unconsciously rebuilding her city, but it was still
rather gaunt and bare, the trees had not had time to grow in the
streets, and there was an ugly fortification round it of defaced,
fire-seared stones, which had once stood aloft in minaret and tower, and
which now served only as a defence against all corners.

If Dick had been in trouble, or rather if she had known the troubles he
had been through, and which had made his crooked mouth shut so firmly,
Rachel might possibly have been able to give him something more valuable
than the paper money of her friendship. But Dick was obviously
independent. He could do without her, while Hugh had a claim upon her.
Rachel's thoughts turned to Hugh again and ever again. Did he see his
conduct as she saw it? A haunting fear was upon her that he did not. And
she longed with an intensity that outbalanced for the time every other
feeling that he should confess his sin fully, entirely--see it in all
its ugliness, and gather himself together into a deep repentance before
he went down into silence, or before he made a fresh start in life. She
would have given her right hand to achieve that.

And in a lesser degree she was drawn towards Lady Newhaven. Lady
Newhaven was conscious of the tender compassion which Rachel felt for
her, and used it to the uttermost; but unfortunately she mistook it for
admiration of her character, mixed with sympathetic sorrow for her
broken heart. If she had seen herself as Rachel saw her, she would have
conceived, not for herself, but for Rachel, some of the aversion which
was gradually distilling, bitter drop by drop, into her mind for her
husband. She would not have killed him. She would have thought herself
incapable of an action so criminal, so monstrous. But if part of the
ruin in the garden were visibly trembling to its fall, she would not
have warned him if he had been sitting beneath it, nor would her
conscience have ever reproached her afterwards.

"I wish Miss Gresley would come and stay here instead of taking you away
from me," she said, plaintively, to Rachel one morning, when she made
the disagreeable discovery that Rachel and Hester were friends. "I don't
care much about her myself, she is so profane and so dreadfully
irreligious. But Edward likes to talk to her. He prefers artificial
people. I wonder he did not marry her. That old cat, Lady Susan Gresley,
was always throwing her at his head. I wish she was not always
persuading you to leave me