Shehadbegunbywatchingthewordsfromhislipswithamournfulregard，asthoughtheirpassagewerevisible；butashewentonshedroppedherglance。“Yes。”shesaid，“Ihavethoughtthat，too。And，becauseIhavethoughtit，Ibynomeansmeant，inspeakingoftheproprieties，tobereservedandcoldtoyouwholovedmesolongago，ortohurtyourheartasIusedtodoatthatthoughtlesstime。Oh，notatall，indeed！But——oughtItoallowyou？——oh，itistooquick——surely！”Hereyesfilledwithtearsofbewildered，alarmedemotion。
Winterbornewastoostraightforwardtoinfluenceherfurtheragainstherbetterjudgment。“Yes——Isupposeitis。”hesaid，repentantly。“I’llwaittillallissettled。Whatdidyourfathersayinthatlastletter？”
Hemeantabouthisprogresswiththepetition；butshe，mistakinghim，franklyspokeofthepersonalpart。“Hesaid——whatIhaveimplied。ShouldItellmoreplainly？”
“Ohno——don’t，ifitisasecret。”
“Notatall。Iwilltelleveryword，straightout，Giles，ifyouwish。HesaidIwastoencourageyou。There。ButIcannotobeyhimfurtherto-day。Come，letusgonow。”Shegentlyslidherhandfromhis，andwentinfrontofhimoutoftheAbbey。
“Iwasthinkingofgettingsomedinner。”saidWinterborne，changingtotheprosaic，astheywalked。“Andyou，too，mustrequiresomething。DoletmetakeyoutoaplaceIknow。”
Gracewasalmostwithoutafriendintheworldoutsideherfather’shouse；herlifewithFitzpiershadbroughthernosociety；hadsometimes，indeed，broughtherdeepersolitudeandinconsiderationthananyshehadeverknownbefore。Henceitwasatreattohertofindherselfagaintheobjectofthoughtfulcare。ButshequestionediftogopubliclytodinewithGilesWinterbornewerenotaproposal，duerathertohisunsophisticationthantohisdiscretion。Shesaidgentlythatshewouldmuchpreferhisorderingherlunchatsomeplaceandthencomingtotellheritwasready，whilesheremainedintheAbbeyporch。Gilessawhersecretreasoning，thoughthowhopelesslyblindtoproprietyhewasbesideher，andwenttodoasshewished。
Hewasnotabsentmorethantenminutes，andfoundGracewherehehadlefther。“Itwillbequitereadybythetimeyougetthere。”
hesaid，andtoldherthenameoftheinnatwhichthemealhadbeenordered，whichwasonethatshehadneverheardof。
“I’llfinditbyinquiry。”saidGrace，settingout。
“AndshallIseeyouagain？”
“Ohyes——cometomethere。Itwillnotbelikegoingtogether。I
shallwantyoutofindmyfather’smanandthegigforme。”
Hewaitedonsometenminutesoraquarterofanhour，tillhethoughtherlunchended，andthathemightfairlytakeadvantageofherinvitationtostartheronherwayhome。HewentstraighttoTheThreeTuns——alittletaverninasidestreet，scrupulouslyclean，buthumbleandinexpensive。Onhiswayhehadanoccasionalmisgivingastowhethertheplacehadbeenelegantenoughforher；andassoonasheenteredit，andsawherensconcedthere，heperceivedthathehadblundered。
Gracewasseatedintheonlydining-roomthatthesimpleoldhostelrycouldboastof，whichwasalsoageneralparloronmarket-days；along，lowapartment，withasandedfloorherring-
bonedwithabroom；awide，red-curtainedwindowtothestreet，andanothertothegarden。Gracehadretreatedtotheendoftheroomlookingoutuponthelatter，thefrontpartbeingfullofamixedcompanywhichhaddroppedinsincehewasthere。
Shewasinamoodofthegreatestdepression。Onarriving，andseeingwhatthetavernwaslike，shehadbeentakenbysurprise；
buthavinggonetoofartoretreat，shehadheroicallyenteredandsatdownonthewell-scrubbedsettle，oppositethenarrowtablewithitsknivesandsteelforks，tinpepper-boxes，bluesalt-
cellars，andpostersadvertisingthesaleofbullocksagainstthewall。ThelasttimethatshehadtakenanymealinapublicplaceithadbeenwithFitzpiersatthegrandnewEarlofWessexHotelinthattown，afteratwomonths’roamingandsojourningatthegigantichotelsoftheContinent。HowcouldshehaveexpectedanyotherkindofaccommodationinpresentcircumstancesthansuchasGileshadprovided？Andyethowunpreparedshewasforthischange！ThetastesthatshehadacquiredfromFitzpiershadbeenimbibedsosubtlythatshehardlyknewshepossessedthemtillconfrontedbythiscontrast。TheelegantFitzpiers，infact，atthatverymomentowedalongbillattheabove-mentionedhotelfortheluxuriousstyleinwhichheusedtoputheruptherewhenevertheydrovetoSherton。Butsuchissocialsentiment，thatshehadbeenquitecomfortableunderthosedebt-impendingconditions，whileshefelthumiliatedbyherpresentsituation，whichWinterbornehadpaidforhonestlyonthenail。
Hehadnoticedinamomentthatsheshrunkfromherposition，andallhispleasurewasgone。ItwasthesamesusceptibilityoveragainwhichhadspoiledhisChristmaspartylongago。
ButhedidnotknowthatthisrecrudescencewasonlythecasualresultofGrace’sapprenticeshiptowhatshewasdeterminedtolearninspiteofit——aconsequenceofoneofthosesuddensurpriseswhichconfronteverybodybentuponturningoveranewleaf。Shehadfinishedherlunch，whichhesawhadbeenaverymincingperformance；andhebroughtheroutofthehouseassoonashecould。
“Now。”hesaid，withgreatsadeyes，“youhavenotfinishedatallwell，Iknow。ComeroundtotheEarlofWessex。I’llorderateathere。Ididnotrememberthatwhatwasgoodenoughformewasnotgoodenoughforyou。”
Herfacefadedintoanaspectofdeepdistresswhenshesawwhathadhappened。“Ohno，Giles。”shesaid，withextremepathos；
“certainlynot。Whydoyou——saythatwhenyouknowbetter？YouEVERwillmisunderstandme。”
“Indeed，that’snotso，Mrs。Fitzpiers。CanyoudenythatyoufeltoutofplaceatTheThreeTuns？”
“Idon’tknow。Well，sinceyoumakemespeak，Idonotdenyit。”
“AndyetIhavefeltathometherethesetwentyyears。YourhusbandusedalwaystotakeyoutotheEarlofWessex，didhenot？”
“Yes。”shereluctantlyadmitted。Howcouldsheexplaininthestreetofamarket-townthatitwashersuperficialandtransitorytastewhichhadbeenoffended，andnothernatureorheraffection？Fortunately，orunfortunately，atthatmomenttheysawMelbury’smandrivingvacantlyalongthestreetinsearchofher，thehourhavingpassedatwhichhehadbeentoldtotakeherup。
Winterbornehailedhim，andshewaspowerlessthentoprolongthediscourse。Sheenteredthevehiclesadly，andthehorsetrottedaway。
AllnightdidWinterbornethinkoverthatunsatisfactoryendingofapleasanttime，forgettingthepleasanttimeitself。Hefearedanewthattheycouldneverbehappytogether，evenshouldshebefreetochoosehim。Shewasaccomplished；hewasunrefined。Itwastheoriginaldifficulty，whichhewastoosensitivetorecklesslyignore，assomemenwouldhavedoneinhisplace。
Hewasoneofthosesilent，unobtrusivebeingswhowantlittlefromothersinthewayoffavororcondescension，andperhapsonthatveryaccountscrutinizethoseothers’behaviortooclosely。
Hewasnotversatile，butoneinwhomahopeorbeliefwhichhadoncehaditsrise，meridian，anddeclineseldomagainexactlyrecurred，asinthebreastsofmoresanguinemortals。Hehadonceworshippedher，laidouthislifetosuither，wooedher，andlosther。Thoughitwaswithalmostthesamezest，itwaswithnotquitethesamehope，thathehadbeguntotreadtheoldtracksagain，andallowedhimselftobesocharmedwithherthatday。
Moveanothersteptowardsherhewouldnot。Hewouldevenrepulseher——asatributetoconscience。Itwouldbesheersintoletherprepareapitfallforherhappinessnotmuchsmallerthanthefirstbyinveiglingherintoaunionwithsuchashe。Herpoorfatherwasnowblindtothesesubtleties，whichhehadformerlybeheldasinnoontidelight。Itwashisowndutytodeclarethem——
forherdearsake。
Grace，too，hadaveryuncomfortablenight，andhersolicitousembarrassmentwasnotlessenedthenextmorningwhenanotherletterfromherfatherwasputintoherhands。Itstenorwasanintenserstrainoftheonethathadprecededit。Afterstatinghowextremelygladhewastohearthatshewasbetter，andabletogetout-of-doors，hewenton：
“Thisisawearisomebusiness，thesolicitorwehavecometoseebeingoutoftown。IdonotknowwhenIshallgethome。MygreatanxietyinthisdelayisstilllestyoushouldloseGilesWinterborne。Icannotrestatnightforthinkingthatwhileourbusinessishangingfirehemaybecomeestranged，orgoawayfromtheneighborhood。Ihavesetmyheartuponseeinghimyourhusband，ifyoueverhaveanother。Do，then，Grace，givehimsometemporaryencouragement，eventhoughitisover-early。ForwhenI
considerthepastIdothinkGodwillforgivemeandyouforbeingalittleforward。Ihaveanotherreasonforthis，mydear。I
feelmyselfgoingrapidlydownhill，andlateaffairshavestillfurtherhelpedmethatway。AnduntilthisthingisdoneIcannotrestinpeace。”
Headdedapostscript：
“Ihavejustheardthatthesolicitoristobeseento-morrow。
Possibly，therefore，Ishallreturnintheeveningafteryougetthis。”
Thepaternallongingranonallfourswithherowndesire；andyetinforwardingityesterdayshehadbeenonthebrinkofgivingoffence。Whilecravingtobeacountrygirlagainjustasherfatherrequested；toputofftheoldEve，thefastidiousmiss——orrathermadam——completely，herfirstattempthadbeenbeatenbytheunexpectedvitalityofthatfastidiousness。HerfatheronreturningandseeingthetriflingcoolnessofGileswouldbesuretosaythatthesameperversitywhichhadledhertomakedifficultiesaboutmarryingFitzpierswasnowpromptinghertoblowhotandcoldwithpoorWinterborne。
Ifthelatterhadbeenthemostsubtlehandattouchingthestopsofherdelicatesoulinsteadofonewhohadjustboundhimselftoletherdriftawayfromhimagain(ifshewould)onthewindofherestrangingeducation，hecouldnothaveactedmoreseductivelythanhedidthatday。Hechancedtobesuperintendingsometemporaryworkinafieldoppositeherwindows。Shecouldnotdiscoverwhathewasdoing，butshereadhismoodkeenlyandtruly：shecouldseeinhiscomingandgoinganairofdeterminedabandonmentofthewholelandscapethatlayinherdirection。
Oh，howshelongedtomakeitupwithhim！Herfathercomingintheevening——whichmeant，shesupposed，thatallformalitieswouldbeintrain，hermarriagevirtuallyannulled，andshebefreetobewonagain——howcouldshelookhiminthefaceifheshouldseethemestrangedthus？
ItwasafairgreeneveninginJune。Shewasseatedinthegarden，intherusticchairwhichstoodunderthelaurel-bushes——
madeofpeeledoak-branchesthatcametoMelbury’spremisesasrefuseafterbarking-time。Themassoffull-juicedleafageontheheightsaroundherwasjustswayedintofaintgesturesbyanearlyspentwindwhich，eveninitsenfeebledstate，didnotreachhershelter。AlldayshehadexpectedGilestocall——toinquirehowshehadgothome，orsomethingorother；buthehadnotcome。Andhestilltantalizedherbygoingathwartandacrossthatorchardopposite。Shecouldseehimasshesat。
AslightdiversionwaspresentlycreatedbyCreedlebringinghimaletter。SheknewfromthisthatCreedlehadjustcomefromSherton，andhadcalledasusualatthepost-officeforanythingthathadarrivedbytheafternoonpost，ofwhichtherewasnodeliveryatHintock。Sheponderedonwhatthelettermightcontain——particularlywhetheritwereasecondrefresherforWinterbornefromherfather，likeherownofthemorning。
Butitappearedtohavenobearinguponherselfwhatever。Gilesreaditscontents；andalmostimmediatelyturnedawaytoagapinthehedgeoftheorchard——ifthatcouldbecalledahedgewhich，owingtothedrippingsofthetrees，waslittlemorethanabankwithabushuponithereandthere。Heenteredtheplantation，andwasnodoubtgoingthatwayhomewardtothemysterioushutheoccupiedontheothersideofthewoodland。
ThesadsandswererunningswiftlythroughTime’sglass；shehadoftenfeltitintheselatterdays；and，likeGiles，shefeltitdoublynowafterthesolemnandpatheticreminderinherfather’scommunication。Herfreshnesswouldpass，thelong-sufferingdevotionofGilesmightsuddenlyend——mightendthatveryhour。
