ThatFitzpierscouldallowhimselftolookonanyothercreatureforamomentthanGracefilledMelburywithgriefandastonishment。Inthepureandsimplelifehehadledithadscarcelyoccurredtohimthataftermarriageamanmightbefaithless。ThathecouldsweeptotheheightsofMrs。Charmond’sposition，lifttheveilofIsis，sotospeak，wouldhaveamazedMelburybyitsaudacityifhehadnotsuspectedencouragementfromthatquarter。WhatcouldheandhissimpleGracedotocountervailthepassionsofsuchasthosetwosophisticatedbeings——versedintheworld’sways，armedwitheveryapparatusforvictory？Insuchanencounterthehomelytimber-dealerfeltasinferiorasabow-and-arrowsavagebeforethepreciseweaponsofmodernwarfare。
Gracecameoutofthehouseasthemorningdrewon。Thevillagewassilent，mostofthefolkhavinggonetothefair。Fitzpiershadretiredtobed，andwassleepingoffhisfatigue。ShewenttothestableandlookedatpoorDarling：inallprobabilityGilesWinterborne，byobtainingforherahorseofsuchintelligenceanddocility，hadbeenthemeansofsavingherhusband’slife。Shepausedoverthestrangethought；andthenthereappearedherfatherbehindher。Shesawthatheknewthingswerenotastheyoughttobe，fromthetroubleddulnessofhiseye，andfromhisface，differentpointsofwhichhadindependentmotions，twitchings，andtremblings，unknowntohimself，andinvoluntary。
“Hewasdetained，Isuppose，lastnight？”saidMelbury。
“Ohyes；abadcaseinthevale。”shereplied，calmly。
“Nevertheless，heshouldhavestayedathome。”
“Buthecouldn’t，father。”
Herfatherturnedaway。Hecouldhardlybeartoseehiswhilomtruthfulgirlbroughttothehumiliationofhavingtotalklikethat。
ThatnightcarkingcaresatbesideMelbury’spillow，andhisstifflimbstossedatitspresence。“Ican’tliehereanylonger。”hemuttered。Strikingalight，hewanderedabouttheroom。“WhathaveIdone——whathaveIdoneforher？”hesaidtohiswife，whohadanxiouslyawakened。“IhadlongplannedthatsheshouldmarrythesonofthemanIwantedtomakeamendsto；doyemindhowI
toldyouallaboutit，Lucy，thenightbeforeshecamehome？Ah！
butIwasnotcontentwithdoingright，Iwantedtodomore！”
“Don’traftyourselfwithoutgoodneed，George。”shereplied。“I
won’tquitebelievethatthingsaresomuchamiss。Iwon’tbelievethatMrs。Charmondhasencouragedhim。Evensupposingshehasencouragedagreatmany，shecanhavenomotivetodoitnow。
Whatsolikelyasthatsheisnotyetquitewell，anddoesn’tcaretoletanotherdoctorcomenearher？”
Hedidnotheed。“Graceusedtobesobusyeveryday，withfixingacurtainhereanddrivingatin-tackthere；butshecaresfornoemploymentnow！”
“DoyouknowanythingofMrs。Charmond’spasthistory？Perhapsthatwouldthrowsomelightuponthings。PeforeshecamehereasthewifeofoldCharmondfourorfiveyearsago，notasoulseemstohaveheardaughtofher。Whynotmakeinquiries？Andthendoyewaitandseemore；there’llbeplentyofopportnnity。Timeenoughtocrywhenyouknow’tisacryingmatter；and’tisbadtomeettroubleshalf-way。”
Therewassomegood-senseinthenotionofseeingfurther。
Melburyresolvedtoinquireandwait，hopingstill，hutoppressedbetween-whileswithmuchfear。
ExamineGraceasherfathermight，shewouldadmitnothing。Forthepresent，therefore，hesimplywatched。
ThesuspicionthathisdarlingchildwasbeingslightedwroughtalmostamiraculouschangeinMelbury’snature。Nomansofurtiveforthetimeastheingenuouscountrymanwhofindsthathisingenuousnesshasbeenabused。Melbury’sheretoforeconfidentialcandortowardshisgentlemanlyson-in-lawwasdisplacedbyafelinestealththatdidinjnrytohiseveryaction，thought，andmood。Heknewthatawomanoncegiventoamanforlifetook，asarule，herlotasitcameandmadethebestofit，withoutexternalinterference；butforthefirsttimeheaskedhimselfwhythissogenerallyshouldbeso。Moreover，thiscasewasnot，heargued，likeordinarycases。LeavingoutthequestionofGracebeinganythingbutanordinarywoman，herpeculiarsituation，asitwereinmid-airbetweentwoplanesofsociety，togetherwiththelonelinessofHintock，madeahusband’sneglectafarmoretragicalmattertoherthanitwouldbetoonewhohadalargecircleoffriendstofallbackupon。Wiselyorunwisely，andwhateverotherfathersdid，heresolvedtofighthisdaughter’sbattlestill。
Mrs。Charmondhadreturned。ButHintockHousescarcelygaveforthsignsoflife，soquietlyhadshereenteredit。HewenttochurchatGreatHintockoneafternoonasusual，therebeingnoserviceatthesmallervillage。Afewminutesbeforehisdeparture，hehadcasuallyheardFitzpiers，whowasnochurch-goer，tellhiswifethathewasgoingtowalkinthewood。Melburyenteredthebuildingandsatdowninhispew；theparsoncamein，thenMrs。
Charmond，thenMr。Fitzpiers。
Theserviceproceeded，andthejealonsfatherwasquitesurethatamutualconsciousnesswasuninterruptedlymaintainedbetweenthosetwo；hefanciedthatmorethanoncetheireyesmet。Attheend，FitzpierssotimedhismovementintotheaislethatitexactlycoincidedwithFeliceCharmond’sfromtheoppositeside，andtheywalkedoutwiththeirgarmentsincontact，thesurgeonbeingjustthattwoorthreeinchesinherrearwhichmadeitconvenientforhiseyestorestuponhercheek。Thecheekwarmeduptoarichertone。
Thiswasaworsefeatureintheflirtationthanhehadexpected。
Ifshehadbeenplayingwithhiminanidlefreakthegamemightsoonhaveweariedher；butthesmallestgermofpassion——andwomenoftheworlddonotchangecolorfornothing——wasathreateningdevelopment。ThemerepresenceofFitzpiersinthebuilding，afterhisstatement，waswellnighconclusiveasfarashewasconcerned；butMelburyresolvedyettowatch。
Hehadtowaitlong。Autumndrewshiveringlytoitsend。Onedaysomethingseemedtobegonefromthegardens；thetendererleavesofvegetableshadshrunkunderthefirstsmartfrost，andhunglikefadedlinenrags；thentheforestleaves，whichhadbeendescendingatleisure，descendedinhasteandinmultitudes，andallthegoldencolorsthathadhungoverheadwerenowcrowdedtogetherinadegradedmassunderfoot，wherethefallenmyriadsgotredderandhornier，andcurledthemselvesuptorot。TheonlysuspiciousfeaturesinMrs。Charmond’sexistenceatthisseasonweretwo：thefirst，thatshelivedwithnocompanionorrelativeabouther，which，consideringherageandattractions，wassomewhatunusualconductforayoungwidowinalonelycountry-
house；theother，thatshedidnot，asinpreviousyears，startfromHintocktowinterabroad。InFitzpiers，theonlychangefromhislastautnmn’shabitslayinhisabandonmentofnightstudy——
hislampnevershonefromhisnewdwellingasfromhisold。
Ifthesuspectedonesmet，itwasbysuchadroitcontrivancesthatevenMelbury’svigilancecouldnotencounterthemtogether。A
simplecallatherhousebythedoctorhadnothingirregularaboutit，andthathehadpaidtwoorthreesuchcallswascertain。
Whathadpassedatthoseinterviewswasknownonlytothepartiesthemselves；butthatFeliceCharmondwasundersomeone’sinfluenceMelburysoonhadopportunityofperceiving。
Winterhadcomeon。Owlsbegantobenoisyinthemorningsandevenings，andflocksofwood-pigeonsmadethemselvesprominentagain。OnedayinFebruary，aboutsixmonthsafterthemarriageofFitzpiers，MelburywasreturningfromGreatHintockonfootthroughthelane，whenhesawbeforehimthesurgeonalsowalking。
Melburywouldhaveovertakenhim，butatthatmomentFitzpiersturnedinthroughagatetooneoftheramblingdrivesamongthetreesatthissideofthewood，whichledtonowhereinparticular，andthebeautyofwhoseserpentinecurveswastheonlyjustificationoftheirexistence。Felicealmostsimultaneouslytrotteddownthelanetowardsthetimber-dealer，inalittlebasket-carriagewhichshesometimesdroveabouttheestate，unaccompaniedbyaservant。SheturnedinatthesameplacewithouthavingseeneitherMelburyorapparentlyFitzpiers。
Melburywassoonatthespot，despitehisachesandhissixtyyears。Mrs。Charmondhadcomeupwiththedoctor，whowasstandingimmediatelybehindthecarriage。Shehadturnedtohim，herarmbeingthrowncarelesslyoverthebackoftheseat。Theylookedineachother’sfaceswithoututteringaword，anarchyetgloomysmilewreathingherlips。Fitzpiersclaspedherhanginghand，and，whileshestillremainedinthesamelistlessattitude，lookingvolumesintohiseyes，hestealthilyunbuttonedherglove，andstrippedherhandofitbyrollingbackthegauntletoverthefingers，sothatitcameoffinsideout。Hethenraisedherhandtohismonth，shestillrecliningpassively，watchinghimasshemighthavewatchedaflyuponherdress。Atlastshesaid，“Well，sir，whatexcuseforthisdisobedience？”
“Imakenone。”
“Thengoyourway，andletmegomine。”Shesnatchedawayherhand，touchedtheponywiththewhip，andlefthimstandingthere，holdingthereversedglove。
Melbury’sfirstimpulsewastorevealhispresencetoFitzpiers，andupbraidhimbitterly。Butamoment’sthoughtwassufficienttoshowhimthefutilityofanysuchsimpleproceeding。Therewasnot，afterall，somuchinwhathehadwitnessedasinwhatthatscenemightbethesurfaceandfrothof——probablyastateofmindonwhichcensureoperatesasanaggravationratherthanasacure。
Moreover，hesaidtohimselfthatthepointofattackshouldbethewoman，ifeither。Hethereforekeptoutofsight，andmusingsadly，eventearfully——forhewasmeekasachildinmattersconcerninghisdaughter——continuedhiswaytowardsHintock。
Theinsightwhichisbredofdeepsympathywasnevermorefinelyexemplifiedthaninthisinstance。Throughherguardedmanner，herdignifiedspeech，herplacidcountenance，hediscernedtheinteriorofGrace’slifeonlytootruly，hiddenaswereitsincidentsfromeveryoutereye。
Theseincidentshadbecomepainfulenough。FitzpiershadlatterlydevelopedanirritablediscontentwhichventeditselfinmonologueswhenGracewaspresenttohearthem。Theearlymorningofthisdayhadbeendull，afteranightofwind，andonlookingoutofthewindowFitzpiershadobservedsomeofMelbury’smendraggingawayalargelimbwhichhadbeensnappedoffabeech-
tree。Everythingwascoldandcolorless。
“MygoodHeaven！”hesaid，ashestoodinhisdressing-gown。
“Thisislife！”HedidnotknowwhetherGracewasawakeornot，andhewouldnotturnhisheadtoascertain。“Ah，fool。”hewentontohimself，“toclipyourownwingswhenyouwerefreetosoar！。ButIcouldnotresttillIhaddoneit。WhydoIneverrecognizeanopportunitytillIhavemissedit，northegoodorillofasteptillitisirrevocable！。Ifellinlove。Love，indeed！——
“’Love’sbutthefrailtyofthemindWhen’tisnotwithambitionjoined；
Asicklyflamewhichifnotfed，expires，Andfeeding，wastesinself-consumingfires！’
Ah，oldauthorof’TheWayoftheWorld，’youknew——youknew！”
Gracemoved。Hethoughtshehadheardsomepartofhissoliloquy。
Hewassorry——thoughhehadnottakenanyprecautiontopreventher。
Heexpectedasceneatbreakfast，butsheonlyexhibitedanextremereserve。Itwasenough，however，tomakehimrepentthatheshouldhavedoneanythingtoproducediscomfort；forheattributedhermannerentirelytowhathehadsaid。ButGrace’smannerhadnotitscauseeitherinhissayingsorinhisdoings。
Shehadnotheardasinglewordofhisregrets。Somethingevennearerhomethanherhusband’sblightedprospects——ifblightedtheywere——wastheoriginofhermood，amoodthatwasthemerecontinuationofwhatherfatherhadnoticedwhenhewouldhavepreferredapassionatejealousyinher，asthemorenatural。
Shehadmadeadiscovery——onewhichtoagirlofhonestnaturewasalmostappalling。Shehadlookedintoherheart，andfoundthatherearlyinterestinGilesWinterbornehadbecomerevitalizedintoluxuriantgrowthbyherwideningperceptionsofwhatwasgreatandlittleinlife。Hishomelinessnolongeroffendedheracquiredtastes；hiscomparativewantofso-calledculturedidnotnowjaronherintellect；hiscountrydressevenpleasedhereye；
hisexteriorroughnessfascinatedher。Havingdiscoveredbymarriagehowmuchthatwashumanlynotgreatcouldco-existwithattainmentsofanexceptionalorder，therewasarevulsioninhersentimentsfromallthatshehadformerlyclungtointhiskind：