第7章

“Yousee，Giles。”hesaid，asheblacked，“comingfromafashionableschool，shemightfeelshockedatthehomelinessofhome；and’tistheselittlethingsthatcatchadaintywoman’seyeiftheyareneglected。We，livingherealone，don’tnoticehowthewhitey-browncreepsoutoftheearthoverus；butshe，freshfromacity——why，she’llnoticeeverything！”

“Thatshewill。”saidGiles。

“Andscornusifwedon’tmind。”

“Notscornus。”

“No，no，no——that’sonlywords。She’stoogoodagirltodothat。

Butwhenweconsiderwhatsheknows，andwhatshehasseensinceshelastsawus，’tisaswelltomeetherviewsasnearlyaspossible。Why，’tisayearsinceshewasinthisoldplace，owingtohergoingabroadinthesummer，whichIagreedto，thinkingitbestforher；andnaturallyweshalllooksmall，justatfirst——I

onlysayjustatfirst。”

Mr。Melbury’stoneevincedacertainexultationintheverysenseofthatinferiorityheaffectedtodeplore；forthisadvancedandrefinedbeing，wasshenothisownallthetime？NotsoGiles；hefeltdoubtful——perhapsatriflecynical——forthatstrandwaswoundintohimwiththerest。Helookedathisclotheswithmisgiving，thenwithindifference。

Itwashiscustomduringtheplantingseasontocarryaspecimenapple-treetomarketwithhimasanadvertisementofwhathedealtin。Thishadbeentiedacrossthegig；andasitwouldbeleftbehindinthetown，itwouldcausenoinconveniencetoMissGraceMelburycominghome。

Hedroveaway，thetwigsnoddingwitheachstepofthehorse；andMelburywentin-doors。Beforethegighadpassedoutofsight，Mr。Melburyreappearedandshoutedafter——

“Here，Giles，“hesaid，breathlesslyfollowingwithsomewraps，“itmaybeverychillyto-night，andshemaywantsomethingextraabouther。And，Giles。”headded，whentheyoungman，havingtakenthearticles，putthehorseinmotiononcemore，“tellherthatIshouldhavecomemyself，butIhadparticularbusinesswithMrs。Charmond’sagent，whichpreventedme。Don’tforget。”

HewatchedWinterborneoutofsight，saying，withajerk——ashapeintowhichemotionwithhimoftenresolveditself——“There，now，I

hopethetwowillbringittoapointandhavedonewithit！’Tisapitytoletsuchagirlthrowherselfawayuponhim——athousandpities！。Andyet’tismydutyforhisfather’ssake。”

WinterbornespedonhiswaytoShertonAbbaswithoutelationandwithoutdiscomposure。Hadheregardedhisinnerselfspectacularly，asloversarenowdailymorewonttodo，hemighthavefeltprideinthediscernmentofasomewhatrarepowerinhim——thatofkeepingnotonlyjudgmentbutemotionsuspendedindifficultcases。Buthenoteditnot。Neitherdidheobservewhatwasalsothefact，thatthoughhecherishedatrueandwarmfeelingtowardsGraceMelbury，hewasnotaltogetherherfooljustnow。Itmustberememberedthathehadnotseenherforayear。

Arrivedattheentrancetoalongflatlane，whichhadtakenthespiritoutofmanyapedestrianintimeswhen，withthemajority，totravelmeanttowalk，hesawbeforehimthetrimfigureofayoungwomaninpattens，journeyingwiththatsteadfastconcentrationwhichmeanspurposeandnotpleasure。HewassoonnearenoughtoseethatshewasMartySouth。Click，click，clickwentthepattens；andshedidnotturnherhead。

Shehad，however，becomeawarebeforethisthatthedriveroftheapproachinggigwasGiles。Shehadshrunkfrombeingovertakenbyhimthus；butasitwasinevitable，shehadbracedherselfupforhisinspectionbyclosingherlipssoastomakehermouthquiteunemotional，andbythrowinganadditionalfirmnessintohertread。

“Whydoyouwearpattens，Marty？Theturnpikeiscleanenough，althoughthelanesaremuddy。”

“Theysavemyboots。”

“Buttwelvemilesinpattens——’twilltwistyourfeetoff。Come，getupandridewithme。”

Shehesitated，removedherpattens，knockedthegraveloutofthemagainstthewheel，andmountedinfrontofthenoddingspecimenapple-tree。Shehadsoarrangedherbonnetwithafullborderandtrimmingsthatherlackoflonghairdidnotmuchinjureherappearance；thoughGiles，ofcourse，sawthatitwasgone，andmayhaveguessedhermotiveinpartingwithit，suchsales，thoughinfrequent，beingnotunheardofinthatlocality。

Butnature’sadornmentwasstillhardby——infact，withintwofeetofhim，thoughhedidnotknowit。InMarty’sbasketwasabrownpaperpacket，andinthepacketthechestnutlocks，which，byreasonofthebarber’srequestforsecrecy，shehadnotventuredtointrusttootherhands。

Gilesasked，withsomehesitation，howherfatherwasgettingon。

Hewasbetter，shesaid；hewouldbeabletoworkinadayortwo；

hewouldbequitewellbutforhiscrazeaboutthetreefallingonhim。

“YouknowwhyIdon’taskforhimsooftenasImight，Isuppose？”

saidWinterborne。“Ordon’tyouknow？”

“IthinkIdo。”

“Becauseofthehouses？”

Shenodded。

“Yes。Iamafraiditmayseemthatmyanxietyisaboutthosehouses，whichIshouldlosebyhisdeath，morethanabouthim。

Marty，Idofeelanxiousaboutthehouses，sincehalfmyincomedependsuponthem；butIdolikewisecareforhim；anditalmostseemswrongthathousesshouldbeleasedforlives，soastoleadtosuchmixedfeelings。”

“Afterfather’sdeaththeywillbeMrs。Charmond’s？”

“They’llbehers。”

“Theyaregoingtokeepcompanywithmyhair。”shethought。

Thustalking，theyreachedthetown。Bynopressurewouldsherideupthestreetwithhim。“That’stherightofanotherwoman。”

shesaid，withplayfulmalice，assheputonherpattens。“I

wonderwhatyouarethinkingof！Thankyoufortheliftinthathandsomegig。Good-by。”

Heblushedalittle，shookhisheadather，anddroveonaheadintothestreets——thechurches，theabbey，andotherbuildingsonthisclearbrightmorninghavingthelinydistinctnessofarchitecturaldrawings，asiftheoriginaldreamandvisionoftheconceivingmaster-mason，somemediaevalVilarsorotherunknowntofame，wereforafewminutesflasheddownthroughthecenturiestoanunappreciativeage。Gilessawtheireloquentlookonthisdayoftransparency，butcouldnotconstrueit。Heturnedintotheinn-yard。

Marty，followingthesametrack，marchedpromptlytothehair-

dresser’s，Mr。Percombe’s。PercombewasthechiefofhistradeinShertonAbbas。Hehadthepatronageofsuchcountyoffshootsashadbeenobligedtoseektheshelterofsmallhousesinthatancienttown，ofthelocalclergy，andsoon，forsomeofwhomhehadmadewigs，whileothersamongthemhadcompensatedforneglectinghimintheirlifetimebypatronizinghimwhentheyweredead，andlettinghimshavetheircorpses。Onthestrengthofallthishehadtakendownhispole，andcalledhimself“Perruquiertothearistocracy。”

Nevertheless，thissortofsupportdidnotquitefillhischildren’smouths，andtheyhadtobefilled。So，behindhishousetherewasalittleyard，reachedbyapassagefromthebackstreet，andinthatyardwasapole，andunderthepoleashopofquiteanotherdescriptionthantheornamentaloneinthefrontstreet。HereonSaturdaynightsfromseventilltenhetookanalmostinnumerablesuccessionoftwopencesfromthefarmlaborerswhoflockedthitherincrowdsfromthecountry。Andthushelived。

Marty，ofcourse，wenttothefrontshop，andhandedherpackettohimsilently。“Thankyou。”saidthebarber，quitejoyfully。“I

hardlyexpecteditafterwhatyousaidlastnight。”

Sheturnedaside，whileatearwelledupandstoodineacheyeatthisreminder。

“NothingofwhatItoldyou。”hewhispered，therebeingothersintheshop。“ButIcantrustyou，Isee。”

Shehadnowreachedtheendofthisdistressingbusiness，andwentlistlesslyalongthestreettoattendtoothererrands。Theseoccupiedhertillfouro’clock，atwhichtimesherecrossedthemarket-place。ItwasimpossibletoavoidrediscoveringWinterborneeverytimeshepassedthatway，forstanding，ashealwaysdidatthisseasonoftheyear，withhisspecimenapple-

treeinthemidst，theboughsroseabovetheheadsofthecrowd，andbroughtadelightfulsuggestionoforchardsamongthecrowdedbuildingsthere。Whenhereyefelluponhimforthelasttimehewasstandingsomewhatapart，holdingthetreelikeanensign，andlookingonthegroundinsteadofpushinghisproduceasheoughttohavebeendoing。Hewas，infact，notaverysuccessfulsellereitherofhistreesorofhiscider，hishabitofspeakinghismind，whenhespokeatall，militatingagainstthisbranchofhisbusiness。