rate, but with one hand, with a few loose grains of stray
powder. He recognised at the end of ten minutes, and even without her
explaining it, that if she had made him wait it had not been to wound
him; they had by that time almost directly met on the fact of her
intention. She had wanted him to think for himself of what she proposed
to say to him--not having otherwise announced it; wanted to let it come
home to him on the spot, as she had shrewdly believed it would. Her
first question, on appearing, had practically been as to whether he
hadn't taken her hint, and this inquiry assumed so many things that it
made discussion, immediately, frank and large. He knew, with the
question put, that the hint was just what he _had_ taken; knew that she
had made him quickly forgive her the display of her power; knew that if
he didn't take care he should understand her, and the strength of her
purpose, to say nothing of that of her imagination, nothing of the
length of her purse, only too well. Yet he pulled himself up with the
thought, too, that he was not going to be afraid of understanding her;
he was just going to understand and understand without detriment to the
feeblest, even, of his passions. The play of one's mind let one in, at
the best, dreadfully, in action, in the need of action, where
simplicity was all; but when one couldn't prevent it the thing was to
make it complete. There would never be mistakes but for the original
fun of mistakes. What he must use his fatal intelligence for was to
resist. Mrs. Lowder, meanwhile, might use it for whatever she liked.

It was after she had begun her statement of her own idea about Kate
that he began, on his side, to reflect that--with her manner of
offering it as really sufficient if he would take the trouble to
embrace--it she couldn't half hate him. That was all, positively, she
seemed to show herself for the time as attempting; clearly, if she did
her intention justice, she would have nothing more disagreeable to do.
"If I hadn't been ready to go very much further, you understand, I
wouldn't have gone so far. I don't care what you repeat to her--the
more you repeat to her, perhaps the better; and, at any rate, there's
nothing she doesn't already know. I don't say it for her; I say it for
you--when I want to reach my niece I know how to do it straight." So
Aunt Maud delivered herself--as with homely benevolence, in the
simplest, but the clearest terms; virtually conveying that, th