And
why was he rebellious? She accused himself, she accused Aunt Maria, she
accused the foolishly wondering, foolishly chattering world; and in every
accusation there was some justice. Was there enough to acquit the other
defendant who stood arraigned? To that she dared not answer "Yes,"
because of the fear which was in her that the strongest amongst all the
various impulses driving him to his defiance was in the end to be found
in his relations to her, in the attitude of his own wife towards him.
Ashwood was full of associations; there was Duty Hill, where he had risen
to his greatest and thereby won her; there was the tree beneath which she
had sat with Marchmont on the evening when the knowledge of her husband's
worst side had been driven like a sharp knife into her very heart. But
more vivid than these memories now was the recollection of that first
evening when she had seen him sitting alone, nobody's friend, and had
determined to be human towards him and to treat him in a human way. There
had been the true beginning of her great experiment.
Pages:
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418