第38章

Shewasinlightspringclothing，andheradventseemedghostly-liketheflittinginofamoth。Heturnedhiseyesuponher，andflushed；

butappearedtocheckhisprimaryimpulsetospeak。

`Ihavenobusinesshere，’shesaid，bendingherfrightenedfacetohim。`ButIheardyouwereill-veryill；and-andasIknowthatyourecognizeotherfeelingsbetweenmanandwomanthanphysicallove，Ihavecome。’

`Iamnotveryill，mydearfriend。Onlyunwell。’

`Ididn’tknowthat；andIamafraidthatonlyasevereillnesswouldhavejustifiedmycoming！’

`Yes……yes。AndIalmostwishyouhadnotcome！Itisalittletoosoon-that’sallImean。Still，letusmakethebestofit。Youhaven’theardabouttheschool，Isuppose？’

`No-whataboutit？’

`OnlythatIamgoingawayfromheretoanotherplace。ThemanagersandIdon’tagree，andwearegoingtopart-that’sall。’

Suedidnotforamoment，eithernoworlater，suspectwhattroubleshadresultedtohimfromlettinghergo；itneveronceseemedtocrosshermind，andshehadreceivednonewswhateverfromShaston。Theytalkedonslightandephemeralsubjects，andwhenhisteawasbroughtuphetoldtheamazedlittleservantthatacupwastobesetforSue。Thatyoungpersonwasmuchmoreinterestedintheirhistorythantheysupposed，andasshedescendedthestairssheliftedhereyesandhandsingrotesqueamazement。WhiletheysippedSuewenttothewindowandthoughtfullysaid，`Itissuchabeautifulsunset，Richard。’

`Theyaremostlybeautifulfromhere，owingtotherayscrossingthemistofthevale。ButIlosethemall，astheydon’tshineintothisgloomycornerwhereIlie。’

`Wouldn’tyouliketoseethisparticularone？Itislikeheavenopened。’

`Ahyes！ButIcan’t。’

`I’llhelpyouto。’

`No-thebedsteadcan’tbeshifted。’

`ButseehowImean。’

Shewenttowhereaswing-glassstood，andtakingitinherhandscarriedittoaspotbythewindowwhereitcouldcatchthesunshine，movingtheglasstillthebeamswerereflectedintoPhillotson’sface。

`There-youcanseethegreatredsunnow！’shesaid。`AndI

amsureitwillcheeryou-Idosohopeitwill！’Shespokewithachildlike，repentantkindness，asifshecouldnotdotoomuchforhim。

Phillotsonsmiledsadly。`Youareanoddcreature！’hemurmuredasthesunglowedinhiseyes。`Theideaofyourcomingtoseemeafterwhathaspassed！’

`Don’tletusgobackuponthat！’shesaidquickly。`Ihavetocatchtheomnibusforthetrain，asJudedoesn’tknowIhavecome；hewasoutwhenIstarted；soImustreturnhomealmostdirectly。Richard，Iamsoverygladyouarebetter。Youdon’thateme，doyou？Youhavebeensuchakindfriendtome！’

`Iamgladtoknowyouthinkso，’saidPhillotsonhuskily。`No。

Idon’thateyou！’

Itgrewduskquicklyinthegloomyroomduringtheirintermittentchat，andwhencandleswerebroughtanditwastimetoleavesheputherhandinhisorratherallowedittoflitthroughhis；forshewassignificantlylightintouch。Shehadnearlyclosedthedoorwhenhesaid，`Sue！’Hehadnoticedthat，inturningawayfromhim，tearswereonherfaceandaquiverinherlip。

Itwasbadpolicytorecallher-heknewitwhilehepursuedit。Buthecouldnothelpit。Shecameback。

`Sue，’hemurmured，`doyouwishtomakeitup，andstay？I’llforgiveyouandcondoneeverything！’

`Ohyoucan’t，youcan’t！’shesaidhastily。`Youcan’tcondoneitnow！’

`Heisyourhusbandnow，ineffect，youmean，ofcourse？’

`Youmayassumeit。HeisobtainingadivorcefromhiswifeArabella。’

`Hiswife！Itisaltogethernewstomethathehasawife。’

`Itwasabadmarriage。’

`Likeyours。’

`Likemine。Heisnotdoingitsomuchonhisownaccountasonhers。Shewroteandtoldhimitwouldbeakindnesstoher，sincethenshecouldmarryandliverespectably。AndJudehasagreed。’

`Awife……Akindnesstoher。Ah，yes；akindnesstohertoreleaseheraltogether……ButIdon’tlikethesoundofit