t properly hot with each other unless there's a reason,
Nelly, and I'm beginning to fear that the reason lies deeper than we
thought."

He waited for her to speak; but she did not.

"You mustn't think me shifty, or anything of that kind; but I do feel,
where there was such a lot of smoke and us separated all these weeks,
and none the worse for separation apparently, that, if we was to take
the step--in a word, it's come over me stronger and stronger that we
might do well to weigh what we're going to do in the balance before we
do it."

Her delight knew no bounds. But still she did not reply, and Mr. Gurd
began to grow red.

"If, by your silence, you mean that I'm cutting a poor figure before
you, and you think I want to be off our bargain, you're wrong," he said.
"Your mind ought to move quicker and I don't mind telling you so. I'm
not off my bargain, because I'm a man of honour, and my word, given to
man, woman or child, is kept. And if you don't know that, you're the
only party in Bridport that don't. But I say again, there's two sides to
it, and look before you leap, though not a maxim women are very addicted
to following, is a good rule for all that. So I'll ask you how the land
lies, if you please. You've turned this over same as me; and I'll be
obliged if you'll tell me how you're viewing it."

"In other words you've changed your mind?"

"My mind can wait. I may have done so, or I may not; but to change my
mind ain't to change my word, so you need have no anxiety on that
account."

"Far from being anxious," answered Mrs. Northover, "I never felt so
light-hearted since I was a girl, Richard. For why? My name for honest
dealing is as high as yours, I believe, and if you'd come back to me and
asked for bygones to be bygones, I should have struggled with it, same
as you meant to do. But, seeing you're shaken, I'm pleased to tell, that
I'm shaken also. In fact, 'shaken' isn't a strong enough word. I'm
thankful to Heaven you don't want to go on with it, because, more don't
I."

"If anything could make me still wish to take you, it's to hear such
wisdom," declared Mr. Gurd, after a noisy expiration of thanksgiving. "I
might have known you wasn't behind me in brain power, and I might have
felt you'd be bound to see this quite as quick as me, if not quicker.
And I'm sure nothing could make me think higher of you than to hear
these comforting words."

Mrs. Northover used an aphorism from Mr. Legg.

"Our only f