第56章

Thefirsthundredyardsoftheircourselayundermotionlesstrees，whoseupperfoliagebegantohisswithfallingdropsofrain。Bythetimethattheyemergeduponagladeitrainedheavily。

“Thisisawkward。”saidGrace，withanefforttohideherconcern。

Winterbornestopped。“Grace。”hesaid，preservingastrictlybusinessmannerwhichbeliedhim，“youcannotgotoShertonto-

night。”

“ButImust！”

“Why？Itisninemilesfromhere。Itisalmostanimpossibilityinthisrain。”

“True——WHY？”shereplied，mournfully，attheendofasilence。

“Whatisreputationtome？”

“Nowhearken。”saidGiles。“Youwon’t——gobacktoyour——“

“No，no，no！Don’tmakeme！”shecried，piteously。

“Thenletusturn。”Theyslowlyretracedtheirsteps，andagainstoodbeforehisdoor。“Now，thishousefromthismomentisyours，andnotmine。”hesaid，deliberately。“IhaveaplacenearbywhereIcanstayverywell。”

Herfacehaddrooped。“Oh！”shemurmured，asshesawthedilemma。

“WhathaveIdone！”

Therewasasmellofsomethingburningwithin，andhelookedthroughthewindow。Therabbitthathehadbeencookingtocoaxaweakappetitewasbeginningtochar。“Pleasegoinandattendtoit。”hesaid。“Dowhatyoulike。NowIleave。Youwillfindeverythingaboutthehutthatisnecessary。”

“But，Giles——yoursupper。”sheexclaimed。“Anout-housewoulddoforme——anything——tillto-morrowatday-break！”

Hesignifiedanegative。“Itellyoutogoin——youmaycatchaguesouthereinyourdelicatestate。Youcangivememysupperthroughthewindow，ifyoufeelwellenough。I’llwaitawhile。”

Hegentlyurgedhertopassthedoor-way，andwasrelievedwhenhesawherwithintheroomsittingdown。Withoutsomuchascrossingthethresholdhimself，heclosedthedooruponher，andturnedthekeyinthelock。Tappingatthewindow，hesignifiedthatsheshouldopenthecasement，andwhenshehaddonethishehandedinthekeytoher。

“Youarelockedin。”hesaid；“andyourownmistress。”

Eveninhertroubleshecouldnotrefrainfromafaintsmileathisscrupulousness，asshetookthedoor-key。

“Doyoufeelbetter？”hewenton。“Ifso，andyouwishtogivemesomeofyoursupper，pleasedo。Ifnot，itisofnoimportance。

Icangetsomeelsewhere。”

Thegratefulsenseofhiskindnessstirredhertoaction，thoughsheonlyknewhalfwhatthatkindnessreallywas。Attheendofsometenminutessheagaincametothewindow，pusheditopen，andsaidinawhisper，“Giles！”Heatonceemergedfromtheshade，andsawthatshewaspreparingtohandhimhisshareofthemealuponaplate。

“Idon’tliketotreatyousohardly。”shemurmured，withdeepregretinherwordsassheheardtherainpatteringontheleaves。

“But——Isupposeitisbesttoarrangelikethis？”

“Ohyes。”hesaid，quickly。

“IfeelthatIcouldneverhavereachedSherton。”

“Itwasimpossible。”

“Areyousureyouhaveasnugplaceoutthere？”(Withrenewedmisgiving。)

“Quite。Haveyoufoundeverythingyouwant？Iamafraiditisratherroughaccommodation。”

“CanInoticedefects？Ihavelongpassedthatstage，andyouknowit，Giles，oryououghtto。”

Hiseyessadlycontemplatedherfaceasitspaleresponsivenessmodulatedthroughacrowdofexpressionsthatshowedonlytooclearlytowhatapitchshewasstrung。IfeverWinterborne’sheartfrettedhisbosomitwasatthissightofaperfectlydefencelesscreatureconditionedbysuchcircumstances。Heforgothisownagonyinthesatisfactionofhavingatleastfoundherashelter。Hetookhisplateandcupfromherhands，saying，“NowI’llpushtheshutterto，andyouwillfindanironpinontheinside，whichyoumustfixintothebolt。DonotstirinthemorningtillIcomeandcallyou。”

Sheexpressedanalarmedhopethathewouldnotgoveryfaraway。

“Ohno——Ishallbequitewithinhail。”saidWinterborne。

Sheboltedthewindowasdirected，andheretreated。Hissnugplaceprovedtobeawretchedlittleshelteroftheroughestkind，formedoffourhurdlesthatchedwithbrake-fern。Underneathweredrysticks，hay，andotherlitterofthesort，uponwhichhesatdown；andthereinthedarktriedtoeathismeal。Buthisappetitewasquitegone。Hepushedtheplateaside，andshookupthehayandsacks，soastoformarudecouch，onwhichheflunghimselfdowntosleep，foritwasgettinglate。

Butsleephecouldnot，formanyreasons，ofwhichnottheleastwasthoughtofhischarge。Hesatup，andlookedtowardsthecotth