Winterbornesawthatsomethinghadgonewrongwithhisformerfriend，andthrowingdowntheswitchhewasabouttointerweave，herespondedonlytooreadilytothemoodofthetimber-dealer。
“Issheill？”hesaid，hurriedly。
“No，no。”Melburystoodwithoutspeakingforsomeminutes，andthen，asthoughhecouldnotbringhimselftoproceed，turnedtogoaway。
WinterbornetoldoneofhismentopackupthetoolsforthenightandwalkedafterMelbury。
“HeavenforbidthatIshouldseemtooinquisitive，sir。”hesaid，“especiallysincewedon’tstandasweusedtostandtooneanother；butIhopeitiswellwiththemalloveryourway？”
“No。”saidMelbury——“no。”Hestopped，andstruckthesmoothtrunkofayoungash-treewiththeflatofhishand。“Iwouldthathisearhadbeenwherethatrindis！”heexclaimed；“Ishouldhavetreatedhimtolittlecomparedwiwhathedeserves。”
“Now。”saidWinterborne，“don’tbeinahurrytogohome。I’veputsomeciderdowntowarminmyshelterhere，andwe’llsitanddrinkitandtalkthisover。”
MelburyturnedunresistinglyasGilestookhisarm，andtheywentbacktowherethefirewas，andsatdownunderthescreen，theotherwoodmenhavinggone。Hedrewoutthecider-mugfromtheashesandtheydranktogether。
“Giles，yououghttohavehadher，asIsaidjustnow。”repeatedMelbury。“I’lltellyouwhyforthefirsttime。”
HethereupontoldWinterborne，aswithgreatrelief，thestoryofhowhewonawayGiles’sfather’schosenone——bynothingworsethanalover’scajoleries，itistrue，butbymeanswhich，exceptinlove，wouldcertainlyhavebeenpronouncedcruelandunfair。HeexplainedhowhehadalwaysintendedtomakereparationtoWinterbornethefatherbygivingGracetoWinterbornetheson，tillthedeviltemptedhiminthepersonofFitzpiers，andhebrokehisvirtuousvow。
“HowhighlyIthoughtofthatman，tobesure！Who’dhavesupposedhe’dhavebeensoweakandwrong-headedasthis！Yououghttohavehadher，Giles，andthere’sanendon’t。”
WinterborneknewhowtopreservehiscalmunderthisunconsciouslycrueltearingofahealingwoundtowhichMelbury’sconcentrationonthemorevitalsubjecthadblindedhim。TheyoungmanendeavoredtomakethebestofthecaseforGrace’ssake。
“Shewouldhardlyhavebeenhappywithme。”hesaid，inthedry，unimpassionedvoiceunderwhichhehidhisfeelings。“Iwasnotwellenougheducated：toorough，inshort。Icouldn’thavesurroundedherwiththerefinementsshelookedfor，anyhow，atall。”
“Nonsense——youarequitewrongthere。”saidtheunwiseoldman，doggedly。“Shetoldmeonlythisdaythatshehatesrefinementsandsuchlike。Allthatmytroubleandmoneyboughtforherinthatwayisthrownawayuponherquite。She’dfainbelikeMartySouth——thinko’that！That’sthetopofherambition！Perhapsshe’sright。Giles，shelovedyou——undertherind；and，what’smore，shelovesyestill——worseluckforthepoormaid！”
IfMelburyonlyhadknownwhatfireshewasrecklesslystirringuphemighthaveheldhispeace。Winterbornewassilentalongtime。
Thedarknesshadclosedinroundthem，andthemonotonousdripofthefogfromthebranchesquickenedasitturnedtofinerain。
“Oh，shenevercaredmuchforme。”Gilesmanagedtosay，ashestirredtheemberswithabrand。
“Shedid，anddoes，Itellye。”saidtheother，obstinately。
“However，allthat’svaintalkingnow。WhatIcometoaskyouaboutisamorepracticalmatter——howtomakethebestofthingsastheyare。Iamthinkingofadesperatestep——ofcallingonthewomanCharmond。Iamgoingtoappealtoher，sinceGracewillnot。’Tisshewhoholdsthebalanceinherhands——nothe。Whileshe’sgotthewilltoleadhimastrayhewillfollow——poor，unpractical，lofty-notioneddreamer——andhowlongshe’lldoitdependsuponherwhim。DidyeeverhearanythingabouthercharacterbeforeshecametoHintock？”
“She’sbeenabitofacharmerinhertime，Ibelieve。”repliedGiles，withthesamelevelquietude，asheregardedtheredcoals。
“Onewhohassmiledwhereshehasnotlovedandlovedwhereshehasnotmarried。BeforeMr。Charmondmadeherhiswifeshewasaplay-actress。”
“Hey？”Buthowcloseyouhavekeptallthis，Giles！Whatbesides？”
“Mr。Charmondwasarichman，engagedintheirontradeinthenorth，twentyorthirtyyearsolderthanshe。Hemarriedherandretired，andcamedownhereandboughtthisproperty，astheydonowadays。”
“Yes，yes——Iknowallaboutthat；buttheotherIdidnotknow。I
fearitbodesnogood。ForhowcanIgoandappealtotheforbearanceofawomaninthismatterwhohasmadecross-lovesandcrookedentanglementshertradeforyears？Ithankye，Giles，forfindingitout；butitmakesmyplantheharderthatsheshouldhavebelongedtothatunstabletribe。”
Anotherpauseensued，andtheylookedgloomilyatthesmokethatbeataboutthehurdleswhichshelteredthem，throughwhoseweavingsalargedropofrainfellatintervalsandspatsmartlyintothefire。Mrs。CharmondhadbeennofriendtoWinterborne，buthewasmanly，anditwasnotinhishearttoletherbecondemnedwithoutatrial。
“Sheissaidtobegenerous。”heanswered。“Youmightnotappealtoherinvain。”
“Itshallbedone。”saidMelbury，rising。“Forgoodorforevil，toMrs。CharmondI’llgo。”
Atnineo’clockthenextmorningMelburydressedhimselfupinshiningbroadcloth，creasedwithfoldingandsmellingofcamphor，andstartedforHintockHouse。Hewasthemoreimpelledtogoatoncebytheabsenceofhisson-in-lawinLondonforafewdays，toattend，reallyorostensibly，someprofessionalmeetings。HesaidnothingofhisdestinationeithertohiswifeortoGrace，fearingthattheymightentreathimtoabandonsoriskyaproject，andwentoutunobserved。Hehadchosenhistimewithaview，ashesupposed，ofconvenientlycatchingMrs。Charmondwhenshehadjustfinishedherbreakfast，beforeanyotherbusinesspeopleshouldbeabout，ifanycame。Ploddingthoughtfullyonward，hecrossedagladelyingbetweenLittleHintockWoodsandtheplantationwhichabuttedonthepark；andthespotbeingopen，hewasdiscernedtherebyWinterbornefromthecopseonthenexthill，whereheandhismenwereworking。Knowinghismission，theyoungermanhasteneddownfromthecopseandmanagedtointerceptthetimber-
merchant。
“Ihavebeenthinkingofthis，sir。”hesaid，“andIamofopinionthatitwouldbebesttoputoffyourvisitforthepresent。”
ButMelburywouldnotevenstoptohearhim。Hismindwasmadeup，theappealwastobemade；andWinterbornestoodandwatchedhimsadlytillheenteredthesecondplantationanddisappeared。
Melburyrangatthetradesmen’sdoorofthemanor-house，andwasatonceinformedthattheladywasnotyetvisible，asindeedhemighthaveguessedhadhebeenanybodybutthemanhewas。
Melburysaidhewouldwait，whereupontheyoungmaninformedhiminaneighborlywaythat，betweenthemselves，shewasinbedandasleep。
“Nevermind。”saidMelbury，retreatingintothecourt，“I’llstandabouthere。”Chargedsofullywithhismission，heshrankfromcontactwithanybody。
Buthewalkedaboutthepavedcourttillhewastired，andstillnobodycametohim。Atlastheenteredthehouseandsatdowninasmallwaiting-room，fromwhichhegotglimpsesofthekitchencorridor，andofthewhite-cappedmaidsflittingjauntilyhitherandthither。Theyhadheardofhisarrival，buthadnotseenhimenter，and，imagininghimstillinthecourt，discussedfreelythepossiblereasonofhiscalling。Theymarvelledathistemerity；
forthoughmostofthetongueswhichhadbeenletlooseattributedthechiefblame-worthinesstoFitzpiers，theseofherhouseholdpreferredtoregardtheirmistressasthedeepersinner。
Melburysatwithhishandsrestingonthefamiliarknobbedthornwalking-stick，whosegrowinghehadseenbeforeheenjoyeditsuse。Thescenetohimwasnotthematerialenvironmentofhisperson，butatragicvisionthattravelledwithhimlikeanenvelope。Throughthisvisiontheincidentsofthemomentbutgleamedconfusedlyhereandthere，asanouterlandscapethroughthehigh-coloredscenesofastainedwindow。Hewaitedthusanhour，anhourandahalf，twohours。Hebegantolookpaleandill，whereuponthebutler，whocamein，askedhimtohaveaglassofwine。Melburyrousedhimselfandsaid，“No，no。Isshealmostready？”
“Sheisjustfinishingbreakfast。”saidthebutler。“Shewillsoonseeyounow。Iamjustgoinguptotellheryouarehere。”
“What！haven’tyoutoldherbefore？”saidMelbury。
“Ohno。”saidtheother。“Youseeyoucamesoveryearly。”
Atlastthebellrang：Mrs。Charmondcouldseehim。Shewasnotinherprivatesitting-roomwhenhereachedit，butinaminuteheheardhercomingfromthefrontstaircase，andsheenteredwherehestood。
AtthistimeofthemorningMrs。Charmondlookedherfullageandmore。Shemightalmosthavebeentakenforthetypicalfemmedetrenteans，thoughshewasreallynotmorethansevenoreightandtwenty。Therebeingnofireintheroom，shecameinwithashawlthrownlooselyroundhershoulders，andobviouslywithouttheleastsuspicionthatMelburyhadcalleduponanyothererrandthantimber。Felicewas，indeed，theonlywomanintheparishwhohadnotheardtherumorofherownweaknesses；shewasatthismomentlivinginafool’sparadiseinrespectofthatrumor，thoughnotinrespectoftheweaknessesthemselves，which，ifthetruthbetold，causedhergravemisgivings。
“Dositdown，Mr。Melbury。Youhavefelledallthetreesthatweretobepurchasedbyyouthisseason，excepttheoaks，I
believe。”
“Yes。”saidMelbury。
“Howverynice！Itmustbesocharmingtoworkinthewoodsjustnow！”
Shewastoocarelesstoaffectaninterestinanextraneousperson’saffairssoconsummatelyastodeceiveinthemanneroftheperfectsocialmachine。Henceherwords“verynice。”“socharming。”wereutteredwithaperfunctorinessthatmadethemsoundabsurdlyunreal。
“Yes，yes。”saidMelbury，inareverie。Hedidnottakeachair，andshealsoremainedstanding。Restinguponhisstick，hebegan：
“Mrs。Charmond，Ihavecalleduponamoreseriousmatter——atleasttome——thantree-throwing。AndwhatevermistakesImakeinmymannerofspeakinguponittoyou，madam，domethejusticetoset’emdowntomywantofpractice，andnottomywantofcare。”
Mrs。Charmondlookedillatease。Shemighthavebeguntoguesshismeaning；butapartfromthat，shehadsuchdreadofcontactwithanythingpainful，harsh，orevenearnest，thathispreliminariesalonewereenoughtodistressher。“Yes，whatisit？”shesaid。
“Iamanoldman。”saidMelbury，“whom，somewhatlateinlife，Godthoughtfittoblesswithonechild，andsheadaughter。Hermotherwasaverydearwifetome，butshewastakenawayfromuswhenthechildwasyoung，andthechildbecamepreciousastheappleofmyeyetome，forshewasallIhadlefttolove。ForhersakeentirelyImarriedassecondwifeahomespunwomanwhohadbeenkindasamothertoher。Induetimethequestionofhereducationcameon，andIsaid，’Iwilleducatethemaidwell，ifI
liveuponbreadtodoit。’OfherpossiblemarriageIcouldnotbeartothink，foritseemedlikeadeaththatsheshouldcleavetoanotherman，andgrowtothinkhishouseherhomeratherthanmine。ButIsawitwasthelawofnaturethatthisshouldbe，andthatitwasforthemaid’shappinessthatsheshouldhaveahomewhenIwasgone；andImadeupmymindwithoutamurmurtohelpitonforhersake。InmyyouthIhadwrongedmydeadfriend，andtomakeamendsIdeterminedtogiveher，mymostpreciouspossession，tomyfriend’sson，seeingthattheylikedeachotherwell。
Thingscameaboutwhichmademedoubtifitwouldbeformydaughter’shappinesstodothis，inasmuchastheyoungmanwaspoor，andshewasdelicatelyreared。Anothermancameandpaidcourttoher——oneherequalinbreedingandaccomplishments；ineverywayitseemedtomethatheonlycouldgiveherthehomewhichhertraininghadmadeanecessityalmost。Iurgedheron，andshemarriedhim。But，ma’am，afatalmistakewasattherootofmyreckoning。Ifoundthatthiswell-borngentlemanIhadcalculatedonsosurelywasnotstanchofheart，andthatthereinlayadangerofgreatsorrowformydaughter。Madam，hesawyou，andyouknowtherest。Ihavecometomakenodemands——toutternothreats；Ihavecomesimplyasafatheringreatgriefaboutthisonlychild，andIbeseechyoutodealkindlywithmydaughter，andtodonothingwhichcanturnherhusband’sheartawayfromherforever。Forbidhimyourpresence，ma’am，andspeaktohimonhisdutyasonewithyourpoweroverhimwellcando，andIamhopefulthattherentbetweenthemmaybepatchedup。
