verysingularexpressionwhich，asitwere，detainedhimforamoment。Inordertocoverhisembarrassment，hemadesomeinaneremarkontheweather，uponwhich，insteadofreturninganotherinaneremarkaccordingtothetacitrulesofthegame，sheonlygavehimasmileofunfathomablemeaning。Nothingcouldhavebeenmoresingular。Thegood-lookingyounggentlemanofquestionableappearancetooknottheslightestnoticeofhiminthehall。Noservantwastobeseen。Helethimselfoutpullingthedoortobehindhimwithacrashas，inamanner，hewasforcedtodotogetitshutatall。
Whentheechoofithaddiedawaythewomanonthelandingleanedoverthebanisterandcalledoutbitterlytothemanbelow”Don’tyouwanttocomeupandsaygood-bye。”Hehadanimpatientmovementoftheshouldersandwentonpacingtoandfroasthoughhehadnotheard。Butsuddenlyhecheckedhimself，stoodstillforamoment，thenwithagloomyfaceandwithouttakinghishandsoutofhispocketsransmartlyupthestairs。Alreadyfacingthedoorsheturnedherheadforawhisperedtaunt:”Come！Confessyouweredyingtoseeherstupidlittlefaceoncemore，”——towhichhedisdainedtoanswer。
FloradeBarral，stillseatedbeforethetableatwhichshehadbeenwordingonhersketch，raisedherheadatthenoiseoftheopeningdoor。Theinvadingmanneroftheirentrancegaveherthesenseofsomethingshehadneverseenbefore。Sheknewthemwell。Sheknewthewomanbetterthansheknewherfather。Therehadbeenbetweenthemanintimacyofrelationasgreatasitcanpossiblybewithoutthefinalclosenessofaffection。ThedelightfulCharleywalkedin，withhiseyesfixedonthebackofhergovernesswhoseraisedveilhidherforeheadlikeabrownbandabovetheblacklineoftheeyebrows。Thegirlwasastoundedandalarmedbythealtogetherunknownexpressioninthewoman’sface。Thestressofpassionoftendisclosesanaspectofthepersonalitycompletelyignoredtillthenbyitsclosestintimates。Therewassomethinglikeanemanationofevilfromhereyesandfromthefaceoftheother，who，exactlybehindherandovertoppingherbyhalfahead，kepthiseyelidsloweredinasinisterfashion——whichinthepoorgirl，reached，stirred，setfreethatfacultyofunreasoningexplosiveterrorlyinglockedupatthebottomofallhumanheartsandoftheheartsofanimalsaswell。Withsuddenlyenlargedpupilsandamovementasinstinctivealmostastheboundingofastartledfawn，shejumpedupandfoundherselfinthemiddleofthebigroom，exclaimingatthoseamazingandfamiliarstrangers。”Whatdoyouwant？”
Youwillnotethatshecried:Whatdoyouwant？Not:Whathashappened？ShetoldMrs。Fynethatshehadreceivedsuddenlythefeelingofbeingpersonallyattacked。Andthatmusthavebeenveryterrifying。Thewomanbeforeherhadbeenthewisdom，theauthority，theprotectionoflife，securityembodiedandvisibleandundisputed。
Youmayimaginethentheforceoftheshockintheintuitiveperceptionnotmerelyofdanger，forshedidnotknowwhatwasalarmingher，butinthesenseofthesecuritybeinggone。Andnotonlysecurity。Idon’tknowhowtoexplainitclearly。Look！Evenasmallchildlives，playsandsuffersintermsofitsconceptionofitsownexistence。Imagine，ifyoucan，afactcominginsuddenlywithaforcecapableofshatteringthatveryconceptionitself。Itwasonlybecauseofthegirlbeingstillsomuchofachildthatsheescapedmentaldestruction；that，inotherwordsshegotoverit。