Hewasreposinginthatpatheticconditionofoptimisminducedbyexcessoffatigue。Hedidnotwantanymoretrouble—withhiswife，too—ofallpeopleintheworld。Hehadbeenunanswerableinhisvindication。Hewaslovedforhimself。Thepresentphaseofhersilenceheinterpretedfavourably。Thiswasthetimetomakeitupwithher。Thesilencehadlastedlongenough。Hebrokeitbycallingtoherinanundertone:
`Winnie。’
`Yes，’answeredobedientlyMrsVerlocthefreewoman。Shecommandedherwitsnow，hervocalorgans;shefeltherselftobeinanalmostpreternaturallyperfectcontrolofeveryfibreofherbody。Itwasallherown，becausethebargainwasatanend。Shewasclearsighted。Shehadbecomecunning。
Shechosetoanswerhimsoreadilyforapurpose。Shedidnotwishthatmantochangehispositiononthesofawhichwasverysuitabletothecircumstances。
Shesucceeded。Themandidnotstir。Butafteransweringhimsheremainedleaningnegligentlyagainstthemantelpieceintheattitudeofarestingwayfarer。Shewasunhurried。Herbrowwassmooth。TheheadandshouldersofMrVerlocwerehiddenfromherbythehighsideofthesofa。Shekepthereyesfixedonhisfeet。