In any case, had
he the slightest ground for the hope that she might ever feel to him
as warmly as he did to her? He could not recall one instance of
Ida's having betrayed a trace of fondness in her intercourse with
him. The mere fact of their intercourse he altogether lost sight of.
Whereas an outsider would, under the circumstances, have been
justified in laying the utmost stress on this, Waymark had grown to
accept it as a matter of course, and only occupied himself with
Ida's absolute self-control, her perfect calmness in all situations,
the ease with which she met his glance, the looseness of her hand in
his, the indifference with which she heard him when he had spoken of
his loneliness and frequent misery. Where was the key of her
character? She did not care for admiration; it was quite certain
that she was not leading him about just to gratify her own vanity.
Was it not purely an intellectual matter? She was a girl of superior
intellect, and, having found in him some one with whom she could
satisfy her desire for rational converse, did she not on this
account keep up their relations? For the rest--well, she liked
ease and luxury; above all, ease. Of that she would certainly make
no sacrifice.
Pages:
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270