Shewasinlightspringclothing，andheradventseemedghostly-liketheflittinginofamoth。Heturnedhiseyesuponher，andflushed；
butappearedtocheckhisprimaryimpulsetospeak。
`Ihavenobusinesshere，’shesaid，bendingherfrightenedfacetohim。`ButIheardyouwereill-veryill；and-andasIknowthatyourecognizeotherfeelingsbetweenmanandwomanthanphysicallove，Ihavecome。’
`Iamnotveryill，mydearfriend。Onlyunwell。’
`Ididn’tknowthat；andIamafraidthatonlyasevereillnesswouldhavejustifiedmycoming！’
`Yes……yes。AndIalmostwishyouhadnotcome！Itisalittletoosoon-that’sallImean。Still，letusmakethebestofit。Youhaven’theardabouttheschool，Isuppose？’
`No-whataboutit？’
`OnlythatIamgoingawayfromheretoanotherplace。ThemanagersandIdon’tagree，andwearegoingtopart-that’sall。’
Suedidnotforamoment，eithernoworlater，suspectwhattroubleshadresultedtohimfromlettinghergo；itneveronceseemedtocrosshermind，andshehadreceivednonewswhateverfromShaston。Theytalkedonslightandephemeralsubjects，andwhenhisteawasbroughtuphetoldtheamazedlittleservantthatacupwastobesetforSue。Thatyoungpersonwasmuchmoreinterestedintheirhistorythantheysupposed，andasshedescendedthestairssheliftedhereyesandhandsingrotesqueamazement。WhiletheysippedSuewenttothewindowandthoughtfullysaid，`Itissuchabeautifulsunset，Richard。’
`Theyaremostlybeautifulfromhere，owingtotherayscrossingthemistofthevale。ButIlosethemall，astheydon’tshineintothisgloomycornerwhereIlie。’
`Wouldn’tyouliketoseethisparticularone？Itislikeheavenopened。’
`Ahyes！ButIcan’t。’
`I’llhelpyouto。’
`No-thebedsteadcan’tbeshifted。’
`ButseehowImean。’
Shewenttowhereaswing-glassstood，andtakingitinherhandscarriedittoaspotbythewindowwhereitcouldcatchthesunshine，movingtheglasstillthebeamswerereflectedintoPhillotson’sface。
`There-youcanseethegreatredsunnow！’shesaid。`AndI
amsureitwillcheeryou-Idosohopeitwill！’Shespokewithachildlike，repentantkindness，asifshecouldnotdotoomuchforhim。
Phillotsonsmiledsadly。`Youareanoddcreature！’hemurmuredasthesunglowedinhiseyes。`Theideaofyourcomingtoseemeafterwhathaspassed！’
`Don’tletusgobackuponthat！’shesaidquickly。`Ihavetocatchtheomnibusforthetrain，asJudedoesn’tknowIhavecome；hewasoutwhenIstarted；soImustreturnhomealmostdirectly。Richard，Iamsoverygladyouarebetter。Youdon’thateme，doyou？Youhavebeensuchakindfriendtome！’
`Iamgladtoknowyouthinkso，’saidPhillotsonhuskily。`No。
Idon’thateyou！’
Itgrewduskquicklyinthegloomyroomduringtheirintermittentchat，andwhencandleswerebroughtanditwastimetoleavesheputherhandinhisorratherallowedittoflitthroughhis；forshewassignificantlylightintouch。Shehadnearlyclosedthedoorwhenhesaid，`Sue！’Hehadnoticedthat，inturningawayfromhim，tearswereonherfaceandaquiverinherlip。
Itwasbadpolicytorecallher-heknewitwhilehepursuedit。Buthecouldnothelpit。Shecameback。
`Sue，’hemurmured，`doyouwishtomakeitup，andstay？I’llforgiveyouandcondoneeverything！’
`Ohyoucan’t，youcan’t！’shesaidhastily。`Youcan’tcondoneitnow！’
`Heisyourhusbandnow，ineffect，youmean，ofcourse？’
`Youmayassumeit。HeisobtainingadivorcefromhiswifeArabella。’
`Hiswife！Itisaltogethernewstomethathehasawife。’
`Itwasabadmarriage。’
`Likeyours。’
`Likemine。Heisnotdoingitsomuchonhisownaccountasonhers。Shewroteandtoldhimitwouldbeakindnesstoher，sincethenshecouldmarryandliverespectably。AndJudehasagreed。’
`Awife……Akindnesstoher。Ah，yes；akindnesstohertoreleaseheraltogether……ButIdon’tlikethesoundofit。Icanforgive，Sue。’
`No，no！Youcan’thavemebacknowIhavebeensowicked-astodowhatIhavedone！’
TherehadariseninSue’sfacethatincipientfrightwhichshoweditselfwheneverhechangedfromfriendtohusband，andwhichmadeheradoptanylineofdefenceagainstmaritalfeelinginhim。`Imustgonow。
I’llcomeagain-mayI？’
`Idon’taskyoutogo，evennow。Iaskyoutostay。’
`Ithankyou，Richard；butImust。AsyouarenotsoillasI
thought，Icannotstay！’
`She’shis-hisfromlipstoheel！’saidPhillotson；butsofaintlythatinclosingthedoorshedidnothearit。Thedreadofareactionarychangeintheschoolmaster’ssentiments，coupled，perhaps，withafaintshamefacednessatlettingevenhimknowwhataslipshodlackofthoroughness，fromaman’spointofview，characterizedhertransferredallegiance，preventedhertellinghimofher，thusfar，incompleterelationswithJude；andPhillotsonlaywrithinglikeamaninhellashepicturedtheprettilydressed，maddeningcompoundofsympathyandaversenesswhoborehisname，returningimpatientlytothehomeofherlover。
GillinghamwassointerestedinPhillotson’saffairs，andsoseriouslyconcernedabouthim，thathewalkedupthehill-sidetoShastontwoorthreetimesaweek，although，thereandback，itwasajourneyofninemiles，whichhadtobeperformedbetweenteaandsupper，afterahardday’sworkinschool。WhenhecalledonthenextoccasionafterSue’svisithisfriendwasdownstairs，andGillinghamnoticedthathisrestlessmoodhadbeensupplantedbyamorefixedandcomposedone。
`She’sbeenheresinceyoucalledlast，’saidPhillotson。
`NotMrs。Phillotson？’
`Yes。’
`Ah！Youhavemadeitup？’
`No……Shejustcame，pattedmypillowwithherlittlewhitehand，playedthethoughtfulnurseforhalfanhour，andwentaway。’
`Well-I’mhanged！Alittlehussy！’
`Whatdoyousay？’
`Oh-nothing！’
`Whatdoyoumean？’
`Imean，whatatantalizing，capriciouslittlewoman！Ifshewerenotyourwife’
`Sheisnot；she’sanotherman’sexceptinnameandlaw。AndI
havebeenthinking-itwassuggestedtomebyaconversationIhadwithher-that，inkindnesstoher，Ioughttodissolvethelegaltiealtogether；
which，singularlyenough，IthinkIcando，nowshehasbeenback，andrefusedmyrequesttostayafterIsaidIhadforgivenher。Ibelievethatfactwouldaffordmeopportunityofdoingit，thoughIdidnotseeitatthemoment。What’stheuseofkeepingherchainedontomeifshedoesn’tbelongtome？Iknow-Ifeelabsolutelycertain-thatshewouldwelcomemytakingsuchastepasthegreatestcharitytoher。Forthoughasafellow-creatureshesympathizeswith，andpitiesme，andevenweepsforme，asahusbandshecannotendureme-sheloathesme-there’snouseinmincingwords-sheloathesme，andmyonlymanly，anddignified，andmercifulcourseistocompletewhatIhavebegun……Andforworldlyreasons，too，itwillbebetterforhertobeindependent。Ihavehopelesslyruinedmyprospectsbecauseofmydecisionastowhatwasbestforus，thoughshedoesnotknowit；Iseeonlydirepovertyaheadfrommyfeettothegrave；forI
canbeacceptedasteachernomore。Ishallprobablyhaveenoughtodotomakebothendsmeetduringtheremainderofmylife，nowmyoccupation’sgone；andIshallbebetterabletobearitalone。Imayaswelltellyouthatwhathassuggestedmylettinghergoissomenewsshebroughtme-
thenewsthatFawleyisdoingthesame。’
`Oh-hehadaspouse，too？Aqueercouple，theselovers！’
`Well-Idon’twantyouropiniononthat。WhatIwasgoingtosayisthatmyliberatinghercandohernopossibleharm，andwillopenupachanceofhappinessforherwhichshehasneverdreamtofhitherto。
Forthenthey’llbeabletomarry，astheyoughttohavedoneatfirst。’
Gillinghamdidnothurrytoreply。`Imaydisagreewithyourmotive，’
hesaidgently，forherespectedviewshecouldnotshare。`ButIthinkyouarerightinyourdetermination-ifyoucancarryitout。Idoubt，however，ifyoucan。’
JudetheObscureChapter35PartFifthAtAldbrickhamandElsewhere`Thyaerialpart，andallthefierypartswhicharemingledinthee，thoughbynaturetheyhaveanupwardtendency，stillinobediencetothedispositionoftheuniversetheyareover-poweredhereinthecompoundmassthebody。’-M。AntoninusLong。
V-iHowGillingham’sdoubtsweredisposedofwillmostquicklyappearbypassingovertheseriesofdrearymonthsandincidentsthatfollowedtheeventsofthelastchapter，andcomingontoaSundayintheFebruaryoftheyearfollowing。
SueandJudewerelivinginAldbrickham，inpreciselythesamerelationsthattheyhadestablishedbetweenthemselveswhensheleftShastontojoinhimtheyearbefore。Theproceedingsinthelaw-courtshadreachedtheirconsciousness，butasadistantsoundandanoccasionalmissivewhichtheyhardlyunderstood。
Theyhadmet，asusual，tobreakfasttogetherinthelittlehousewithJude’snameonit，thathehadtakenatfifteenpoundsayear，withthree-pounds-tenextraforratesandtaxes，andfurnishedwithhisaunt’sancientandlumberinggoods，whichhadcosthimabouttheirfullvaluetobringallthewayfromMarygreen。Suekepthouse，andmanagedeverything。
AsheenteredtheroomthismorningSueheldupalettershehadjustreceived。
`Well；andwhatisitabout？’hesaidafterkissingher。
`ThatthedecreenisiinthecaseofPhillotsonversusPhillotsonandFawley，pronouncedsixmonthsago，hasjustbeenmadeabsolute。’
`Ah，’saidJude，ashesatdown。
ThesameconcludingincidentinJude’ssuitagainstArabellahadoccurredaboutamonthortwoearlier。Bothcaseshadbeentooinsignificanttobereportedinthepapers，furtherthanbynameinalonglistofotherundefendedcases。
`Nowthen，Sue，atanyrate，youcandowhatyoulike！’Helookedathissweetheartcuriously。
`Arewe-youandI-justasfreenowasifwehadnevermarriedatall？’
`Justasfree-except，Ibelieve，thataclergymanmayobjectpersonallytoremarryyou，andhandthejobontosomebodyelse。’
`ButIwonder-doyouthinkitisreallysowithus？Iknowitisgenerally。ButIhaveanuncomfortablefeelingthatmyfreedomhasbeenobtainedunderfalsepretences！’
`How？’
`Well-ifthetruthaboutushadbeenknown，thedecreewouldn’thavebeenpronounced。Itisonly，isit，becausewehavemadenodefence，andhaveledthemintoafalsesupposition？Thereforeismyfreedomlawful，howeverproperitmaybe？’
`Well-whydidyouletitbeunderfalsepretences？Youhaveonlyyourselftoblame，’hesaidmischievously。
`Jude-don’t！Yououghtnottobetouchyaboutthatstill。YoumusttakemeasIam。’
`Verywell，darling：soIwill。Perhapsyouwereright。Astoyourquestion，wewerenotobligedtoproveanything。Thatwastheirbusiness。
Anyhowwearelivingtogether。’
`Yes。Thoughnotintheirsense。’
`Onethingiscertain，thathoweverthedecreemaybebroughtabout，amarriageisdissolvedwhenitisdissolved。Thereisthisadvantageinbeingpoorobscurepeoplelikeus-thatthesethingsaredoneforusinaroughandreadyfashion。ItwasthesamewithmeandArabella。Iwasafraidhercriminalsecondmarriagewouldhavebeendiscovered，andshepunished；butnobodytookanyinterestinher-nobodyinquired，nobodysuspectedit。Ifwe’dbeenpatentednobilitiesweshouldhavehadinfinitetrouble，anddaysandweekswouldhavebeenspentininvestigations。’
BydegreesSueacquiredherlover’scheerfulnessatthesenseoffreedom，andproposedthattheyshouldtakeawalkinthefields，eveniftheyhadtoputupwithacolddinneronaccountofit。Judeagreed，andSuewentup-stairsandpreparedtostart，puttingonajoyfulcolouredgowninobservanceofherliberty；seeingwhichJudeputonalightertie。