Andsothehappydaywouldpassandbed-timecome，andwithitunbiddendreams。
Geoffreythoughtnoillofallthis，asofcourseheoughttohavethought。Hewasnottheraveninglionoffiction——sorarely，ifever，tobemetwithinreallife——goingaboutseekingwhomhemightdevour。
HehadabsolutelynodesignsonBeatrice’saffections，anymorethanshehadonhis，andhehadforgottenthatfirstfellprescienceofeviltocome。Onceortwice，itistrue，qualmsofdoubtdidcrosshismindintheearlierdaysoftheirintimacy。Butheputthembyasabsurd。Hewasnobelieverinthetenderhelplessnessoffull-grownwomen，hisexperiencehavingbeenthattheyareamplycapable——and，forthemostpart，morethancapable——oflookingafterthemselves。ItseemedtohimathingridiculousthatsuchapersonasBeatrice，whowascompetenttoformopinionsandajudgmentuponalltheimportantquestionsoflife，shouldbetreatedasachild，andthatheshouldremovehimselffromBryngellylestheryoungaffectionsshouldbecomeentangled。Hefeltsurethattheywouldneverbeentrappedinanydirectionwhatsoeverwithoutherfullconsent。
Thenheceasedtothinkaboutthematteratall。Indeed，themereideaofsuchathinginvolvedasuppositionthatwouldonlyhavebeenacceptabletoaconceitedman——namely，thattherewasapossibilityofthisyounglady’sfallinginlovewithhim。Whatrighthadhetosupposeanythingofthesort？Itwasanimpertinence。Thattherewasanothersortofpossibility——namely，ofhisbecomingmoreattachedtoherthanwasaltogetherdesirable——did，however，occurtohimonceortwice。Butheshruggedhisshouldersandputitby。Afterall，itwashislookout，andhedidnotmuchcare。Itwoulddohernoharmattheworst。Butverysoonalltheseshadowyforebodingsofdawningtroublevanishedquite。Theywerelostinthebroad，sweetlightsoffriendship。By-and-by，whenfriendship’sdaywasdone，theymightariseagain，calledbyothernamesandwearingasternerface。
Itwasridiculous——ofcourseitwasridiculous;hewasnotgoingtofallinlovelikeaboyathistimeoflife;allhefeltwasgratitudeandinterest——allshefeltwasamusementinhissociety。Asfortheintimacy——feltratherthanexpressed——theintimacythatcouldalreadyalmostenabletheonetodivinetheother’sthought，thatcouldshapehermoodtohisandhistohers，thatcouldcausethesamethingofbeautytobeacommonjoy，anddiscoverunityofmindinopinionsthemostopposite——why，itwasonlynaturalbetweenpeoplewhohadtogetherpassedaperilterribletothinkof。Sotheytookthegoodsthegodsprovided，anddriftedsoftlyon——whithertheydidnotstoptoinquire。