Barnetmused。’Yes,’headmitted,’thereisagrainoftruthinthat。ItisbecauseofthatIoftentrytomakepeaceathome。
  Lifewouldbetolerablethenatanyrate,evenifnotparticularlybright。’
  ’Ihavethoughtmorethanonceofproposingalittleplantoyou,’
  saidDownewithsomehesitation。’Idon’tknowwhetheritwillmeetyourviews,buttakeitorleaveit,asyouchoose。Infact,itwasmywifewhosuggestedit:thatshewouldbeverygladtocallonMrs。Barnetandgetintoherconfidence。SheseemstothinkthatMrs。Barnetisratheraloneinthetown,andwithoutadvisers。Herimpressionisthatyourwifewilllistentoreason。Emilyhasawonderfulwayofwinningtheheartsofpeopleofherownsex。’
  ’Andoftheothersextoo,Ithink。Sheisacharmingwoman,andyouwerealuckyfellowtofindher。’
  ’Well,perhapsIwas,’simperedDowne,tryingtowearanaspectofbeingthelastmanintheworldtofeelpride。’However,shewillbelikelytofindoutwhatrufflesMrs。Barnet。Perhapsitissomemisunderstanding,youknow——somethingthatsheistooproudtoaskyoutoexplain,orsomelittlethinginyourconductthatirritatesherbecauseshedoesnotfullycomprehendyou。Thetruthis,EmilywouldhavebeenmorereadytomakeadvancesifshehadbeenquitesureofherfitnessforMrs。Barnet’ssociety,whohasofcoursebeenaccustomedtoLondonpeopleofgoodposition,whichmadeEmilyfearfulofintruding。’
  Barnetexpressedhiswarmestthanksforthewell-intentionedproposition。TherewasreasoninMrs。Downe’sfear——thatheowned。
  ’Butdolethercall,’hesaid。’ThereisnowomaninEnglandI
  wouldsosoontrustonsuchanerrand。Iamafraidtherewillnotbeanybrilliantresult;stillIshalltakeitasthekindestandnicestthingifshewilltryit,andnotbefrightenedatarepulse。’
  WhenBarnetandDownehadparted,theformerwenttotheTownSavings-Bank,ofwhichhewasatrustee,andendeavouredtoforgethistroublesinthecontemplationoflowsumsofmoney,andfiguresinanetworkofredandbluelines。Hesatandwatchedtheworking-
  peoplemakingtheirdeposits,towhichatintervalshesignedhisname。BeforeheleftintheafternoonDowneputhisheadinsidethedoor。
  ’EmilyhasseenMrs。Barnet,’hesaid,inalowvoice。’ShehasgotMrs。Barnet’spromisetotakeherforadrivedowntotheshoreto-
  morrow,ifitisfine。Goodafternoon!’
  BarnetshookDownebythehandwithoutspeaking,andDownewentaway。
  Thenextdaywasasfineasthearrangementcouldpossiblyrequire。
  Asthesunpassedthemeridiananddeclinedwestward,thetallshadowsfromthescaffold-polesofBarnet’srisingresidencestreakedthegroundasfarastothemiddleofthehighway。Barnethimselfwasthereinspectingtheprogressoftheworksforthefirsttimeduringseveralweeks。Abuildinginanold-fashionedtownfive-and-thirtyyearsagodidnot,asinthemodernfashion,risefromthesodlikeaboothatafair。Thefoundationsandlowercourseswereputinandallowedtosettleformanyweeksbeforethesuperstructurewasbuiltup,andawholesummerofdryingwashardlysufficienttodojusticetotheimportantissuesinvolved。Barnetstoodwithinawindow-nichewhichhadasyetreceivednoframe,andthencelookeddownaslopeintotheroad。Thewheelsofachaisewereheard,andthenhishandsomeXantippe,inthecompanyofMrs。
  Downe,drovepastontheirwaytotheshore。Theyweredrivingslowly;therewasapleasinglightinMrs。Downe’sface,whichseemedfaintlytoreflectitselfuponthecountenanceofhercompanion——thatpolitesseducoeurwhichwassonaturaltoherhavingpossiblybegunalreadytoworkresults。Butwhateverthesituation,Barnetresolvednottointerfere,ordoanythingtohazardthepromiseoftheday。Hemightwellaffordtotrusttheissuetoanotherwhenhecouldneverdirectitbuttoillhimself。
  Hiswife’sclenchedrein-handinitslemon-colouredglove,herstifferectfigure,cladinvelvetandlace,andherboldly-outlinedface,passedon,exhibitingtheirownerasonefixedforeverabovethelevelofhercompanion——sociallybyherearlybreeding,andmateriallybyherhighercushion。
  Barnetdecidedtoallowthemapropertimetothemselves,andthenstrolldowntotheshoreanddrivethemhome。Afterlingeringonatthehouseforanotherhourhestartedwiththisintention。Afewhundredyardsbelow’ChateauRingdale’stoodthecottageinwhichthelatelieutenant’sdaughterhadherlodging。Barnethadnotbeensofarthatwayforalongtime,andasheapproachedtheforbiddengroundacuriouswarmthpassedintohim,whichledhimtoperceivethat,unlesshewerecareful,hemighthavetofightthebattlewithhimselfaboutLucyoveragain。Atenthofhispresentexcusewould,however,havejustifiedhimintravellingbythatroadto-day。
  Hecameoppositethedwelling,andturnedhiseyesforamomentaryglanceintothelittlegardenthatstretchedfromthepalingstothedoor。Lucywasintheenclosure;shewaswalkingandstoopingtogathersomeflowers,possiblyforthepurposeofpaintingthem,forshemovedaboutquickly,asifanxioustosavetime。Shedidnotseehim;hemighthavepassedunnoticed;butasensationwhichwasnotinstrictunisonwithhisprevioussentimentsthatdayledhimtopauseinhiswalkandwatchher。Shewentnimblyroundandroundthebedsofanemones,tulips,jonquils,polyanthuses,andotherold-
  fashionedflowers,lookingaverycharmingfigureinherhalf-
  mourningbonnet,andwithanincompletenosegayinherlefthand。
  Raisingherselftopulldownalilacblossomsheobservedhim。
  ’Mr。Barnet!’shesaid,innocentlysmiling。’Why,IhavebeenthinkingofyoumanytimessinceMrs。Barnetwentbyinthepony-
  carriage,andnowhereyouare!’
  ’Yes,Lucy,’hesaid。
  Thensheseemedtorecallparticularsoftheirlastmeeting,andhebelievedthatsheflushed,thoughitmighthavebeenonlythefancyofhisownsupersensitivenesss。
  ’Iamgoingtotheharbour,’headded。
  ’Areyou?’Lucyremarkedsimply。’Agreatmanypeoplebegintogotherenowthesummerisdrawingon。’
  Herfacehadcomemoreintohisviewasshespoke,andhenoticedhowmuchthinnerandpaleritwasthanwhenhehadseenitlast。
  ’Lucy,howwearyyoulook!tellme,canIhelpyou?’hewasgoingtocryout——’IfIdo,’hethought,’itwillbetheruinofusboth!’
  Hemerelysaidthattheafternoonwasfine,andwentonhisway。
  Ashewentasuddenblastofaircameoverthehillasifincontradictiontohiswords,andspoiltthepreviousquietofthescene。Thewindhadalreadyshiftedviolently,andnowsmeltofthesea。
  Theharbour-roadsoonbegantojustifyitsname。Agapappearedintherampartofhillswhichshutoutthesea,andontheleftoftheopeningroseaverticalcliff,colouredaburningorangebythesunlight,thecompanioncliffontherightbeinglividinshade。
  Betweenthesecliffs,liketheLibyanbaywhichshelteredtheshipwreckedTrojans,wasalittlehaven,seeminglyabeginningmadebyNatureherselfofaperfectharbour,whichappealedtothepasser-byasonlyrequiringalittlehumanindustrytofinishitandmakeitfamous,thegroundoneachsideasfarbackasthedaisiedslopesthatboundedtheinteriorvalleybeingamerelayerofblownsand。ButthePort-Bredyburgessesamileinlandhad,inthecourseoftencenturies,respondedmanytimestothatmuteappeal,withtheresultthatthetideshadinvariablychokeduptheirworkswithsandandshingleassoonascompleted。Therewerebutfewhouseshere:
  aroughpier,afewboats,somestores,aninn,aresidenceortwo,aketchunloadingintheharbour,werethechieffeaturesofthesettlement。Ontheopengroundbytheshorestoodhiswife’spony-
  carriage,empty,theboyinattendanceholdingthehorse。
  WhenBarnetdrewnearer,hesawanindigo-colouredspotmovingswiftlyalongbeneaththeradiantbaseoftheeasterncliff,whichprovedtobeamaninajersey,runningwithallhismight。HehelduphishandtoBarnet,asitseemed,andtheyapproachedeachother。
  Themanwaslocal,butastrangertohim。
  ’Whatisit,myman?’saidBarnet。
  ’Aterriblecalamity!’theboatmanhastilyexplained。Twoladieshadbeencapsizedinaboat——theywereMrs。DowneandMrs。Barnetoftheoldtown;theyhaddrivendowntherethatafternoon——theyhadalighted,anditwassofine,that,afterwalkingaboutalittlewhile,theyhadbeentemptedtogooutforashortsailroundthecliff。Justastheywereputtingintotheshore,thewindshiftedwithasuddengust,theboatlistedover,anditwasthoughttheywerebothdrowned。Howitcouldhavehappenedwasbeyondhismindtofathom,forJohnGreenknewhowtosailaboataswellasanymanthere。
  ’Whichisthewaytotheplace?’saidBarnet。
  Itwasjustroundthecliff。
  ’Runtothecarriageandtelltheboytobringittotheplaceassoonasyoucan。ThengototheHarbourInnandtellthemtoridetotownforadoctor。Havetheybeengotoutofthewater?’
  ’Oneladyhas。’
  ’Which?’
  ’Mrs。Barnet。Mrs。Downe,itisfeared,hasfleetedouttosea。’
  Barnetranontothatpartoftheshorewhichthecliffhadhithertoobscuredfromhisview,andtherediscerned,alongwayahead,agroupoffishermenstanding。Assoonashecameuponeortworecognizedhim,and,notlikingtomeethiseye,turnedasidewithmisgiving。Hewentamidstthemandsawasmallsailing-boatlyingdraggledatthewater’sedge;and,ontheslopingshinglebesideit,asoakedandsandywoman’sforminthevelvetdressandyellowglovesofhiswife。