VII + 

The light projected on the situation by Mrs.┬аFisher had the cheerless distinctness of a winter dawn. It outlined the facts with a cold precision unmodified by shade or colour, and refracted, as it were, from the blank walls of the surrounding limitations: she had opened windows from which no sky was ever visible. But the idealist subdued to vulgar necessities must employ vulgar minds to draw the inferences to which he cannot stoop; and it was easier for Lily to let Mrs.┬аFisher formulate her case than to put it plainly to herself. Once confronted with it, however, she went the full length of its consequences; and these had never been more clearly present to her than when, the next afternoon, she set out for a walk with Rosedale. + 

It was one of those still November days when the air is haunted with the light of summer, and something in the lines of the landscape, and in the golden haze which bathed them, recalled to Miss Bart the September afternoon when she had climbed the slopes of Bellomont with Selden. The importunate memory was kept before her by its ironic contrast to her present situation, since her walk with Selden had represented an irresistible flight from just such a climax as the present excursion was designed to bring about. But other memories importuned her also; the recollection of similar situations, as skillfully led up to, but through some malice of fortune, or her own unsteadiness of purpose, always failing of the intended result. Well, her purpose was steady enough now. She saw that the whole weary work of rehabilitation must begin again, and against far greater odds, if Bertha Dorset should succeed in breaking up her friendship with the Gormers; and her longing for shelter and security was intensified by the passionate desire to triumph over Bertha, as only wealth and predominance could triumph over her. As the wife of RosedaleтБатАФthe Rosedale she felt it in her power to createтБатАФshe would at least present an invulnerable front to her enemy. + 

She had to draw upon this thought, as upon some fiery stimulant, to keep up her part in the scene toward which Rosedale was too frankly tending. As she walked beside him, shrinking in every nerve from the way in which his look and tone made free of her, yet telling herself that this momentary endurance of his mood was the price she must pay for her ultimate power over him, she tried to calculate the exact point at which concession must turn to resistance, and the price he would have to pay be made equally clear to him. But his dapper self-confidence seemed impenetrable to such hints, and she had a sense of something hard and self-contained behind the superficial warmth of his manner. + 

They had been seated for some time in the seclusion of a rocky glen above the lake, when she suddenly cut short the culmination of an impassioned period by turning upon him the grave loveliness of her gaze. + 

тАЬI do believe what you say, Mr.┬аRosedale,тАЭ she said quietly; тАЬand I am ready to marry you whenever you wish.тАЭ + 

Rosedale, reddening to the roots of his glossy hair, received this announcement with a recoil which carried him to his feet, where he halted before her in an attitude of almost comic discomfiture. + 

тАЬFor I suppose that is what you do wish,тАЭ she continued, in the same quiet tone. тАЬAnd, though I was unable to consent when you spoke to me in this way before, I am ready, now that I know you so much better, to trust my happiness to your hands.тАЭ + 

She spoke with the noble directness which she could command on such occasions, and which was like a large steady light thrown across the tortuous darkness of the situation. In its inconvenient brightness Rosedale seemed to waver a moment, as though conscious that every avenue of escape was unpleasantly illuminated. + 

Then he gave a short laugh, and drew out a gold cigarette-case, in which, with plump jewelled fingers, he groped for a gold-tipped cigarette. Selecting one, he paused to contemplate it a moment before saying: тАЬMy dear Miss Lily, IтАЩm sorry if thereтАЩs been any little misapprehension between usтАФbut you made me feel my suit was so hopeless that I had really no intention of renewing it.тАЭ + 

LilyтАЩs blood tingled with the grossness of the rebuff; but she checked the first leap of her anger, and said in a tone of gentle dignity: тАЬI have no one but myself to blame if I gave you the impression that my decision was final.тАЭ + 

Her wordplay was always too quick for him, and this reply held him in puzzled silence while she extended her hand and added, with the faintest inflection of sadness in her voice: тАЬBefore we bid each other goodbye, I want at least to thank you for having once thought of me as you did.тАЭ + 

The touch of her hand, the moving softness of her look, thrilled a vulnerable fibre in Rosedale. It was her exquisite inaccessibleness, the sense of distance she could convey without a hint of disdain, that made it most difficult for him to give her up. + 

тАЬWhy do you talk of saying goodbye? AinтАЩt we going to be good friends all the same?тАЭ he urged, without releasing her hand. + 

She drew it away quietly. тАЬWhat is your idea of being good friends?тАЭ she returned with a slight smile. тАЬMaking love to me without asking me to marry you?тАЭ + 

Rosedale laughed with a recovered sense of ease. тАЬWell, thatтАЩs about the size of it, I suppose. I canтАЩt help making love to youтБатАФI donтАЩt see how any man could; but I donтАЩt mean to ask you to marry me as long as I can keep out of it.тАЭ + 

She continued to smile. тАЬI like your frankness; but I am afraid our friendship can hardly continue on those terms.тАЭ + 

She turned away, as though to mark that its final term had in fact been reached, and he followed her for a few steps with a baffled sense of her having after all kept the game in her own hands. + 

тАЬMiss LilyтБатАФтАЭ he began impulsively; but she walked on without seeming to hear him. + 

He overtook her in a few quick strides, and laid an entreating hand on her arm. тАЬMiss LilyтБатАФdonтАЩt hurry away like that. YouтАЩre beastly hard on a fellow; but if you donтАЩt mind speaking the truth I donтАЩt see why you shouldnтАЩt allow me to do the same.тАЭ + 

She had paused a moment with raised brows, drawing away instinctively from his touch, though she made no effort to evade his words. + 

тАЬI was under the impression,тАЭ she rejoined, тАЬthat you had done so without waiting for my permission.тАЭ + 

тАЬWellтБатАФwhy shouldnтАЩt you hear my reasons for doing it, then? WeтАЩre neither of us such new hands that a little plain speaking is going to hurt us. IтАЩm all broken up on you: thereтАЩs nothing new in that. IтАЩm more in love with you than I was this time last year; but IтАЩve got to face the fact that the situation is changed.тАЭ + 

She continued to confront him with the same air of ironic composure. тАЬYou mean to say that IтАЩm not as desirable a match as you thought me?тАЭ + 

тАЬYes; thatтАЩs what I do mean,тАЭ he answered resolutely. тАЬI wonтАЩt go into whatтАЩs happened. I donтАЩt believe the stories about youтБатАФI donтАЩt want to believe them. But theyтАЩre there, and my not believing them ainтАЩt going to alter the situation.тАЭ + 

She flushed to her temples, but the extremity of her need checked the retort on her lip and she continued to face him composedly. тАЬIf they are not true,тАЭ she said, тАЬdoesnтАЩt that alter the situation?тАЭ + 

He met this with a steady gaze of his small stocktaking eyes, which made her feel herself no more than some superfine human merchandise. тАЬI believe it does in novels; but IтАЩm certain it donтАЩt in real life. You know that as well as I do: if weтАЩre speaking the truth, letтАЩs speak the whole truth. Last year I was wild to marry you, and you wouldnтАЩt look at me: this yearтБатАФwell, you appear to be willing. Now, what has changed in the interval? Your situation, thatтАЩs all. Then you thought you could do better; nowтБатАФтАЭ + 

тАЬYou think you can?тАЭ broke from her ironically. + 

тАЬWhy, yes, I do: in one way, that is.тАЭ He stood before her, his hands in his pockets, his chest sturdily expanded under its vivid waistcoat. тАЬItтАЩs this way, you see: IтАЩve had a pretty steady grind of it these last years, working up my social position. Think itтАЩs funny I should say that? Why should I mind saying I want to get into society? A man ainтАЩt ashamed to say he wants to own a racing stable or a picture gallery. Well, a taste for societyтАЩs just another kind of hobby. Perhaps I want to get even with some of the people who cold-shouldered me last yearтБатАФput it that way if it sounds better. Anyhow, I want to have the run of the best houses; and IтАЩm getting it too, little by little. But I know the quickest way to queer yourself with the right people is to be seen with the wrong ones; and thatтАЩs the reason I want to avoid mistakes.тАЭ + 

Miss Bart continued to stand before him in a silence that might have expressed either mockery or a half-reluctant respect for his candour, and after a momentтАЩs pause he went on: тАЬThere it is, you see. IтАЩm more in love with you than ever, but if I married you now IтАЩd queer myself for good and all, and everything IтАЩve worked for all these years would be wasted.тАЭ + 

She received this with a look from which all tinge of resentment had faded. After the tissue of social falsehoods in which she had so long moved it was refreshing to step into the open daylight of an avowed expediency. + 

тАЬI understand you,тАЭ she said. тАЬA year ago I should have been of use to you, and now I should be an encumbrance; and I like you for telling me so quite honestly.тАЭ She extended her hand with a smile. + 

Again the gesture had a disturbing effect upon Mr.┬аRosedaleтАЩs self-command. тАЬBy George, youтАЩre a dead game sport, you are!тАЭ he exclaimed; and as she began once more to move away, he broke out suddenlyтБатАФтАЬMiss LilyтБатАФstop. You know I donтАЩt believe those storiesтБатАФI believe they were all got up by a woman who didnтАЩt hesitate to sacrifice you to her own convenienceтБатАФтАЭ + 

Lily drew away with a movement of quick disdain: it was easier to endure his insolence than his commiseration. + 

тАЬYou are very kind; but I donтАЩt think we need discuss the matter farther.тАЭ + 

But RosedaleтАЩs natural imperviousness to hints made it easy for him to brush such resistance aside. тАЬI donтАЩt want to discuss anything; I just want to put a plain case before you,тАЭ he persisted. + 

She paused in spite of herself, held by the note of a new purpose in his look and tone; and he went on, keeping his eyes firmly upon her: тАЬThe wonder to me is that youтАЩve waited so long to get square with that woman, when youтАЩve had the power in your hands.тАЭ She continued silent under the rush of astonishment that his words produced, and he moved a step closer to ask with low-toned directness: тАЬWhy donтАЩt you use those letters of hers you bought last year?тАЭ + 

Lily stood speechless under the shock of the interrogation. In the words preceding it she had conjectured, at most, an allusion to her supposed influence over George Dorset; nor did the astonishing indelicacy of the reference diminish the likelihood of RosedaleтАЩs resorting to it. But now she saw how far short of the mark she had fallen; and the surprise of learning that he had discovered the secret of the letters left her, for the moment, unconscious of the special use to which he was in the act of putting his knowledge. + 

Her temporary loss of self-possession gave him time to press his point; and he went on quickly, as though to secure completer control of the situation: тАЬYou see I know where you standтБатАФI know how completely sheтАЩs in your power. That sounds like stage-talk, donтАЩt it?тБатАФbut thereтАЩs a lot of truth in some of those old gags; and I donтАЩt suppose you bought those letters simply because youтАЩre collecting autographs.тАЭ + 

She continued to look at him with a deepening bewilderment: her only clear impression resolved itself into a scared sense of his power. + 

тАЬYouтАЩre wondering how I found out about тАЩem?тАЭ he went on, answering her look with a note of conscious pride. тАЬPerhaps youтАЩve forgotten that IтАЩm the owner of the BenedickтБатАФbut never mind about that now. Getting on to things is a mighty useful accomplishment in business, and IтАЩve simply extended it to my private affairs. For this is partly my affair, you seeтБатАФat least, it depends on you to make it so. LetтАЩs look the situation straight in the eye. Mrs.┬аDorset, for reasons we neednтАЩt go into, did you a beastly bad turn last spring. Everybody knows what Mrs.┬аDorset is, and her best friends wouldnтАЩt believe her on oath where their own interests were concerned; but as long as theyтАЩre out of the row itтАЩs much easier to follow her lead than to set themselves against it, and youтАЩve simply been sacrificed to their laziness and selfishness. IsnтАЩt that a pretty fair statement of the case?тБатАФWell, some people say youтАЩve got the neatest kind of an answer in your hands: that George Dorset would marry you tomorrow, if youтАЩd tell him all you know, and give him the chance to show the lady the door. I daresay he would; but you donтАЩt seem to care for that particular form of getting even, and, taking a purely business view of the question, I think youтАЩre right. In a deal like that, nobody comes out with perfectly clean hands, and the only way for you to start fresh is to get Bertha Dorset to back you up, instead of trying to fight her.тАЭ + 

He paused long enough to draw breath, but not to give her time for the expression of her gathering resistance; and as he pressed on, expounding and elucidating his idea with the directness of the man who has no doubts of his cause, she found the indignation gradually freezing on her lip, found herself held fast in the grasp of his argument by the mere cold strength of its presentation. There was no time now to wonder how he had heard of her obtaining the letters: all her world was dark outside the monstrous glare of his scheme for using them. And it was not, after the first moment, the horror of the idea that held her spellbound, subdued to his will; it was rather its subtle affinity to her own inmost cravings. He would marry her tomorrow if she could regain Bertha DorsetтАЩs friendship; and to induce the open resumption of that friendship, and the tacit retractation of all that had caused its withdrawal, she had only to put to the lady the latent menace contained in the packet so miraculously delivered into her hands. Lily saw in a flash the advantage of this course over that which poor Dorset had pressed upon her. The other plan depended for its success on the infliction of an open injury, while this reduced the transaction to a private understanding, of which no third person need have the remotest hint. Put by Rosedale in terms of businesslike give-and-take, this understanding took on the harmless air of a mutual accommodation, like a transfer of property or a revision of boundary lines. It certainly simplified life to view it as a perpetual adjustment, a play of party politics, in which every concession had its recognized equivalent: LilyтАЩs tired mind was fascinated by this escape from fluctuating ethical estimates into a region of concrete weights and measures. + 

Rosedale, as she listened, seemed to read in her silence not only a gradual acquiescence in his plan, but a dangerously far-reaching perception of the chances it offered; for as she continued to stand before him without speaking, he broke out, with a quick return upon himself: тАЬYou see how simple it is, donтАЩt you? Well, donтАЩt be carried away by the idea that itтАЩs too simple. It isnтАЩt exactly as if youтАЩd started in with a clean bill of health. Now weтАЩre talking letтАЩs call things by their right names, and clear the whole business up. You know well enough that Bertha Dorset couldnтАЩt have touched you if there hadnтАЩt beenтБатАФwellтБатАФquestions asked beforeтБатАФlittle points of interrogation, eh? Bound to happen to a good-looking girl with stingy relatives, I suppose; anyhow, they did happen, and she found the ground prepared for her. Do you see where IтАЩm coming out? You donтАЩt want these little questions cropping up again. ItтАЩs one thing to get Bertha Dorset into lineтБатАФbut what you want is to keep her there. You can frighten her fast enoughтБатАФbut how are you going to keep her frightened? By showing her that youтАЩre as powerful as she is. All the letters in the world wonтАЩt do that for you as you are now; but with a big backing behind you, youтАЩll keep her just where you want her to be. ThatтАЩs my share in the businessтБатАФthatтАЩs what IтАЩm offering you. You canтАЩt put the thing through without meтБатАФdonтАЩt run away with any idea that you can. In six months youтАЩd be back again among your old worries, or worse ones; and here I am, ready to lift you out of тАЩem tomorrow if you say so. Do you say so, Miss Lily?тАЭ he added, moving suddenly nearer. + 

The words, and the movement which accompanied them, combined to startle Lily out of the state of tranced subservience into which she had insensibly slipped. Light comes in devious ways to the groping consciousness, and it came to her now through the disgusted perception that her would-be accomplice assumed, as a matter of course, the likelihood of her distrusting him and perhaps trying to cheat him of his share of the spoils. This glimpse of his inner mind seemed to present the whole transaction in a new aspect, and she saw that the essential baseness of the act lay in its freedom from risk. + 

She drew back with a quick gesture of rejection, saying, in a voice that was a surprise to her own ears: тАЬYou are mistakenтБатАФquite mistakenтБатАФboth in the facts and in what you infer from them.тАЭ + 

Rosedale stared a moment, puzzled by her sudden dash in a direction so different from that toward which she had appeared to be letting him guide her. + 

тАЬNow what on earth does that mean? I thought we understood each other!тАЭ he exclaimed; and to her murmur of тАЬAh, we do now,тАЭ he retorted with a sudden burst of violence: тАЬI suppose itтАЩs because the letters are to him, then? Well, IтАЩll be damned if I see what thanks youтАЩve got from him!тАЭ + 