I will not let
you go too far."

"You cannot hinder it, Macintosh," said Eleanor in a low voice.

"Kiss me!" said he laughingly.

Eleanor slowly raised her head from his shoulder and obeyed, so far as
a very dainty and shyly given permission went; feeling bitterly that
she had brought herself into bonds from which only Mr. Carlisle's hand
could release her. She could not break them herself. What possible
reason could she assign? And so she was in his power.

"Cheeks hot, and hands cold," said Mr. Carlisle to himself as he walked
away through the rooms. "I wish the twenty-first were to-morrow!" He
stopped in the drawing-room to hold a consultation of some length with
Mrs. Powle; in which however he confided to her no more than that the
last night's attention to her nurse's daughter had been quite too much
for Eleanor, and he should think it extremely injudicious to allow it
again. Which Mrs. Powle had no idea of doing.

Neither had Eleanor any idea of attempting it. But she spent half that
night in heart-ache and in baffled searchings for a path out of her
difficulties. What could she do? If Mr. Carlisle _would_ marry her, she
saw no help for it; and to disgust him with her would be a difficult
matter. For oh, Eleanor knew, that though he would not like a religious
wife, he had good reason to trust his own power of regulating any
tendency of that sort which might offend him. Once his wife, once let
that strong arm have a right to be round her permanently; and Eleanor
knew it would be an effectual bar against whatever he wished to keep at
a distance.

Eleanor was armed with no Christian armour; no helmet or shield of
protection had she; all she had was the strength of fear, and the
resolute determination to seek until she should find that panoply in
which she would be safe and strong. Once married to Mr. Carlisle, and
she felt that her determination would be in danger, and her resolution
meet another resolution with which it might have hard fighting to do.
Ay, and who knew whether hers would overcome! She must not finish this
marriage; yet how induce Mr. Carlisle to think of her as she wished?

"I declare," said Mrs. Powle coming into her room the next day, "that
one night's sitting up, has done the work of a week's illness upon you,
Eleanor! Mr. Carlisle is right."

"In what?"

"He said you must not go again."

"I think he is somewhat premature in arranging my movements."

"Don't you like it?" said Mrs. Pow