honesty，goodness，manliness，tenderness，devotion，forheronlyexistedintheirpuritynowinthebreastsofunvarnishedmen；andherewasonewhohadmanifestedthemtowardsherfromhisyouthup。
Therewas，further，thatnever-ceasingpityinhersoulforGilesasamanwhomshehadwronged——amanwhohadbeenunfortunateinhisworldlytransactions；while，notwithoutatouchofsublimity，hehad，likeHoratio，bornehimselfthroughouthisscathing“Asone，insufferingall，thatsuffersnothing。”
Itwastheseperceptions，andnosubtlecatchingofherhusband’smurmurs，thathadbredtheabstractionvisibleinher。
WhenherfatherapproachedthehouseafterwitnessingtheinterviewbetweenFitzpiersandMrs。Charmond，Gracewaslookingoutofhersitting-roomwindow，asifshehadnothingtodo，orthinkof，orcarefor。Hestoodstill。
“Ah，Grace。”hesaid，regardingherfixedly。
“Yes，father。”shemurmured。
“Waitingforyourdearhusband？”heinquired，speakingwiththesarcasmofpitifulaffection。
“Ohno——notespecially。Hehasagreatmanypatientstoseethisafternoon。”
Melburycamequiteclose。“Grace，what’stheuseoftalkinglikethat，whenyouknow——Here，comedownandwalkwithmeoutinthegarden，child。”
Heunfastenedthedoorintheivy-lacedwall，andwaited。Thisapparentindifferencealarmedhim。HewouldfarratherthatshehadrushedinallthefireofjealousytoHintockHouse，regardlessofconventionality，confrontedandattackedFeliceCharmondunguibusetrostro，andaccusedhereveninexaggeratedshapeofstealingawayherhusband。Suchastormmighthaveclearedtheair。
Sheemergedinaminuteortwo，andtheywentinsidetogether。
“YouknowaswellasIdo。”heresumed，“thatthereissomethingthreateningmischieftoyourlife；andyetyoupretendyoudonot。
DoyousupposeIdon’tseethetroubleinyourfaceeveryday？I
amverysurethatthisquietudeiswrongconductinyou。Youshouldlookmoreintomatters。”
“Iamquietbecausemysadnessisnotofanaturetostirmetoaction。”
Melburywantedtoaskheradozenquestions——didshenotfeeljealous？wasshenotindignant？butanaturaldelicacyrestrainedhim。“Youareverytameandlet-alone，Iamboundtosay。”heremarked，pointedly。
“IamwhatIfeel，father。”sherepeated。
Heglancedather，andtherereturneduponhismindthesceneofherofferingtowedWinterborneinsteadofFitzpiersinthelastdaysbeforehermarriage；andheaskedhimselfifitcouldbethefactthatshelovedWinterborne，nowthatshehadlosthim，morethanshehadeverdonewhenshewascomparativelyfreetochoosehim。
“Whatwouldyouhavemedo？”sheasked，inalowvoice。
Herecalledhismindfromtheretrospectivepaintothepracticalmatterbeforethem。“IwouldhaveyougotoMrs。Charmond。”hesaid。
“GotoMrs。Charmond——whatfor？”saidshe。
“Well——ifImustspeakplain，dearGrace——toaskher，appealtoherinthenameofyourcommonwomanhood，andyourmanylikesentimentsonthings，nottomakeunhappinessbetweenyouandyourhusband。Itlieswithherentirelytodooneortheother——thatI
cansee。”
Grace’sfacehadheatedatherfather’swords，andtheveryrustleofherskirtsuponthebox-edgingbespokehauteur。“Ishallnotthinkofgoingtoher，father——ofcourseIcouldnot！”sheanswered。
“Why——don’t’eewanttobehappierthanyoubeatpresent？”saidMelbury，moremovedonheraccountthanshewasherself。
“Idon’twishtobemorehumiliated。IfIhaveanythingtobearI
canbearitinsilence。”
“But，mydearmaid，youaretooyoung——youdon’tknowwhatthepresentstateofthingsmayleadto。Justseetheharmdonea’ready！YourhusbandwouldhavegoneawaytoBudmouthtoabiggerpracticeifithadnotbeenforthis。Althoughithasgonesuchalittleway，itispoisoningyourfutureevennow。Mrs。Charmondisthoughtlesslybad，notbadbycalculation；andjustawordtohernowmightsave’eeapeckofwoes。”
“Ah，Ilovedheronce。”saidGrace，withabrokenarticulation，“andshewouldnotcareformethen！NowInolongerloveher。
Letherdoherworst：Idon’tcare。”
“Yououghttocare。Youhavegotintoaverygoodpositiontostartwith。Youhavebeenwelleducated，welltended，andyouhavebecomethewifeofaprofessionalmanofunusuallygoodfamily。Surelyyououghttomakethebestofyourposition。”
“Idon’tseethatIought。IwishIhadnevergotintoit。I
wishyouhadnever，neverthoughtofeducatingme。IwishI
workedinthewoodslikeMartySouth。Ihategenteellife，andI
wanttobenobetterthanshe。”
“Why？”saidheramazedfather。
“Becausecultivationhasonlybroughtmeinconveniencesandtroubles。Isayagain，Iwishyouhadneversentmetothosefashionableschoolsyousetyourmindon。Itallaroseoutofthat，father。IfIhadstayedathomeIshouldhavemarried——“
Shecloseduphermouthsuddenlyandwassilent；andbesawthatshewasnotfarfromcrying。
Melburywasmuchgrieved。“What，andwouldyouliketohavegrownupaswebehereinHintock——knowingnomore，andwithnomorechanceofseeinggoodlifethanwehavehere？”
“Yes。IhavenevergotanyhappinessoutsideHintockthatIknowof，andIhavesufferedmanyaheartacheatbeingsentaway。Oh，themiseryofthoseJanuarydayswhenIhadgotbacktoschool，andleftyouallhereinthewoodsohappy。IusedtowonderwhyIhadtobearit。AndIwasalwaysalittledespisedbytheothergirlsatschool，becausetheyknewwhereIcamefrom，andthatmyparentswerenotinsogoodastationastheirs。”
Herpoorfatherwasmuchhurtatwhathethoughtheringratitudeandintractability。Hehadadmittedtohimselfbitterlyenoughthatheshouldhaveletyoungheartshavetheirway，orrathershouldhavehelpedonheraffectionforWinterborne，andgivenhertohimaccordingtohisoriginalplan；buthewasnotpreparedforherdeprecationofthoseattainmentswhosecompletionhadbeenalaborofyears，andaseveretaxuponhispurse。
“Verywell。”hesaid，withmuchheavinessofspirit。“Ifyoudon’tliketogotoherIdon’twishtoforceyou。”
Andsothequestionremainedforhimstill：howshouldheremedythisperilousstateofthings？Fordayshesatinamoodyattitudeoverthefire，apitcherofciderstandingonthehearthbesidehim，andhisdrinking-horninverteduponthetopofit。Hespentaweekandmorethuscomposingalettertothechiefoffender，whichhewouldeverynowandthenattempttocomplete，andsuddenlycrumpleupinhishand。
AsFebruarymergedinMarch，andlightereveningsbrokethegloomofthewoodmen’shomewardjourney，theHintocksGreatandLittlebegantohaveearsforarumoroftheeventsoutofwhichhadgrownthetimber-dealer’stroubles。Ittooktheformofawidesprinklingofconjecture，whereinnomanknewtheexacttruth。
Tantalizingphenomena，atonceshowingandconcealingtherealrelationshipofthepersonsconcerned，causedadiffusionofexcitedsurprise。Honestpeopleasthewoodlanderswere，itwashardlytobeexpectedthattheycouldremainimmersedinthestudyoftheirtreesandgardensamidsuchcircumstances，orsitwiththeirbacksturnedlikethegoodburghersofCoventryatthepassageofthebeautifullady。
Rumor，forawonder，exaggeratedlittle。Therewere，infact，inthiscaseasinthousands，thewell-wornincidents，oldasthehills，which，withindividualvariations，madeamournerofAriadne，aby-wordofVashti，andacorpseoftheCountessAmy。
Therewererencountersaccidentalandcontrived，stealthycorrespondence，suddenmisgivingsononeside，suddenself-
reproachesontheother。Theinnerstateofthetwainwasoneasofconfusednoisethatwouldnotallowtheaccentsofcalmerreasontobeheard。Determinationstogointhisdirection，andheadlongplungesinthat；dignifiedsafeguards，undignifiedcollapses；notasinglerashstepbydeliberateintention，andallagainstjudgment。
ItwasallthatMelburyhadexpectedandfeared。Itwasmore，forhehadoverlookedthepublicitythatwouldbelikelytoresult，asitnowhaddone。Whatshouldhedo——appealtoMrs。Charmondhimself，sinceGracewouldnot？HebethoughthimselfofWinterborne，andresolvedtoconsulthim，feelingthestrongneedofsomefriendofhisownsextowhomhemightunburdenhismind。
Hehadentirelylostfaithinhisownjudgment。Thatjudgmentonwhichhehadreliedforsomanyyearsseemedrecently，likeafalsecompanionunmasked，tohavedisclosedunexpecteddepthsofhypocrisyandspeciousnesswhereallhadseemedsolidity。Hefeltalmostafraidtoformaconjectureontheweather，orthetime，orthefruit-promise，sogreatwashisself-abasement。
ItwasarimyeveningwhenhesetouttolookforGiles。Thewoodsseemedtobeinacoldsweat；beadsofperspirationhungfromeverybaretwig；theskyhadnocolor，andthetreesrosebeforehimashaggard，grayphantoms，whosedaysofsubstantialitywerepassed。MelburyseldomsawWinterbornenow，buthebelievedhimtobeoccupyingalonelyhutjustbeyondtheboundaryofMrs。
Charmond’sestate，thoughstillwithinthecircuitofthewoodland。Thetimber-merchant’sthinlegsstalkedonthroughthepale，dampscenery，hiseyesonthedeadleavesoflastyear；
whileeverynowandthenahasty“Ay？”escapedhislipsinreplytosomebitterproposition。
Hisnoticewasattractedbyathinbluehazeofsmoke，behindwhicharosesoundsofvoicesandchopping：bendinghisstepsthatway，hesawWinterbornejustinfrontofhim。ItjustnowhappenedthatGiles，afterbeingforalongtimeapatheticandunemployed，hadbecomeoneofthebusiestmenintheneighborhood。
Itisoftenthus；fallenfriends，lostsightof，weexpecttofindstarving；wediscoverthemgoingonfairlywell。Withoutanysolicitation，ordesireforprofitonhispart，hehadbeenaskedtoexecuteduringthatwinteraverylargeorderforhurdlesandothercopse-ware，forwhichpurposehehadbeenobligedtobuyseveralacresofbrushwoodstanding。Hewasnowengagedinthecuttingandmanufactureofthesame，proceedingwiththeworkdailylikeanautomaton。
Thehazel-treedidnotbelieitsnameto-day。Thewholeofthecopse-woodwherethemisthadclearedreturnedpuresttintsofthathue，amidwhichWinterbornehimselfwasintheactofmakingahurdle，thestakesbeingdrivenfirmlyintothegroundinarow，overwhichhebentandwovethetwigs。Besidehimwasasquare，compactpilelikethealtarofCain，formedofhurdlesalreadyfinished，whichbristledonallsideswiththesharppointsoftheirstakes。Atalittledistancethemeninhisemploywereassistinghimtocarryouthiscontract。Rowsofcopse-woodlayonthegroundasithadfallenundertheaxe；andashelterhadbeenconstructednearathand，infrontofwhichburnedthefirewhosesmokehadattractedhim。Theairwassodankthatthesmokehungheavy，andcreptawayamidthebusheswithoutrisingfromtheground。
AfterwistfullyregardingWinterborneawhile，Melburydrewnearer，andbrieflyinquiredofGileshowhecametobesobusilyengaged，withanundertoneofslightsurprisethatWinterbornecouldseemsothrivingafterbeingdeprivedofGrace。Melburywasnotwithoutemotionatthemeeting；forGrace’saffairshaddividedthem，andendedtheirintimacyofoldtimes。
Winterborneexplainedjustasbriefly，withoutraisinghiseyesfromhisoccupationofchoppingaboughthatheheldinfrontofhim。
“’TwillbeupinAprilbeforeyougetitallcleared。”saidMelbury。
“Yes，thereorthereabouts。”saidWinterborne，achopofthebillhookjerkingthelastwordintotwopieces。
Therewasanotherinterval；Melburystilllookedon，achipfromWinterborne’shookoccasionallyflyingagainstthewaistcoatandlegsofhisvisitor，whotooknoheed。
“Ah，Giles——youshouldhavebeenmypartner。Youshouldhavebeenmyson-in-law。”theoldmansaidatlast。“Itwouldhavebeenfarbetterforherandforme。”
