Whatwouldyoudoifyoulikedtwopeople，bothofthemtremendously，andyoucouldn’ttellwhichmost？“
“Ishouldgoonlikingthem——Ishouldwaitandsee。Whynot？“
“Butonehastomakeupone’smind，“saidEvelyn。“Orareyouoneofthepeoplewhodoesn’tbelieveinmarriagesandallthat？
Lookhere——thisisn’tfair，Idoallthetelling，andyoutellnothing。
Perhapsyou’rethesameasyourfriend“——shelookedathimsuspiciously；
“perhapsyoudon’tlikeme？“
“Idon’tknowyou，“saidHewet。
“IknowwhenIlikeapersondirectlyIseethem！IknewIlikedyoutheveryfirstnightatdinner。Ohdear，“shecontinuedimpatiently，“whatalotofbotherwouldbesavedifonlypeoplewouldsaythethingstheythinkstraightout！I’mmadelikethat。Ican’thelpit。“
“Butdon’tyoufinditleadstodifficulties？“Hewetasked。
“That’smen’sfault，“sheanswered。“Theyalwaysdragitin-love，Imean。“
“Andsoyou’vegoneonhavingoneproposalafteranother，“
saidHewet。
“Idon’tsupposeI’vehadmoreproposalsthanmostwomen，“
saidEvelyn，butshespokewithoutconviction。
“Five，six，ten？“Hewetventured。
Evelynseemedtointimatethatperhapstenwastherightfigure，butthatitreallywasnotahighone。
“Ibelieveyou’rethinkingmeaheartlessflirt，“sheprotested。
“ButIdon’tcareifyouare。Idon’tcarewhatanyonethinksofme。
Justbecauseone’sinterestedandlikestobefriendswithmen，andtalktothemasonetalkstowomen，one’scalledaflirt。“
“ButMissMurgatroyd——“
“Iwishyou’dcallmeEvelyn，“sheinterrupted。
“Aftertenproposalsdoyouhonestlythinkthatmenarethesameaswomen？“
“Honestly，honestly，——howIhatethatword！It’salwaysusedbyprigs，“
criedEvelyn。“HonestlyIthinktheyoughttobe。That’swhat’ssodisappointing。Everytimeonethinksit’snotgoingtohappen，andeverytimeitdoes。“
“ThepursuitofFriendship，“saidHewet。“Thetitleofacomedy。“
“You’rehorrid，“shecried。“Youdon’tcareabitreally。
YoumightbeMr。Hirst。“
“Well，“saidHewet，“let’sconsider。Letusconsider——“Hepaused，becauseforthemomenthecouldnotrememberwhatitwasthattheyhadtoconsider。Hewasfarmoreinterestedinherthaninherstory，forasshewentonspeakinghisnumbnesshaddisappeared，andhewasconsciousofamixtureofliking，pity，anddistrust。
“You’vepromisedtomarrybothOliverandPerrott？“heconcluded。
“Notexactlypromised，“saidEvelyn。“Ican’tmakeupmymindwhichI
reallylikebest。OhhowIdetestmodernlife！“sheflungoff。
“ItmusthavebeensomucheasierfortheElizabethans！IthoughttheotherdayonthatmountainhowI’dhavelikedtobeoneofthosecolonists，tocutdowntreesandmakelawsandallthat，insteadoffoolingaboutwithallthesepeoplewhothinkone’sjustaprettyyounglady。ThoughI’mnot。Ireallymight_do_something。“
Shereflectedinsilenceforaminute。Thenshesaid:
“I’mafraidrightdowninmyheartthatAlfredPerrot_won’t_do。
He’snotstrong，ishe？“
“Perhapshecouldn’tcutdownatree，“saidHewet。“Haveyounevercaredforanybody？“heasked。
“I’vecaredforheapsofpeople，butnottomarrythem，“shesaid。
“IsupposeI’mtoofastidious。AllmylifeI’vewantedsomebodyI
couldlookupto，somebodygreatandbigandsplendid。Mostmenaresosmall。“
“Whatd’youmeanbysplendid？“Hewetasked。“Peopleare——
nothingmore。“
Evelynwaspuzzled。
“Wedon’tcareforpeoplebecauseoftheirqualities，“
hetriedtoexplain。“It’sjustthemthatwecarefor，“——
hestruckamatch——“justthat，“hesaid，pointingtotheflames。
“Iseewhatyoumean，“shesaid，“butIdon’tagree。IdoknowwhyIcareforpeople，andIthinkI’mhardlyeverwrong。Iseeatoncewhatthey’vegotinthem。NowIthinkyoumustberathersplendid；
butnotMr。Hirst。“
Hewletshookhishead。
“He’snotnearlysounselfish，orsosympathetic，orsobig，orsounderstanding，“Evelyncontinued。
Hewetsatsilent，smokinghiscigarette。
“Ishouldhatecuttingdowntrees，“heremarked。
“I’mnottryingtoflirtwithyou，thoughIsupposeyouthinkIam！“
Evelynshotout。“I’dneverhavecometoyouifI’dthoughtyou’dmerelythinkodiousthingsofme！“Thetearscameintohereyes。
“Doyouneverflirt？“heasked。
“OfcourseIdon’t，“sheprotested。“Haven’tItoldyou？
Iwantfriendship；IwanttocareforsomeonegreaterandnoblerthanIam，andiftheyfallinlovewithmeitisn’tmyfault；
Idon’twantit；Ipositivelyhateit。“
Hewetcouldseethattherewasverylittleuseingoingonwiththeconversation，foritwasobviousthatEvelyndidnotwishtosayanythinginparticular，buttoimpressuponhimanimageofherself，being，forsomereasonwhichshewouldnotreveal，unhappy，orinsecure。
Hewasverytired，andapalewaiterkeptwalkingostentatiouslyintothemiddleoftheroomandlookingatthemmeaningly。
“Theywanttoshutup，“hesaid。“MyadviceisthatyoushouldtellOliverandPerrottto-morrowthatyou’vemadeupyourmindthatyoudon’tmeantomarryeitherofthem。I’mcertainyoudon’t。Ifyouchangeyourmindyoucanalwaystellthemso。They’rebothsensiblemen；
they’llunderstand。Andthenallthisbotherwillbeover。“
Hegotup。
ButEvelyndidnotmove。Shesatlookingupathimwithherbrighteagereyes，inthedepthsofwhichhethoughthedetectedsomedisappointment，ordissatisfaction。
“Good-night，“hesaid。
“ThereareheapsofthingsIwanttosaytoyoustill，“shesaid。
“AndI’mgoingto，sometime。Isupposeyoumustgotobednow？“
“Yes，“saidHewet。“I’mhalfasleep。“Heleftherstillsittingbyherselfintheemptyhall。
“Whyisitthatthey_won’t_behonest？“hemutteredtohimselfashewentupstairs。Whywasitthatrelationsbetweendifferentpeopleweresounsatisfactory，sofragmentary，sohazardous，andwordssodangerousthattheinstincttosympathisewithanotherhumanbeingwasaninstincttobeexaminedcarefullyandprobablycrushed？
WhathadEvelynreallywishedtosaytohim？Whatwasshefeelingleftaloneintheemptyhall？Themysteryoflifeandtheunrealityevenofone’sownsensationsovercamehimashewalkeddownthecorridorwhichledtohisroom。Itwasdimlylighted，butsufficientlyforhimtoseeafigureinabrightdressing-gownpassswiftlyinfrontofhim，thefigureofawomancrossingfromoneroomtoanother。
Whethertooslightortoovaguethetiesthatbindpeoplecasuallymeetinginahotelatmidnight，theypossessoneadvantageatleastoverthebondswhichunitetheelderly，whohavelivedtogetheronceandsomustliveforever。Slighttheymaybe，butvividandgenuine，merelybecausethepowertobreakthemiswithinthegraspofeach，andthereisnoreasonforcontinuanceexceptatruedesirethatcontinuetheyshall。Whentwopeoplehavebeenmarriedforyearstheyseemtobecomeunconsciousofeachother’sbodilypresencesothattheymoveasifalone，speakaloudthingswhichtheydonotexpecttobeanswered，andingeneralseemtoexperienceallthecomfortofsolitudewithoutitsloneliness。
ThejointlivesofRidleyandHelenhadarrivedatthisstageofcommunity，anditwasoftennecessaryforoneortheothertorecallwithaneffortwhetherathinghadbeensaidoronlythought，sharedordreamtinprivate。Atfouro’clockintheafternoontwoorthreedayslaterMrs。Ambrosewasstandingbrushingherhair，whileherhusbandwasinthedressing-roomwhichopenedoutofherroom，andoccasionally，throughthecascadeofwater——hewaswashinghisface——shecaughtexclamations，“Soitgoesonyearafteryear；
Iwish，Iwish，IwishIcouldmakeanendofit，“towhichshepaidnoattention。
“It’swhite？Oronlybrown？“Thussheherselfmurmured，examiningahairwhichgleamedsuspiciouslyamongthebrown。
Shepulleditoutandlaiditonthedressing-table。Shewascriticisingherownappearance，orratherapprovingofit，standingalittlewaybackfromtheglassandlookingatherownfacewithsuperbprideandmelancholy，whenherhusbandappearedinthedoorwayinhisshirtsleeves，hisfacehalfobscuredbyatowel。
“YouoftentellmeIdon’tnoticethings，“heremarked。
“Tellmeifthisisawhitehair，then？“shereplied。Shelaidthehaironhishand。
“There’snotawhitehaironyourhead，“heexclaimed。
“Ah，Ridley，Ibegintodoubt，“shesighed；andbowedherheadunderhiseyessothathemightjudge，buttheinspectionproducedonlyakisswherethelineofpartingran，andhusbandandwifethenproceededtomoveabouttheroom，casuallymurmuring。
“Whatwasthatyouweresaying？“Helenremarked，afteranintervalofconversationwhichnothirdpersoncouldhaveunderstood。
“Rachel——yououghttokeepaneyeuponRachel，“heobservedsignificantly，andHelen，thoughshewentonbrushingherhair，lookedathim。
Hisobservationswereapttobetrue。
“Younggentlemendon’tinterestthemselvesinyoungwomen’seducationwithoutamotive，“heremarked。
“Oh，Hirst，“saidHelen。
“HirstandHewet，they’reallthesametome——allcoveredwithspots，“
hereplied。“HeadviseshertoreadGibbon。Didyouknowthat？“
Helendidnotknowthat，butshewouldnotallowherselfinferiortoherhusbandinpowersofobservation。Shemerelysaid:
“Nothingwouldsurpriseme。Eventhatdreadfulflyingmanwemetatthedance——evenMr。Dalloway——even——“
“Iadviseyoutobecircumspect，“saidRidley。“There’sWilloughby，remember——Willoughby“；hepointedataletter。
Helenlookedwithasighatanenvelopewhichlayuponherdressing-table。
Yes，therelayWilloughby，curt，inexpressive，perpetuallyjocular，robbingawholecontinentofmystery，enquiringafterhisdaughter’smannersandmorals——hopingshewasn’tabore，andbiddingthempackherofftohimonboardtheverynextshipifshewere——
andthengratefulandaffectionatewithsuppressedemotion，andthenhalfapageabouthisowntriumphsoverwretchedlittlenativeswhowentonstrikeandrefusedtoloadhisships，untilheroaredEnglishoathsatthem，“poppingmyheadoutofthewindowjustasIwas，inmyshirtsleeves。Thebeggarshadthesensetoscatter。“
“IfTheresamarriedWilloughby，“sheremarked，turningthepagewithahairpin，“onedoesn’tseewhat’stopreventRachel——“
ButRidleywasnowoffongrievancesofhisownconnectedwiththewashingofhisshirts，whichsomehowledtothefrequentvisitsofHughlingElliot，whowasabore，apedant，adrystickofaman，andyetRidleycouldn’tsimplypointatthedoorandtellhimtogo。
Thetruthofitwas，theysawtoomanypeople。Andsoonandsoon，moreconjugaltalkpatteringsoftlyandunintelligibly，untiltheywerebothreadytogodowntotea。
ThefirstthingthatcaughtHelen’seyeasshecamedownstairswasacarriageatthedoor，filledwithskirtsandfeathersnoddingonthetopsofhats。Shehadonlytimetogainthedrawing-roombeforetwonameswereoddlymispronouncedbytheSpanishmaid，andMrs。ThornburycameinslightlyinadvanceofMrs。WilfridFlushing。
“Mrs。WilfridFlushing，“saidMrs。Thornbury，withawaveofherhand。
“AfriendofourcommonfriendMrs。RaymondParry。“
Mrs。Flushingshookhandsenergetically。Shewasawomanoffortyperhaps，verywellsetupanderect，splendidlyrobust，thoughnotastallastheuprightcarriageofherbodymadeherappear。
ShelookedHelenstraightinthefaceandsaid，“Youhaveacharmin’house。“
Shehadastronglymarkedface，hereyeslookedstraightatyou，andthoughnaturallyshewasimperiousinhermannershewasnervousatthesametime。Mrs。Thornburyactedasinterpreter，makingthingssmoothallroundbyaseriesofcharmingcommonplaceremarks。