Shecouldnot，asyet，beartothinkdeliberatelyofDarrow；
butshekeptonrepeatingtoherself\"Byandbyethatwillcometoo。\"Evennowshewasdeterminednottolethisimagebedistortedbyhersuffering。Assoonasshecould，shewouldtrytosingleoutforremembrancetheindividualthingsshehadlikedinhimbeforeshehadlovedhimaltogether。No\"spiritualexercise\"devisedbythedisciplineofpietycouldhavebeenmoretorturing；butitsverycrueltyattractedher。Shewantedtowearherselfoutwithnewpains……
XXXI
ThesoundofMissPainter’slatch—keymadeherstart。Shewasstillabundleofquiveringfearstowhomeachcomingmomentseemedamenace。
Therewasaslightinterval，andasoundofvoicesinthehall；thenMissPainter’svigoroushandwasonthedoor。
Annastoodupasshecamein。\"You’vefoundhim？\"
\"I’vefoundSophy。\"
\"AndOwen？——hassheseenhim？Ishehere？\"
\"SHE’Shere：inthehall。Shewantstospeaktoyou。\"
\"Here——NOW？\"Annafoundnovoiceformore。
\"Shedrovebackwithme，\"MissPaintercontinuedinthetoneofimpartialnarrative。\"Thecabmanwasimpertinent。I’vegothisnumber。\"Shefumbledinastoutblackreticule。
\"Oh，Ican’t——\"brokefromAnna；butshecollectedherself，rememberingthattobetrayherunwillingnesstoseethegirlwastoriskrevealingmuchmore。
\"Shethoughtyoumightbetootiredtoseeher：shewouldn’tcomeintillI’dfoundout。\"
Annadrewaquickbreath。Aninstant’sthoughthadtoldherthatSophyVinerwouldhardlyhavetakensuchastepunlesssomethingmoreimportanthadhappened。\"Askhertocome，please，\"shesaid。
MissPainter，fromthethreshold，turnedbacktoannounceherintentionofgoingimmediatelytothepolicestationtoreportthecabman’sdelinquency；thenshepassedout，andSophyVinerentered。
Thelookinthegirl’sfaceshowedthatshehadindeedcomeunwillingly；yetsheseemedanimatedbyaneagerresolutenessthatmadeAnnaashamedofhertremors。Foramomenttheylookedateachotherinsilence，asifthethoughtsbetweenthemwerepackedtoothickforspeech；thenAnnasaid，inavoicefromwhichshestrovetotaketheedgeofhardness：\"YouknowwhereOwenis，MissPaintertellsme。\"
\"Yes；thatwasmyreasonforaskingyoutoseeme。\"Sophyspokesimply，withoutconstraintorhesitation。
\"Ithoughthe’dpromisedyou——\"Annainterposed。
\"Hedid；buthebrokehispromise。That’swhatIthoughtI
oughttotellyou。\"
\"Thankyou。\"Annawentontentatively：\"HeleftGivrethismorningwithoutaword。IfollowedhimbecauseIwasafraid……\"
Shebrokeoffagainandthegirltookupherphrase。\"Youwereafraidhe’dguessed？HeHAS……\"
\"Whatdoyoumean——guessedwhat？\"
\"Thatyouknowsomethinghedoesn’t……somethingthatmadeyougladtohavemego。\"
\"Oh——\"Annamoaned。Ifshehadwantedmorepainshehaditnow。\"He’stoldyouthis？\"shefaltered。
\"Hehasn’ttoldme，becauseIhaven’tseenhim。Ikepthimoff——ImadeMrs。Farlowgetridofhim。Buthe’swrittenmewhathecametosay；andthatwasit。\"
\"Oh，poorOwen！\"brokefromAnna。Throughalltheintricaciesofhersufferingshefelttheseparatepangofhis。
\"AndIwanttoaskyou，\"thegirlcontinued，\"toletmeseehim；forofcourse，\"sheaddedinthesamestrangevoiceofenergy，\"Iwouldn’tunlessyouconsented。\"
\"Toseehim？\"Annatriedtogathertogetherherstartledthoughts。\"Whatusewoulditbe？Whatcouldyoutellhim？\"
\"Iwanttotellhimthetruth，\"saidSophyViner。
Thetwowomenlookedateachother，andaburningblushrosetoAnna’sforehead。\"Idon’tunderstand，\"shefaltered。
Sophywaitedamoment；thensheloweredhervoicetosay：\"I
don’twanthimtothinkworseofmethanheneed……\"
\"Worse？\"
\"Yes——tothinksuchthingsasyou’rethinkingnow……Iwanthimtoknowexactlywhathappened……thenIwanttobidhimgood—bye。\"
Annatriedtoclearawaythroughherownwonderandconfusion。Shefeltherselfobscurelymoved。
\"Wouldn’titbeworseforhim？\"
\"Tohearthetruth？Itwouldbebetter，atanyrate，foryouandMr。Darrow。\"
AtthesoundofthenameAnnaliftedherheadquickly。\"I’veonlymystep—sontoconsider！\"
Thegirlthrewastartledlookather。\"Youdon’tmean——
you’renotgoingtogivehimup？\"
Annafeltherlipsharden。\"Idon’tthinkit’sofanyusetotalkofthat。\"
\"Oh，Iknow！It’smyfaultfornotknowinghowtosaywhatI
wantyoutohear。Yourwordsaredifferent；youknowhowtochoosethem。Mineoffendyou……andthedreadofitmakesmeblunder。That’swhy，theotherday，Icouldn’tsayanything……couldn’tmakethingscleartoyou。ButnowMUST，evenifyouhateit！\"Shedrewastepnearer，herslenderfigureswayedforwardinapassionofentreaty。\"Dolistentome！Whatyou’vesaidisdreadful。Howcanyouspeakofhiminthatvoice？Don’tyouseethatIwentawaysothatheshouldn’thavetoloseyou？\"
Annalookedathercoldly。\"AreyouspeakingofMr。Darrow？
Idon’tknowwhyyouthinkyourgoingorstayingcaninanywayaffectourrelations。\"
\"YoumeanthatyouHAVEgivenhimup——becauseofme？Oh，howcouldyou？Youcan’treallylovehim！——Andyet，\"thegirlsuddenlyadded，\"youmust，oryou’dbemoresorryforme！\"
\"I’mverysorryforyou，\"Annasaid，feelingasiftheironbandaboutherheartpressedonitalittlelessinexorably。
\"Thenwhywon’tyouhearme？Whywon’tyoutrytounderstand？It’sallsodifferentfromwhatyouimagine！\"
\"I’veneverjudgedyou。\"
\"I’mnotthinkingofmyself。Helovesyou！\"
\"Ithoughtyou’dcometospeakofOwen。\"
SophyVinerseemednottohearher。\"He’sneverlovedanyoneelse。Eventhosefewdays……Iknewitallthewhile……henevercaredforme。\"
\"Pleasedon’tsayanymore！\"Annasaid。
\"IknowitmustseemstrangetoyouthatIshouldsaysomuch。Ishockyou，Ioffendyou：youthinkmeacreaturewithoutshame。SoIam——butnotinthesenseyouthink！I’mnotashamedofhavinglovedhim；no；andI’mnotashamedoftellingyouso。It’sthatthatjustifiesme——andhimtoo……Oh，letmetellyouhowithappened！Hewassorryforme：hesawIcared。IKNEWthatwasallheeverfelt。I
couldseehewasthinkingofsomeoneelse。Iknewitwasonlyforaweek……Heneversaidawordtomisleadme……I
wantedtobehappyjustonce——andIdidn’tdreamoftheharmImightbedoinghim！\"
Annacouldnotspeak。Shehardlyknew，asyet，whatthegirl’swordsconveyedtoher，savethesenseoftheirtragicfervour；butshewasconsciousofbeinginthepresenceofanintenserpassionthanshehadeverfelt。
\"Iamsorryforyou。\"Shepaused。\"Butwhydoyousaythistome？\"Afteranotherintervalsheexclaimed：\"You’dnorighttoletOwenloveyou。\"
\"No；thatwaswrong。Atleastwhat’shappenedsincehasmadeitso。IfthingshadbeendifferentIthinkIcouldhavemadeOwenhappy。Youwereallsogoodtome——Iwantedsotostaywithyou！Isupposeyou’llsaythatmakesitworse：mydaringtodreamIhadtheright……Butallthatdoesn’tmatternow。Iwon’tseeOwenunlessyou’rewilling。
IshouldhavelikedtotellhimwhatI’vetriedtotellyou；
butyoumustknowbetter；youfeelthingsinafinerway。
Onlyyou’llhavetohelphimifIcan’t。Hecaresagreatdeal……it’sgoingtohurthim……\"
Annatrembled。\"Oh，Iknow！WhatcanIdo？\"
\"YoucangostraightbacktoGivre——now，atonce！SothatOwenshallneverknowyou’vefollowedhim。\"Sophy’sclaspedhandsreachedouturgently。\"AndyoucansendforMr。
Darrow——bringhimback。Owenmustbeconvincedthathe’smistaken，andnothingelsewillconvincehim。AfterwardI’llfindapretext——oh，Ipromiseyou！Butfirsthemustseeforhimselfthatnothing’schangedforyou。\"
Annastoodmotionless，subduedanddominated。Thegirl’sardoursweptherlikeawind。
\"Oh，can’tImoveyou？Somedayyou’llknow！\"Sophypleaded，hereyesfulloftears。
Annasawthem，andfeltafullnessinherthroat。Againthebandaboutherheartseemedloosened。Shewantedtofindaword，butcouldnot：allwithinherwastoodarkandviolent。Shegavethegirlaspeechlesslook。
\"Idobelieveyou，\"shesaidsuddenly；thensheturnedandwalkedoutoftheroom。
XXXII
ShedrovefromMissPainter’stoherownapartment。Themaid—servantwhohaditinchargehadbeenapprisedofhercoming，andhadopenedoneortwooftherooms，andpreparedafireinherbedroom。Annashutherselfin，refusingthewoman’sministrations。Shefeltcoldandfaint，andaftershehadtakenoffherhatandcloakshekneltdownbythefireandstretchedherhandstoit。
Inonerespect，atleast，itwascleartoherthatshewoulddowelltofollowSophyViner’scounsel。IthadbeenanactoffollytofollowOwen，andherfirstbusinesswastogetbacktoGivrebeforehim。Buttheonlytrainleavingthateveningwasaslowone，whichdidnotreachFrancheuiltillmidnight，andsheknewthathertakingitwouldexciteMadamedeChantelle’swonderandleadtointerminabletalk。
ShehadcomeuptoParisonthepretextoffindinganewgovernessforEffie，andthenaturalthingwastodeferherreturntillthenextmorning。SheknewOwenwellenoughtobesurethathewouldmakeanotherattempttoseeMissViner，andfailingthat，wouldwriteagainandawaitheranswer：sothattherewasnolikelihoodofhisreachingGivretillthefollowingevening。
Hersenseofreliefatnothavingtostartoutatonceshowedherforthefirsttimehowtiredshewas。Thebonnehadsuggestedacupoftea，butthedreadofhavinganyoneaboutherhadmadeAnnarefuse，andshehadeatennothingsincemorningbutasandwichboughtatabuffet。
Shewastootiredtogetup，butstretchingoutherarmshedrewtowardherthearm—chairwhichstoodbesidethehearthandrestedherheadagainstitscushions。Graduallythewarmthofthefirestoleintoherveinsandherheavinessofsoulwasreplacedbyadreamybuoyancy。Sheseemedtobeseatedonthehearthinhersitting—roomatGivre，andDarrowwasbesideher，inthechairagainstwhichsheleaned。Heputhisarmsabouthershouldersanddrawingherheadbacklookedintohereyes。\"Ofallthewaysyoudoyourhair，that’sthewayIlikebest，\"hesaid……
Alogdropped，andshesatupwithastart。Therewasawarmthinherheart，andshewassmiling。Thenshelookedabouther，andsawwhereshewas，andthegloryfell。Shehidherfaceandsobbed。
Presentlysheperceivedthatitwasgrowingdark，andgettingupstifflyshebegantoundothethingsinherbagandspreadthemonthedressing—table。Sheshrankfromlightingthelights，andgropedherwayabout，tryingtofindwhatsheneeded。Sheseemedimmeasurablyfarofffromeveryone，andmostofallfromherself。Itwasasifherconsciousnesshadbeentransmittedtosomestrangerwhosethoughtsandgestureswereindifferenttoher……
Suddenlysheheardashrilltinkle，andwithabeatingheartshestoodstillinthemiddleoftheroom。Itwasthetelephoneinherdressing—room——acall，nodoubt，fromAdelaidePainter。OrcouldOwenhavelearnedshewasintown？Thethoughtalarmedherandsheopenedthedoorandstumbledacrosstheunlitroomtotheinstrument。Sheheldittoherear，andheardDarrow’svoicepronouncehername。
\"Willyouletmeseeyou？I’vecomeback——Ihadtocome。
MissPaintertoldmeyouwerehere。\"
Shebegantotremble，andfearedthathewouldguessitfromhervoice。Shedidnotknowwhatsheanswered：sheheardhimsay：\"Ican’thear。\"Shecalled\"Yes！\"andlaidthetelephonedown，andcaughtitupagain——buthewasgone。
Shewonderedifher\"Yes\"hadreachedhim。
Shesatinherchairandlistened。Whyhadshesaidthatshewouldseehim？Whatdidshemeantosaytohimwhenhecame？Nowandthen，asshesatthere，thesenseofhispresenceenvelopedherasinherdream，andsheshuthereyesandfelthisarmsabouther。Thenshewoketorealityandshivered。Alongtimeelapsed，andatlengthshesaidtoherself：\"Heisn’tcoming。\"
Thedoor—bellrangasshesaidit，andshestoodup，coldandtrembling。Shethought：\"Canheimaginethere’sanyuseincoming？\"andmovedforwardtobidtheservantsayshecouldnotseehim。
Thedooropenedandshesawhimstandinginthedrawing—
room。Theroomwascoldandfireless，andahardglarefellfromthewall—lightsontheshroudedfurnitureandthewhiteslipscoveringthecurtains。Helookedpaleandstern，withafrownoffatiguebetweenhiseyes；andsherememberedthatinthreedayshehadtravelledfromGivretoLondonandback。Itseemedincrediblethatallthathadbefallenhershouldhavebeencompressedwithinthespaceofthreedays！
\"Thankyou，\"hesaidasshecamein。
Sheanswered：\"It’sbetter，Isuppose————\"
Hecametowardherandtookherinhisarms。Shestruggledalittle，afraidofyielding，buthepressedhertohim，notbendingtoherbutholdingherfast，asthoughhehadfoundherafteralongsearch：sheheardhishurriedbreathing。
Itseemedtocomefromherownbreast，socloseheheldher；
anditwasshewho，atlast，liftedupherfaceanddrewdownhis。
Shefreedherselfandwentandsatonasofaattheotherendoftheroom。Amirrorbetweentheshroudedwindow—
curtainsshowedhercrumpledtravellingdressandthewhitefaceunderherdisorderedhairShefoundhervoice，andaskedhimhowhehadbeenabletoleaveLondon。Heansweredthathehadmanaged——he’darrangedit；andshesawhehardlyheardwhatshewassaying。
\"Ihadtoseeyou，\"hewenton，andmovednearer，sittingdownatherside。
\"Yes；wemustthinkofOwen————\"
\"Oh，Owen——！\"
HermindhadflownbacktoSophyViner’spleathatsheshouldletDarrowreturntoGivreinorderthatOwenmightbepersuadedofthefollyofhissuspicions。Thesuggestionwasabsurd，ofcourse。ShecouldnotaskDarrowtolendhimselftosuchafraud，evenhadshehadtheinhumancouragetoplayherpartinit。Shewassuddenlyoverwhelmedbythefutilityofeveryattempttoreconstructherruinedworld。No，itwasuseless；andsinceitwasuseless，everymomentwithDarrowwaspurepain……
\"I’vecometotalkofmyself，notofOwen，\"sheheardhimsaying。\"WhenyousentmeawaytheotherdayIunderstoodthatitcouldn’tbeotherwise——then。Butit’snotpossiblethatyouandIshouldpartlikethat。IfI’mtoloseyou，itmustbeforabetterreason。\"
\"Abetterreason？\"
\"Yes：adeeperone。Onethatmeansafundamentaldisaccordbetweenus。Thisonedoesn’t——inspiteofeverythingitdoesn’t。That’swhatIwantyoutosee，andhavethecouragetoacknowledge。\"
\"IfIsawitIshouldhavethecourage！\"
\"Yes：couragewasthewrongword。Youhavethat。That’swhyI’mhere。\"
\"ButIdon’tseeit，\"shecontinuedsadly。\"Soit’suseless，isn’tit？——andsocruel……\"Hewasabouttospeak，butshewenton：\"Ishallneverunderstandit——never！\"
Helookedather。\"Youwillsomeday：youweremadetofeeleverything\"
\"Ishouldhavethoughtthiswasacaseofnotfeeling————\"
\"Onmypart，youmean？\"Hefacedherresolutely。\"Yes，itwas：tomyshame……WhatImeantwasthatwhenyou’velivedalittlelongeryou’llseewhatcomplexblunderersweallare：
howwe’restruckblindsometimes，andmadsometimes——andthen，whenoursightandoursensescomeback，howwehavetosettowork，andbuildup，littlebylittle，bitbybit，thepreciousthingswe’dsmashedtoatomswithoutknowingit。Life’sjustaperpetualpiecingtogetherofbrokenbits。\"
Shelookedupquickly。\"That’swhatIfeel：thatyououghtto————\"
Hestoodup，interruptingherwithagesture。\"Oh，don’t——
don’tsaywhatyou’regoingto！Mendon’tgivetheirlivesawaylikethat。Ifyouwon’thavemine，it’satleastmyown，todothebestIcanwith。\"
\"Thebestyoucan——that’swhatImean！Howcantherebea’best’foryouthat’smadeofsomeoneelse’sworst？\"
Hesatdownagainwithagroan。\"Idon’tknow！Itseemedsuchaslightthing——allonthesurface——andI’vegoneagroundonitbecauseitwasonthesurface。Iseethehorrorofitjustasyoudo。ButIsee，alittlemoreclearly，theextent，andthelimits，ofmywrong。It’snotasblackasyouimagine。\"
Sheloweredhervoicetosay：\"IsupposeIshallneverunderstand；butsheseemstoloveyou……\"
\"There’smyshame！ThatIdidn’tguessit，didn’tflyfromit。Yousayyou’llneverunderstand：butwhyshouldn’tyou？
Isitanythingtobeproudof，toknowsolittleofthestringsthatpullus？Ifyouknewalittlemore，Icouldtellyouhowsuchthingshappenwithoutoffendingyou；andperhapsyou’dlistenwithoutcondemningme。\"
\"Idon’tcondemnyou。\"Shewasdizzywithstrugglingimpulses。Shelongedtocryout：\"IDOunderstand！I’veunderstoodeversinceyou’vebeenhere！\"Forshewasaware，inherownbosom，ofsensationssoseparatefromherromanticthoughtsofhimthatshesawherbodyandsouldividedagainstthemselves。SherecalledhavingreadsomewherethatinancientRometheslaveswerenotallowedtowearadistinctivedresslesttheyshouldrecognizeeachotherandlearntheirnumbersandtheirpower。So，inherself，shediscernedforthefirsttimeinstinctsanddesires，which，muteandunmarked，hadgonetoandfrointhedimpassagesofhermind，andnowhailedeachotherwithacryofmutiny。
\"Oh，Idon’tknowwhattothink！\"shebrokeout。\"Yousayyoudidn’tknowshelovedyou。Butyouknowitnow。
Doesn’tthatshowyouhowyoucanputthebrokenbitstogether？\"
\"CanyouseriouslythinkitwouldbedoingsotomarryonewomanwhileIcareforanother？\"
\"Oh，Idon’tknow……Idon’tknow……\"Thesenseofherweaknessmadehertrytohardenherselfagainsthisarguments。
\"Youdoknow！We’veoftentalkedofsuchthings：ofthemonstrousnessofuselesssacrifices。IfI’mtoexpiate，it’snotinthatway。\"Headdedabruptly：\"It’sinhavingtosaythistoyounow……\"
Shefoundnoanswer。
Throughthesilentapartmenttheyheardthesuddenpealofthedoor—bell，andsherosetoherfeet。\"Owen！\"sheinstantlyexclaimed。
\"IsOweninParis？\"
SheexplainedinarapidundertonewhatshehadlearnedfromSophyViner。
\"ShallIleaveyou？\"Darrowasked。
\"Yes……no……\"Shemovedtothedining—roomdoor，withthehalf—formedpurposeofmakinghimpassout，andthenturnedback。\"ItmaybeAdelaide。\"
Theyheardtheouterdooropen，andamomentlaterOwenwalkedintotheroom。Hewaspale，withexcitedeyes：astheyfellonDarrow，Annasawhisstartofwonder。Hemadeaslightsignofrecognition，andthenwentuptohisstep—
motherwithanairofexaggeratedgaiety。
\"Youfurtiveperson！IranacrosstheomniscientAdelaideandheardfromherthatyou’drushedupsuddenlyandsecretly\"HestoodbetweenAnnaandDarrow，strained，questioning，dangerouslyonedge。
\"IcameuptomeetMr。Darrow，\"Annaanswered。\"Hisleave’sbeenprolonged——he’sgoingbackwithme。\"
Thewordsseemedtohaveutteredthemselveswithoutherwill，yetshefeltagreatsenseoffreedomasshespokethem。
ThehardtensionofOwen’sfacechangedtoincreduloussurprise。HelookedatDarrow。
\"Themerestluck……acolleaguewhosewifewasill……Icamestraightback，\"sheheardthelattertranquillyexplaining。
Hisself—commandhelpedtosteadyher，andshesmiledatOwen。
\"We’llallgobacktogethertomorrowmorning，\"shesaidassheslippedherarmthroughhis。
XXXIII
OwenLeathdidnotgobackwithhisstep—mothertoGivre。
InreplytohersuggestionheannouncedhisintentionofstayingonadayortwolongerinParis。
Annaleftalonebythefirsttrainthenextmorning。Darrowwastofollowintheafternoon。WhenOwenhadleftthemtheeveningbefore，Darrowwaitedamomentforhertospeak；
then，asshesaidnothing，heaskedherifshereallywishedhimtoreturntoGivre。Shemadeamutesignofassent，andheadded：\"Foryouknowthat，muchasI’mreadytodoforOwen，Ican’tdothatforhim——Ican’tgobacktobesentawayagain。\"
\"No——no！\"
Hecamenearer，andlookedather，andshewenttohim。Allherfearsseemedtofallfromherasheheldher。Itwasadifferentfeelingfromanyshehadknownbefore：confusedandturbid，asifsecretshamesandrancoursstirredinit，yetricher，deeper，moreenslaving。Sheleanedherheadbackandshuthereyesbeneathhiskisses。Sheknewnowthatshecouldnevergivehimup。
Neverthelesssheaskedhim，thenextmorning，tolethergobackalonetoGivre。Shewantedtimetothink。Shewasconvincedthatwhathadhappenedwasinevitable，thatsheandDarrowbelongedtoeachother，andthathewasrightinsayingnopastfollycouldeverputthemasunder。Iftherewasashadeofdifferenceinherfeelingforhimitwasthatofanaddedintensity。Shefeltrestless，insecureoutofhissight：shehadasenseofincompleteness，ofpassionatedependence，thatwassomehowatvariancewithherownconceptionofhercharacter。
Itwaspartlytheconsciousnessofthischangeinherselfthatmadeherwanttobealone。Thesolitudeofherinnerlifehadgivenherthehabitofthesehoursofself—
examination，andsheneededthemassheneededhermorningplungeintocoldwater。
Duringthejourneyshetriedtoreviewwhathadhappenedinthelightofhernewdecisionandofhersuddenrelieffrompain。Sheseemedtoherselftohavepassedthroughsomefieryinitiationfromwhichshehademergedsearedandquivering，butclutchingtoherbreastamagictalisman。
SophyVinerhadcriedouttoher：\"Somedayyou’llknow！\"
andDarrowhadusedthesamewords。Theymeant，shesupposed，thatwhenshehadexploredtheintricaciesanddarknessesofherownheartherjudgmentofotherswouldbelessabsolute。Well，sheknewnow——knewweaknessesandstrengthsshehadnotdreamedof，andthedeepdiscordandstilldeepercomplicitiesbetweenwhatthoughtinherandwhatblindlywanted……
HermindturnedanxiouslytoOwen。Atleasttheblowthatwastofallonhimwouldnotseemtohavebeeninflictedbyherhand。HewouldbeleftwiththeimpressionthathisbreachwithSophyVinerwasduetooneoftheordinarycausesofsuchdisruptions：thoughhemustloseher，hismemoryofherwouldnotbepoisoned。AnnaneverforamomentpermittedherselfthedelusionthatshehadrenewedherpromisetoDarrowinordertospareherstep—sonthislastrefinementofmisery。Sheknewshehadbeenpromptedbytheirresistibleimpulsetoholdfasttowhatwasmostprecioustoher，andthatOwen’sarrivalonthescenehadbeenthepretextforherdecision，andnotitscause；yetshefeltherselffortifiedbythethoughtofwhatshehadsparedhim。Itwasasthoughastarshehadbeenusedtofollowhadsheditsfamiliarrayonwaysunknowntoher。