第9章

Sheadmittedthattheydid，thoughsheshouldnothaveseenanydifferenceinthemifhehadnotpointeditout。

“Theyhadagoodcropofbitter-sweets；theycouldn’tgrindthemall“(noddingtowardsanorchardwheresomeheapsofappleshadbeenleftlyingeversincetheingathering)。

Shesaid“Yes。”butlookingatanotherorchard。

“Why，youarelookingatJohn-apple-trees！Youknowbitter-sweets——

youusedtowellenough！”

“IamafraidIhaveforgotten，anditisgettingtoodarktodistinguish。”

Winterbornedidnotcontinue。ItseemedasiftheknowledgeandinterestwhichhadformerlymovedGrace’smindhadquitediedawayfromher。Hewonderedwhetherthespecialattributesofhisimageinthepasthadevaporatedliketheseotherthings。

Howeverthatmightbe，thefactatpresentwasmerelythis，thatwherehewasseeingJohn-applesandfarm-buildingsshewasbeholdingafarremoterscene——ascenenolessinnocentandsimple，indeed，butmuchcontrasting——abroadlawninthefashionablesuburbofafastcity，theevergreenleavesshiningintheeveningsun，amidwhichboundinggirls，gracefullycladinartisticarrangementsofblue，brown，red，black，andwhite，wereplayingatgames，withlaughterandchat，inalltheprideoflife，thenotesofpianoandharptremblingintheairfromtheopenwindowsadjoining。Moreover，theyweregirls——andthiswasafactwhichGraceMelbury’sdelicatefemininitycouldnotlosesightof——whoseparentsGileswouldhaveaddressedwithadeferentialSirorMadam。Besidethisvisionedscenethehomelyfarmsteadsdidnotquiteholdtheirownfromherpresenttwenty-

yearpointofsurvey。Forallhiswoodlandsequestration，Gilesknewtheprimitivesimplicityofthesubjecthehadstarted，andnowsoundedadeepernote。

“’Twasveryoddwhatwesaidtoeachotheryearsago；Ioftenthinkofit。ImeanoursayingthatifwestilllikedeachotherwhenyouweretwentyandItwenty-five，we’d——“

“Itwaschild’stattle。”

“H’m！”saidGiles，suddenly。

“Imeanwewereyoung。”saidshe，moreconsiderately。Thatgruffmannerofhisinmakinginquiriesremindedherthathewasunalteredinmuch。

“Yes。Ibegyourpardon，MissMelbury；yourfatherSENTmetomeetyouto-day。”

“Iknowit，andIamgladofit。”

Heseemedsatisfiedwithhertoneandwenton：“Atthattimeyouweresittingbesidemeatthebackofyourfather’scoveredcar，whenwewerecominghomefromgypsying，allthepartybeingsqueezedintogetherastightassheepinanauction-pen。Itgotdarkeranddarker，andIsaid——Iforgettheexactwords——butIputmyarmroundyourwaistandthereyouletitstaytillyourfather，sittinginfrontsuddenlystoppedtellinghisstorytoFarmerBollen，tolighthispipe。Theflashshoneintothecar，andshowedusallupdistinctly；myarmflewfromyourwaistlikelightning；yetnotsoquicklybutthatsomeof’emhadseen，andlaughedatus。Yetyourfather，toouramazement，insteadofbeingangry，wasmildasmilk，andseemedquitepleased。Haveyouforgotallthat，orhaven’tyou？”

Sheownedthatsheremembereditverywell，nowthathementionedthecircumstances。“But，goodness！Imusthavebeeninshortfrocks。”shesaid。

“Comenow，MissMelbury，thatwon’tdo！Shortfrocks，indeed！Youknowbetter，aswellasI。”

Gracethereupondeclaredthatshewouldnotarguewithanoldfriendshevaluedsohighlyasshevaluedhim，sayingthewordswiththeeasyelusivenessthatwillbepoliteatallcosts。Itmightpossiblybetrue，sheadded，thatshewasgettingoningirlhoodwhenthateventtookplace；butifitwereso，thenshewasvirtuallynolessthananoldwomannow，sofardidthetimeseemremovedfromherpresent。“Doyoueverlookatthingsphilosophicallyinsteadofpersonally？”sheasked。

“Ican’tsaythatIdo。”answeredGiles，hiseyeslingeringfaraheaduponadarkspot，whichprovedtobeabrougham。

“Ithinkyoumay，sometimes，withadvantage。”saidshe。“Lookatyourselfasapitcherdriftingonthestreamwithotherpitchers，andconsiderwhatcontrivancesaremostdesirableforavoidingcracksingeneral，andnotonlyforsavingyourpoorone。ShallI

tellyouallaboutBathorCheltenham，orplacesontheContinentthatIvisitedlastsummer？”

“Withallmyheart。”

Shethendescribedplacesandpersonsinsuchtermsasmighthavebeenusedforthatpurposebyanywomantoanymanwithinthefourseas，soentirelyabsentfromthatdescriptionwaseverythingspeciallyappertainingtoherownexistence。Whenshehaddoneshesaid，gayly，“NowdoyoutellmeinreturnwhathashappenedinHintocksinceIhavebeenaway。”

“Anythingtokeeptheconversationawayfromherandme。”saidGileswithinhim。

ItwastruecultivationhadsofaradvancedinthesoilofMissMelbury’smindastoleadhertotalkbyroteofanythingsaveofthatsheknewwell，andhadthegreatestinterestindeveloping——

thatistosay，herself。

Hehadnotproceededfarwithhissomewhatbaldnarrationwhentheydrewnearthecarriagethathadbeenprecedingthemforsometime。MissMelburyinquiredifheknewwhosecarriageitwas。

Winterborne，althoughhehadseenit，hadnottakenitintoaccount。Onexamination，hesaiditwasMrs。Charmond’s。

Gracewatchedthevehicleanditseasyroll，andseemedtofeelmorenearlyakintoitthantotheoneshewasin。

“Pooh！Wecanpolishoffthemileageaswellasthey，cometothat。”saidWinterborne，readinghermind；andrisingtoemulationatwhatitbespoke，hewhippedonthehorse。ThisitwaswhichhadbroughtthenoseofMr。Melbury’soldgrayclosetothebackofMrs。Charmond’smuch-eclipsingvehicle。

“There’sMartySouthSittingupwiththecoachman。”saidhe，discerningherbyherdress。

“Ah，poorMarty！Imustaskhertocometoseemethisveryevening。Howdoesshehappentoberidingthere？”

“Idon’tknow。Itisverysingular。”

Thusthesepeoplewithconvergingdestinieswentalongtheroadtogether，tillWinterborne，leavingthetrackofthecarriage，turnedintoLittleHintock，wherealmostthefirsthousewasthetimber-merchant’s。Pencilsofdancinglightstreamedoutofthewindowssufficientlytoshowthewhitelaurestinusflowers，andglanceoverthepolishedleavesoflaurel。Theinterioroftheroomscouldbeseendistinctly，warmedupbythefire-flames，whichintheparlorwerereflectedfromtheglassofthepicturesandbookcase，andinthekitchenfromtheutensilsandware。

“Letuslookatthedearplaceforamomentbeforewecallthem。”

shesaid。

Inthekitchendinnerwaspreparing；forthoughMelburydinedatoneo’clockatothertimes，to-daythemealhadbeenkeptbackforGrace。Aricketyoldspitwasinmotion，itsendbeingfixedinthefire-dog，andthewholekeptgoingbymeansofacordconveyedoverpulleysalongtheceilingtoalargestonesuspendedinacorneroftheroom。OldGrammerOlivercameandwounditupwitharattlelikethatofamill。

IntheparloralargeshadeofMrs。Melbury’sheadfellonthewallandceiling；butbeforethegirlhadregardedthisroommanymomentstheirpresencewasdiscovered，andherfatherandstep-

mothercameouttowelcomeher。

ThecharacteroftheMelburyfamilywasofthatkindwhichevincessomeshynessinshowingstrongemotionamongeachother：atraitfrequentinruralhouseholds，andonewhichstandsincuriouslyinverserelationtomostofthepeculiaritiesdistinguishingvillagersfromthepeopleoftowns。Thushidingtheirwarmerfeelingsundercommonplacetalkallround，Grace’sreceptionproducednoextraordinarydemonstrations。Butthatmorewasfeltthanwasenactedappearedfromthefactthatherfather，intakingherin-doors，quiteforgotthepresenceofGileswithout，asdidalsoGraceherself。Hesaidnothing，buttookthegigroundtotheyardandcalledoutfromthespar-housethemanwhoparticularlyattendedtothesematterswhentherewasnoconversationtodrawhimoffamongthecopse-workersinside。

Winterbornethenreturnedtothedoorwiththeintentionofenteringthehouse。

Thefamilyhadgoneintotheparlor，andwerestillabsorbedinthemselves。Thefirewas，asbefore，theonlylight，anditirradiatedGrace’sfaceandhandssoastomakethemlookwondrouslysmoothandfairbesidethoseofthetwoelders；shiningalsothroughtheloosehairabouthertemplesassunlightthroughabrake。Herfatherwassurveyingherinadazedconjecture，somuchhadshedevelopedandprogressedinmannerandstaturesincehelasthadseteyesonher。

Observingthesethings，Winterborneremaineddubiousbythedoor，mechanicallytracingwithhisfingerscertaintime-wornletterscarvedinthejambs——initialsofby-gonegenerationsofhouseholderswhohadlivedanddiedthere。

No，hedeclaredtohimself，hewouldnotenterandjointhefamily；theyhadforgottenhim，anditwasenoughforto-daythathehadbroughtherhome。Still，hewasalittlesurprisedthatherfather’seagernesstosendhimforGraceshouldhaveresultedinsuchananticlimaxasthis。

Hewalkedsoftlyawayintothelanetowardshisownhouse，lookingbackwhenhereachedtheturning，fromwhichhecouldgetalastglimpseofthetimber-merchant’sroof。HehazardedguessesastowhatGracewassayingjustatthatmoment，andmurmured，withsomeself-derision，“nothingaboutme！”Helookedalsointheotherdirection，andsawagainsttheskythethatchedhipandsolitarychimneyofMarty’scottage，andthoughtofhertoo，strugglingbravelyalongunderthathumbleshelter，amongherspar-gadsandpotsandskimmers。