Sheadmittedthattheydid，thoughsheshouldnothaveseenanydifferenceinthemifhehadnotpointeditout。
“Theyhadagoodcropofbitter-sweets；theycouldn’tgrindthemall“noddingtowardsanorchardwheresomeheapsofappleshadbeenleftlyingeversincetheingathering。
Shesaid“Yes。”butlookingatanotherorchard。
“Why，youarelookingatJohn-apple-trees！Youknowbitter-sweets——
youusedtowellenough！”
“IamafraidIhaveforgotten，anditisgettingtoodarktodistinguish。”
Winterbornedidnotcontinue。ItseemedasiftheknowledgeandinterestwhichhadformerlymovedGrace’smindhadquitediedawayfromher。Hewonderedwhetherthespecialattributesofhisimageinthepasthadevaporatedliketheseotherthings。
Howeverthatmightbe，thefactatpresentwasmerelythis，thatwherehewasseeingJohn-applesandfarm-buildingsshewasbeholdingafarremoterscene——ascenenolessinnocentandsimple，indeed，butmuchcontrasting——abroadlawninthefashionablesuburbofafastcity，theevergreenleavesshiningintheeveningsun，amidwhichboundinggirls，gracefullycladinartisticarrangementsofblue，brown，red，black，andwhite，wereplayingatgames，withlaughterandchat，inalltheprideoflife，thenotesofpianoandharptremblingintheairfromtheopenwindowsadjoining。Moreover，theyweregirls——andthiswasafactwhichGraceMelbury’sdelicatefemininitycouldnotlosesightof——whoseparentsGileswouldhaveaddressedwithadeferentialSirorMadam。Besidethisvisionedscenethehomelyfarmsteadsdidnotquiteholdtheirownfromherpresenttwenty-
yearpointofsurvey。Forallhiswoodlandsequestration，Gilesknewtheprimitivesimplicityofthesubjecthehadstarted，andnowsoundedadeepernote。
“’Twasveryoddwhatwesaidtoeachotheryearsago；Ioftenthinkofit。ImeanoursayingthatifwestilllikedeachotherwhenyouweretwentyandItwenty-five，we’d——“
“Itwaschild’stattle。”
“H’m！”saidGiles，suddenly。
“Imeanwewereyoung。”saidshe，moreconsiderately。Thatgruffmannerofhisinmakinginquiriesremindedherthathewasunalteredinmuch。
“Yes。Ibegyourpardon，MissMelbury；yourfatherSENTmetomeetyouto-day。”
“Iknowit，andIamgladofit。”
Heseemedsatisfiedwithhertoneandwenton：“Atthattimeyouweresittingbesidemeatthebackofyourfather’scoveredcar，whenwewerecominghomefromgypsying，allthepartybeingsqueezedintogetherastightassheepinanauction-pen。Itgotdarkeranddarker，andIsaid——Iforgettheexactwords——butIputmyarmroundyourwaistandthereyouletitstaytillyourfather，sittinginfrontsuddenlystoppedtellinghisstorytoFarmerBollen，tolighthispipe。Theflashshoneintothecar，andshowedusallupdistinctly；myarmflewfromyourwaistlikelightning；yetnotsoquicklybutthatsomeof’emhadseen，andlaughedatus。Yetyourfather，toouramazement，insteadofbeingangry，wasmildasmilk，andseemedquitepleased。Haveyouforgotallthat，orhaven’tyou？”
Sheownedthatsheremembereditverywell，nowthathementionedthecircumstances。“But，goodness！Imusthavebeeninshortfrocks。”shesaid。
“Comenow，MissMelbury，thatwon’tdo！Shortfrocks，indeed！Youknowbetter，aswellasI。”
Gracethereupondeclaredthatshewouldnotarguewithanoldfriendshevaluedsohighlyasshevaluedhim，sayingthewordswiththeeasyelusivenessthatwillbepoliteatallcosts。Itmightpossiblybetrue，sheadded，thatshewasgettingoningirlhoodwhenthateventtookplace；butifitwereso，thenshewasvirtuallynolessthananoldwomannow，sofardidthetimeseemremovedfromherpresent。“Doyoueverlookatthingsphilosophicallyinsteadofpersonally？”sheasked。
“Ican’tsaythatIdo。”answeredGiles，hiseyeslingeringfaraheaduponadarkspot，whichprovedtobeabrougham。
“Ithinkyoumay，sometimes，withadvantage。”saidshe。“Lookatyourselfasapitcherdriftingonthestreamwithotherpitchers，andconsiderwhatcontrivancesaremostdesirableforavoidingcracksingeneral，andnotonlyforsavingyourpoorone。ShallI
tellyouallaboutBathorCheltenham，orplacesontheContinentthatIvisitedlastsummer？”
“Withallmyheart。”
Shethendescribedplacesandpersonsinsuchtermsasmighthavebeenusedforthatpurposebyanywomantoanymanwithinthefourseas，soentirelyabsentfromthatdescriptionwaseverythingspeciallyappertainingtoherownexistence。Whenshehaddoneshesaid，gayly，“NowdoyoutellmeinreturnwhathashappenedinHintocksinceIhavebeenaway。”
“Anythingtokeeptheconversationawayfromherandme。”saidGileswithinhim。
ItwastruecultivationhadsofaradvancedinthesoilofMissMelbury’smindastoleadhertotalkbyroteofanythingsaveofthatsheknewwell，andhadthegreatestinterestindeveloping——
thatistosay，herself。
Hehadnotproceededfarwithhissomewhatbaldnarrationwhentheydrewnearthecarriagethathadbeenprecedingthemforsometime。MissMelburyinquiredifheknewwhosecarriageitwas。
Winterborne，althoughhehadseenit，hadnottakenitintoaccount。Onexamination，hesaiditwasMrs。Charmond’s。
Gracewatchedthevehicleanditseasyroll，andseemedtofeelmorenearlyakintoitthantotheoneshewasin。
“Pooh！Wecanpolishoffthemileageaswellasthey，cometothat。”saidWinterborne，readinghermind；andrisingtoemulationatwhatitbespoke，hewhippedonthehorse。ThisitwaswhichhadbroughtthenoseofMr。Melbury’soldgrayclosetothebackofMrs。Charmond’smuch-eclipsingvehicle。
“There’sMartySouthSittingupwiththecoachman。”saidhe，discerningherbyherdress。
“Ah，poorMarty！Imustaskhertocometoseemethisveryevening。Howdoesshehappentoberidingthere？”
“Idon’tknow。Itisverysingular。”
Thusthesepeoplewithconvergingdestinieswentalongtheroadtogether，tillWinterborne，leavingthetrackofthecarriage，turnedintoLittleHintock，wherealmostthefirsthousewasthetimber-merchant’s。Pencilsofdancinglightstreamedoutofthewindowssufficientlytoshowthewhitelaurestinusflowers，andglanceoverthepolishedleavesoflaurel。Theinterioroftheroomscouldbeseendistinctly，warmedupbythefire-flames，whichintheparlorwerereflectedfromtheglassofthepicturesandbookcase，andinthekitchenfromtheutensilsandware。
“Letuslookatthedearplaceforamomentbeforewecallthem。”
shesaid。
Inthekitchendinnerwaspreparing；forthoughMelburydinedatoneo’clockatothertimes，to-daythemealhadbeenkeptbackforGrace。Aricketyoldspitwasinmotion，itsendbeingfixedinthefire-dog，andthewholekeptgoingbymeansofacordconveyedoverpulleysalongtheceilingtoalargestonesuspendedinacorneroftheroom。OldGrammerOlivercameandwounditupwitharattlelikethatofamill。
IntheparloralargeshadeofMrs。Melbury’sheadfellonthewallandceiling；butbeforethegirlhadregardedthisroommanymomentstheirpresencewasdiscovered，andherfatherandstep-
mothercameouttowelcomeher。
ThecharacteroftheMelburyfamilywasofthatkindwhichevincessomeshynessinshowingstrongemotionamongeachother：atraitfrequentinruralhouseholds，andonewhichstandsincuriouslyinverserelationtomostofthepeculiaritiesdistinguishingvillagersfromthepeopleoftowns。Thushidingtheirwarmerfeelingsundercommonplacetalkallround，Grace’sreceptionproducednoextraordinarydemonstrations。Butthatmorewasfeltthanwasenactedappearedfromthefactthatherfather，intakingherin-doors，quiteforgotthepresenceofGileswithout，asdidalsoGraceherself。Hesaidnothing，buttookthegigroundtotheyardandcalledoutfromthespar-housethemanwhoparticularlyattendedtothesematterswhentherewasnoconversationtodrawhimoffamongthecopse-workersinside。
Winterbornethenreturnedtothedoorwiththeintentionofenteringthehouse。
Thefamilyhadgoneintotheparlor，andwerestillabsorbedinthemselves。Thefirewas，asbefore，theonlylight，anditirradiatedGrace’sfaceandhandssoastomakethemlookwondrouslysmoothandfairbesidethoseofthetwoelders；shiningalsothroughtheloosehairabouthertemplesassunlightthroughabrake。Herfatherwassurveyingherinadazedconjecture，somuchhadshedevelopedandprogressedinmannerandstaturesincehelasthadseteyesonher。
Observingthesethings，Winterborneremaineddubiousbythedoor，mechanicallytracingwithhisfingerscertaintime-wornletterscarvedinthejambs——initialsofby-gonegenerationsofhouseholderswhohadlivedanddiedthere。
No，hedeclaredtohimself，hewouldnotenterandjointhefamily；theyhadforgottenhim，anditwasenoughforto-daythathehadbroughtherhome。Still，hewasalittlesurprisedthatherfather’seagernesstosendhimforGraceshouldhaveresultedinsuchananticlimaxasthis。
Hewalkedsoftlyawayintothelanetowardshisownhouse，lookingbackwhenhereachedtheturning，fromwhichhecouldgetalastglimpseofthetimber-merchant’sroof。HehazardedguessesastowhatGracewassayingjustatthatmoment，andmurmured，withsomeself-derision，“nothingaboutme！”Helookedalsointheotherdirection，andsawagainsttheskythethatchedhipandsolitarychimneyofMarty’scottage，andthoughtofhertoo，strugglingbravelyalongunderthathumbleshelter，amongherspar-gadsandpotsandskimmers。