第61章

Fitzpiers’smentalsufferingsandsuspenseledhimatlasttotakeamelancholyjourneytotheneighborhoodofLittleHintock；andherehehoveredforhoursaroundthesceneofthepurestemotionalexperiencesthathehadeverknowninhislife。HewalkedaboutthewoodsthatsurroundedMelbury’shouse，keepingoutofsightlikeacriminal。Itwasafineevening，andonhiswayhomewardhepassednearMartySouth’scottage。Asusualshehadlightedhercandlewithoutclosinghershutters；hesawherwithinashehadseenhermanytimesbefore。

Shewaspolishingtools，andthoughhehadnotwishedtoshowhimself，hecouldnotresistspeakingintoherthroughthehalf-

opendoor。“Whatareyoudoingthatfor，Marty？”

“BecauseIwanttocleanthem。Theyarenotmine。”Hecouldsee，indeed，thattheywerenothers，foronewasaspade，largeandheavy，andanotherwasabill-hookwhichshecouldonlyhaveusedwithbothhands。Thespade，thoughnotanewone，hadbeensocompletelyburnishedthatitwasbrightassilver。

FitzpierssomehowdivinedthattheywereGilesWinterborne’s，andheputthequestiontoher。

Sherepliedintheaffirmative。“Iamgoingtokeep’em。”shesaid，“butIcan’tgethisapple-millandpress。Iwishcould；itisgoingtobesold，theysay。”

“ThenIwillbuyitforyou。”saidFitzpiers。“Thatwillbemakingyouareturnforakindnessyoudidme。”Hisglancefelluponthegirl’srare-coloredhair，whichhadgrownagain。“Oh，Marty，thoselocksofyours——andthatletter！Butitwasakindnesstosendit，nevertheless。”headded，musingly。

Afterthistherewasconfidencebetweenthem——suchconfidenceastherehadneverbeenbefore。Martywasshy，indeed，ofspeakingabouttheletter，andhermotivesinwritingit；butshethankedhimwarmlyforhispromiseofthecider-press。Shewouldtravelwithitintheautumnseason，ashehaddone，shesaid。Shewouldbequitestrongenough，witholdCreedleasanassistant。

“Ah！therewasonenearertohimthanyou。”saidFitzpiers，referringtoWinterborne。“Onewholivedwherehelived，andwaswithhimwhenhedied。”

ThenMarty，suspectingthathedidnotknowthetruecircumstances，fromthefactthatMrs。Fitzpiersandhimselfwerelivingapart，toldhimofGiles’sgenerositytoGraceingivinguphishousetoherattherisk，andpossiblythesacrifice，ofhisownlife。WhenthesurgeonheardithealmostenviedGileshischivalrouscharacter。HeexpressedawishtoMartythathisvisittohershouldbekeptsecret，andwenthomethoughtful，feelingthatinmorethatonesensehisjourneytoHintockhadnotbeeninvain。

HewouldhavegivenmuchtowinGrace’sforgivenessthen。Butwhateverhedaredhopeforinthatkindfromthefuture，therewasnothingtobedoneyet，whileGilesWinterborne’smemorywasgreen。Towaitwasimperative。Alittletimemightmeltherfrozenthoughts，andleadhertolookonhimwithtoleration，ifnotwithlove。

WeeksandmonthsofmourningforWinterbornehadbeenpassedbyGraceinthesoothingmonotonyofthememorialacttowhichsheandMartyhaddevotedthemselves。TwiceaweekthepairwentinthedusktoGreatHintock，and，likethetwomournersinCymbeline，sweetenedhissadgravewiththeirflowersandtheirtears。SometimesGracethoughtthatitwasapityneitheroneofthemhadbeenhiswifeforalittlewhile，andgiventheworldacopyofhimwhowassovaluableintheireyes。Nothingeverhadbroughthometoherwithsuchforceasthisdeathhowlittleacquirementsandcultureweighbesidesterlingpersonalcharacter。

Whilehersimplesorrowforhislosstookasofteredgewiththelapseofth