Ifhewereledawaybyaprettyfacetoslightoneaswasfitterforhim，andwhohadlovedhimastheappleofhereye，it\'shimasissufferingforit，inasmuchashe\'sawandererfromhishome，andanoutcastfromwifeandchild。\'Tothesurpriseofall，Molly\'swordsofreplywerecutshortevenwhentheywereonherlips，bySylvia。Pale，fire—eyed，andexcited，withPhilip\'schildononearm，andtheotherstretchedout，shesaid，——\'Noanecantell——noaneknow。Nooneshallspeakajudgment\'twixtPhilipandme。Heactedcruelandwrongbyme。ButI\'vesaidmywordstohimhissel\'，andI\'mnoanegoingtomakeanyplainttoothers;onlythemasknowsshouldjudge。Andit\'snotfitting，it\'snot\'（almostsobbing），\'togoonwi\'
talklikethisaforeme。\'Thetwo——forHester，whowasawarethatherpresencehadonlybeendesiredbySylviaasachecktoanunpleasanttete—a—teteconversation，hadslippedbacktoherbusinessassoonashermothercamein——thetwolookedwithsurpriseatSylvia;herwords，herwholemanner，belongedtoaphaseofhercharacterwhichseldomcameuppermost，andwhichhadnotbeenperceivedbyeitherofthembefore。AliceRose，thoughastonished，ratherapprovedofSylvia\'sspeech;itshowedthatshehadmoreseriousthoughtandfeelingonthesubjectthantheoldwomanhadgivenhercreditfor;hergeneralsilencerespectingherhusband\'sdisappearancehadledAlicetothinkthatshewastoochildishtohavereceivedanydeepimpressionfromtheevent。MollyBruntongaveventtoheropiniononSylvia\'sspeechinthefollowingwords:——\'Hoighty—toighty！Thattellstales，lass。Ifyo\'treatedsteadyPhiliptomanysuchlooksan\'speechesasyo\'ngivenusnow，it\'seasyt\'seewhyhetookhisselfoff。Why，Sylvia，Iniversawitinyo\'whenyo\'wasagirl;yo\'regrownintoaregularlittlevixen，theerewheereyo\'stand！\'Indeedshedidlookdefiant，withtheswiftcolourflushinghercheekstocrimsononitsreturn，andthefireinhereyesnotyetdiedaway。ButatMolly\'sjestingwordsshesankbackintoherusuallookandmanner，onlysayingquietly，——\'It\'sfornoanetosaywhetherI\'mvixenornot，asdoesn\'tknowth\'pastthingsasisburiedinmyheart。ButIcannotholdthemasmyfriendsasgoontalkingoneithermyhusbandormebeforemyveryface。Whathewas，Iknow;andwhatIam，Ireckonheknows。AndnowI\'llgohurrytea，foryo\'llbeneedingit，Molly！\'Thelastclauseofthisspeechwasmeanttomakepeace;butMollywasintwentymindsastowhethersheshouldaccepttheolive—branchornot。Hertemper，however，wasofthatobtusekindwhichisnoteasilyruffled;hermind，stagnantinitself，enjoyedexcitementfromwithout;andherappetitewasinvariablygood，soshestayed，inspiteoftheinevitabletete—a—tetewithAlice。Thelatter，however，refusedtobedrawnintoconversationagain;replyingtoMrsBrunton\'sspeecheswithacurtyesorno，when，indeed，sherepliedatall。Whenallweregatheredattea，Sylviawasquitecalmagain;ratherpalerthanusual，andveryattentiveandsubducedinherbehaviourtoAlice;
shewouldevidentlyfainhavebeensilent，butasMollywasherownespecialguest，thatcouldnotbe，soallherendeavourswenttowardssteeringtheconversationawayfromanyawkwardpoints。Buteachofthefour，letalonelittleBella，wasthankfulwhenthemarket—cartdrewupattheshop—door，thatwastotakeMrsBruntonbacktohersister\'shouse。Whenshewasfairlyoff，AliceRoseopenedhermouthinstrongcondemnation;
windingupwith——\'Andifaughtinmywordsgavetheecauseforoffence，Sylvia，itwasbecausemyheartrosewithinmeatthekindoftalktheeandshehadbeenhavingaboutPhilip;andherevilandlight—mindedcounseltotheeaboutwaitingsevenyears，andthenweddinganother。\'Hardasthesewordsmayseemwhenrepeated，therewassomethingofanearerapproachtoanapologyinMrsRose\'smannerthanSylviahadeverseeninitbefore。Shewassilentforafewmoments，thenshesaid，——\'Iha\'oftenthoughtoftellingyo\'andHester，special—like，whenyo\'vebeensokindtomylittleBella，thatPhilipan\'mecouldnivercometogetheragain;no，notifhecamehomethisverynight————\'Shewouldhavegoneonspeaking，butHesterinterruptedherwithalowcryofdismay。Alicesaid，——\'Hushthee，Hester。It\'snobusinesso\'thine。SylviaHepburn，thou\'rtspeakinglikeasillychild。\'\'No。I\'mspeakinglikeawoman;likeawomanasfindsoutshe\'sbeencheatedbymenasshetrusted，andashasnohelpforit。I\'mnoanegoingtosayanymoreaboutit。It\'smeashasbeenwronged，andashastobearit:
onlyIthoughtI\'dtellyo\'boththismuch，thatyo\'mightknowsomewhatwhyhewentaway，andhowIsaidmylastwordaboutit。\'Soindeeditseemed。ToallquestionsandremonstrancesfromAlice，Sylviaturnedadeafear。SheavertedherfacefromHester\'ssad，wistfullooks;