The Woodlanders Part 2, Thomas Hardy [e textbook reader txt] 📗

Balcony

Above.

 

Grace Directed the Man To Set Her Down There In the Midst,  And

Immediately Went Up To Her Lover.  Giles Had Not Before Observed

Her,  And His Eyes Now Suppressedly Looked his Pleasure,  Without

The Embarrassment That Had Formerly Marked him At Such Meetings.

 

When A Few Words Had Been Spoken,  She Said,  Archly,  "I Have

Nothing to Do.  Perhaps You Are Deeply Engaged?"

 

"I?  Not A Bit.  My Business Now At The Best Of Times Is Small,  I

Am Sorry To Say."

 

"Well,  Then,  I Am Going into The Abbey.  Come Along With Me."

 

The Proposition Had Suggested itself As A Quick Escape From

Publicity,  For Many Eyes Were Regarding her.  She Had Hoped that

Sufficient Time Had Elapsed for The Extinction Of Curiosity; But

It Was Quite Otherwise.  The People Looked at Her With Tender

Interest As The Deserted girl-Wife--Without Obtrusiveness,  And

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Without Vulgarity; But She Was Ill Prepared for Scrutiny In any

Shape.

 

They Walked about The Abbey Aisles,  And Presently Sat Down.  Not A

Soul Was In the Building save Themselves.  She Regarded a Stained

Window,  With Her Head Sideways,  And Tentatively Asked him If He

Remembered the Last Time They Were In that Town Alone.

 

He Remembered it Perfectly,  And Remarked,  "You Were A Proud Miss

Then,  And As Dainty As You Were High.  Perhaps You Are Now?"

 

Grace Slowly Shook Her Head.  "Affliction Has Taken All That Out

Of Me," She Answered,  Impressively.  "Perhaps I Am Too Far The

Other Way Now." As There Was Something lurking in this That She

Could Not Explain,  She Added,  So Quickly As Not To Allow Him Time

To Think Of It,  "Has My Father Written To You At All?"

 

"Yes," Said Winterborne.

 

She Glanced ponderingly Up At Him.  "Not About Me?"

 

"Yes."

 

His Mouth Was Lined with Charactery Which Told Her That He Had

Been Bidden To Take The Hint As To The Future Which She Had Been

Bidden To Give.  The Unexpected discovery Sent A Scarlet Pulsation

Through Grace For The Moment.  However,  It Was Only Giles Who

Stood There,  Of Whom She Had No Fear; And Her Self-Possession

Returned.

 

"He Said I Was To Sound You With A View To--What You Will

Understand,  If You Care To," Continued winterborne,  In a Low

Voice.  Having been Put On This Track By Herself,  He Was Not

Disposed to Abandon It In a Hurry.

 

They Had Been Children Together,  And There Was Between Them That

Familiarity As To Personal Affairs Which Only Such

Acquaintanceship Can Give.  "You Know,  Giles," She Answered,

Speaking in a Very Practical Tone,  "That That Is All Very Well;

But I Am In a Very Anomalous Position At Present,  And I Cannot Say

Anything to The Point About Such Things As Those."

 

"No?" He Said,  With A Stray Air As Regarded the Subject.  He Was

Looking at Her With A Curious Consciousness Of Discovery.  He Had

Not Been Imagining that Their Renewed intercourse Would Show Her

To Him Thus.  For The First Time He Realized an Unexpectedness In

Her,  Which,  After All,  Should Not Have Been Unexpected.  She

Before Him Was Not The Girl Grace Melbury Whom He Used to Know.

Of Course,  He Might Easily Have Prefigured as Much; But It Had

Never Occurred to Him.  She Was A Woman Who Had Been Married; She

Had Moved on; And Without Having lost Her Girlish Modesty,  She Had

Lost Her Girlish Shyness.  The Inevitable Change,  Though Known To

Him,  Had Not Been Heeded; And It Struck Him Into A Momentary

Fixity.  The Truth Was That He Had Never Come Into Close

Comradeship With Her Since Her Engagement To Fitzpiers,  With The

Brief Exception Of The Evening encounter On Rubdown Hill,  When She

Met Him With His Cider Apparatus; And That Interview Had Been Of

Too Cursory A Kind For Insight.

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Winterborne Had Advanced,  Too.  He Could Criticise Her.  Times Had

Been When To Criticise A Single Trait In grace Melbury Would Have

Lain As Far Beyond His Powers As To Criticise A Deity.  This Thing

Was Sure: It Was A New Woman In many Ways Whom He Had Come Out To

See; A Creature Of More Ideas,  More Dignity,  And,  Above All,  More

Assurance,  Than The Original Grace Had Been Capable Of.  He Could

Not At First Decide Whether He Were Pleased or Displeased at This.

But Upon The Whole The Novelty Attracted him.

 

She Was So Sweet And Sensitive That She Feared his Silence

Betokened something in his Brain Of The Nature Of An Enemy To Her.

"What Are You Thinking of That Makes Those Lines Come In your

Forehead?" She Asked.  "I Did Not Mean To Offend You By Speaking

Of The Time Being premature As Yet."

 

Touched by The Genuine Loving-Kindness Which Had Lain At The

Foundation Of These Words,  And Much Moved,  Winterborne Turned his

Face Aside,  As He Took Her By The Hand.  He Was Grieved that He

Had Criticised her.

 

"You Are Very Good,  Dear Grace," He Said,  In a Low Voice.  "You

Are Better,  Much Better,  Than You Used to Be."

 

"How?"

 

He Could Not Very Well Tell Her How,  And Said,  With An Evasive

Smile,  "You Are Prettier;" Which Was Not What He Really Had Meant.

He Then Remained still Holding her Right Hand In his Own Right,  So

That They Faced in opposite Ways; And As He Did Not Let Go,  She

Ventured upon A Tender Remonstrance.

 

"I Think We Have Gone As Far As We Ought To Go At Present--And Far

Enough To Satisfy My Poor Father That We Are The Same As Ever.

You See,  Giles,  My Case Is Not Settled yet,  And If--Oh,  Suppose I

Never Get Free!--There Should Be Any Hitch Or Informality!"

 

She Drew A Catching breath,  And Turned pale.  The Dialogue Had

Been Affectionate Comedy Up To This Point.  The Gloomy Atmosphere

Of The Past,  And The Still Gloomy Horizon Of The Present,  Had Been

For The Interval Forgotten.  Now The Whole Environment Came Back,

The Due Balance Of Shade Among The Light Was Restored.

 

"It Is Sure To Be All Right,  I Trust?" She Resumed,  In uneasy

Accents.  "What Did My Father Say The Solicitor Had Told Him?"

 

"Oh--That All Is Sure Enough.  The Case Is So Clear--Nothing could

Be Clearer.  But The Legal Part Is Not Yet Quite Done And

Finished,  As Is Natural."

 

"Oh No--Of Course Not," She Said,  Sunk In meek Thought.  "But

Father Said It Was Almost--Did He Not? Do You Know Anything about

The New Law That Makes These Things So Easy?"

 

"Nothing--Except The General Fact That It Enables Ill-Assorted

Husbands And Wives To Part In a Way They Could Not Formerly Do

Without An Act Of Parliament."

 

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"Have You To Sign A Paper,  Or Swear Anything? Is It Something like

That?"

 

"Yes,  I Believe So."

 

"How Long Has It Been Introduced?"

 

"About Six Months Or A Year,  The Lawyer Said,  I Think."

 

To Hear These Two Poor Arcadian Innocents Talk Of Imperial Law

Would Have Made A Humane Person Weep Who Should Have Known What A

Dangerous Structure They Were Building up On Their Supposed

Knowledge.  They Remained in thought,  Like Children In the

Presence Of The Incomprehensible.

 

"Giles," She Said,  At Last,  "It Makes Me Quite Weary When I Think

How Serious My Situation Is,  Or Has Been.  Shall We Not Go Out

From Here Now,  As It May Seem Rather Fast Of Me--Our Being so Long

Together,  I Mean--If Anybody Were To See Us? I Am Almost Sure,"

She Added,  Uncertainly,  "That I Ought Not To Let You Hold My Hand

Yet,  Knowing that The Documents--Or Whatever It May Be--Have Not

Been Signed; So That I--Am Still As Married as Ever--Or Almost.

My Dear Father Has Forgotten Himself.  Not That I Feel Morally

Bound To Any One Else,  After What Has Taken Place--No Woman Of

Spirit Could--Now,  Too,  That Several Months Have Passed.  But I

Wish To Keep The Proprieties As Well As I Can."

 

"Yes,  Yes.  Still,  Your Father Reminds Us That Life Is Short.  I

Myself Feel That It Is; That Is Why I Wished to Understand You In

This That We Have Begun.  At Times,  Dear Grace,  Since Receiving

Your Father'S Letter,  I Am As Uneasy And Fearful As A Child At

What He Said.  If One Of Us Were To Die Before The Formal Signing

And Sealing that Is To Release You Have Been Done--If We Should

Drop Out Of The World And Never Have Made The Most Of This Little,

Short,  But Real Opportunity,  I Should Think To Myself As I Sunk

Down Dying,  'Would To My God That I Had Spoken Out My Whole Heart--

Given Her One Poor Little Kiss When I Had The Chance To Give It!

But I Never Did,  Although She Had Promised to Be Mine Some Day;

And Now I Never Can.' That'S What I Should Think."

 

She Had Begun By Watching the Words From His Lips With A Mournful

Regard,  As Though Their Passage Were Visible; But As He Went On

She Dropped her Glance.  "Yes," She Said,  "I Have Thought That,

Too.  And,  Because I Have Thought It,  I By No Means Meant,  In

Speaking of The Proprieties,  To Be Reserved and Cold To You Who

Loved me So Long Ago,  Or To Hurt Your Heart As I Used to Do At

That Thoughtless Time.  Oh,  Not At All,  Indeed! But--Ought I To

Allow You?--Oh,  It Is Too Quick--Surely!"  Her Eyes Filled with

Tears Of Bewildered,  Alarmed emotion.

 

Winterborne Was Too Straightforward To Influence Her Further

Against Her Better Judgment.  "Yes--I Suppose It Is," He Said,

Repentantly.  "I'Ll Wait Till All Is Settled.  What Did Your

Father Say In that Last Letter?"

 

He Meant About His Progress With The Petition; But She,  Mistaking

Him,  Frankly Spoke Of The Personal Part.  "He Said--What I Have

Implied.  Should I Tell More Plainly?"

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