Asifwashedbytheairhervoicesoundedmorespiritualandsofterthanusual。Voicesatalittledistanceansweredher，“Yes。“
Throughthedarknessshewaslookingatthemboth，andtryingtodistinguishhim。Whatwasthereforhertosay？Rachelhadpassedbeyondherguardianship。Avoicemightreachherears，butneveragainwoulditcarryasfarasithadcarriedtwenty-fourhoursago。
Nevertheless，speechseemedtobeduefromherbeforeshewenttobed。
Shewishedtospeak，butshefeltstrangelyoldanddepressed。
“D’yourealisewhatyou’redoing？“shedemanded。“She’syoung，you’rebothyoung；andmarriage——“Heresheceased。Theybeggedher，however，tocontinue，withsuchearnestnessintheirvoices，asiftheyonlycravedadvice，thatshewasledtoadd:
“Marriage！well，it’snoteasy。“
“That’swhatwewanttoknow，“theyanswered，andsheguessedthatnowtheywerelookingateachother。
“Itdependsonbothofyou，“shestated。HerfacewasturnedtowardsTerence，andalthoughhecouldhardlyseeher，hebelievedthatherwordsreallycoveredagenuinedesiretoknowmoreabouthim。
Heraisedhimselffromhissemi-recumbentpositionandproceededtotellherwhatshewantedtoknow。Hespokeaslightlyashecouldinordertotakeawayherdepression。
“I’mtwenty-seven，andI’veaboutsevenhundredayear，“hebegan。
“Mytemperisgoodonthewhole，andhealthexcellent，thoughHirstdetectsagoutytendency。Well，then，IthinkI’mveryintelligent。“
Hepausedasifforconfirmation。
Helenagreed。
“Though，unfortunately，ratherlazy。IintendtoallowRacheltobeafoolifshewantsto，and——Doyoufindmeonthewholesatisfactoryinotherrespects？“heaskedshyly。
“Yes，IlikewhatIknowofyou，“Helenreplied。
“Butthen——oneknowssolittle。“
“WeshallliveinLondon，“hecontinued，“and——“Withonevoicetheysuddenlyenquiredwhethershedidnotthinkthemthehappiestpeoplethatshehadeverknown。
“Hush，“shecheckedthem，“Mrs。Flushing，remember。She’sbehindus。“
Thentheyfellsilent，andTerenceandRachelfeltinstinctivelythattheirhappinesshadmadehersad，and，whiletheywereanxioustogoontalkingaboutthemselves，theydidnotliketo。
“We’vetalkedtoomuchaboutourselves，“Terencesaid。“Tellus——“
“Yes，tellus——“Rachelechoed。Theywerebothinthemoodtobelievethateveryonewascapableofsayingsomethingveryprofound。
“WhatcanItellyou？“Helenreflected，speakingmoretoherselfinaramblingstylethanasaprophetessdeliveringamessage。
Sheforcedherselftospeak。
“Afterall，thoughIscoldRachel，I’mnotmuchwisermyself。
I’molder，ofcourse，I’mhalf-waythrough，andyou’rejustbeginning。
It’spuzzling——sometimes，Ithink，disappointing；thegreatthingsaren’tasgreat，perhaps，asoneexpects——butit’sinteresting——
Oh，yes，you’recertaintofinditinteresting——Andsoitgoeson，“
theybecameconscioushereoftheprocessionofdarktreesintowhich，asfarastheycouldsee，Helenwasnowlooking，“andtherearepleasureswhereonedoesn’texpectthem(youmustwritetoyourfather)，andyou’llbeveryhappy，I’venodoubt。ButImustgotobed，andifyouaresensibleyouwillfollowintenminutes，andso，“
sheroseandstoodbeforethem，almostfeaturelessandverylarge，“Good-night。“Shepassedbehindthecurtain。
Aftersittinginsilenceforthegreaterpartofthetenminutessheallowedthem，theyroseandhungovertherail。Beneaththemthesmoothblackwaterslippedawayveryfastandsilently。
Thesparkofacigarettevanishedbehindthem。“Abeautifulvoice，“
Terencemurmured。
Rachelassented。Helenhadabeautifulvoice。
Afterasilencesheasked，lookingupintothesky，“AreweonthedeckofasteameronariverinSouthAmerica？AmIRachel，areyouTerence？“
Thegreatblackworldlayroundthem。Astheyweredrawnsmoothlyalongitseemedpossessedofimmensethicknessandendurance。
Theycoulddiscernpointedtree-topsandbluntroundedtree-tops。
Raisingtheireyesabovethetrees，theyfixedthemonthestarsandthepaleborderofskyabovethetrees。Thelittlepointsoffrostylightinfinitelyfarawaydrewtheireyesandheldthemfixed，sothatitseemedasiftheystayedalongtimeandfellagreatdistancewhenoncemoretheyrealisedtheirhandsgraspingtherailandtheirseparatebodiesstandingsidebyside。
“You’dforgottencompletelyaboutme，“Terencereproachedher，takingherarmandbeginningtopacethedeck，“andIneverforgetyou。“
“Oh，no，“shewhispered，shehadnotforgotten，onlythestars——
thenight——thedark——
“You’relikeabirdhalfasleepinitsnest，Rachel。You’reasleep。
You’retalkinginyoursleep。“
Halfasleep，andmurmuringbrokenwords，theystoodintheanglemadebythebowoftheboat。Itslippedondowntheriver。
Nowabellstruckonthebridge，andtheyheardthelappingofwaterasitrippledawayoneitherside，andonceabirdstartledinitssleepcreaked，flewontothenexttree，andwassilentagain。
Thedarknesspoureddownprofusely，andleftthemwithscarcelyanyfeelingoflife，exceptthattheywerestandingtheretogetherinthedarkness。
Thedarknessfell，butroseagain，andaseachdayspreadwidelyovertheearthandpartedthemfromthestrangedayintheforestwhentheyhadbeenforcedtotelleachotherwhattheywanted，thiswishoftheirswasrevealedtootherpeople，andintheprocessbecameslightlystrangetothemselves。Apparentlyitwasnotanythingunusualthathadhappened；itwasthattheyhadbecomeengagedtomarryeachother。Theworld，whichconsistedforthemostpartofthehotelandthevilla，expresseditselfgladonthewholethattwopeopleshouldmarry，andallowedthemtoseethattheywerenotexpectedtotakepartintheworkwhichhastobedoneinorderthattheworldshallgoon，butmightabsentthemselvesforatime。
Theywereaccordinglyleftaloneuntiltheyfeltthesilenceasif，playinginavastchurch，thedoorhadbeenshutonthem。
Theyweredriventowalkalone，andsitalone，tovisitsecretplaceswheretheflowershadneverbeenpickedandthetreesweresolitary。
Insolitudetheycouldexpressthosebeautifulbuttoovastdesireswhichweresooddlyuncomfortabletotheearsofothermenandwomen——
desiresforaworld，suchastheirownworldwhichcontainedtwopeopleseemedtothemtobe，wherepeoplekneweachotherintimatelyandthusjudgedeachotherbywhatwasgood，andneverquarrelled，becausethatwaswasteoftime。
Theywouldtalkofsuchquestionsamongbooks，oroutinthesun，orsittingintheshadeofatreeundisturbed。Theywerenolongerembarrassed，orhalf-chokedwithmeaningwhichcouldnotexpressitself；theywerenotafraidofeachother，or，liketravellersdownatwistingriver，dazzledwithsuddenbeautieswhenthecorneristurned；theunexpectedhappened，buteventheordinarywaslovable，andinmanywayspreferabletotheecstaticandmysterious，foritwasrefreshinglysolid，andcalledouteffort，andeffortundersuchcircumstanceswasnoteffortbutdelight。
WhileRachelplayedthepiano，Terencesatnearher，engaged，asfarastheoccasionalwritingofawordinpenciltestified，inshapingtheworldasitappearedtohimnowthatheandRachelweregoingtobemarried。Itwasdifferentcertainly。Thebookcalled_Silence_wouldnotnowbethesamebookthatitwouldhavebeen。Hewouldthenputdownhispencilandstareinfrontofhim，andwonderinwhatrespectstheworldwasdifferent——
ithad，perhaps，moresolidity，morecoherence，moreimportance，greaterdepth。Why，eventheearthsometimesseemedtohimverydeep；
notcarvedintohillsandcitiesandfields，butheapedingreatmasses。
Hewouldlookoutofthewindowfortenminutesatatime；butno，hedidnotcarefortheearthsweptofhumanbeings。Helikedhumanbeings——
helikedthem，hesuspected，betterthanRacheldid。Thereshewas，swayingenthusiasticallyoverhermusic，quiteforgetfulofhim，——
buthelikedthatqualityinher。Helikedtheimpersonalitywhichitproducedinher。Atlast，havingwrittendownaseriesoflittlesentences，withnotesofinterrogationattachedtothem，heobservedaloud，“’Women——’undertheheadingWomenI’vewritten:
“’Notreallyvainerthanmen。Lackofself-confidenceatthebaseofmostseriousfaults。Dislikeofownsextraditional，orfoundedonfact？Everywomannotsomucharakeatheart，asanoptimist，becausetheydon’tthink。’Whatdoyousay，Rachel？“Hepausedwithhispencilinhishandandasheetofpaperonhisknee。
Rachelsaidnothing。UpandupthesteepspiralofaverylateBeethovensonatasheclimbed，likeapersonascendingaruinedstaircase，energeticallyatfirst，thenmorelaboriouslyadvancingherfeetwitheffortuntilshecouldgonohigherandreturnedwitharuntobeginattheverybottomagain。
“’Again，it’sthefashionnowtosaythatwomenaremorepracticalandlessidealisticthanmen，alsothattheyhaveconsiderableorganisingabilitybutnosenseofhonour’——query，whatismeantbymasculineterm，honour？——whatcorrespondstoitinyoursex？Eh？“
Attackingherstaircaseoncemore，Rachelagainneglectedthisopportunityofrevealingthesecretsofhersex。
Shehad，indeed，advancedsofarinthepursuitofwisdomthatsheallowedthesesecretstorestundisturbed；itseemedtobereservedforalatergenerationtodiscussthemphilosophically。
Crashingdownafinalchordwithherlefthand，sheexclaimedatlast，swingingrounduponhim:
“No，Terence，it’snogood；hereamI，thebestmusicianinSouthAmerica，nottospeakofEuropeandAsia，andIcan’tplayanotebecauseofyouintheroominterruptingmeeveryothersecond。“
“Youdon’tseemtorealisethatthat’swhatI’vebeenaimingatforthelasthalf-hour，“heremarked。“I’venoobjectiontonicesimpletunes——indeed，Ifindthemveryhelpfultomyliterarycomposition，butthatkindofthingismerelylikeanunfortunateolddoggoingroundonitshindlegsintherain。“
Hebeganturningoverthelittlesheetsofnote-paperwhichwerescatteredonthetable，conveyingthecongratulationsoftheirfriends。
“’——allpossiblewishesforallpossiblehappiness，’“heread；
“correct，butnotveryvivid，arethey？“
“They’resheernonsense！“Rachelexclaimed。“Thinkofwordscomparedwithsounds！“shecontinued。“Thinkofnovelsandplaysandhistories——“Perchedontheedgeofthetable，shestirredtheredandyellowvolumescontemptuously。Sheseemedtoherselftobeinapositionwhereshecoulddespiseallhumanlearning。
Terencelookedatthemtoo。
“God，Rachel，youdoreadtrash！“heexclaimed。“Andyou’rebehindthetimestoo，mydear。Noonedreamsofreadingthiskindofthingnow——antiquatedproblemplays，harrowingdescriptionsoflifeintheeastend——oh，no，we’veexplodedallthat。
Readpoetry，Rachel，poetry，poetry，poetry！“
Pickinguponeofthebooks，hebegantoreadaloud，hisintentionbeingtosatirisetheshortsharpbarkofthewriter’sEnglish；
butshepaidnoattention，andafteranintervalofmeditationexclaimed:
“Doesiteverseemtoyou，Terence，thattheworldiscomposedentirelyofvastblocksofmatter，andthatwe’renothingbutpatchesoflight——“shelookedatthesoftspotsofsunwaveringoverthecarpetandupthewall——“likethat？“
“No，“saidTerence，“Ifeelsolid；immenselysolid；thelegsofmychairmightberootedinthebowelsoftheearth。ButatCambridge，Icanremember，thereweretimeswhenonefellintoridiculousstatesofsemi-comaaboutfiveo’clockinthemorning。Hirstdoesnow，Iexpect——oh，no，Hirstwouldn’t。“
Rachelcontinued，“Thedayyournotecame，askingustogoonthepicnic，Iwassittingwhereyou’resittingnow，thinkingthat；
IwonderifIcouldthinkthatagain？Iwonderiftheworld’schanged？
andifso，whenit’llstopchanging，andwhichistherealworld？“
“WhenIfirstsawyou，“hebegan，“Ithoughtyouwerelikeacreaturewho’dlivedallitslifeamongpearlsandoldbones。
Yourhandswerewet，d’youremember，andyouneversaidaworduntilIgaveyouabitofbread，andthenyousaid，’HumanBeings！’“
