Don’tyoulikeMadameMerle？Isabelhadoncesaidtohim。Shethinksagreatdealofyou。
I’lltellyouonceforall，Osmondhadanswered。IlikedheroncebetterthanIdoto-day。I’mtiredofher，andI’mratherashamedofit。She’ssoalmostunnaturallygood！I’mgladshe’snotinItaly。
itmakesforrelaxation-forasortofmoraldetente。Don’ttalkofhertoomuch。itseemstobringherback。She’llcomebackinplentyoftime。
MadameMerle，infact，hadcomebackbeforeitwastoolate-toolate，Imean，torecoverwhateveradvantageshemighthavelost。Butmeantime，if，asIhavesaid，shewassensiblydifferent，Isabel’sfeelingswerealsonotquitethesame。Herconsciousnessofthesituationwasasacuteasofold，butitwasmuchlesssatisfying。A
dissatisfiedmind，whateverelseitmaymiss，israrelyinwantofreasons。theybloomasthickasbuttercupsinJune。ThefactofMadameMerle’shavinghadahandinGilbertOsmond’smarriageceasedtobeoneofhertitlestoconsideration。itmighthavebeenwritten，afterall，thattherewasnotsomuchtothankherfor。Astimewentontherewaslessandless，andIsabeloncesaidtoherselfthatperhapswithoutherthesethingswouldnothavebeen。Thatreflectionindeedwasinstantlystifled。sheknewanimmediatehorrorathavingmadeit。Whateverhappenstomeletmenotbeunjust，shesaid。Letmebearmyburdensmyselfandnotshiftthemuponothers！Thisdispositionwastested，eventually，bythatingeniousapologyforherpresentconductwhichMadameMerlesawfittomakeandofwhichIhavegivenasketch。fortherewassomethingirritating-therewasalmostanairofmockery-inherneatdiscriminationsandclearconvictions。InIsabel’smindto-daytherewasnothingclear。therewasaconfusionofregrets，acomplicationoffears。Shefelthelplessassheturnedawayfromherfriend，whohadjustmadethestatementsIhavequoted：MadameMerleknewsolittlewhatshewasthinkingof！Shewasherselfmoreoversounabletoexplain。jealousofher-jealousofherwithGilbert？Theideajustthensuggestednonearreality。