“Oh，that’saffectation。”saidGrace，shakingherhead。“Itisnouse——youlovehim。Icanseeinyourfacethatinthismatterofmyhusbandyouhavenotletyouractsbelieyourfeelings。Duringtheselastfourorsixmonthsyouhavebeenterriblyindiscreet；
butyouhavenotbeeninsincere，andthatalmostdisarmsme。”
“IHAVEbeeninsincere——ifyouwillhavetheword——ImeanIHAVE
coquetted，anddoNOTlovehim！”
ButGraceclungtoherpositionlikealimpet。“Youmayhavetrifledwithothers，buthimyouloveasyouneverlovedanotherman。”
“Oh，well——Iwon’targue。”saidMrs。Charmond，laughingfaintly。
“Andyoucometoreproachmeforit，child。”
“No。”saidGrace，magnanimously。“Youmaygoonlovinghimifyoulike——Idon’tmindatall。You’llfindit，letmetellyou，abittererbusinessforyourselfthanformeintheend。He’llgettiredofyousoon，astiredascanbe——youdon’tknowhimsowellasI——andthenyoumaywishyouhadneverseenhim！”
Mrs。Charmondhadgrownquitepaleandweakunderthisprophecy。
ItwasextraordinarythatGrace，whomalmosteveryonewouldhavecharacterizedasagentlegirl，shouldbeofstrongerfibrethanherinterlocutor。“Youexaggerate——cruel，sillyyoungwoman。”shereiterated，writhingwithlittleagonies。“Itisnothingbutplayfulfriendship——nothing！Itwillbeprovedbymyfutureconduct。Ishallatoncerefusetoseehimmore——sinceitwillmakenodifferencetomyheart，andmuchtomyname。”
“Iquestionifyouwillrefusetoseehimagain。”saidGrace，dryly，aswitheyesaskanceshebentasaplingdown。“ButIamnotincensedagainstyouasyouareagainstme。”sheadded，abandoningthetreetoitsnaturalperpendicular。“BeforeIcameIhadbeendespisingyouforwantoncruelty；nowIonlypityyouformisplacedaffection。WhenEdgarhasgoneoutofthehouseinhopeofseeingyou，atseasonablehoursandunseasonable；whenI
havefoundhimridingmilesandmilesacrossthecountryatmidnight，andriskinghislife，andgettingcoveredwithmud，togetaglimpseofyou，Ihavecalledhimafoolishman——theplaythingofafinishedcoquette。Ithoughtthatwhatwasgettingtobeatragedytomewasacomedytoyou。ButnowIseethattragedyliesonYOURsideofthesituationnolessthanonMINE，andmore；thatifIhavefelttroubleatmyposition，youhavefeltanguishatyours；thatifIhavehaddisappointments，youhavehaddespairs。Heavenmayfortifyme——Godhelpyou！”
“Icannotattempttoreplytoyourravingeloquence。”returnedtheother，strugglingtorestoreadignitywhichhadcompletelycollapsed。“Myactswillbemyproofs。Intheworldwhichyouhaveseennothingof，friendshipsbetweenmenandwomenarenotunknown，anditwouldhavebeenbetterbothforyouandyourfatherifyouhadeachjudgedmemorerespectfully，andleftmealone。AsitisIwishnevertoseeorspeaktoyou，madam，anymore。”
Gracebowed，andMrs。Charmondturnedaway。Thetwowentapartindirectlyoppositecourses，andweresoonhiddenfromeachotherbytheirumbrageoussurroundingsandbytheshadowsofeve。
Intheexcitementoftheirlongargumenttheyhadwalkedonwardandzigzaggedaboutwithoutregardingdirectionordistance。Allsoundofthewoodcuttershadlongsincefadedintoremoteness，andevenhadnottheintervalbeentoogreatforhearingthemtheywouldhavebeensilentandhomewardboundatthistwilighthour。
ButGracewentonhercoursewithoutanymisgiving，thoughtherewasmuchunderwoodhere，withonlythenarrowestpassagesforwalking，acrosswhichbrambleshung。Shehadnot，however，traversedthisthewildestpartofthewoodsinceherchildhood，andthetransformationofoutlineshadbeengreat；oldtreeswhichoncewerelandmarkshadbeenfelledorblowndown，andthebusheswhichthenhadbeensmallandscrubbywerenowlargeandoverhanging。Shesoonfoundthatherideasastodirectionwerevague——thatshehadindeednoideasastodirectionatall。Iftheeveninghadnotbeengrowingsodark，andthewindhadnotputonitsnightmoansodistinctly，Gracewouldnothaveminded；butshewasratherfrightenednow，andbegantostrikeacrosshitherandthitherinrandomcourses。
Densergrewthedarkness，moredevelopedthewind-voices，andstillnorecognizablespotoroutletofanykindappeared，noranysoundoftheHintocksfloatednear，thoughshehadwanderedprobablybetweenoneandtwohours，andbegantobeweary。Shewasvexedatherfoolishness，sincethegroundshehadcovered，ifinastraightline，mustinevitablyhavetakenheroutofthewoodtosomeremotevillageorother；butshehadwastedherforcesincountermarches；andnow，inmuchalarm，wonderedifshewouldhavetopassthenighthere。Shestoodstilltomeditate，andfanciedthatbetweenthesoughingofthewindsheheardshufflingfootstepsontheleavesheavierthanthoseofrabbitsorhares。
Thoughfearingatfirsttomeetanybodyonthechanceofhisbeingafriend，shedecidedthatthefellownight-rambler，evenifapoacher，wouldnotinjureher，andthathemightpossiblybesomeonesenttosearchforher。Sheaccordinglyshoutedarathertimid“Hoi！”
Thecrywasimmediatelyreturnedbytheotherperson；andGracerunningatonceinthedirectionwhenceitcamebeheldanindistinctfigurehasteninguptoherasrapidly。Theywerealmostineachother’sarmswhensherecognizedinhervis-a-vistheoutlineandwhiteveilofherwhomshehadpartedfromanhourandahalfbefore——Mrs。Charmond。
“Ihavelostmyway，Ihavelostmyway。”criedthatlady。“Oh——
isitindeedyou？Iamsogladtomeetyouoranybody。Ihavebeenwanderingupanddowneversinceweparted，andamnearlydeadwithterrorandmiseryandfatigue！”
“SoamI。”saidGrace。“Whatshallwe，shallwedo？”
“Youwon’tgoawayfromme？”askedhercompanion，anxiously。
“No，indeed。Areyouverytired？”
“Icanscarcelymove，andIamscratcheddreadfullyabouttheankles。”
Gracereflected。“Perhaps，asitisdryunderfoot，thebestthingforustodowouldbetositdownforhalfanhour，andthenstartagainwhenwehavethoroughlyrested。Bywalkingstraightwemustcometoatrackleadingsomewherebeforethemorning。”
Theyfoundaclumpofbushyhollieswhichaffordedashelterfromthewind，andsatdownunderit，sometuftsofdeadfern，crispanddry，thatremainedfromthepreviousseasonformingasortofnestforthem。Butitwascold，nevertheless，onthisMarchnight，particularlyforGrace，whowiththesanguineprematurenessofyouthinmattersofdress，hadconsidereditspring-time，andhencewasnotsowarmlycladasMrs。Charmond，whostillworeherwinterfur。ButaftersittingawhilethelatterladyshiverednolessthanGraceasthewarmthimpartedbyherhastywalkingbegantogooff，andtheyfeltthecoldairdrawingthroughthehollyleaveswhichscratchedtheirbacksandshoulders。Moreover，theycouldhearsomedropsofrainfallingonthetrees，thoughnonereachedthenookinwhichtheyhadensconcedthemselves。
“Ifweweretoclingclosetogether。”saidMrs。Charmond，“weshouldkeepeachotherwarm。But。”sheadded，inanunevenvoice，“Isupposeyouwon’tcomenearmefortheworld！”
“Whynot？”
“Because——well，youknow。”
“Yes。Iwill——Idon’thateyouatall。”
Theyconsequentlycreptuptooneanother，andbeinginthedark，lonelyandweary，didwhatneitherhaddreamedofdoingbeforehand，claspedeachotherclosely，Mrs。Charmond’sfursconsolingGrace’scoldface，andeachone’sbodyasshebreathedalternatelyheavingagainstthatofhercompanion。
Whenafewminuteshadbeenspentthus，Mrs。Charmondsaid，“Iamsowretched！”inaheavy，emotionalwhisper。
“Youarefrightened。”saidGrace，kindly。“Butthereisnothingtofear；Iknowthesewoodswell。”
“Iamnotatallfrightenedatthewood，butIamatotherthings。”
Mrs。CharmondembracedGracemoreandmoretightly，andtheyoungerwomancouldfeelherneighbor’sbreathingsgrowdeeperandmorespasmodic，asthoughuncontrollablefeelingsweregerminating。
“AfterIhadleftyou。”shewenton，“IregrettedsomethingIhadsaid。Ihavetomakeaconfession——Imustmakeit！”shewhispered，brokenly，theinstincttoindulgeinwarmthofsentimentwhichhadledthiswomanofpassionstorespondtoFitzpiersinthefirstplaceleadinghernowtofindluxuriouscomfortinopeningherhearttohiswife。“IsaidtoyouIcouldgivehimupwithoutpainordeprivation——thathehadonlybeenmypastime。Thatwasuntrue——itwassaidtodeceiveyou。Icouldnotdoitwithoutmuchpain；and，whatismoredreadful，Icannotgivehimup——evenifIwould——ofmyselfalone。”
“Why？Becauseyoulovehim，youmean。”
FeliceCharmonddenotedassentbyamovement。
“IknewIwasright！”saidGrace，exaltedly。“Butthatshouldnotdeteryou。”shepresentlyadded，inamoraltone。“Oh，dostruggleagainstit，andyouwillconquer！”
“Youaresosimple，sosimple！”criedFelice。“Youthink，becauseyouguessedmyassumedindifferencetohimtobeasham，thatyouknowtheextremesthatpeoplearecapableofgoingto！Butagooddealmoremayhavebeengoingonthanyouhavefathomedwithallyourinsight。ICANNOTgivehimupuntilhechoosestogiveupme。”
“Butsurelyyouarethesuperiorinstationandineveryway，andthecutmustcomefromyou。”
“Tchut！MustItellverbatim，yousimplechild？Oh，IsupposeI
must！IshalleatawaymyheartifIdonotletoutall，aftermeetingyoulikethisandfindinghowguilelessyouare。”Shethereuponwhisperedafewwordsinthegirl’sear，andburstintoaviolentfitofsobbing。
Gracestartedroughlyawayfromtheshelterofthefur，andsprangtoherfeet。
“Oh，myGod！”sheexclaimed，thunderstruckatarevelationtranscendingherutmostsuspicion。“Canitbe——canitbe！”
Sheturnedasiftohastenaway。ButFeliceCharmond’ssobscametoherear：deepdarknesscircledherabout，thefunerealtreesrockedandchantedtheirdirigesandplacebosaroundher，andshedidnotknowwhichwaytogo。Afteramomentofenergyshefeltmildagain，andturnedtothemotionlesswomanatherfeet。
“Areyourested？”sheasked，inwhatseemedsomethinglikeherownvoicegrowntenyearsolder。
WithoutananswerMrs。Charmondslowlyrose。
“Youmeantobetrayme！”shesaidfromthebitterestdepthsofhersoul。“Ohfool，foolI！”
“No。”saidGrace，shortly。“Imeannosuchthing。Butletusbequicknow。Wehaveaseriousundertakingbeforeus。Thinkofnothingbutgoingstraighton。”
Theywalkedoninprofoundsilence，pullingbackboughsnowgrowingwet，andtreadingdownwoodbine，butstillkeepingaprettystraightcourse。Gracebegantobethoroughlywornout，andhercompaniontoo，when，onasudden，theybrokeintothedesertedhighwayatthehill-toponwhichtheShertonmanhadwaitedforMrs。Dollery’svan。Gracerecognizedthespotassoonasshelookedaroundher。
“HowwehavegothereIcannottell。”shesaid，withcoldcivility。“WehavemadeacompletecircuitofLittleHintock。
Thehazelcopseisquiteontheotherside。Nowwehaveonlytofollowtheroad。”
Theydraggedthemselvesonward，turnedintothelane，passedthetracktoLittleHintock，andsoreachedthepark。
“HereIturnback。”saidGrace，inthesamepassionlessvoice。
“Youarequitenearhome。”
Mrs。Charmondstoodinert，seemingappalledbyherlateadmission。
“Ihavetoldyousomethinginamomentofirresistibledesiretounburdenmysoulwhichallbutafoolwouldhavekeptsilentasthegrave。”shesaid。“Icannothelpitnow。Isittobeasecret——ordoyoumeanwar？”
“Asecret，certainly。”saidGrace，mournfully。“Howcanyouexpectwarfromsuchahelpless，wretchedbeingasI！”
“AndI’lldomybestnottoseehim。Iamhisslave；butI’lltry。”
Gracewasnaturallykind；butshecouldnothelpusingasmalldaggernow。
“Praydon’tdistressyourself。”shesaid，withexquisitelyfinescorn。“Youmaykeephim——forme。”Hadshebeenwoundedinsteadofmortifiedshecouldnothaveusedthewords；butFitzpiers’sholduponherheartwasslight。
Theypartedthusandthere，andGracewentmoodilyhomeward。
PassingMarty’scottagesheobservedthroughthewindowthatthegirlwaswritinginsteadofchoppingasusual，andwonderedwhathercorrespondencecouldbe。Directlyafterwardsshemetpeopleinsearchofher，andreachedthehousetofindallinseriousalarm。Shesoonexplainedthatshehadlostherway，andhergeneraldepressionwasattributedtoexhaustiononthataccount。
CouldshehaveknownwhatMartywaswritingshewouldhavebeensurprised。
TherumorwhichagitatedtheotherfolkofHintockhadreachedtheyounggirl，andshewaspenningalettertoFitzpiers，totellhimthatMrs。Charmondworeherhair。ItwaspoorMarty’sonlycard，andsheplayedit，knowingnothingoffashion，andthinkingherrevelationafataloneforalover。
