第34章

Now，suchwasDarton，thatashourswentonhecouldnothelpfeelingtoogenerouslytowardsSallytocondemnherinthis。Whatdidhewantinawife？heaskedhimself。Loveandintegrity。Whatnext？Worldlywisdom。Andwastherereallymorethanworldlywisdominherrefusaltogoaboardasinkingship？Shenowknewitwasotherwise。’Begad，’hesaid，’I’lltryheragain。’

ThefactwashehadsosethisheartuponSally，andSallyalone，thatnothingwastobeallowedtobaulkhim；andhisreasoningwaspurelyformal。

Anniversarieshavingbeenunpropitious，hewaitedontillabrightdaylateinMay——adaywhenallanimatenaturewasfancying，initstrusting，foolishway，thatitwasgoingtobaskoutofdoorsforevermore。AsherodethroughLong-AshLaneitwasscarcerecognizableasthetrackofhistwowinterjourneys。Nomistakecouldbemadenow，evenwithhiseyesshut。Thecuckoo’snotewasatitsbest，betweenApriltentativenessandmidsummerdecrepitude，andthereptilesinthesunbehavedaswinninglyaskittensonahearth。Thoughafternoon，andaboutthesametimeasonthelastoccasion，itwasbroaddayandsunshinewhenheenteredHintock，andthedetailsoftheKnapdairy-housewerevisiblefaruptheroad。

HesawSallyinthegarden，andwassetvibrating。Hehadfirstintendedtogoontotheinn；but’No，’hesaid；’I’lltiemyhorsetothegarden-gate。Ifallgoeswellitcansoonbetakenround:

ifnot，Imountandrideaway’

ThetallshadeofthehorsemandarkenedtheroominwhichMrs。Hallsat，andmadeherstart，forhehadriddenbyasidepathtothetopoftheslope，whereridersseldomcame。InafewsecondshewasinthegardenwithSally。

Five——ay，threeminutes——didthebusinessatthebackofthatrowofbees。Thoughspringhadcome，andheavenlyblueconsecratedthescene，Dartonsucceedednot。’NO，’saidSallyfirmly。’Iwillnever，nevermarryyou，Mr。Darton。Iwouldhavedoneitonce；butnowInevercan。’

’But！’——imploredMr。Darton。Andwithaburstofrealeloquencehewentontodeclareallsortsofthingsthathewoulddoforher。Hewoulddrivehertoseehermothereveryweek——takehertoLondon——

settlesomuchmoneyuponher——Heavenknowswhathedidnotpromise，suggest，andtemptherwith。Butitavailednothing。Sheinterposedwithastoutnegative，whichclosedthecourseofhisargumentlikeanirongateacrossahighway。Dartonpaused。

’Then，’saidhesimply，’youhadn’theardofmysupposedfailurewhenyoudeclinedlasttime？’

’Ihadnot，’shesaid。’ButifIhad’twouldhavebeenallthesame。’

’And’tisnotbecauseofanysorenessfrommyslightingyouyearsago？’

’No。Thatsorenessislongpast。’

’Ah——thenyoudespiseme，Sally？’

’No，’sheslowlyanswered。’Idon’taltogetherdespiseyou。I

don’tthinkyouquitesuchaheroasIoncedid——that’sall。Thetruthis，IamhappyenoughasIam；andIdon’tmeantomarryatall。Now，may_I_askafavour，sir？’Shespokewithanineffablecharm，which，wheneverhethoughtofit，madehimcursehislossofheraslongashelived。

’Toanyextent。’

’Pleasedonotputthisquestiontomeanymore。Friendsaslongasyoulike，butloversandmarriednever。’

’Ineverwill，’saidDarton。’N