`No-itwasI。Yourwickednesswasonlythenaturalman’sdesiretopossessthewoman。MinewasnotthereciprocalwishtillenvystimulatedmetooustArabella。IhadthoughtIoughtincharitytoletyouapproachme-thatitwasdamnablyselfishtotortureyouasIdidmyotherfriend。
ButIshouldn’thavegivenwayifyouhadn’tbrokenmedownbymakingmefearyouwouldgobacktoher……Butdon’tletussayanymoreaboutit！
Jude，willyouleavemetomyselfnow？’
`Yes……ButSue-mywife，asyouare！’heburstout；`myoldreproachtoyouwas，afterall，atrueone。YouhaveneverlovedmeasIloveyou-never-never！Yoursisnotapassionateheart-yourheartdoesnotburninaflame！Youare，uponthewhole，asortoffay，orsprite-notawoman！’
`AtfirstIdidnotloveyou，Jude；thatIown。WhenIfirstknewyouImerelywantedyoutoloveme。Ididnotexactlyflirtwithyou；butthatinborncravingwhichunderminessomewomen’smoralsalmostmorethanunbridledpassion-thecravingtoattractandcaptivate，regardlessoftheinjuryitmaydotheman-wasinme；andwhenIfoundIhadcaughtyou，Iwasfrightened。Andthen-Idon’tknowhowitwas-Icouldn’tbeartoletyougo-possiblytoArabellaagain-andsoIgottoloveyou，Jude。Butyousee，howeverfondlyitended，itbeganintheselfishandcruelwishtomakeyourheartacheformewithoutlettingmineacheforyou。’