“AndIthoughtyou——aprig，“sherecollected。“No；that’snotquiteit。
Thereweretheantswhostolethetongue，andIthoughtyouandSt。Johnwerelikethoseants——verybig，veryugly，veryenergetic，withallyourvirtuesonyourbacks。However，whenItalkedtoyouIlikedyou——“
“Youfellinlovewithme，“hecorrectedher。“Youwereinlovewithmeallthetime，onlyyoudidn’tknowit。“
“No，Ineverfellinlovewithyou，“sheasserted。
“Rachel——whatalie——didn’tyousitherelookingatmywindow——
didn’tyouwanderaboutthehotellikeanowlinthesun——？“
“No，“sherepeated，“Ineverfellinlove，iffallinginloveiswhatpeoplesayitis，andit’stheworldthattellstheliesandItellthetruth。Oh，whatlies——whatlies！“
ShecrumpledtogetherahandfuloflettersfromEvelynM。，fromMr。Pepper，fromMrs。ThornburyandMissAllan，andSusanWarrington。
Itwasstrange，consideringhowverydifferentthesepeoplewere，thattheyusedalmostthesamesentenceswhentheywrotetocongratulateheruponherengagement。
Thatanyoneofthesepeoplehadeverfeltwhatshefelt，orcouldeverfeelit，orhadeventherighttopretendforasinglesecondthattheywerecapableoffeelingit，appalledhermuchasthechurchservicehaddone，muchasthefaceofthehospitalnursehaddone；
andiftheydidn’tfeelathingwhydidtheygoandpretendto？
Thesimplicityandarroganceandhardnessofheryouth，nowconcentratedintoasinglesparkasitwasbyherloveofhim，puzzledTerence；
beingengagedhadnotthateffectonhim；theworldwasdifferent，butnotinthatway；hestillwantedthethingshehadalwayswanted，andinparticularhewantedthecompanionshipofotherpeoplemorethaneverperhaps。Hetookthelettersoutofherhand，andprotested:
“Ofcoursethey’reabsurd，Rachel；ofcoursetheysaythingsjustbecauseotherpeoplesaythem，butevenso，whatanicewomanMissAllanis；youcan’tdenythat；andMrs。Thornburytoo；she’sgottoomanychildrenIgrantyou，butifhalf-a-dozenofthemhadgonetothebadinsteadofrisinginfalliblytothetopsoftheirtrees——
hasn’tsheakindofbeauty——ofelementalsimplicityasFlushingwouldsay？Isn’tsheratherlikealargeoldtreemurmuringinthemoonlight，orarivergoingonandonandon？Bytheway，Ralph’sbeenmadegovernoroftheCarrowayIslands——theyoungestgovernorintheservice；verygood，isn’tit？“
ButRachelwasatpresentunabletoconceivethatthevastmajorityoftheaffairsoftheworldwentonunconnectedbyasinglethreadwithherowndestiny。
“Iwon’thaveelevenchildren，“sheasserted；“Iwon’thavetheeyesofanoldwoman。Shelooksatoneupanddown，upanddown，asifonewereahorse。“
“Wemusthaveasonandwemusthaveadaughter，“saidTerence，puttingdowntheletters，“because，letalonetheinestimableadvantageofbeingourchildren，they’dbesowellbroughtup。“
Theywentontosketchanoutlineoftheidealeducation——
howtheirdaughtershouldberequiredfrominfancytogazeatalargesquareofcardboardpaintedblue，tosuggestthoughtsofinfinity，forwomenweregrowntoopractical；andtheirson——heshouldbetaughttolaughatgreatmen，thatis，atdistinguishedsuccessfulmen，atmenwhoworeribandsandrosetothetopsoftheirtrees。
Heshouldinnowayresemble(Racheladded)St。JohnHirst。
AtthisTerenceprofessedthegreatestadmirationforSt。JohnHirst。
Dwellinguponhisgoodqualitieshebecameseriouslyconvincedofthem；
hehadamindlikeatorpedo，hedeclared，aimedatfalsehood。
Whereshouldweallbewithouthimandhislike？Chokedinweeds；
Christians，bigots，——why，Rachelherself，wouldbeaslavewithafantosingsongstomenwhentheyfeltdrowsy。
“Butyou’llneverseeit！“heexclaimed；“becausewithallyourvirtuesyoudon’t，andyouneverwill，carewitheveryfibreofyourbeingforthepursuitoftruth！You’venorespectforfacts，Rachel；
you’reessentiallyfeminine。“Shedidnottroubletodenyit，nordidshethinkgoodtoproducetheoneunanswerableargumentagainstthemeritswhichTerenceadmired。St。JohnHirstsaidthatshewasinlovewithhim；shewouldneverforgivethat；
buttheargumentwasnotonetoappealtoaman。
“ButIlikehim，“shesaid，andshethoughttoherselfthatshealsopitiedhim，asonepitiesthoseunfortunatepeoplewhoareoutsidethewarmmysteriousglobefullofchangesandmiraclesinwhichweourselvesmoveabout；shethoughtthatitmustbeverydulltobeSt。JohnHirst。
Shesummedupwhatshefeltabouthimbysayingthatshewouldnotkisshimsupposinghewishedit，whichwasnotlikely。
AsifsomeapologywereduetoHirstforthekisswhichshethenbestoweduponhim，Terenceprotested:
“AndcomparedwithHirstI’maperfectZany。“
Theclockherestrucktwelveinsteadofeleven。
“We’rewastingthemorning——Ioughttobewritingmybook，andyououghttobeansweringthese。“
“We’veonlygottwenty-onewholemorningsleft，“saidRachel。
“Andmyfather’llbehereinadayortwo。“
However，shedrewapenandpapertowardsherandbegantowritelaboriously，“MydearEvelyn——“
Terence，meanwhile，readanovelwhichsomeoneelsehadwritten，aprocesswhichhefoundessentialtothecompositionofhisown。
ForaconsiderabletimenothingwastobeheardbutthetickingoftheclockandthefitfulscratchofRachel’spen，assheproducedphraseswhichboreaconsiderablelikenesstothosewhichshehadcondemned。Shewasstruckbyitherself，forshestoppedwritingandlookedup；lookedatTerencedeepinthearm-chair，lookedatthedifferentpiecesoffurniture，atherbedinthecorner，atthewindow-panewhichshowedthebranchesofatreefilledinwithsky，heardtheclockticking，andwasamazedatthegulfwhichlaybetweenallthatandhersheetofpaper。Wouldthereeverbeatimewhentheworldwasoneandindivisible？EvenwithTerencehimself——howfaraparttheycouldbe，howlittlesheknewwhatwaspassinginhisbrainnow！Shethenfinishedhersentence，whichwasawkwardandugly，andstatedthattheywere“bothveryhappy，andgoingtobemarriedintheautumnprobablyandhopetoliveinLondon，wherewehopeyouwillcomeandseeuswhenwegetback。“
Choosing“affectionately，“aftersomefurtherspeculation，ratherthansincerely，shesignedtheletterandwasdoggedlybeginningonanotherwhenTerenceremarked，quotingfromhisbook:
“Listentothis，Rachel。’ItisprobablethatHugh’(he’sthehero，aliteraryman)，’hadnotrealisedatthetimeofhismarriage，anymorethantheyoungmanofpartsandimaginationusuallydoesrealise，thenatureofthegulfwhichseparatestheneedsanddesiresofthemalefromtheneedsanddesiresofthefemale……Atfirsttheyhadbeenveryhappy。ThewalkingtourinSwitzerlandhadbeenatimeofjollycompanionshipandstimulatingrevelationsforbothofthem。Bettyhadprovedherselftheidealcomrade……Theyhadshouted_Love__in__the__Valley_toeachotheracrossthesnowyslopesoftheRiffelhorn’(andsoon，andsoon——I’llskipthedescriptions)……’ButinLondon，aftertheboy’sbirth，allwaschanged。Bettywasanadmirablemother；butitdidnottakeherlongtofindoutthatmotherhood，asthatfunctionisunderstoodbythemotheroftheuppermiddleclasses，didnotabsorbthewholeofherenergies。Shewasyoungandstrong，withhealthylimbsandabodyandbrainthatcalledurgentlyforexercise……’(Inshortshebegantogivetea-parties。)……’CominginlatefromthissingulartalkwitholdBobMurphyinhissmoky，book-linedroom，wherethetwomenhadeachunloosenedhissoultotheother，withthesoundofthetraffichumminginhisears，andthefoggyLondonskyslungtragicallyacrosshismind……hefoundwomen’shatsdottedaboutamonghispapers。Women’swrapsandabsurdlittlefeminineshoesandumbrellaswereinthehall……Thenthebillsbegantocomein……Hetriedtospeakfranklytoher。Hefoundherlyingonthegreatpolar-bearskinintheirbedroom，half-undressed，fortheywerediningwiththeGreensinWiltonCrescent，theruddyfirelightmakingthediamondswinkandtwinkleonherbarearmsandinthedeliciouscurveofherbreast——
avisionofadorablefemininity。Heforgaveherall。’(Well，thisgoesfrombadtoworse，andfinallyaboutfiftypageslater，Hughtakesaweek-endtickettoSwanageand’hasitoutwithhimselfonthedownsaboveCorfe。’……Herethere’sfifteenpagesorsowhichwe’llskip。Theconclusionis……)’Theyweredifferent。
Perhaps，inthefarfuture，whengenerationsofmenhadstruggledandfailedashemustnowstruggleandfail，womanwouldbe，indeed，whatshenowmadeapretenceofbeing——thefriendandcompanion——
nottheenemyandparasiteofman。’
“Theendofitis，yousee，Hughwentbacktohiswife，poorfellow。
Itwashisduty，asamarriedman。Lord，Rachel，“heconcluded，“willitbelikethatwhenwe’remarried？“
Insteadofansweringhimsheasked，“Whydon’tpeoplewriteaboutthethingstheydofeel？“
“Ah，that’sthedifficulty！“hesighed，tossingthebookaway。
“Well，then，whatwillitbelikewhenwe’remarried？Whatarethethingspeopledofeel？“
Sheseemeddoubtful。
“Sitonthefloorandletmelookatyou，“hecommanded。
Restingherchinonhisknee，shelookedstraightathim。
Heexaminedhercuriously。
“You’renotbeautiful，“hebegan，“butIlikeyourface。
Ilikethewayyourhairgrowsdowninapoint，andyoureyestoo——
theyneverseeanything。Yourmouth’stoobig，andyourcheekswouldbebetteriftheyhadmorecolourinthem。ButwhatIlikeaboutyourfaceisthatitmakesonewonderwhatthedevilyou’rethinkingabout——itmakesmewanttodothat——“Heclenchedhisfistandshookitsonearherthatshestartedback，“becausenowyoulookasifyou’dblowmybrainsout。Therearemoments，“hecontinued，“when，ifwestoodonarocktogether，you’dthrowmeintothesea。“
Hypnotisedbytheforceofhiseyesinhers，sherepeated，“Ifwestoodonarocktogether——“
Tobeflungintothesea，tobewashedhitherandthither，anddrivenabouttherootsoftheworld——theideawasincoherentlydelightful。
Shesprangup，andbeganmovingabouttheroom，bendingandthrustingasidethechairsandtablesasifshewereindeedstrikingthroughthewaters。Hewatchedherwithpleasure；sheseemedtobecleavingapassageforherself，anddealingtriumphantlywiththeobstacleswhichwouldhindertheirpassagethroughlife。
“Itdoesseempossible！“heexclaimed，“thoughI’vealwaysthoughtitthemostunlikelythingintheworld——Ishallbeinlovewithyouallmylife，andourmarriagewillbethemostexcitingthingthat’severbeendone！We’llneverhaveamoment’speace——“
Hecaughtherinhisarmsasshepassedhim，andtheyfoughtformastery，imaginingarock，andtheseaheavingbeneaththem。
Atlastshewasthrowntothefloor，whereshelaygasping，andcryingformercy。
“I’mamermaid！Icanswim，“shecried，“sothegame’sup。“
Herdresswastornacross，andpeacebeingestablished，shefetchedaneedleandthreadandbegantomendthetear。
“Andnow，“shesaid，“bequietandtellmeabouttheworld；
tellmeabouteverythingthat’severhappened，andI’lltellyou——
letmesee，whatcanItellyou？——I’lltellyouaboutMissMontgomerieandtheriverparty。Shewasleft，yousee，withonefootintheboat，andtheotheronshore。“
Theyhadspentmuchtimealreadyinthusfillingoutfortheotherthecourseoftheirpastlives，andthecharactersoftheirfriendsandrelations，sothatverysoonTerenceknewnotonlywhatRachel’sauntsmightbeexpectedtosayuponeveryoccasion，butalsohowtheirbedroomswerefurnished，andwhatkindofbonnetstheywore。
HecouldsustainaconversationbetweenMrs。HuntandRachel，andcarryonatea-partyincludingtheRev。WilliamJohnsonandMissMacquoid，theChristianScientists，withremarkablelikenesstothetruth。
Buthehadknownmanymorepeople，andwasfarmorehighlyskilledintheartofnarrativethanRachelwas，whoseexperienceswere，forthemostpart，ofacuriouslychildlikeandhumorouskind，sothatitgenerallyfelltoherlottolistenandaskquestions。
