，youare。”shewenton，springingtoherfeetwithanairwhichmightalmosthavebeencalledpassionate。“Itisnousedenyingit。YouhaveboughtapracticeatBudmouth。Idon’tblameyou。NobodycanliveatHintock——
leastofallaprofessionalmanwhowantstokeepabreastofrecentdiscovery。Andthereisnobodyheretoinducesuchaonetostayforotherreasons。That’sright，that’sright——goaway！”
“Butno，Ihavenotactuallyboughtthepracticeasyet，thoughI
amindeedintreatyforit。And，mydearfriend，ifIcontinuetofeelaboutthebusinessasIfeelatthismoment——perhapsImayconcludenevertogoatall。”
“ButyouhateHintock，andeverybodyandeverythinginitthatyoudon’tmeantotakeawaywithyou？”
Fitzpierscontradictedthisideainhismostvibratorytones，andshelapsedintothefrivolousarchnessunderwhichshehidpassionsofnomeanstrength——strange，smouldering，erraticpassions，keptdownlikeastifledconflagration，butburstingoutnowhere，nowthere——theonlycertainelementintheirdirectionbeingitsunexpectedness。IfonewordcouldhaveexpressedheritwouldhavebeenInconsequence。Shewasawomanofperversities，delightinginfrequentcontrasts。Shelikedmystery，inherlife，inherlove，inherhistory。Tobefairtoher，therewasnothinginthelatterwhichshehadanygreatreasontobeashamedof，andmanythingsofwhichshemighthavebeenproud；butithadneverbeenfathomedbythehonestmindsofHintock，andsherarelyvolunteeredherexperiences。Asforhercapriciousnature，thepeopleonherestatesgrewaccustomedtoit，andwiththatmarvelloussubtletyofcontrivanceinsteeringroundoddtempers，thatisfoundinsonsofthesoilanddependantsgenerally，theymanagedtogetalongunderhergovernmentratherbetterthantheywouldhavedonebeneathamoreequablerule。
Now，withregardtothedoctor’snotionofleavingHintock，hehadadvancedfurthurtowardscompletingthepurchaseoftheBudmouthsurgeon’sgood-willthanhehadadmittedtoMrs。Charmond。Thewholematterhunguponwhathemightdointheensuingtwenty-fourhours。Theeveningafterleavingherhewentoutintothelane，andwalkedandponderedbetweenthehighhedges，nowgreenish-
whitewithwildclematis——herecalled“old-man’sbeard。”fromitsaspectlaterintheyear。
