Theaffairwasimmenselyseriousandcommandingtome。Idon’trememberthatintheseearlierphasesIhadanythoughtofturningbackatall。ItwascleartomethatsheregardedmewithaneyeentirelymorecriticalthanIhadforher，thatshedidn’tlikemyscholarlyuntidiness，mywantofeventhemostcommonplacestyle。“Whydoyouwearcollarslikethat？”shesaid，andsentmeinpursuitofgentlemanlyneckwear。IrememberwhensheinvitedmealittleabruptlyonedaytocometoteaatherhomeonthefollowingSundayandmeetherfatherandmotherandaunt，thatIimmediatelydoubtedwhethermyhithertounsuspectedbestclotheswouldcreatetheimpressionshedesiredmetomakeonherbelongings。IputofftheencounteruntiltheSundayafter，togetmyselfinorder。IhadamorningcoatmadeandIboughtasilkhat，andhadmyrewardinthefirstglanceofadmirationsheevergaveme。Iwonderhowmanyofmysexareaspreposterous。Iwas，yousee，abandoningallmybeliefs，myconventionsunasked。Iwasforgettingmyselfimmensely。Andtherewasaconsciousshameinitall。Neveraword——didI
breathetoEwart——toanylivingsoulofwhatwasgoingon。
Herfatherandmotherandauntstruckmeasthedismalestofpeople，andherhomeinWalhamGreenwaschieflynotableforitsblackandambertapestrycarpetsandcurtainsandtable-cloths，andtheageandirrelevanceofitsbooks，mostlybookswithfadedgiltonthecovers。Thewindowswerefortifiedagainsttheintrusiveeyebycheaplacecurtainsandan“artpot“uponanunstableoctagonaltable。SeveralframedArtSchooldrawingsofMarion’s，bearingofficialSouthKensingtonmarksofapproval，adornedtheroom，andtherewasablackandgiltpianowithahymn-bookonthetopofit。Thereweredrapedmirrorsoverallthemantels，andabovethesideboardinthedining-roominwhichwesatatteawasaportraitofherfather，villainouslytruthfulafterthemannerofsuchworks。Icouldn’tseeatraceofthebeautyIfoundinherineitherparent，yetshesomehowcontrivedtobelikethemboth。
ThesepeoplepretendedinawaythatremindedmeoftheThreeGreatWomeninmymother’sroom，buttheyhadnotnearlysomuchsocialknowledgeanddidnotdoitnearlysowell。Also，I
remarked，theydiditwithaneyeonMarion。Theyhadwantedtothankme，theysaid，forthekindnesstotheirdaughterinthematterofthe’busfare，andsoaccountedforanythingunusualintheirinvitation。Theyposedassimplegentlefolk，alittlehostiletotherushandgadding-aboutofLondon，preferringasecludedandunpretentiousquiet。
WhenMariongotoutthewhitetable-clothfromthesideboard-drawerfortea，acardbearingtheword“APARTMENTS“
felltothefloor。IpickeditupandgaveittoherbeforeI
realisedfromherquickenedcolourthatIshouldnothaveseenit；thatprobablyhadbeenremovedfromthewindowinhonourofmycoming。
Herfatherspokeonceinalargeremotewayofheclaimsofbusinessengagements，anditwasonlylongafterwardsIrealisedthathewasasupernumeraryclerkintheWalhamGreenGasWorksandotherwiseausefulmanathome。Hewasalarge，loose，fattishmanwithunintelligentbrowneyesmagnifiedbyspectacles；heworeanill-fittingfrock-coatandapapercollar，andheshowedme，ashisgreattreasureandinterest，alargeBiblewhichhehadgrangerisedwithphotographsofpictures。
Alsohecultivatedthelittlegarden-yardbehindthehouse，andhehadasmallgreenhousewithtomatoes。“IwishI’ad’eat。”hesaid。“Onecandosuchalotwith’eat。ButIsupposeyoucan’t’aveeverythingyouwantinthisworld。”
BothheandMarion’smothertreatedherwithadeferencethatstruckmeasthemostnaturalthingintheworld。Herownmannerchanged，becamemoreauthoritativeandwatchful，hershynessdisappeared。ShehadtakenalineofherownIgathered，drapedthemirror，gotthesecond-handpiano，andbrokenherparentsin。
Hermothermustoncehavebeenaprettywoman；shehadregularfeaturesandMarion’shairwithoutitslustre，butshewasthinandcareworn。Theaunt，MissRamboat，wasalarge，abnormallyshypersonverylikeherbrother，andIdon’trecallanythingshesaidonthisoccasion。
Tobeginwiththerewasagooddealoftension，MarionwasfrightfullynervousandeveryonewasunderthenecessityofbehavinginamysteriouslyunrealfashionuntilIplunged，becametalkativeandmadeacertaineaseandinterest。Itoldthemoftheschools，ofmylodgings，ofWimblehurstandmyapprenticeshipdays。“There’salotofthisScienceaboutnowadays。”Mr。
Ramboatreflected；“butIsometimeswonderabitwhatgooditis？”
Iwasyoungenoughtobeledintowhathecalled“abitofadiscussion。”whichMariontruncatedbeforeourvoicesbecameundulyraised。“Idaresay，“shesaid，“there’smuchtobesaidonbothsides。”
IrememberMarion’smotheraskedmewhatchurchIattended，andthatIrepliedevasively。Afterteatherewasmusicandwesanghymns。IdoubtedifIhadavoicewhenthiswasproposed，butthatwasheldtobeatrivialobjection，andIfoundsittingclosebesidethesweepofhairfromMarion’sbrowhadmanycompensations。Idiscoveredhermothersittinginthehorsehairarmchairandregardingussentimentally。IwentforawalkwithMariontowardsPutneyBridge，andthentherewasmoresingingandasupperofcoldbaconandpie，afterwhichMr。RamboatandI
smoked。Duringthatwalk，Iremember，shetoldmetheimportofhersketchingsandcopyingsinthemuseum。AcousinofafriendofherswhomshespokeofasSmithie，haddevelopedanoriginalbusinessinasortoftea-gowngarmentwhichshecalledaPersianRobe，aplainsortofwrapwithagailyembroideredyoke，andMarionwentthereandworkedinthebusytimes。Inthetimesthatweren’tbusyshedesignednoveltiesinyokesbyanassiduoususeofeyesandnote-bookinthemuseum，andwenthomeandtracedoutthecapturedformsonthefoundationmaterial。“Idon’tgetmuch。”saidMarion，“butit’sinteresting，andinthebusytimesweworkallday。Ofcoursetheworkgirlsaredreadfullycommon，butwedon’tsaymuchtothem。AndSmithietalksenoughforten。”
Iquiteunderstoodtheworkgirlsweredreadfullycommon。
Idon’trememberthattheWalhamGreenmenageandthequalityofthesepeople，northelighttheythrewonMarion，detractedintheslightestdegreeatthattimefromtheintentresolvethatheldmetomakehermine。Ididn’tlikethem。ButItookthemaspartoftheaffair。Indeed，onthewhole，Ithinktheythrewherupbyaneffectofcontrast；shewassoobviouslycontrollingthem，soconsciouslysuperiortothem。
MoreandmoreofmytimedidIgivetothispassionthatpossessedme。IbegantothinkchieflyofwaysofpleasingMarion，ofactsofdevotion，oftreats，ofsumptuouspresentsforher，ofappealsshewouldunderstand。Ifattimesshewasmanifestlyunintelligent，inherignorancebecameindisputable，I
toldmyselfhersimpleinstinctswereworthalltheeducationandintelligenceintheworld。AndtothisdayIthinkIwasn’treallywrongabouther。Therewassomethingextraordinarilyfineabouther，somethingsimpleandhigh，thatflickeredinandoutofherignoranceandcommonnessandlimitationslikethetonguefromthemouthofasnake。
OnenightIwasprivilegedtomeetherandbringherhomefromanentertainmentattheBirkbeckInstitute。Wecamebackontheundergroundrailwayandwetravelledfirst-class——thatbeingthehighestclassavailable。Wewerealoneinthecarriage，andforthefirsttimeIventuredtoputmyarmabouther。
“Youmustn’t。”shesaidfeebly。
“Iloveyou。”Iwhisperedsuddenlywithmyheartbeatingwildly，drewhertome，drewallherbeautytomeandkissedhercoolandunresistinglips。
“Loveme？”shesaid，strugglingawayfromme，“Don’t！”andthen，asthetrainranintoastation，“Youmusttellnoone。I
don’tknow。Youshouldn’thavedonethat。”
Thentwootherpeoplegotinwithusandterminatedmywooingforatime。
Whenwefoundourselvesalonetogether，walkingtowardsBattersea，shehaddecidedtobeoffended。Ipartedfromherunforgivenandterriblydistressed。
Whenwemetagain，shetoldmeImustneversay“that“again。
Ihaddreamtthattokissherlipswasultimatesatisfaction。
Butitwasindeedonlythebeginningofdesires。Itoldhermyoneambitionwastomarryher。
“But。”shesaid，“you’renotinaposition——What’sthegoodoftalkinglikethat？”
Istaredather。“Imeanto。”Isaid。
“Youcan’t。”sheanswered。“Itwillbeyears“
“ButIloveyou。”Iinsisted。
IstoodnotayardfromthesweetlipsIhadkissed；Istoodwithinarm’slengthoftheinanimatebeautyIdesiredtoquicken，andIsawopeningbetweenusagulfofyears，toil，waiting，disappointmentsandanimmenseuncertainty。
“Iloveyou。”Isaid。“Don’tyouloveme？”
Shelookedmeinthefacewithgraveirresponsiveeyes。
“Idon’tknow。”shesaid。“ILIKEyou，ofcourse。Onehastobesensibl。”
Icanremembernowmysenseoffrustrationbyherunresilientreply。Ishouldhaveperceivedthenthatforhermyardourhadnoquickeningfire。ButhowwasItoknow？Ihadletmyselfcometowanther，myimaginationendowedherwithinfinitepossibilities。Iwantedherandwantedher，stupidlyandinstinctively。
“But。”Isaid“Love——！”
“Onehastobesensible。”shereplied。“Ilikegoingaboutwithyou。Can’twekeepasweare？’“