’Yes；solelybecauseyoumarriedhimonthedayIwasfreetoaskyoutomarryme。Mywifediedfour-and-twentyhoursbeforeyouwenttochurchwithDowne。Thefixingofmyjourneyatthatparticularmomentwasbecauseofherfuneral；butonceawayIknewIshouldhavenoinducementtocomeback，andtookmystepsaccordingly。’
Herfaceassumedanaspectofgentlereflection，andshelookedupanddownhisformwithgreatinterestinhereyes。’Ineverthoughtofit！’shesaid。’Iknew，ofcourse，thatyouhadonceimpliedsomewarmthoffeelingtowardsme，butIconcludedthatitpassedoff。AndIhavealwaysbeenundertheimpressionthatyourwifewasaliveatthetimeofmymarriage。Wasitnotstupidofme！——Butyouwillhavesometeaorsomething？Ihaveneverdinedlate，youknow，sincemyhusband’sdeath。Ihavegotintothewayofmakingaregularmealoftea。Youwillhavesometeawithme，willyounot？’
Thetravelledmanassentedquitereadily，andteawasbroughtin。
Theysatandchattedoverthemeal，regardlessoftheflyinghour。
’Well，well！’saidBarnetpresently，asforthefirsttimeheleisurelysurveyedtheroom；’howlikeitallis，andyethowdifferent！Justwhereyourpianostandswasaboardonacoupleoftrestles，bearingthepatternsofwall-papers，whenIwaslasthere。