Foritisnotasifyouwouldlosebysodoing；yourcourseisfarhigherthanthecoursesofasimpleprofessionalman，andthegratitudeyouwouldwinfrommeandminebyyourkindnessismorethanIcansay。”
Mrs。CharmondhadfirstrushedintoamoodofindignationoncomprehendingMelbury’sstory；hotandcoldbyturns，shehadmurmured，“Leaveme，leaveme！”Butasheseemedtotakenonoticeofthis，hiswordsbegantoinfluenceher，andwhenheceasedspeakingshesaid，withhurried，hotbreath，“Whathasledyoutothinkthisofme？WhosaysIhavewonyourdaughter’shusbandawayfromher？Somemonstrouscalumniesareafloat——ofwhichI
haveknownnothinguntilnow！”
Melburystarted，andlookedathersimply。“Butsurely，ma’am，youknowthetruthbetterthanI？”
Herfeaturesbecamealittlepinched，andthetouchesofpowderonherhandsomefaceforthefirsttimeshowedthemselvesasanextrinsicfilm。“Willyouleavemetomyself？”shesaid，withafaintnesswhichsuggestedaguiltyconscience。“Thisissoutterlyunexpected——youobtainadmissiontomypresencebymisrepresentation——“