Shewasevidentlyaweak，butprobablyadisinterested，woman；anditwasonlyalittlebitofill—temperonherpartwhichhadcausedhertospeaktoRogerasshehaddone。’Idaresayitwasratherimpertinentofmetocallatsuchanuntimelyhour，’saidRoger。’Notatall；Icallatallhours，andnothingiseversaidaboutit。Itwasjustbecauseshewasputoutthatmorning。I’llanswerforitshe’ssorrynow，andI’msureyoumaygothereatanytimeyoulikeinthefuture。’Still，Rogerdidnotchoosetogoagainfortwoorthreeweeks，andtheconsequencewasthatthenexttimehecalledtheladieswereout。Onceagainhehadthesameill—luck，andthenhereceivedalittleprettythree—cornerednotefromMrsGibson：—MYDEARSIR，—Howisitthatyouarebecomesoformalallonasudden，leavingcards，insteadofawaitingourreturn？Fieforshame！IfyouhadseentheracesofdisappointmentthatIdidwhenthehorridlittlebitsofpasteboardweredisplayedtoourview，youwouldnothavebornemaliceagainstmesolong；foritisreallypunishingothersaswellasmynaughtyself。Ifyouwillcometo—morrow—asearlyasyoulike—andlunchwithus，I’llownIwascross，andacknowledgemyselfapenitent。—Yoursever，HYACINTHC。K。GIBSON。Therewasnoresistingthis，eveniftherehadnotbeenstronginclinationtobackuptheprettywords。Rogerwent，andMrsGibsoncaressedandpettedhiminhersweetest，silkiestmanner。Cynthialookedlovelierthanevertohimfortheslightrestrictionthathadbeenlaidforatimeontheirintercourse。ShemightbegayandsparklingwithOsborne；withRogershewassoftandgrave。Instinctivelysheknewhermen。ShesawthatOsbornewasonlyinterestedinherbecauseofherpositioninafamilywithwhomhewasintimate；thathisfriendshipwaswithouttheleasttouchofsentiment；
andthathisadmirationwasonlythewarmcriticismofanartistforunusualbeauty。ButshefelthowdifferentRoger’srelationtoherwas。Tohimshewastheone，alone，peerless。Ifhislovewasprohibited，itwouldbelongyearsbeforehecouldsinkdownintotepidfriendship；andtohimherpersonallovelinesswasonlyoneofthemanycharmsthatmadehimtrembleintopassion。Cynthiawasnotcapableofreturningsuchfeelings；
shehadhadtoolittletrueloveinherlife，andperhapstoomuchadmirationtodoso；butsheappreciatedthishonestardour，thisloyalworshipthatwasnewtoherexperience。Suchappreciation，andsuchrespectforhistrueandaffectionatenature，gaveaserioustendernesstohermannertoRoger，whichalluredhimwithafreshandseparategrace。Mollysateby，andwonderedhowitwouldallend，or，rather，howsoonitwouldallend，forshethoughtthatnogirlcouldresistsuchreverentpassion；andonRoger’ssidetherecouldbenodoubt—alas！therecouldbenodoubt。Anolderspectatormighthavelookedfarahead，andthoughtofthequestionofpounds，shillings，andpence。Wherewasthenecessaryincomeforamarriagetocomefrom？Rogerhadhisfellowshipnow，itistrue；buttheincomeofthatwouldbelostifhemarried；hehadnoprofession，andthelifeinterestofthetwoorthreethousandpoundsthatheinheritedfromhismother，belongedtohisfather。ThisolderspectatormighthavebeenalittlesurprisedattheempressementofMrsGibson’smannertoayoungerson，alwayssupposingthissaidspectatortohavereadtothedepthsofherworldlyheart。NeverhadshetriedtobemoreagreeabletoOsborne；
andthoughherattemptwasagreatfailurewhenpractiseduponRoger，andhedidnotknowwhattosayinreplytothedelicateBatterieswhichhefelttobeinsincere，hesawthatsheintendedhimtoconsiderhimselfhenceforwardfreeofthehouse；andhewastoogladtoavailhimselfofthisprivilegetoexamineover—closelyintowhatmightbehermotivesforherchangeofmanner。Heshuthiseyes，andchosetobelievethatshewasnowdesirousofmakingupforherlittleburstoftemperonhispreviousvisit。TheresultofOsborne’sconferencewiththetwodoctorshadbeencertainprescriptionswhichappearedtohavedonehimmuchgood，andwhichwouldinallprobabilityhavedonehimyetmore，couldhehavebeenfreeoftherecollectionofthelittlepatientwifeinhersolitudenearWinchester。
Hewenttoherwheneverhecould；and，thankstoRoger，moneywasfarmoreplentifulwithhimnowthanithadbeen。Buthestillshrank，andperhapsevenmoreandmore，fromtellinghisfatherofhismarriage。Somebodilyinstinctmadehimdreadallagitationinexpressibly。IfhehadnothadthismoneyfromRoger，hemighthavebeencompelledtotellhisfatherall，andtoaskforthenecessaryfundstoprovideforthewifeandthecomingchild。Butwithenoughinhand，andasecret，thoughremorseful，convictionthataslongasRogerhadapennyhisbrotherwassuretohavehalfofit，madehimmorereluctantthanevertoirritatehisfatherbyarevelationofhissecret。’Notjustyet，notjustatpresent，’hekeptsayingbothtoRogerandtohimself。’Byandby，ifwehaveaboy，IwillcallitRoger’—andthenvisionsofpoeticalandromanticreconciliationsbroughtaboutbetweenfatherandson，throughthemediumofachild，theoffspringofaforbiddenmarriage，becamestillmorevividlypossibletohim，andatanyrateitwasastaving—offofanunpleasantthing。HeatonedtohimselffortakingsomuchofRoger’sfellowshipmoneybyreflectingthat，ifRogermarried，hewouldlosethissourceofrevenue；yetOsbornewasthrowingnoimpedimentinthewayofthisevent，ratherforwardingitbypromotingeverypossiblemeansofhisbrother’sseeingtheladyofhislove。Osborneendedhisreflectionsbyconvincinghimselfofhisowngenerosity。