“Indeed。Whereto？”
TiminformedhimthattheyweregoingtoNewZealand。NotbutthathewouldhavebeencontentedwithHintock，buthiswifewasambitiousandwantedtoleave，sohehadgivenway。
“Thengood-by。”saidFitzpiers；“Imaynotseeyouagain。”HeshookhandswithTimandturnedtothebride。“Good-by，Suke。”hesaid，takingherhandalso。“Iwishyouandyourhusbandprosperityinthecountryyouhavechosen。”Withthisheleftthem，andhastenedontohisappointment。
Thewedding-partyre-formedandresumedmarchlikewise。ButinrestoringhisarmtoSuke，Timnoticedthatherfullandbloomingcountenancehadundergoneachange。“Holloa！medear——what’sthematter？”saidTim。
“Nothingtospeako’。”saidshe。Buttogivethelietoherassertionshewasseizedwithlachrymosetwitches，thatsoonproducedadribblingface。
“How——whatthedevil’sthisabout！”exclaimedthebridegroom。
“She’salittleweebitovercome，poordear！”saidthefirstbridesmaid，unfoldingherhandkerchiefandwipingSuke’seyes。
“Ineverdidlikepartingfrompeople！”saidSuke，assoonasshecouldspeak。
“Whyhiminparticular？”
“Well——he’ssuchacleverdoctor，that’tisathousandpitieswesha’n’tseehimanymore！There’llbenosuchcleverdoctorasheinNewZealand，ifIshouldrequireone；andthethoughto’tgotthebetterofmyfeelings！”
Theywalkedon，butTim’sfacehadgrownrigidandpale，forherecalledslightcircumstances，disregardedatthetimeoftheiroccurrence。Theformerboisterouslaughterofthewedding-partyatthegroomsman’sjokeswasheardringingthroughthewoodsnomore。
BythistimeFitzpiershadadvancedonhiswaytothetopofthehill，wherehesawtwofiguresemergingfromthebankontherighthand。Theseweretheexpectedones，GraceandMartySouth，whohadevidentlycometherebyashortandsecretpaththroughthewood。Gracewasmuffledupinherwinterdress，andhethoughtthatshehadneverlookedsoseductiveasatthismoment，inthenoontidebrightbutheatlesssun，andthekeenwind，andthepurplish-graymassesofbrushwoodaround。
Fitzpierscontinuedtoregardthenearingpicture，tillatlengththeirglancesmetforamoment，whenshedemurelysentoffhersatatangentandgavehimthebenefitofherthree-quarterface，whilewithcourteouscompletenessofconductheliftedhishatinalargearc。Martydroppedbehind；andwhenFitzpiersheldouthishand，Gracetoucheditwithherfingers。
“IhaveagreedtobeheremostlybecauseIwantedtoaskyousomethingimportant。”saidMrs。Fitzpiers，herintonationmodulatinginadirectionthatshehadnotquitewishedittotake。
“Iammostattentive。”saidherhusband。“Shallwetaketothewoodforprivacy？”
Gracedemurred，andFitzpiersgavein，andtheykeptthepublicroad。
Atanyrateshewouldtakehisarm？Thisalsowasgravelynegatived，therefusalbeingaudibletoMarty。
“Whynot？”heinquired。
“Oh，Mr。Fitzpiers——howcanyouask？”
“Right，right。”saidhe，hiseffusivenessshrivelledup。
Astheywalkedonshereturnedtoherinquiry。“Itisaboutamatterthatmayperhapsbeunpleasanttoyou。ButIthinkIneednotconsiderthattoocarefully。”
“Notatall。”saidFitzpiers，heroically。
ShethentookhimbacktothetimeofpoorWinterborne’sdeath，andrelatedtheprecisecircumstancesamidwhichhisfatalillnesshadcomeuponhim，particularizingthedampnessofthesheltertowhichhehadbetakenhimself，hisconcealmentfromherofthehardshipsthathewasundergoing，allthathehadputupwith，allthathehaddoneforherinhisscrupulousconsiderateness。Theretrospectbroughthertotearsassheaskedhimifhethoughtthatthesinofhavingdrivenhimtohisdeathwasuponher。
Fitzpierscouldhardlyhelpshowinghissatisfactionatwhathernarrativeindirectlyrevealed，theactualharmlessnessofanescapadewithherlover，whichhadatfirst，byherownshowing，lookedsograve，andhedidnotcaretoinquirewhetherthatharmlessnesshadbeentheresultofaimorofaccident。Withregardtoherquestion，hedeclaredthatinhisjudgmentnohumanbeingcouldanswerit。Hethoughtthatuponthewholethebalanceofprobabilitiesturnedinherfavor。Winterborne’sapparentstrength，duringthelastmonthsofhislife，musthavebeendelusive。Ithadoftenoccurredthatafterafirstattackofthatinsidiousdiseaseaperson’sapparentrecoverywasaphysiologicalmendacity。
ThereliefwhichcametoGracelayalmostasmuchinsharingherknowledgeoftheparticularswithanintelligentmindasintheassurancesFitzpiersgaveher。“Well，then，toputthiscasebeforeyou，andobtainyourprofessionalopinion，waschieflywhyIconsentedtocomehereto-day。”saidshe，whenhehadreachedtheaforesaidconclusion。
“Fornootherreasonatall？”heasked，ruefully。
“Itwasnearlythewhole。”
Theystoodandlookedoveragateattwentyorthirtystarlingsfeedinginthegrass，andhestartedthetalkagainbysaying，inalowvoice，“AndyetIloveyoumorethaneverIlovedyouinmylife。”
Gracedidnotmovehereyesfromthebirds，andfoldedherdelicatelipsasiftokeeptheminsubjection。
“Itisadifferentkindoflovealtogether。”saidhe。“Lesspassionate；moreprofound。Ithasnothingtodowiththematerialconditionsoftheobjectatall；muchtodowithhercharacterandgoodness，asrevealedbycloserobservation。’Lovetalkswithbetterknowledge，andknowledgewithdearerlove。’“
“That’soutof’MeasureforMeasure，’“saidshe，slyly。
“Ohyes——Imeantitasacitation。”blandlyrepliedFitzpiers。
“Well，then，whynotgivemeaverylittlebitofyourheartagain？”
Thecrashofafelledtreeintheremotedepthsofthewoodrecalledthepastatthatmoment，andallthehomelyfaithfulnessofWinterborne。“Don’taskit！MyheartisinthegravewithGiles。”shereplied，stanchly。
“Mineiswithyou——innolessdeepagrave，Ifear，accordingtothat。”
“Iamverysorry；butitcannotbehelped。”
“Howcanyoubesorryforme，whenyouwilfullykeepopenthegrave？”
“Ohno——that’snotso。”returnedGrace，quickly，andmovedtogoawayfromhim。
“But，dearestGrace。”saidhe，“youhavecondescendedtocome；andIthoughtfromitthatperhapswhenIhadpassedthroughalongstateofprobationyouwouldbegenerous。Butiftherecanbenohopeofourgettingcompletelyreconciled，treatmegently——wretchthoughIam。”
“Ididnotsayyouwereawretch，norhaveIeversaidso。”
“ButyouhavesuchacontemptuouswayoflookingatmethatIfearyouthinkso。”
Grace’sheartstruggledbetweenthewishnottobeharshandthefearthatshemightmisleadhim。“IcannotlookcontemptuousunlessIfeelcontempt。”shesaid，evasively。“AndallIfeelislovelessness。”
“Ihavebeenverybad，Iknow。”hereturned。“Butunlessyoucanreallylovemeagain，Grace，Iwouldrathergoawayfromyouforever。Idon’twantyoutoreceivemeagainforduty’ssake，oranythingofthatsort。IfIhadnotcaredmoreforyouraffectionandforgivenessthanmyownpersonalcomfort，Ishouldneverhavecomebackhere。Icouldhaveobtainedapracticeatadistance，andhavelivedmyownlifewithoutcoldnessorreproach。ButI
havechosentoreturntotheonespotonearthwheremynameistarnished——toenterthehouseofamanfromwhomIhavehadworsetreatmentthanfromanyothermanalive——allforyou！”
Thiswasundeniablytrue，andithaditsweightwithGrace，whobegantolookasifshethoughtshehadbeenshockinglysevere。
“Beforeyougo。”hecontinued，“Iwanttoknowyourpleasureaboutme——whatyouwishmetodo，ornottodo。”
“Youareindependentofme，anditseemsamockerytoaskthat。
Farbeitfrommetoadvise。ButIwillthinkitover。Iratherneedadvicemyselfthanstandinapositiontogiveit。”
“YOUdon’tneedadvice，wisest，dearestwomanthateverlived。Ifyoudid——“
“Wouldyougiveittome？”
“WouldyouactuponwhatIgave？”
“That’snotafairinquiry。”saidshe，smilingdespitehergravity。“Idon’tmindhearingit——whatyoudoreallythinkthemostcorrectandpropercourseforme。”
“Itissoeasyformetosay，andyetIdarenot，foritwouldbeprovokingyoutoremonstrances。”
Knowing，ofcourse，whattheadvicewouldbe，shedidnotpresshimfurther，andwasabouttobeckonMartyforwardandleavehim，whenheinterruptedherwith，“Oh，onemoment，dearGrace——youwillmeetmeagain？”
Sheeventuallyagreedtoseehimthatdayfortnight。Fitzpiersexpostulatedattheinterval，butthehalf-alarmedearnestnesswithwhichsheentreatedhimnottocomesoonermadehimsayhastilythathesubmittedtoherwill——thathewouldregardherasafriendonly，anxiousforhisreformandwell-being，tillsuchtimeasshemightallowhimtoexceedthatprivilege。
Allthiswastoassureher；itwasonlytooclearthathehadnotwonherconfidenceyet。ItamazedFitzpiers，andoverthrewallhisdeductionsfrompreviousexperience，tofindthatthisgirl，thoughshehadbeenmarriedtohim，couldyetbesocoy。
Notwithstandingacertainfascinationthatitcarriedwithit，hisreflectionsweresombreashewenthomeward；hesawhowdeephadbeenhisoffencetoproducesogreatawarinessinagentleandonceunsuspicioussoul。
Hewashimselftoofastidioustocaretocoerceher。Tobeanobjectofmisgivingordisliketoawomanwhosharedhishomewaswhathecouldnotendurethethoughtof。Lifeasitstoodwasmoretolerable。
Whenhewasgone，MartyjoinedMrs。Fitzpiers。ShewouldfainhaveconsultedMartyonthequestionofPlatonicrelationswithherformerhusband，asshepreferredtoregardhim。ButMartyshowednogreatinterestintheiraffairs，soGracesaidnothing。
Theycameonward，andsawMelburystandingatthesceneofthefellingwhichhadbeenaudibletothem，when，tellingMartythatshewishedhermeetingwithMr。Fitzpierstobekeptprivate，sheleftthegirltojoinherfather。Atanyrate，shewouldconsulthimontheexpediencyofoccasionallyseeingherhusband。
Herfatherwascheerful，andwalkedbyhersideashehaddoneinearlierdays。“Iwasthinkingofyouwhenyoucameup。”hesaid。
“Ihaveconsideredthatwhathashappenedisforthebest。Sinceyourhusbandisgoneaway，andseemsnottowishtotroubleyou，why，lethimgo，anddropoutofyourlife。Manywomenareworseoff。Youcanliveherecomfortablyenough，andhecanemigrate，ordowhathelikesforhisgood。Iwouldn’tmindsendinghimthefurthersumofmoneyhemightnaturallyexpecttocometohim，sothatyoumaynotbebotheredwithhimanymore。Hecouldhardlyhavegoneonlivingherewithoutspeakingtome，ormeetingme；
andthatwouldhavebeenveryunpleasantonbothsides。”
Theseremarkscheckedherintention。Therewasasenseofweaknessinfollowingthembysayingthatshehadjustmetherhusbandbyappointment。“Thenyouwouldadvisemenottocommunicatewithhim？”sheobserved。
“Ishallneveradviseyeagain。Youareyourownmistress——doasyoulike。Butmyopinionisthatifyoudon’tlivewithhim，youhadbetterlivewithouthim，andnotgoshilly-shallyingandplayingbopeep。Yousenthimaway；andnowhe’sgone。Verywell；
troublehimnomore。”
Gracefeltaguiltiness——shehardlyknewwhy——andmadenoconfession。
