Besides，Ishallbeoverhereagainbeforeyougo。I’malwaysonmyguardagainstsymptomsofdropsy。Ihaveknownitsupervene。’’ThenIshallnotseeMollyagain！’saidRoger，inatoneandwithalookofgreatdisappointment。MrGibsonturnedhiskeen，observanteyesupontheyoungman，andlookedathiminaspenetratingamannerasifhehadbeenbeginningwithanunknownillness。Thenthedoctorandthefathercompressedhislipsandgaveventtoalongintelligentwhistle。’Whew！’saidhe。Roger’sbronzedcheekstookadeepershade。’Youwilltakeamessagetoherfromme，won’tyou？Amessageoffarewell？’
hepleaded。’NotI。I’mnotgoingtobeamessage—carrierbetweenanyyoungmanandyoungwoman。I’lltellmywomankindIforbadeyoutocomenearthehouse，andthatyou’resorrytogoawaywithoutbiddinggood—by。That’sallI
shallsay。’’Butyoudonotdisapprove？—Iseeyouguesswhy。Oh！MrGibson，justspeaktomeonewordofwhatmustbeinyourheart，thoughyouarepretendingnottounderstandwhyIwouldgiveworldstoseeMollyagainbeforeIgo。’’Mydearboy！’saidMrGibson，moreaffectedthanhelikedtoshow，andlayinghishandonRoger’sshoulder。Thenhepulledhimselfup，andsaidgravelyenough，—’Mind，MollyisnotCynthia。Ifsheweretocareforyou，sheisnotonewhocouldtransferherlovetothenextcorner。’’YoumeannotasreadilyasIhavedone，’repliedRoger。’IonlywishyoucouldknowwhatadifferentfeelingthisistomyboyishloveforCynthia。’’Iwasn’tthinkingofyouwhenIspoke；but，however，asImighthaverememberedafterwardsthatyouwerenotamodelofconstancy，letushearwhatyouhavetosayforyourself。’’Notmuch。IdidloveCynthiaverymuch。Hermannersandherbeautybewitchedme；butherletters，—short，hurriedletters，—sometimesshowingthatshereallyhadn’ttakenthetroubletoreadminethrough，—Icannottellyouthepaintheygaveme！Twelvemonths’solitude，infrequentdangerofone’slife—facetofacewithdeath—sometimesagesamanlikemanyyears’experience。StillIlongedforthetimewhenIshouldseehersweetfaceagain，andhearherspeak。ThentheletterattheCape！—andstillIhoped。ButyouknowhowIfoundher，whenIwenttohavetheinterviewwhichItrustedmightendintherenewalofourrelations，—engagedtoMrHenderson。Isawherwalkingwithhiminyourgarden，coquettingwithhimaboutaflower，justassheusedtodowithme。IcanseethepityinglookinMolly’seyesasshewatchedme；Icanseeitnow。AndIcouldbeatmyselfforbeingsuchablindfoolasto——Whatmustshethinkofme？
howshemustdespiseme，choosingthefalseDuessa。’’Come，come！Cynthiaisn’tsobadasthat。She’saveryfascinating，faultycreature。’’Iknow！Iknow！Iwillneverallowanyonetosayawordagainsther。
IfIcalledherthefalseDuessaitwasbecauseIwantedtoexpressmysenseofthedifferencebetweenherandMollyasstronglyasIcould。Youmustallowforalover’sexaggeration。Besides，allIwantedtosaywas，—DoyouthinkthatMolly，afterseeingandknowingthatIhadlovedapersonsoinferiortoherself，couldeverbebroughttolistentome？’’Idon’tknow。Ican’ttell。AndevenifIcould，Iwouldnot。Onlyifit’sanycomforttoyou，Imaysaywhatmyexperiencehastaughtme。Womenarequeer，unreasoningcreatures，andarejustaslikelyasnottoloveamanwhohasbeenthrowingawayhisaffection。’’Thankyou，sir！’saidRoger，interruptinghim。’Iseeyoumeantogivemeencouragement。AndIhadresolvednevertogiveMollyahintofwhatIfelttillIreturned，—andthentotryandwinherbyeverymeansinmypower。Ideterminednottorepeattheformersceneintheformerplace，—inyourdrawing—room，—howeverImightbetempted。Andperhaps，afterall，sheavoidedmewhenshewasherelast。’’Now，Roger，I’velistenedtoyoulongenough。Ifyou’venothingbettertodowithyourtimethantotalkaboutmydaughter，Ihave。Whenyoucomebackitwillbetimeenoughtoenquirehowfaryourfatherwouldapproveofsuchanengagement。’’Hehimselfurgedituponmetheotherday—butthenIwasindespair—Ithoughtitwastoolate。’’Andwhatmeansyouarelikelytohaveofmaintainingawife，—IalwaysthoughtthatpointwaspassedtoolightlyoverwhenyouformedyourhurriedengagementtoCynthia。I’mnotmercenary，—Mollyhassomemoneyindependentlyofme，—thatshebythewayknowsnothingof，—notmuch；—andIcanallowhersomething。Butallthesethingsmustbelefttillyourreturn。’’Thenyousanctionmyattachment？’’Idon’tknowwhatyoumeanbysanctioningit。Ican’thelpit。Isupposelosingone’sdaughterisanecessaryevil。Still，’—seeingthedisappointedexpressiononRoger’sface—’itisbutfairtoyoutosayI’drathergivemychild，—myonlychild，remember！—toyou，thantoanymanintheworld！’’Thankyou！’saidRoger，shakinghandswithMrGibson，almostagainstthewillofthelatter。’AndImayseeher，justonce，beforeIgo？’’Decidedlynot。ThereIcomeinasdoctoraswellasfather。No！’’Butyouwilltakeamessage，atanyrate？’’Tomywifeandtoherconjointly。Iwillnotseparatethem。Iwillnotintheslightestwaybeago—between。’’Verywell，’saidRoger。’TellthembothasstronglyasyoucanhowIregretyourprohibition。IseeImustsubmit。ButifIdon’tcomeback，I’llhauntyouforhavingbeensocruel。’’Come，Ilikethat。Givemeawisemanofscienceinlove！Noonebeatshiminfolly。Good—by。’’Good—by，YouwillseeMollythisafternoon！’’Tobesure。Andyouwillseeyourfather。ButIdon’theavesuchportentoussighsatthethought。’MrGibsongaveRoger’smessagetohiswifeandtoMollythateveningatdinner。Itwasbutwhatthelatterhadexpected，afterallherfatherhadsaidoftheverygreatdangerofinfection；butnowthatherexpectationcameintheshapeofafinaldecision，ittookawayherappetite。Shesubmittedinsilence；butherobservantfathernoticedthatafterthisspeechofhis，sheonlyplayedwiththefoodonherplate，andconcealedagooddealofitunderherknifeandfork。’Loverversusfather！’thoughthe，halfsadly。’Loverwins。’Andhe，too，becameindifferenttoallthatremainedofhisdinner。MrsGibsonpatteredon；andnobodylistened。ThedayofRoger’sdeparturecame。MollytriedhardtoforgetitinworkingawayatacushionshewaspreparingasapresenttoCynthia；peopledidworsted—workinthosedays。One，two，three。One，two，three，four，five，six，seven；allwrong；shewasthinkingofsomethingelse，andhadtounpickit。Itwasarainyday，too；andMrsGibson，whohadplannedtogooutandpaysomecalls，hadtostayindoors。Thismadeherrestlessandfidgety。
Shekeptgoingbackwardsandforwardstodifferentwindowsinthedrawing—roomtolookattheweather，asifsheimaginedthatwhileitrainedatonewindow，itmightbefineweatheratanother。’Molly—comehere！whoisthatmanwrappedupinacloak，—there，—neartheParkwall，underthebeech—tree—hehasbeentherethishalf—hourandmore，neverstirring，andlookingatthishouseallthetime！Ithinkit’sverysuspicious。’Mollylooked，andinaninstantrecognizedRogerunderallhiswraps。Herfirstinstinctwastodrawback。Thenexttocomeforwards，andsay，—
’Why，mamma，it’sRogerHamley！Looknow—he’skissinghishand；he’swishingusgood—byintheonlywayhecan！’Andsherespondedtohissign；
butshewasnotsureifheperceivedhermodestquietmovement，forMrsGibsonbecameimmediatelysodemonstrativethatMollyfanciedthathereagerfoolishpantomimicmotionsmustabsorballhisattention。’Icallthissoattentiveofhim，’saidMrsGibson，inthemidstofavolleyofkissesofherhand。’Reallyitisquiteromantic。Itremindsmeofformerdays—buthewillbetoolate！Imustsendhimaway；itishalf—pasttwelve！’
Andshetookoutherwatchandhelditup，tappingitwithherforefinger，andoccupyingtheverycentreofthewindow。Mollycouldonlypeephereandthere，dodgingnowup，nowdown，nowonthisside，nowonthat，oftheperpetually—movingarms。ShefanciedshesawsomethingofacorrespondingmovementonRoger’spart。Atlengthhewentaway，slowly，slowly，andoftenlookingback，inspiteofthetappedwatch。MrsGibsonatlastretreated，andMollyquietlymovedintoherplacetoseehisfigureoncemorebeforetheturnoftheroadhiditfromherview。He，too，knewwherethelastglimpseoftheGibsons’housewastobeobtained，andoncemoreheturned，andhiswhitehandkerchieffloatedontheair。Mollywavedhershighup，witheagerlongingthatitshouldbeseen。Andthen，hewasgone！andMollyreturnedtoherworsted—work，happy，glowing，sad，content，andthinkingtoherselfhowsweetis—friendship！Whenshecametoasenseofthepresent，MrsGibsonwassaying，—’Uponmyword，thoughRogerHamleyhasneverbeenagreatfavouriteofmine，thislittleattentionofhishasremindedmeveryforciblyofaverycharmingyoungman—asoupirant，astheFrenchwouldcallhim—
LieutenantHarper—youmusthaveheardmespeakofhim，Molly？’’IthinkIhave！’saidMolly，absently。’Well，yourememberhowdevotedhewastomewhenIwasatMrsDuncombe’s，myfirstsituation，andIonlyseventeen。Andwhentherecruitingpartywasorderedtoanothertown，poorMrHarpercameandstoodoppositetheschoolroomwindowfornearlyanhour，andIknowitwashisdoingthatthebandplayed\"ThegirlIleftbehindme，\"whentheymarchedoutthenextday。PoorMrHarper！ItwasbeforeIknewdearMrKirkpatrick！Dearme。Howoftenmypoorhearthashadtobleedinthislifeofmine！notbutwhatdearpapaisaveryworthyman，andmakesmeveryhappy。Hewouldspoilme，indeed，ifIwouldlethim。StillheisnotasrichasMrHenderson。’ThatlastsentencecontainedthegermofMrsGibson’spresentgrievance。
Havingmarried。Cynthia，ashermotherputit—takingcredittoherselfasifshehadhadtheprincipalpartintheachievement—shenowbecamealittleenviousofherdaughter’sgoodfortuneinbeingthewifeofayoung，handsome，richandmoderatelyfashionableman，wholivedinLondon。
Shenaï；velyexpressedherfeelingsonthissubjecttoherhusbandonedaywhenshewasreallynotfeelingquitewell，andwhenconsequentlyherannoyancesweremuchmorepresenttohermindthanhersourcesofhappiness。’Itissuchapity！’saidshe，’thatIwasbornwhenIwas。Ishouldsohavelikedtobelongtothisgeneration。’’That’ssometimesmyownfeeling，’saidhe。’Somanynewviewsseemtobeopenedinscience，thatIshouldlike，ifitwerepossible，tolivetilltheirrealitywasascertained，andonesawwhattheyledto。ButI
don’tsupposethat’syourreason，mydear，forwishingtobetwentyorthirtyyearsyounger。’’No，indeed。AndIdidnotputitinthathardunpleasantway；IonlysaidIshouldliketobelongtothisgeneration。Totellthetruth，IwasthinkingofCynthia。Withoutvanity，IbelieveIwasasprettyassheis—whenIwasagirl，Imean；Ihadnotherdarkeye—lashes，butthenmynosewasstraighter。Andnowlookatthedifference！Ihavetoliveinalittlecountrytownwiththreeservants，andnocarriage；andshewithherinferiorgoodlookswillliveinSussexPlace，’andkeepamanandabrougham，andIdon’tknowwhat。Butthefactis，inthisgenerationtherearesomanymorerichyoungmenthantherewerewhenIwasagirl。’’Oh，ho！sothat’syourreason，isit，mydear。IfyouhadbeenyoungnowyoumighthavemarriedsomebodyaswelloffasWalter？’’Yes！’saidshe。’Ithinkthatwasmyidea。OfcourseIshouldhavelikedhimtobeyou。Ialwaysthinkifyouhadgonetothebaryoumighthavesucceededbetter，andlivedinLondon，too。Idon’tthinkCynthiacaresmuchwhereshelives，yetyouseeithascometoher。’’Whathas—London？’’Oh，youdear，facetiousman。Nowthat’sjustthethingtohavecaptivatedajury。Idon’tbelieveWalterwilleverbesocleverasyouare。YethecantakeCynthiatoParis，andabroad，andeverywhere。Ionlyhopeallthisindulgencewon’tdevelopethefaultsinCynthia’scharacter。It’saweeksinceweheardfromher，andIdidwritesoparticularlytoaskherfortheautumnfashionsbeforeIboughtmynewbonnet。Butrichesareagreatsnare。’’Bethankfulyouaresparedtemptation，mydear。’’No，I’mnot。Everybodylikestobetempted。And，afterall，it’sveryeasytoresisttemptation，ifonewishes。’’Idon’tfinditsoeasy，’saidherhusband。’Here’smedicineforyou，mamma，’saidMolly，enteringwithaletterheldupinherhand。’AletterfromCynthia。’’Oh，youdearlittlemessengerofgoodnews！TherewasoneoftheheathendeitiesinMangnall’sQuestionswhoseofficethatwas。TheletterisdatedfromCalais。They’recominghome！She’sboughtmeashawlandabonnet！Thedearcreature！Alwaysthinkingofothersbeforeherself。
goodfortunecannotspoilher。They’veafortnightleftoftheirholiday！
Theirhouseisnotquiteready；they’recominghere。Oh，now，MrGibson，wemusthavethenewdinnerserviceatWatts’sI’vesetmyheartonsolong！\"Home\"Cynthiacallsthishouse。I’msureithasbeenahometoher，poordarling！Idoubtifthereisanothermanintheworldwhowouldhavetreatedhisstepdaughterlikedearpapa！And，Molly，youmusthaveanewgown。’’Come，come！RememberIbelongtothelastgeneration，’saidMrGibson。’AndCynthiawillnotnoticewhatIwear，’saidMolly，brightwithpleasureatthethoughtofseeingheragain。’No！butWalterwill。Hehassuchaquickeyefordress，andIthinkI
rivalpapa；ifheisagoodstepfather，I’magoodstepmother，andIcouldnotbeartoseemyMollyshabby，andnotlookingherbest，Imusthaveanewgowntoo。Itwon’tdotolookasifwehadnothingbutthedresseswhichweworeatthewedding！’ButMollystoodagainstthenewgownforherself，andurgedthatifCynthiaandWalterweretocometovisitthemoften，theyhadbetterseethemastheyreallywere，indress，habits，andappointments。WhenMrGibsonhadlefttheroom，MrsGibsonsoftlyreproachedMollyforherobstinacy。’Youmighthaveallowedmetobegforanewgownforyou，Molly，whenyouknewhowmuchIhadadmiredthatfiguredsilkatBrown’stheotherday。
Andnow，ofcourse，Ican’tbesoselfishastogetitformyself，andyoutohavenothing。Youshouldlearntounderstandthewishesofotherpeople。Still，onthewhole，youareadear，sweetgirl，andIonlywish—well，IknowwhatIwish；onlydearpapadoesnotlikeittobetalkedabout。Andnowcovermeupclose，andletmegotosleep，anddreamaboutmydearCynthiaandmynewshawl！’EndofPartSix