'And let me know as soon as you can how you decide to proceed.'

'I will write to-morrow, or come. I do not know what to say now. I
cannot forget how I am wronging you. This is almost more than I can
bear!'

To divert her mind he began talking about Greenwich Observatory, and the
great instruments therein, and how he had been received by the
astronomers, and the details of the expedition to observe the Transit of
Venus, together with many other subjects of the sort, to which she had
not power to lend her attention.

'I must reach home before the people are out of church,' she at length
said wearily. 'I wish nobody to know I have been out this morning.' And
forbidding Swithin to cross into the open in her company she left him on
the edge of the isolated plantation, which had latterly known her tread
so well.

XXXV

Lady Constantine crossed the field and the park beyond, and found on
passing the church that the congregation was still within. There was no
hurry for getting indoors, the open windows enabling her to hear that Mr.
Torkingham had only just given out his text. So instead of entering the
house she went through the garden-door to the old bowling-green, and sat
down in the arbour that Louis had occupied when he overheard the
interview between Swithin and the Bishop. Not until then did she find
courage to draw out the letter and papers relating to the bequest, which
Swithin in a critical moment had handed to her.

Had he been ever so little older he would not have placed that
unconsidered confidence in Viviette which had led him to give way to her
curiosity. But the influence over him which eight or nine outnumbering
years lent her was immensely increased by her higher position and wider
experiences, and he had yielded the point, as he yielded all social
points; while the same conditions exempted him from any deep
consciousness that it was his duty to protect her even from herself.

The preamble of Dr. St. Cleeve's letter, in which he referred to his
pleasure at hearing of the young man's promise as an astronomer,
disturbed her not at all--indeed, somewhat prepossessed her in favour of
the old gentleman who had written it. The first item of what he called
'unfavourable news,' namely, the allusion to the inadequacy of Swithin's
income to the wants of a scientific man, whose lines of work were not
calculated to produce pecuniary emolument for many years, deepened the
cast of her face to co