Thinking of this now, he began to
marvel how it could have been so. Was it true that Maud was his good
angel, that in her he had found his ideal? He had forced himself to
believe this, now that he was in honour bound to her; yet she had
never made his pulse quicken, as it had often done when he had
approached Ida. True, that warmth of feeling had come to represent
merely a temptation to him; but was not that the consequence of his
own ambiguous attitude? Suppose he had not known Maud Enderby, how
would he then have regarded Ida, and his relations to her? Were
these in very deed founded on nothing but selfish feeling? Then he
reviewed all his acquaintanceship with her from the first, and every
detail of the story grew to a new aspect.
Thinking of Ida, he found himself wondering how it was that Mr.
Woodstock appeared to take so much interest in her fate. Several
times during the past six months the old man had referred to her,
generally inquiring whether Waymark had written to or heard from
her. And, only two days ago, he had shown that he remembered the
exact date of her release, in asking whether Waymark meant to do
anything. Waymark replying that he intended to meet her, and give
her what assistance he could, the old gentleman had signified his
strong approval, and had even gone on to mention a house in the
neighbourhood of the office, where Ida could be lodged at first.
Pages:
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436