下载辰思小说免费APP
FortwoyearsMissWinchelseacouldnotgotoseeherfriends,inspiteofthereiteratedinvitationsofMrs。Sevenoaks——itbecamefullSevenoaksinthesecondyear。ThenonedayneartheEasterrestshefeltlonelyandwithoutasoultounderstandherintheworld,andhermindranoncemoreonwhatiscalledPlatonicfriendship。Fannywasclearlyhappyandbusyinhernewsphereofdomesticity,butnodoubtHEhadhislonelyhours。DidheeverthinkofthosedaysinRome——gonenowbeyondrecalling?Noonehadunderstoodherashehaddone;nooneinalltheworld。Itwouldbeasortofmelancholypleasuretotalktohimagain,andwhatharmcoulditdo?Whyshouldshedenyherself?Thatnightshewroteasonnet,allbutthelasttwolinesoftheoctave——whichwouldnotcome,andthenextdayshecomposedagracefullittlenotetotellFannyshewascomingdown。
Andsoshesawhimagain。
Evenatthefirstencounteritwasevidenthehadchanged;heseemedstouterandlessnervous,anditspeedilyappearedthathisconversationhadalreadylostmuchofitsolddelicacy。ThereevenseemedajustificationforHelen’sdescriptionofweaknessinhisface——incertainlightsitWASweak。Heseemedbusyandpreoccupiedabouthisaffairs,andalmostundertheimpressionthatMissWinchelseahadcomeforthesakeofFanny。HediscussedhisdinnerwithFannyinanintelligentway。Theyonlyhadonegoodlongtalktogether,andthatcametonothing。HedidnotrefertoRome,andspentsometimeabusingamanwhohadstolenanideahehadhadforatext-book。
ItdidnotseemaverywonderfulideatoMissWinchelsea。ShediscoveredhehadforgottenthenamesofmorethanhalfthepainterswhoseworktheyhadrejoicedoverinFlorence。
Itwasasadlydisappointingweek,andMissWinchelseawasgladwhenitcametoanend。Undervariousexcusessheavoidedvisitingthemagain。Afteratimethevisitor’sroomwasoccupiedbytheirtwolittleboys,andFanny’sinvitationsceased。Theintimacyofherlettershadlongsincefadedaway。
ThemanwiththewhitefaceenteredthecarriageatRugby。Hemovedslowlyinspiteoftheurgencyofhisporter,andevenwhilehewasstillontheplatformInotedhowillheseemed。Hedroppedintothecorneroveragainstmewithasigh,madeanincompleteattempttoarrangehistravellingshawl,andbecamemotionless,withhiseyesstaringvacantly。Presentlyhewasmovedbyasenseofmyobserva