carelessly. "Chatty
will always obey whatever impulse is nearest and most continuous, if she
is not backed up on the other side."

"I don't believe you realise the strength of her feelings, Theo. That is
what she is afraid of, not to be strong enough to hold out."

"Oh! So you have been over that ground with her already!"

"She spoke to me. She was glad of the opportunity to relieve her mind."

"And you promised to stand by her?" he said.

Lady Markland had been a woman full of dignity and composure. She was so
still to all outward appearance, and the darkness concealed the flush
that rose to her face; But it could not conceal the slight tremor with
which she replied after a pause: "I promised not to be against her at
least."

A flood of angry words rose to Theo's lips, the blood mounted to his
head. He had taken the bias so fatal between married people of supposing
when his wife disagreed with him that she did it on purpose, not because
she herself thought so, but because it was opposition. Perhaps this was
because of that inherent contempt for women which is a settled principle
in the minds of so many men, perhaps because he had been used to a narrow
mind and opinions cut and dry in the case of his sister, perhaps even
because of his hot adoration and faith in Lady Markland as perfect. To
continue perfect in his eyes, after their marriage, she would have needed
to agree always with him, to think his thoughts. He exacted this accord
with all the susceptibility of a fastidious nature, which would be content
with no forced agreement, and divined in a moment when an effort was
required to conform her opinions to his. He would not tolerate such an
effort. He would have had her agree with him by instinct, by nature, not
even by desire to please him, much less by policy. He could not endure
to think of either of these means of procuring what he wanted. What he
wanted was the perfect agreement of a nature which arrived at the same
conclusions as his by the same means, which responded before he spoke,
which was always ready to anticipate, to give him the exquisite
satisfaction of feeling he was right by a perpetual seconding of all
his decisions and anticipation of his thoughts. Had he married a young
creature like Chatty, ready to take the impress of his more active mind,
he might have found other drawbacks in her to irritate his _amour propre_,
and probably would have despised her judgment in consequence of her
perpet