\"Ah，then，it’sformetoaskYOUwhat。Idon’tmyself，yousee，perceiveit。\"
Hemadeforalittlenoanswer，andwewerebothindeedbythistimetakenupwiththewithdrawalofthetwoothermembersofourgroup。Theymovedawaytogetheracrosstheshiningfloor，pausing，lookingupatthepaintedvault，sayingtheinevitablethings——bringingofftheirretreat，inshort，inthebestorder。Itstruckmesomehowasaretreat，andyetIinsistedtomyself，oncemore，onitsbeingperfectlynatural。Atthehighdoor，whichstoodopen，theystoppedamomentandlookedbackatus——lookedfrankly，sociably，asifinconsciousnessofoursympatheticattention。
Mrs。Serverwaved，asintemporaryfarewell，afreeexplanatoryhandatme；sheseemedtoexplainthatshewasnowtryingsomebodyelse。ObertmoreoveraddedHISexplanation。\"That’sthewayshecollarsus。\"
\"Oh，Longdoesn’tmind，\"Isaid。\"Butwhat’sthewayshestrikesyouasdifferent？\"
\"Fromwhatshewaswhenshesattome？Well，apartofitisthatshecan’tkeepstill。Shewasasstillthenasifshehadbeenpaidforit。
Nowshe’sallovertheplace。\"Buthecamebacktosomethingelse。\"Ilikeyourtalking，mydearman，ofwhatyou’don’tperceive。’I’veyettofindoutwhatthatremarkablequantityis。Whatyoudoperceivehasatalleventsgivenmesomuchtothinkaboutthatitdoubtlessoughttoservemeforthepresent。IfeelIoughttoletyouknowthatyou’vemademealsoperceivetheBrissendens。\"IofcourserememberedwhatIhadsaidtohim，butitwasjustthisthatnowtouchedmyuneasiness，andIonlyechoedthename，alittleblankly，withtheinstinctofgainingtime。\"Youputmeonthemwonderfully，\"Obertcontinued，\"thoughofcourseI’vekeptyourideatomyself。Allthesameitshedsagreatlight。\"
Icouldagainbutfeeblyrepeatit。\"Agreatlight？\"
\"Astowhatmaygoonevenbetweenothersstill。It’sajollyidea——atorchinthedarkness；anddoyouknowwhatI’vedonewithit？I’vehelditup，Idon’tmindtellingyou，tojustthequestionofthechange，sincethisinterestsyou，inMrs。Server。Ifyou’vegotyourmysteryI’llbehangedifIwon’thavemine。Ifyou’vegotyourBrissendensIshallseewhatIcandowithHER。You’vegivenmeananalogy，andIdeclareIfinditdazzling。Idon’tseetheendofwhatmaybedonewithit。IfBrissenden’spayingforhiswife，forheramazingsecondbloom，who’spayingforMrs。
Server？Isn’tTHAT——whatdothenewspaperscallit？——themissingword？
Isn’titperhapsinfactjustwhatyoutoldmelastnightyouwereonthetrackof？Butdon’taddnow，\"hewenton，moreandmoreamusedwithhisdivination，\"don’taddnowthattheman’sobviouslyGilbertLong——forI
won’tbeputoffwithanythingofthesort。Shecollaredhimmuchtoomarkedly。
Therealmanmustbeoneshedoesn’tmarkedlycollar。\"
\"ButIthoughtthatwhatyouamomentagomadeoutwasthatshesomarkedlycollarsallofus。\"ThiswasmyimmediatereplytoObert’sblazeofingenuity，butInonethelesssawmorethingsinitthanIcouldreplyto。Isaw，atanyrate，andsawwithrelief，thatifheshouldlookontheprinciplesuggestedtohimbythecaseoftheBrissendens，therewouldbenodangeratallofhisfindingit。If，accordingly，IwasnervousforMrs。Server，allIhadtodowastokeephimonthisfalsescent。Sinceitwasnotshewhowaspaidfor，butshewhopossiblypaid，hisfancymightharmlesslydiverthimtillthepartyshoulddisperse。Atthesametime，inthemidstofthesereflections，thequestionofthe\"change\"inher，whichhewasinsomuchbetterapositionthanItomeasure，couldn’thelphavingformeitsportent，andthesenseofthatwas，nodoubt，inmynextwords。
\"WhatmakesyouthinkthatwhatyouspeakofwaswhatIhadinmyhead？\"
\"Well，theway，simply，thattheshoefits。She’sabsolutelynotthesamepersonIpainted。It’sexactlylikeMrs。Brissenden’shavingbeenforyouyesterdaynotthesamepersonyouhadlastseenbearinghername。\"
\"Verygood，\"Ireturned，\"thoughIdidn’tintheleastmeantosetyoudiggingsohard。However，digonyourside，byallmeans，whileIdigonmine。AllIaskofyouiscompletediscretion。\"
\"Ah，naturally！\"
\"Weoughttoremember，\"Ipursued，evenattheriskofshowingastoosententious，\"thatsuccessinsuchaninquirymayperhapsbemoreembarrassingthanfailure。Tonoseaboutforarelationthataladyhasherreasonsforkeepingsecret——\"
\"Ismadenotonlyquiteinoffensive，Ihold\"——heimmediatelytookmeup——\"butpositivelyhonourable，bybeingconfinedtopsychologicevidence。\"
Iwonderedalittle。\"Honourabletowhom？\"
\"Why，totheinvestigator。RestingontheKINDofsignsthatthegametakesaccountofwhenfairlyplayed——restingonpsychologicsignsalone，it’sahighapplicationofintelligence。What’signobleisthedetectiveandthekeyhole。\"
\"Isee，\"Iafteramomentadmitted。\"Ididhave，lastnight，myscruples，butyouwarmmeup。YetIconfessalso，\"Istilladded，\"thatifIdomusterthecourageofmycuriosity，it’salittlebecauseIfeelevenyet，asIthinkyoualsomust，altogetherdestituteofamaterialclue。IfIhadamaterialclueIshouldfeelashamed：thefactwouldbedeterrent。Istart，formypart，atanyrate，quiteinthedark——orinadarknesslighted，atbest，bywhatyouhavecalledthetorchofmyanalogy。Theanalogytoo，\"
Iwoundup，\"mayverywellbeonlyhalfahelp。ItwaseasytofindpoorBriss，becausepoorBrissishere，andit’salwayseasy，moreover，tofindahusband。ButsayMrs。Server’spoorBriss——orhisequivalent，whoeveritmaybe——ISN’There。\"
Wehadbeguntowalkawaywiththis，butmycompanionpulledupatthedooroftheroom。\"I’msureheis。Shetellsmehe’snear。\"
\"’Tells’you？\"Ichallengedit，butIuncomfortablyreflectedthatitwasjustwhatIhadmyselftoldMrs。Brissenden。
\"Shewouldn’tbeassheisifheweren’t。Herbeingassheisisthesignofit。Hewasn’tpresent——thatishewasn’tpresentinherlifeatall——whenIpaintedher；andthedifferencewe’reimpressedwithisexactlytheproofthatheisnow。\"
Mydifficultyinprofitingbythereliefhehadsounconsciouslyaffordedmeresidedofcourseinmynotfeelingfreetoshowforquiteasimpressedashewas。Ihadn’treallymadeoutatallwhathewasimpressedWITH，andIshouldonlyhavespoiledeverythingbyinvitinghimtobedefinite。
Thiswasalittleofaworry，forIshouldhavelikedtoknow；butontheotherhandIfeltmytrackatpresenteffectuallycovered。\"Well，then，granthe’soneofus。Therearemorethanadozenofus——adozenevenwithyouandmeandBrissendencountedout。Thehitchisthatwe’renowherewithoutaprimarylead。AstoBrissendenthereWASthelead。\"
\"Youmeanasaffordedbyhiswife’sbloatedstate，whichwasasignal？\"
\"Precisely：forthesearchforsomethingorotherthatwouldhelptoexplainit。Givenhiswife’sbloatedstate，hisownshrunkenonewaswhatwastohavebeenpredicated。Iknewdefinitely，inotherwords，whattolookfor。\"
\"Whereaswedon’tknowhere？\"
\"Mrs。Server’sstate，unfortunately，\"Ireplied，\"isnotbloated。\"
Helaughedatmy\"unfortunately，\"thoughrecognisingthatIspokemerelyfromthepointofviewoflucidity，andpresentlyremarkedthathehadhisownidea。Hedidn’tsaywhatitwas，andIdidn’task，intimatingtherebythatIheldittobeinthismannerwewereplayingthegame；butIindulgentlyquestioneditinthelightofitsnotyethavingassistedhim。Heansweredthattheminuteswehadjustpassedwerewhathadmadethedifference；
ithadsprungfromthestrongeffectproducedonhimaftershecameinwithme。\"It’sbutnowIreallyseeher。Shedidandsaidnothingspecial，nothingstrikingorextraordinary；butthatdidn’tmatter——itneverdoes：
onesawhowsheis。She’snothingbutTHAT。\"
\"Nothingbutwhat？\"
\"She’sallinit，\"heinsisted。\"Orit’sallinHER。Itcomestothesamething。\"
\"Ofcourseit’sallinher，\"IsaidasimpatientlyasIcould，thoughhisattestation——forIwhollytrustedhisperception——leftmesomuchinhisdebt。\"That’swhatwestartwith，isn’tit？Itleavesusasfaraseverfromwhatwemustarriveat。\"
Buthewastoointerestedinhisideatoheedmyquestion。Hewaswrappedinthe\"psychologic\"glow。\"IHAVEher！\"
\"Ah，butit’saquestionofhavingHIM！\"
HelookedatmeonthisasifIhadbroughthimbacktoameredetail，andafteraninstantthelightwentoutofhisface。\"Soitis。Ileaveittoyou。Idon’tcare。\"Hisdrophadtheusualsuddennessofthedropsoftheartistictemperament。\"Lookforthelastman，\"henevertheless，butwithmoredetachment，added。\"Idaresayitwouldbehe。\"
\"Thelast？Inwhatsensethelast？\"
\"Well，thelastsortofcreaturewhocouldbebelievedofher。\"
\"Oh，\"Irejoinedaswewenton，\"thegreatbartothatisthatsuchasortofcreatureasthelastwon’tBEhere！\"
Hehesitated。\"Somuchthebetter。Igivehim，atanyrate，whereverheis，uptoyou。\"
\"Thankyou，\"Ireturned，\"forthebeautyofthepresent！Youdosee，then，thatourpsychologicglowdoesn’t，afterall，preventthething——\"
\"Frombeingnoneofone’sbusiness？Yes。Poorlittlewoman！\"Heseemedsomehowsatisfied；hethrewitallup。\"Itisn’tanyofone’sbusiness，isit？\"
\"Why，that’swhatIwastellingyou，\"Iimpatientlyexclaimed，\"thatifeel！\"
Chapter5
THEfirstthingthathappenedtomeafterpartingwithhimwastofindmyselfagainengagedwithMrs。Brissenden，stillfullofthequickconvictionwithwhichIhadlefther。\"ItISshe——quiteunmistakably，youknow。I
don’tseehowIcanhavebeensostupidasnottomakeitout。Ihaven’tyourcleverness，ofcourse，tillmynoseisrubbedintoathing。ButwhenitIS——！\"Shecelebratedherhumilityinalaughthatwasproud。\"Thetwoareofftogether。\"
\"Offwhere？\"
\"Idon’tknowwhere，butIsawthemafewminutesagomostdistinctly’slope。’They’vegoneforaquiet，unwatchedhour，poordears，outintotheparkorthegardens。Whenoneknowsit，it’sallthere。Butwhat’sthatvulgarsong？——’You’vegottoknowitfirst！’Itstrikesme，ifyoudon’tmindmytellingyouso，thatthewayYOUgetholdofthingsispositivelyuncanny。Imeanasregardswhatfirstmarkedherforyou。\"
\"But，mydearlady，\"Iprotested，\"nothingatallfirstmarkedherforme。SheISN’Tmarkedforme，firstorlast。Itwasonlyyouwhosojumpedather。\"
Myinterlocutressstared，andIhadatthismoment，Iremember，analmostintolerablesenseofherfatuityandcruelty。Theywereallunconscious，buttheywere，atthatstage，nonethelessirritating。Herfinebosomheaved，herblueeyesexpandedwithhersuccessful，hersimplifiedegotism。
Icouldn’t，inshort，Ifound，bearherbeingsokeenaboutMrs。ServerwhileshewassostupidaboutpoorBriss。SheseemedtorecalltomenoblythefactthatSHEhadn’talover。No，shewasonlyeatingpoorBrissupinchbyinch，butshehadn’talover。\"Idon’t，\"Iinsisted，\"seeinMrs。
Serveranyoftherightsigns。\"
Shelookedalmostindignant。\"EvenafteryourtellingmethatyouseeinLadyJohnonlythewrongones？\"
\"Ah，butthereareotherwomenherethanMrs。ServerandLadyJohn。\"
\"Certainly。Butdidn’twe，amomentago，thinkofthemallanddismissthem？IfLadyJohn’soutofthequestion，howcanMrs。ServerpossiblyNOTbeinit？Wewantafool——\"
\"Ah，DOwe？\"Iinterruptinglywailed。
\"Why，exactlybyyourowntheory，inwhichyou’vesomuchinterestedme！Itwasyouwhostruckofftheidea。\"
\"Thatwewantafool？\"Ifeltmyselfturninggloomyenough。\"Dowereallywantanyoneatall？\"
Shegaveme，inmomentarysilence，astrangesmile。\"Ah，youwanttotakeitbacknow？You’resorryyouspoke。Mydearman，youmaybe——\"butthatdidn’thinderthefact，inshort，thatIhadkindlednearmeafine，ifmodestandtimid，intelligence。Theredidremainthetruthofourfriend’sstrikingdevelopment，towhichIhadcalledherattention。Regrettingmyrashnessdidn’tmaketheprodigyless。\"You’llleadmetobelieve，ifyoubackout，thatthere’ssuddenlysomeoneyouwanttoprotect。Weakman，\"
sheexclaimedwithanassurancefromwhich，Iconfess，Iwastotakealarm，\"somethinghashappenedtoyousinceweseparated！Weakman，\"sherepeatedwithdreadfulgaiety，\"you’vebeensquared！\"
Iliterallyblushedforher。\"Squared\"？
\"Doesitinconvenientlyhappenthatyoufindyou’reinlovewithheryourself？\"
\"Well，\"Irepliedonquickreflection，\"do，ifyoulike，callitthat；
foryouseewhatamotiveitgivesmeforbeing，insuchamatterasthiswonderfulonethatyouandIhappenedtofindourselvesforamomentmakingsofreewith，absolutelysureabouther。IAMabsolutelysure。There！Shewon’tdo。Andforyourpostulatethatshe’satthepresentmomentinsomesequesteredspotinLong’scompany，suffermewithoutdelaytocorrectit。Itwon’tholdwater。Ifyou’llgointothelibrary，throughwhichI
havejustpassed，you’llfindherthereinthecompanyoftheComtedeDreuil。\"
Mrs。Brissstaredagain。\"Already？SheWAS，atanyrate，withMr。Long，andshetoldmeonmymeetingthemthattheyhadjustcomefromthepastels。\"
\"Exactly。TheymettheresheandIhavinggonetogether；andtheyretiredtogetherundermyeyes。Theymusthaveparted，clearly，themomentafter。\"
Shetookitallin，turneditallover。\"Thenwhatdoesthatprovebutthatthey’reafraidtobeseen？\"
\"Ah，they’reNOTafraid，sincebothyouandIsawthem！\"
\"Oh，onlyjustlongenoughforthemtopublishthemselvesasnotavoidingeachother。Allthesame，youknow，\"shesaid，\"theydo。\"
\"Doavoideachother？Howisyourbeliefinthat，\"Iasked，\"consistentwithyourbeliefthattheyparadetogetherinthepark？\"
\"Theyignoreeachotherinpublic；theyforegatherinprivate。\"
\"Ah，buttheyDON’T——since，asItellyou，she’sevenwhilewetalkthecentreofthemysticcircleofthetwaddleofM。deDreuil；chainedtoastakeifyouCANbe。Besides，\"Iwoundup，\"it’snotonlythatshe’snotthe’rightfool’——it’ssimplythatshe’snotafoolatall。Wewantthewomanwhohasbeenrenderedmostinane。Butthisladyhasn’tbeenrenderedsoinanydegree。She’sthereverseofinane。She’sinfullpossession。\"
\"Infullpossessionofwhat？\"
\"Why，ofherself。\"
\"LikeLadyJohn？\"
Ihadunfortunatelytodiscriminatehere。\"No，notlikeLadyJohn。\"
\"Likewhomthen？\"
\"Likeanyone。Likeme；likeyou；likeBrissenden。Don’tIsatisfyyou？\"
Iaskedinamoment。
Sheonlylookedatmealittle，handsomeandhard。\"Ifyouwishedtosatisfymesoeasilyyoushouldn’thavemadesuchapointofworkingmeup。IdaresayI，afterall，however，\"sheadded，\"noticemorethingsthanyou。\"
\"Asforinstance？\"
\"Well，MayServerlastevening。IwasnotquiteconsciousatthetimethatIdid，butwhenonehashadthe’tip’onelooksbackandseesthingsinanewlight。\"
ItwasdoubtlessbecausemyfriendirritatedmemoreandmorethatI
metthiswithasharpnesspossiblyexcessive。\"She’sperfectlynatural。
WhatIsawwasatest。Andsoishe。\"
Butshegavemenoheed。\"Iftherehadn’tbeensomanypeopleIshouldhavenoticedofmyselfafterdinnerthattherewassomethingthematterwithher。Ishouldhaveseenwhatitwas。Shewasallovertheplace。\"
Sheexpresseditasthepoorlady’sothercritichaddone，butthisdidn’tshutmymouth。\"Ah，then，inspiteofthepeople，youdidnotice。
Whatdoyoumeanby’allovertheplace’？\"
\"Shecouldn’tkeepstill。Shewasdifferentfromthewomanonehadlastseen。Sheusedtobesocalm——asifshewerealwayssittingforherportrait。
Wasn’tsheinfactalwaysbeingpaintedinapinkfrockandonerowofpearls，alwaysstaringoutatyouinexhibitions，asifsheweresaying’Heretheyareagain’？Lastnightshewasontherush。\"
\"Therush？Oh！\"
\"Yes，positively——fromonemantoanother。Shewasonthepounce。Shetalkedtoteninsuccession，makinguptotheminthemostextraordinarywayandleavingthemstillmorecrazily。She’sasnervousasacat。Putittoanymanhere，andseeifhedoesn’ttellyou。\"
\"Ishouldthinkitquiteunpleasanttoputittoanymanhere，\"Ireturned；
\"andIshouldhavebeensureyouwouldhavethoughtitthesame。Ispoketoyouinthedeepestconfidence。\"
Mrs。Brissenden’slookatmewasforamomentoftheleastaccommodating；
thenitchangedtoanintelligentsmile。\"HowyouAREprotectingher！Butdon’tcryout，\"sheadded，\"beforeyou’rehurt。Sinceyourconfidencehasdistinguishedme——thoughIdon’tquiteseewhy——youmaybesureIhaven’tbreathed。SoIallthemoreresentyourmakingmeasceneontheextraordinarygroundthatI’veobservedaswellasyourself。Perhapswhatyoudon’tlikeisthatmyobservationmaybeturnedonyou。Iconfessitis。\"
Itwasdifficulttobearbeingputinthewrongbyher，butImadeaneffortthatIbelievewasnotunsuccessfultorecovermygoodhumour。\"It’snotintheleasttoyourobservationthatIobject，it’stotheextravagantinferencesyoudrawfromit。Ofcourse，however，IadmitIalwayswanttoprotecttheinnocent。Whatdoesshegain，onyourtheory，byherrushingandpouncing？HadshepouncedonBrissendenwhenwemethimwithher？Areyousoverysurehehadn’tpouncedonHER？Theyhad，atallevents，tome，quitetheairofpeoplesettled；shewasnot，itwasclear，atthatmomentmeditatingachange。Itwaswe，ifyouremember，whohadabsolutelytopullthemapart。\"
\"Isityourideatomakeout，\"Mrs。Brissendeninquiredinanswertothis，\"thatshehassuddenlyhadthehappythoughtofapassionformyhusband？\"
Anewpossibility，asshespoke，cametomewithawhirrofwings，andIhalfexpressedit。\"Shemayhaveasympathy。\"
Myinterlocutressgazedatspace。\"Youmeanshemaybesorryforhim？
Onwhatground？\"
Ihadgonetoofarindeed；butIgotoffasIcould。\"Youneglecthimso！Butwhatisshe，atanyrate，\"Iwenton，\"nervous——asnervousasyoudescribeher——ABOUT？\"
\"Aboutherdanger；thecontingencyofitsbeingfixeduponthem——anintimacysothoroughgoingthattheycanscarcelyaffordtoletitbeseenevenasamereacquaintance。Thinkofthecircumstances——HERpersonalones，Imean，andadmitthatitwouldn’tdo。Itwouldbetoobadacase。There’severythingtomakeitso。Theymustliveonpinsandneedles。Anythingprovedwouldgotremendouslyhardforher。\"
\"Inspiteofwhichyou’resurprisedthatI’protect’her？\"
Itwasaquestion，however，thatmycompanioncouldmeet。\"Frompeopleingeneral，no。Frommeinparticular，yes。\"
InjusticetoMrs。BrissendenIthoughtamoment。\"Well，then，letusbefairallround。Thatyoudon’t，asyousay，breatheisadiscretionIappreciate；allthemorethatalittleinquiry，tactfullypursued，wouldenableyoutojudgewhetheranyindependentsuspiciondoesattach。AlittleloosecollateralevidenceMIGHTbepickedup；andyourscorningtohandleitisnomorethanIshould，afterall，haveexpectedofyou。\"
\"Thankyoufor’afterall’！\"Mycompaniontossedherhead。\"IknowformyselfwhatIscorntohandle。Quiteapartfromthatthere’sanothermatter。
Youmusthavenoticedyourselfthatwhenpeoplearesomuchliked——\"
\"There’sakindofgeneral，amiableconsensusofblindness？Yes——onecanthinkofcases。Popularitysheltersandhallows——hastheeffectofmakingagood—naturedworldagreenottosee。\"
MyfriendseemedpleasedthatIsosufficientlyunderstood。\"Thisevidentlyhasbeenacasetheninwhichithasnotonlyagreednottosee，butagreednoteventolook。Ithasagreedinfacttolookstraighttheotherway。
Theysaythere’snosmokewithoutfire，butitappearstheremaybefirewithoutsmoke。I’msatisfied，atallevents，thatonewouldn’tinconnectionwiththesetwofindtheleastlittlepuff。Isn’tthatjustwhatmakesthemagnificenceoftheirsuccess——thesuccessthatreducesustoplayingoverthemwithmeremoonshine？\"Shethoughtofit；seemedfairlytoenvyit。
\"I’veneverSEENsuchluck！\"
\"ArarecaseofthebeautyofimpunityASimpunity？\"Ilaughed。\"Suchacaseputsapriceonpassionsotherwisetobedeprecated？I’mgladindeedyouadmitwe’re’reduced。’WeAREreduced。ButwhatImeanttosayjustnowwasthatifyou’llcontinuetojoininthegenialconspiracywhileIdothesame——eachofusmakinganexceptiononlyfortheother——I’llpledgemyselfabsolutelytothestraightcourse。IfbeforeweseparateI’veseenreasontochangemymind，I’llloyallyletyouknow。\"
\"Whatgoodwillthatdome，\"sheasked，\"ifyouDON’Tchangeyourmind？
Youwon’tchangeitifyoushutyoureyestoher。\"
\"Ah，IfeelIcan’tdothatnow。IAMinterested。Theproofofthatis，\"Ipursued，\"thatIappealtoyouforanotherimpressionofyourown。
Istilldon’tseethelogicofhergeneralimportunity。\"
\"Thelogicissimplythatshehasaterrorofappearingtoencourageanyoneinparticular。\"
\"Whythenisn’titinherowninterest，forthesakeofthescreen，justtoDOthat？TheappearanceofsomeoneinparticularwouldbeexactlytheoppositeoftheappearanceofLong。Yourownadmissionisthatthat’sHISlinewithLadyJohn。\"
Mrs。Brissendentookherview。\"Oh，shedoesn’twanttodoanythingsoliketherealthing。And，asforwhathedoes，theydon’tfeelinthesameway。He’snotnervous。\"
\"Thenwhydoeshegoinforascreen？\"
\"Imean\"——shereadilymodifiedit——\"thathe’snotsonervousasMay。
Hehasn’tthesamereasonsforpanic。Amanneverhas。Besides，there’snotsomuchinMr。Longtoshow——\"
\"What，bymynotion，hastakenplace？Whynot，ifitwaspreciselybythechangeinhimthatmynotionwasinspired？AnychangeinHERIknowcomparativelylittleabout。\"
WehoveredsonearthecaseofMr。andMrs。Brissendenthatitpositivelyexcitedme，andallthemoreforhersustainedunconsciousness。\"Oh，theman’snotawareofhisownchange。Hedoesn’tseeitaswedo。It’salltohisadvantage。\"
\"Butweseeittohisadvantage。Howshouldthatprevent？\"
\"Weseeittotheadvantageofhismindandhistalk，butnottothatof——\"
\"Well，what？\"Ipressedasshepulledup。
Shewasthinkinghowtonamesuchmysteries。\"Hisdelicacy。Hisconsideration。
HisthoughtFORher。Hewouldthinkforherifheweren’tselfish。ButheISselfish——toomuchsotospareher，tobegenerous，torealise。It’sonly，afterall，\"shesagelywenton，feedingmeagain，asIwincedtofeel，withprofundityofmyownsort，\"it’sonlyanexcessivecase，acasethatinhimhappenstoshowaswhatthedoctorscall’fine，’ofwhatgoesonwhenevertwopersonsaresomuchmixedup。Oneofthemalwaysgetsmoreoutofitthantheother。Oneofthem——youknowthesaying——givesthelips，theothergivesthecheek。\"
\"It’sthedeepestofalltruths。Yetthecheekprofitstoo，\"Imoreprudentlyargued。
\"Itprofitsmost。Ittakesandkeepsandusesallthelipsgive。Thecheek，accordingly，\"shecontinuedtopointout，\"isMr。Long’s。Thelipsarewhatwebeganbylookingfor。We’vefoundthem。They’redrained——they’redry，thelips。Mr。Longfindshisimprovementnaturalandbeautiful。Herevelsinit。Hetakesitforgranted。He’ssublime。\"
Itkeptmeforaminutestaringather。\"So——doyouknow？——areYOU！\"
Shereceivedthiswhollyasatributetoheracuteness，andwasthereforeproportionatelygracious。\"That’sonlybecauseit’scatching。You’veMADE
mesublime。Youfoundmedense。You’veaffectedmequiteasMrs。ServerhasaffectedMr。Long。Idon’tpretendIshowit，\"sheadded，\"quiteasmuchashedoes。\"
\"BecausethatwouldentailMYshowingitasmuchas，byyourcontention，SHEdoes？Well，Iconfess，\"Ideclared，\"Idofeelremarkablylikethatpairoflips。Ifeeldrained——Ifeeldry！\"Heranswertothis，withanothertossofherhead，wasextravagantenoughtomeanforgiveness——wasthatIwasimpertinent，andheractioninsupportofherchargewastomoveawayfromme，takinghercourseagaintotheterrace，easilyaccessiblefromtheroominwhichwehadbeentalking。Shepassedoutofthewindowthatopenedtotheground，andIwatchedherwhile，inthebrighterlight，sheputupherpinkparasol。Shewalkedafewpaces，asiftolookaboutherforachangeofcompany，andbythistimehadreachedaflightofstepsthatdescendedtoalowerlevel。Onobservingthathere，intheacttogodown，shesuddenlypaused，Iknewshehadbeencheckedbysomethingseenbelowandthatthiswaswhatmadeherturnthenextmomenttogivemealook。Itookitasaninvitationtorejoinher，andIperceivedwhenIhaddonesowhathadledhertoappealtome。Wecommandedfromthepointinquestiononeoftheshadyslopesoftheparkandinparticularaspreadingbeech，thetrunkofwhichhadbeeninclosedwitharusticcircularbench，aconveniencethatappearedtohaveoffered，forthemoment，asenseofleafyluxurytoaladyinpaleblue。Sheleanedback，herfigurepresentedinprofileandherheadalittleavertedasiffortalkwithsomeoneontheothersideofher，someonesoplacedastobelosttoourview。
\"There！\"triumphedMrs。Brissendenagain——fortheladywasunmistakablyMrs。Server。Amusementwasinevitable——thefactshowedherassocorrectlydescribedbythewordstowhichIhadtwicehadtolisten。Sheseemedreallyallovertheplace。\"Ithoughtyousaid，\"mycompanionremarked，\"thatyouhadlefthertuckedawaysomewherewithM。deDreuil。\"
