Whatwerethosehorridpeopledoing？Shespentthewholemorningindiscussingpoliticswithherhusband，andbydegreesshebecamedeeplyinterestedinwhattheyweresaying。Buteverynowandthenwhatshewassayingseemedtoheroddlyemptyofmeaning。
Atluncheonitwasremarkedbyseveralpeoplethatthevisitorsatthehotelwerebeginningtoleave；therewerefewereveryday。
Therewereonlyfortypeopleatluncheon，insteadofthesixtythattherehadbeen。SooldMrs。Paleycomputed，gazingaboutherwithherfadedeyes，asshetookherseatatherowntableinthewindow。
HerpartygenerallyconsistedofMr。PerrottaswellasArthurandSusan，andto-dayEvelynwaslunchingwiththemalso。
Shewasunusuallysubdued。Havingnoticedthathereyeswerered，andguessingthereason，theotherstookpainstokeepupanelaborateconversationbetweenthemselves。Shesufferedittogoonforafewminutes，leaningbothelbowsonthetable，andleavinghersoupuntouched，whensheexclaimedsuddenly，“Idon’tknowhowyoufeel，butIcansimplythinkofnothingelse！“
Thegentlemenmurmuredsympathetically，andlookedgrave。
Susanreplied，“Yes——isn’titperfectlyawful？Whenyouthinkwhatanicegirlshewas——onlyjustengaged，andthisneedneverhavehappened——itseemstootragic。“ShelookedatArthurasthoughhemightbeabletohelpherwithsomethingmoresuitable。
“Hardlines，“saidArthurbriefly。“Butitwasafoolishthingtodo——togoupthatriver。“Heshookhishead。“Theyshouldhaveknownbetter。Youcan’texpectEnglishwomentostandroughingitasthenativesdowho’vebeenacclimatised。I’dhalfamindtowarnthematteathatdaywhenitwasbeingdiscussed。Butit’snogoodsayingthesesortofthings——itonlyputspeople’sbacksup——
itnevermakesanydifference。“
OldMrs。Paley，hithertocontentedwithhersoup，hereintimated，byraisingonehandtoherear，thatshewishedtoknowwhatwasbeingsaid。
“Youheard，AuntEmma，thatpoorMissVinracehasdiedofthefever，“
Susaninformedhergently。Shecouldnotspeakofdeathloudlyoreveninherusualvoice，sothatMrs。Paleydidnotcatchaword。
Arthurcametotherescue。
“MissVinraceisdead，“hesaidverydistinctly。
Mrs。Paleymerelybentalittletowardshimandasked，“Eh？“
“MissVinraceisdead，“herepeated。Itwasonlybystiffeningallthemusclesroundhismouththathecouldpreventhimselffromburstingintolaughter，andforcedhimselftorepeatforthethirdtime，“MissVinrace……She’sdead。“
Letalonethedifficultyofhearingtheexactwords，factsthatwereoutsideherdailyexperiencetooksometimetoreachMrs。Paley’sconsciousness。Aweightseemedtorestuponherbrain，impeding，thoughnotdamagingitsaction。Shesatvague-eyedforatleastaminutebeforesherealisedwhatArthurmeant。
“Dead？“shesaidvaguely。“MissVinracedead？Dearme……that’sverysad。ButIdon’tatthemomentrememberwhichshewas。
Weseemtohavemadesomanynewacquaintanceshere。“ShelookedatSusanforhelp。“Atalldarkgirl，whojustmissedbeinghandsome，withahighcolour？“
“No，“Susaninterposed。“Shewas——“thenshegaveitupindespair。
TherewasnouseinexplainingthatMrs。Paleywasthinkingofthewrongperson。
“Sheoughtnottohavedied，“Mrs。Paleycontinued。“Shelookedsostrong。Butpeoplewilldrinkthewater。Icannevermakeoutwhy。
ItseemssuchasimplethingtotellthemtoputabottleofSeltzerwaterinyourbedroom。That’salltheprecautionI’veevertaken，andI’vebeenineverypartoftheworld，Imaysay——Italyadozentimesover……Butyoungpeoplealwaysthinktheyknowbetter，andthentheypaythepenalty。Poorthing——Iamverysorryforher。“
Butthedifficultyofpeeringintoadishofpotatoesandhelpingherselfengrossedherattention。
ArthurandSusanbothsecretlyhopedthatthesubjectwasnowdisposedof，forthereseemedtothemsomethingunpleasantinthisdiscussion。
ButEvelynwasnotreadytoletitdrop。Whywouldpeoplenevertalkaboutthethingsthatmattered？
“Idon’tbelieveyoucareabit！“shesaid，turningsavagelyuponMr。Perrott，whohadsatallthistimeinsilence。
“I？Oh，yes，Ido，“heansweredawkwardly，butwithobvioussincerity。
Evelyn’squestionsmadehimtoofeeluncomfortable。
“Itseemssoinexplicable，“Evelyncontinued。“Death，Imean。
Whyshouldshebedead，andnotyouorI？Itwasonlyafortnightagothatshewasherewiththerestofus。Whatd’youbelieve？“
shedemandedofmr。Perrott。“D’youbelievethatthingsgoon，thatshe’sstillsomewhere——ord’youthinkit’ssimplyagame——
wecrumbleuptonothingwhenwedie？I’mpositiveRachel’snotdead。“
Mr。PerrottwouldhavesaidalmostanythingthatEvelynwantedhimtosay，buttoassertthathebelievedintheimmortalityofthesoulwasnotinhispower。Hesatsilent，moredeeplywrinkledthanusual，crumblinghisbread。
LestEvelynshouldnextaskhimwhathebelieved，Arthur，aftermakingapauseequivalenttoafullstop，startedacompletelydifferenttopic。
“Supposing，“hesaid，“amanweretowriteandtellyouthathewantedfivepoundsbecausehehadknownyourgrandfather，whatwouldyoudo？
Itwasthisway。Mygrandfather——“
“Inventedastove，“saidEvelyn。“Iknowallaboutthat。
Wehadoneintheconservatorytokeeptheplantswarm。“
“Didn’tknowIwassofamous，“saidArthur。“Well，“hecontinued，determinedatallcoststospinhisstoryoutatlength，“theoldchap，beingaboutthesecondbestinventorofhisday，andacapablelawyertoo，died，astheyalwaysdo，withoutmakingawill。
NowFielding，hisclerk，withhowmuchjusticeIdon’tknow，alwaysclaimedthathemeanttodosomethingforhim。Thepooroldboy’scomedownintheworldthroughtryinginventionsonhisownaccount，livesinPengeoveratobacconist’sshop。I’vebeentoseehimthere。
Thequestionis——mustIstumpupornot？Whatdoestheabstractspiritofjusticerequire，Perrott？Remember，Ididn’tbenefitundermygrandfather’swill，andI’venowayoftestingthetruthofthestory。“
“Idon’tknowmuchabouttheabstractspiritofjustice，“saidSusan，smilingcomplacentlyattheothers，“butI’mcertainofonething——
he’llgethisfivepounds！“
AsMr。Perrottproceededtodeliveranopinion，andEvelyninsistedthathewasmuchtoostingy，likealllawyers，thinkingoftheletterandnotofthespirit，whileMrs。Paleyrequiredtobekeptinformedbetweenthecoursesastowhattheywereallsaying，theluncheonpassedwithnointervalofsilence，andArthurcongratulatedhimselfuponthetactwithwhichthediscussionhadbeensmoothedover。
AstheylefttheroomithappenedthatMrs。Paley’swheeledchairranintotheElliots，whowerecomingthroughthedoor，asshewasgoingout。Broughtthustoastandstillforamoment，ArthurandSusancongratulatedHughlingElliotuponhisconvalescence，——
hewasdown，cadaverousenough，forthefirsttime，——andMr。PerrotttookoccasiontosayafewwordsinprivatetoEvelyn。
“Wouldtherebeanychanceofseeingyouthisafternoon，aboutthree-thirtysay？Ishallbeinthegarden，bythefountain。“
TheblockdissolvedbeforeEvelynanswered。Butasshelefttheminthehall，shelookedathimbrightlyandsaid，“Half-pastthree，didyousay？That’llsuitme。“
Sheranupstairswiththefeelingofspiritualexaltationandquickenedlifewhichtheprospectofanemotionalscenealwaysarousedinher。
ThatMr。Perrottwasagainabouttoproposetoher，shehadnodoubt，andshewasawarethatonthisoccasionsheoughttobepreparedwithadefiniteanswer，forshewasgoingawayinthreedays’time。
Butshecouldnotbringhermindtobearuponthequestion。Tocometoadecisionwasverydifficulttoher，becauseshehadanaturaldislikeofanythingfinalanddonewith；shelikedtogoonandon——
alwaysonandon。Shewasleaving，and，therefore，sheoccupiedherselfinlayingherclothesoutsidebysideuponthebed。
Sheobservedthatsomewereveryshabby。Shetookthephotographofherfatherandmother，and，beforeshelaiditawayinherbox，shehelditforaminuteinherhand。Rachelhadlookedatit。
Suddenlythekeenfeelingofsomeone’spersonality，whichthingsthattheyhaveownedorhandledsometimespreserves，overcameher；shefeltRachelintheroomwithher；itwasasifshewereonashipatsea，andthelifeofthedaywasasunrealasthelandinthedistance。
ButbydegreesthefeelingofRachel’spresencepassedaway，andshecouldnolongerrealiseher，forshehadscarcelyknownher。
Butthismomentarysensationleftherdepressedandfatigued。
Whathadshedonewithherlife？Whatfuturewastherebeforeher？
Whatwasmake-believe，andwhatwasreal？Weretheseproposalsandintimaciesandadventuresreal，orwasthecontentmentwhichshehadseenonthefacesofSusanandRachelmorerealthananythingshehadeverfelt？
Shemadeherselfreadytogodownstairs，absentmindedly，butherfingersweresowelltrainedthattheydidtheworkofpreparingheralmostoftheirownaccord。Whenshewasactuallyonthewaydownstairs，thebloodbegantocirclethroughherbodyofitsownaccordtoo，forhermindfeltverydull。
Mr。Perrottwaswaitingforher。Indeed，hehadgonestraightintothegardenafterluncheon，andhadbeenwalkingupanddownthepathformorethanhalfanhour，inastateofacutesuspense。
“I’mlateasusual！“sheexclaimed，asshecaughtsightofhim。
“Well，youmustforgiveme；Ihadtopackup……Myword！
Itlooksstormy！Andthat’sanewsteamerinthebay，isn’tit？“
Shelookedatthebay，inwhichasteamerwasjustdroppinganchor，thesmokestillhangingaboutit，whileaswiftblackshudderranthroughthewaves。“One’squiteforgottenwhatrainlookslike，“
sheadded。
ButMr。Perrottpaidnoattentiontothesteamerortotheweather。
“MissMurgatroyd，“hebeganwithhisusualformality，“Iaskedyoutocomeherefromaveryselfishmotive，Ifear。Idonotthinkyouneedtobeassuredoncemoreofmyfeelings；but，asyouareleavingsosoon，IfeltthatIcouldnotletyougowithoutaskingyoutotellme——haveIanyreasontohopethatyouwillevercometocareforme？“
Hewasverypale，andseemedunabletosayanymore。
ThelittlegushofvitalitywhichhadcomeintoEvelynassherandownstairshadlefther，andshefeltherselfimpotent。
Therewasnothingforhertosay；shefeltnothing。Nowthathewasactuallyaskingher，inhiselderlygentlewords，tomarryhim，shefeltlessforhimthanshehadeverfeltbefore。
“Let’ssitdownandtalkitover，“shesaidratherunsteadily。
Mr。Perrottfollowedhertoacurvedgreenseatunderatree。
Theylookedatthefountaininfrontofthem，whichhadlongceasedtoplay。Evelynkeptlookingatthefountaininsteadofthinkingofwhatshewassaying；thefountainwithoutanywaterseemedtobethetypeofherownbeing。
“OfcourseIcareforyou，“shebegan，rushingherwordsoutinahurry；“IshouldbeabruteifIdidn’t。Ithinkyou’requiteoneofthenicestpeopleI’veeverknown，andoneofthefinesttoo。
ButIwish……Iwishyoudidn’tcareformeinthatway。
Areyousureyoudo？“Forthemomentshehonestlydesiredthatheshouldsayno。
“Quitesure，“saidMr。Perrott。
“Yousee，I’mnotassimpleasmostwomen，“Evelyncontinued。
“IthinkIwantmore。Idon’tknowexactlywhatIfeel。“
Hesatbyher，watchingherandrefrainingfromspeech。
“IsometimesthinkIhaven’tgotitinmetocareverymuchforonepersononly。Someoneelsewouldmakeyouabetterwife。
Icanimagineyouveryhappywithsomeoneelse。“
“Ifyouthinkthatthereisanychancethatyouwillcometocareforme，Iamquitecontenttowait，“saidMr。Perrott。
“Well——there’snohurry，isthere？“saidEvelyn。“SupposeIthoughtitoverandwroteandtoldyouwhenIgetback？I’mgoingtoMoscow；
I’llwritefromMoscow。“
ButMr。Perrottpersisted。
“Youcannotgivemeanykindofidea。Idonotaskforadate……thatwouldbemostunreasonable。“Hepaused，lookingdownatthegravelpath。
