ing she would have seemed to confirm all he believed of her;
and then, his ardour at height, how simple to point out to him--without
entreaty, without show of much concern--that by neglecting formalities
they gained absolutely nothing. Artifice of that kind was perhaps
demanded by the mere circumstances. Possibly he himself would have
welcomed it--after the grateful sense of inspiring such complete
devotion. It is the woman's part to exercise tact; she had proved
herself lamentably deficient in that quality.

To-morrow she must study his manner. If she discerned any serious
change, any grave indication of disappointment--

What was her life to be? At first they would travel together; but
before long it might be necessary to have a settled home, and what then
would be her social position, her duties and pleasures? Housekeeping,
mere domesticities, could never occupy her for more than the smallest
possible part of each day. Having lost one purpose in life, dignified,
absorbing, likely to extend its sphere as time went on, what other
could she hope to substitute for it?

Love of husband--perhaps of child. There must be more than that. Rhoda
did not deceive herself as to the requirements of her nature. Practical
activity in some intellectual undertaking; a share--nay, leadership--in
some "movement;" contact with the revolutionary life of her time--the
impulses of her heart once satisfied, these things would again claim
her. But how if Everard resisted such tendencies? Was he in truth
capable of respecting her individuality? Or would his strong instinct
of lordship urge him to direct his wife as a dependent, to impose upon
her his own view of things? She doubted whether he had much genuine
sympathy with woman's emancipation as she understood it. Yet in no
particular had her convictions changed; nor would they change. She
herself was no longer one of the 'odd women'; fortune had--or seemed to
have--been kind to her; none the less her sense of a mission remained.
No longer an example of perfect female independence, and unable
therefore to use the same language as before, she might illustrate
woman's claim of equality in marriage.--If her experience proved no
obstacle.

* * *

Next morning, as had been agreed, they met at some distance from
Seascale, and spent two or three hours together. There was little
danger in observation unless by a casual peasant; for the most part
their privacy could not have been more secure in a