 chapter 24 of Ruth this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Cynthia Lyons Ruth by Elizabeth Clegg Horngasco chapter 24 the meeting on the sands he will take him away from me he will take the child from me these words rang like a tolling bell through Ruth's head it seemed to her that her doom was certain Leonard would be taken from her she had a firm conviction not the less firm because she knew not on what it was based that a child whether legitimate or not belonged of legal right to the father and Leonard of all children was the prince and monarch every man's heart would long to call Leonard child she had been too strongly taxed to have much power left her to reason coolly and dispassionately just then even if she had been with anyone who could furnish her with information from which to draw correct conclusions the one thought haunted her night and day he will take my child away from me in her dreams she saw Leonard born away in some dim land to which she could not follow sometimes he sat in a swiftly moving carriage at his father's side and smiled on her as he passed by as if going to promised pleasure at another time he was struggling to return to her stretching out his little arms and crying to her for the help she could not give how she got through the days she did not know her body moved about and habitually acted but her spirit was with her child she thought often of writing and warning mr. Benson of Leonard's danger but then she shrank from recurring to circumstances all mention of which had ceased years ago the very recollection of which seemed buried deep forever besides she feared occasioning discord or commotion in the quiet circle in which she lived mr. Benson's deep anger against her betrayer had been shown too clearly in the old time to allow her to think that he would keep it down without expression now he would cease to do anything to forward his election he would oppose him as much as he could and mr. Bradshaw would be angry and a storm would arise from the bare thought of which Ruth shrank with a cowardliness of a person thoroughly worn out with late contest she was bodily weird with her spiritual buffeting one morning three or four days after their departure she received a letter from miss Benson she could not open it at first and put it on one side clenching her hands over it all the time at last she tore it open Leonard was safe as yet there were a few lines in his great round hand speaking of events no larger than the loss of a beautiful alley there was a sheet from miss Benson she always wrote letters in the manner of a diary Monday we did so-and-so Tuesday so-and-so etc. Ruth glanced rapidly down the pages yes here it was sick fluttering heart be still in the middle of the Damsons when they were just on the fire there was a knock at the door my brother was out and Sally was washing up and I was stirring the preserve with my great apron and bib on so I bade Leonard come in from the garden and open the door but I would have washed his face first if I had known who it was it was mr. Bradshaw and the mr. Dunn that they hope to send up to the House of Commons as member of Parliament for Eccleston and another gentleman whose name I never heard they had come canvassing and when they found my brother was out they asked Leonard if they could see me the child said yes if I can leave the Damsons and straight away came to call me leaving them standing in the passage I whipped off my apron and took Leonard by the hand for I fancied I should feel less awkward if he was with me and then I went and asked them all into the study for I thought I should like them to see how many books Thurston had got then they began talking politics at me in a very polite manner only I could not make head or tail of what they meant and mr. Dunn took a deal of notice of Leonard and called him to him and I am sure he noticed what a noble handsome boy he was though his face was very brown and red and hot with digging and his curls all tangled Leonard talked back as if he had known him all his life till I think mr. Bradshaw thought he was making too much noise and bit him remember he ought to be seen not heard so he stood as still and stiff as a soldier close to mr. Dunn and as I could not help looking at the two and thinking how handsome they both were in their different ways I could not tell Thurston half the message the gentleman left for him but there was one thing more I must tell you though I said I would not when mr. Dunn was talking to Leonard he took off his watch and chain and put it round the boy's neck who is pleased enough you may be sure I bait him give it back to the gentleman when they were all going away and I was quite surprised and very uncomfortable when mr. Dunn said he had given it to Leonard and that he was to keep it for his own I could see mr. Bradshaw was annoyed and he and the other gentlemen spoke to mr. Dunn and I heard them say to bear faced and I shall never forget mr. Dunn's proud stubborn look back at them nor his way of saying I allow no one to interfere with what I choose to do with my own and he looked so haughty and displeased I just say nothing at the time but when I told Thurston he was very grieved and angry and said he had heard that our party were bribing but that he never could have thought they would have tried to do it at his house Thurston is very much out of spirits about this election altogether and indeed it does make sad work up and down the town however he sent back the watch with a letter to mr. Bradshaw and Leonard was very good about it so I gave him a taste of the noob damson preserve on his bread for supper although a stranger might have considered this letter weary some from the multiplicity of the details Ruth craved greedily after more what had mr. Dunn said to Leonard had Leonard liked his new acquaintance were they likely to meet again after wondering and wondering over these points Ruth composed herself by the hope that in a day or two she should hear again and to secure this end she answered the letters by return of post that was on Thursday on Friday she had another letter in a strange hand it was from mr. Dunn no name no initials were given if it had fallen into another person's hands they could not have recognized the writer nor guessed to whom it was sent it contains simply these words for our child's sake and in his name I summon you to appoint a place where I can speak and you can listen undisturbed the time must be on Sunday the limit of distance may be the circumference of your power of walking my words may be commands but my fond heart and treats more I shall not say now but remember your boy's welfare depends on you are a seating to this request address B D post office Eccleston Ruth did not attempt to answer this letter till the last five minutes before the post went out she could not decide until forced to it either way she dreaded she was very nearly leaving the letter altogether unanswered but suddenly she resolved she would know all the best the worst no cowardly dread of herself or of others should make her neglect that came to her in her child's name she took up a pen and wrote the sands below the rocks where we met you the other night time afternoon church Sunday came I shall not go to church this afternoon you know the way of course and I trust you to go steadily by yourselves when they came to kiss her before leaving her according to their fond want they were struck by the coldness of her face and lips are you not well dear mrs. Denby how cold you are yes darling I am well and tears sprang into her eyes as she looked at their anxious little faces go now dears five o'clock will soon be here and then we will have tea and that will warm you said they leaving the room and then it will be over she murmured over it never came into her head to watch the girls as they disappeared down the lane on their way to church she knew them too well to distrust they're doing what they were told she sat still her head bowed on her arms for a few minutes and then rose up and went to put on her walking things some thoughts impelled her to sudden haste she crossed the field by the side of the house ran down the steep and rocky path and was carried by the impotence of her descent far out on the level sands but not far enough for her intent without looking to the right hand or to the left where comers might be seen she went forwards to the black posts which rising above the heaving waters marked where the fishermen's nets were laid she went straight towards this place and hardly stinted her pace even where the wet sands were glittering with the receding waves once there she turned round and in a darting glance saw that as yet no one was near she was perhaps half a mile or more from the gray silvery rocks which sloped away into brown moorland interspersed with a field here and there of golden waving corn behind were purple hills with sharp clear outlines touching the sky a little on one side from where she stood she saw the white cottages and houses which formed the village of Abermouth scattered up and down and on a windy hill about a mile inland she saw the little great church where even now many were worshiping in peace pray for me she sighed out as this object caught her eye and now close under the heathery fields where they fell softly down and touch the sands she saw a figure moving in the direction of the great shadow made by the rocks going towards the very point where the path from Eagle's Crag came down to the shore it is he said she to herself and she turned round and looked seaword the tide had turned the waves were slowly receding as if lost to lose the hole they had so lately and with such swift bounds on the yellow sands the eternal moan they have made since the world began filled the ear broken only by the scurril of the gray seabirds as they alighted in groups on the edge of the waters or as they rose up with their measured balancing motion and the sunlight caught their white breasts there was no sign of human life to be seen no boat or distant sail or near shrimper the black posts there were all that spoke of men's work or labor beyond a stretch of the waters a few pale gray hills showed like films their summits clear though faint their bases lost in a vapory mist on the hard echoing sands and distinct from the ceaseless murmur of the salt sea waves came footsteps nearer nearer very near they were when Ruth unwilling to show the fear that rioted in her heart turned round and faced mr. Dunn he came forward with both hands extended this is kind my own Ruth said he Ruth's arms hung down motionless at her sides what Ruth have you no word for me I have nothing to say said Ruth why you little revengeful creature and so I am to explain all before you will even treat me with decent civility I do not want explanations said Ruth in a trembling tone we must not speak of the past you asked me to come in Leonard's in my child's name and to hear what you had to say about him but what I have to say about him relates to you even more and how can we talk about him without recurring to the past that past which you try to ignore I know you cannot do it in your heart is full of happy recollections to me were you not happy in Wales he said in his tenderest tone but there was no answer not even one faint sigh though he listened intently you dare not speak you dare not answer me your heart will not allow you to prevaricate and you know you were happy suddenly Ruth's beautiful eyes were raised to him full of lucid splendor but grave and serious in their expression and her cheeks hair to force so faintly tinged with the tenderest blush flashed into a ruddy glow I was happy I do not deny it whatever comes I will not blench from the truth I have answered you and yet replied he secretly exulting in her admission and not perceiving the inner strength of what she must have been conscious before she would have dared to make it and yet Ruth we are not to recur to the past why not if it was happy at the time is the recollection of it so miserable to you he tried once more to take her hand but she quietly stepped back I came to hear what you had to say about my child said she beginning to feel very weary our child Ruth she drew herself up and her face went very pale what have you to say about him asked she coldly much exclaimed he much that may affect his whole life but it all depends upon whether you will hear me or not I listen good heavens Ruth you will drive me mad oh what a changed person you are from the sweet loving creature you were I wish you were not so beautiful she did not reply but he caught a deep involuntary sigh will you hear me if I speak though I may not begin at once to talk of this boy a boy of whom any mother any parent might be proud I could see that Ruth I have seen him he looked like a prince in that cramped miserable house and with no earthly advantages it is a shame he should not have every kind of opportunity laid open before him there was no sign of maternal ambition on the motionless face though there might be some little spring in her heart as it beat quick and strong at the idea of the proposal she imagined he was going to make of taking her boy away to give him the careful education she had often craved for him she should refuse it as she would everything else which seemed to imply that she acknowledged a claim over Leonard but yet sometimes for her boy's sake she had longed for a larger opening a more extended sphere Ruth you acknowledge we were happy ones there were circumstances which if I could tell you them all in detail would show you how in my weak convalescent state I was almost passive in the hands of others ah Ruth I have not forgotten the tender nurse who soothed me in my delirium when I am feverish I dream that I am again at landew in the little old bedchamber and you in white which you always wore then you know flitting about me the tears dropped large and round from Ruth's eyes she could not help it how could she we were happy then continued he gaining confidence from the sight of her melted mood and recurring once more to the admission which he considered so much in his favor can such happiness never return thus he went on quickly anxious to lay before her all he had to offer before she should fully understand his meaning if you would consent Leonard should be always with you educated where and how you liked money to any amount you might choose to name should be secured to you and him if only Ruth if only those happy days might return Ruth spoke I said I was happy because I had asked God to protect and help me and I dared not tell a lie I was happy oh what is happiness or misery that we should talk about them now Mr. Dunn looked at her as she uttered these words to see if she was wandering in her mind they seem to him so utterly strange and incoherent I dare not think of happiness I must not look forward to sorrow God did not put me here to consider either of these things my dear Ruth compose yourself there is no hurry in answering the question I asked what was it said Ruth I love you so I cannot live without you I offer you my heart my life I offer to place Leonard wherever you would have him placed I have the power and the means to advance him in any path of life you choose all who have shown kindness to you shall be rewarded by me with a gratitude even surpassing your own if there is anything else I can do that you can suggest I will do it listen to me said Ruth now that the idea of what he proposed had entered her mind when I said that I was happy with you long ago I was choked with shame as I said it and yet it may be a vain false excuse that I make for myself I was very young I did not know how such a life was against God's pure and holy will at least not as I know it now and I tell you the truth all the days of my years since I have gone about with a stain on my hidden soul a stain which made me loathe myself and envy those who stood spotless and undefiled which made me shrink from my child from Mr. Benson from his sister from the innocent girls whom I teach nay even I have cowered away from God himself and what I did wrong then I did blindly to what I should do now if I listened to you she was so strongly agitated that she put her hands over her face and sobbed without restraint then taking them away she looked at him with a glowing face and beautiful honest wet eyes and tried to speak calmly as she asked if she needed to stay longer she would have gone away at once but that she thought of Leonard and wished to hear all that his father might have to say he was so struck anew by her beauty and understood her so little that he believed that she only required a little more urging to consent to what he wished for in all she had said there was no trace of the anger and resentment for his desertion of her which he had expected would be a prominent feature the greatest obstacle he had to encounter the deep sense of penitence she expressed he mistook for earthly shame which he imagined he could soon soothe away yes I have much more to say I have not said half I cannot tell you how fondly I will how fondly I do love you how my life shall be spent in ministering to your wishes money I see I know you despise Mr. Bellingham I will not stay to hear you speak to me so again I have been sinful but it is not you who should she could not speak she was so choking with passionate sorrow he wanted to calm her as he saw her shaken with repressed sobs he put his hand on her arm she shook it off impatiently and moved away in an instant Ruth said he netled by her action of repugnance I begin to think you never loved me I I never loved you do you dare to say so her eyes flamed on him as she spoke her red round lip curled into beautiful contempt why do you shrink so from me said he in his turn getting impatient I did not come here to be spoken to in this way said she I came if by any chance I could do Leonard Good I would submit to many humiliations for his sake but to know more from you are you not afraid to brave me so said he don't you know how much you are in my power she was silent she longed to go away but dreaded lest he should follow her where she might be less subject to interruption than she was here near the fisherman's nets which the receding tide was leaving every moment bearer and more bear and the posts they were fastened to more blackly uprising above the waters Mr. Dunn put his hands on her arms as they hung down before her her hands tightly clasped together ask me to let you go said he I will if you will ask me he looked very fierce and passionate and determined the vehemence of his action took root by surprise and the painful tightness of the grasp almost made her exclaim but she was quite still and mute ask me said he giving her a little shake she did not speak her eyes fixed on the distant shore were slowly filling with tears suddenly a light came through the mists that obscured them and the shut lips parted she saw some distant object that gave her hope it is Stephen Bromley said she he's coming to his nets they say he's very desperate violent man but he will protect me you obstinate willful creature said Mr. Dunn releasing his grasp you forget that one word of mine could undeceive all these good people at Eccleston and that if I spoke out ever so little they would throw you off in an instant now he continued do you understand how much you are in my power Mr. and Miss Benson know all they have not thrown me off Ruth gasped out oh for Leonard's sake you would not be so cruel then do not be cruel to him to me think once more I think once more she spoke solemnly to save Leonard from the shame and agony of knowing my disgrace I would lay down and die oh perhaps it would be best for him for me if I might my death would be a stingless grief but to go back into sin would be the real cruelty to him the errors of my youth may be washed away by my tears it was so once when the gentle blessed Christ was upon earth but now if I went into willful guilt as you would have me how could I teach Leonard God's holy will I should not mind his knowing my past sin compared to the awful corruption it would be if he knew me living now as you would have me lost to all fear of God her speech was broken by sobs whatever may be my doom God is just I leave myself in his hands I will save Leonard from evil evil would it be for him if I lived with you I will let him die first she lifted her eyes to heaven and clasped and wreathed her hands together tight then she said you have humbled me enough sir I shall leave you now she turned away resolutely the dark gray fisherman was at hand Mr. Dunn folded his arms and set his teeth and looked after her what a stately step she had how majestic and graceful all her attitudes were she thinks she has baffled me now we will try something more and bid a higher price he unfolded his arms and began to follow her he gained upon her for her beautiful walk was now wavering and unsteady the works which had kept her in motion were running down fast Ruth said he overtaking her you shall hear me once more I look round your fisherman is near he may hear me if he chooses hear your triumph I am come to offer to marry you Ruth come what may I will have you nay I will make you hear me I will hold this hand till you have heard me tomorrow I will speak to anyone in Eccleston you like to Mr. Bradshaw Mr. the little minister I mean we can make it worthwhile for him to keep our secret and no one else need no but what you are really Mrs. Denby Leonard shall still bear this name but in all things else he shall be treated as my son he and you would grace any situation I will take care the highest paths are open to him he looked to see the lovely face brighten into sudden joy on the contrary the head was still hung down with a heavy droop I cannot said she her voice was very faint and low it is sudden for you my dearest but become it will all be easily managed leave it to me I cannot repeated she more distinct and clear though still very low why what on earth makes you say that asked he in a mood to be irritated by any repetition of such words I do not love you I did once don't say I did not love you then but I do not now I could never love you again all you have said and done since you came with Mr. Bradshaw to Abermouth first has only made me wonder how I ever could have loved you we are very far apart the time that has pressed down my life like brands of hot iron and scarred me forever has been nothing to you you have talked of it with no sound of moaning in your voice no shadow over the brightness of your face it has left no sense of sin on your conscience while me it haunts and haunts and yet I might plead that I was an ignorant child only I will not plead anything for God knows all but this is only one piece of our great difference you mean that I am no saint said he impatient at her speech granted but people who are no saints have made very good husbands before now come don't let any morbid overstrain conscientiousness interfere with substantial happiness both to you and to me for I am sure I can make you happy I and make you love me too in spite of your pretty defiance I love you so dearly I must win love back and here are advantages for Leonard to be gained by you quite in a holy and legitimate way she stood very erect if there was one thing needed to confirm me you have named it you shall have nothing to do with my boy by my consent much less by my agency I would rather see him working on the roadside than leading such a life being such a one as you are you have heard my mind now mr. Bellingham you have humbled me you have baited me and if at last I have spoken out too harshly and too much in a spirit of judgment the fault is yours if there were no other reason to prevent our marriage but the one fact that it would bring Leonard into contact with you that would be enough it is enough said he making her a low bow neither you nor your child shall ever more be annoyed by me I wish you a good evening they walked apart he back to the inn to set off instantly while the blood was hot within him from the place where he had been so mortified she to steady herself along till she reached the little path more like a rude staircase than anything else by which she had to climb to the house she did not turn round for some time after she was fairly lost to the sight of anyone on the shore she clamored on almost stunned by the rapid beating of her heart her eyes were hot and dry and at last became as if she was suddenly blind unable to go on she tottered into the tangled underwood which grew among the stones filling every niche and crevice and little shelving space with green and delicate tracery she sank down behind a great overhanging rock which hid her from anyone coming up the path an ash tree was rooted in this rock slanting away from the sea breezes that were prevalent in most weathers but this was a still autumnal Sabbath evening as Ruth limbs fell so they lay she had no strength no power of volition to move a finger she could not think or remember she was literally stunned the first sharp sensation which roused her from her torpor was a quick desire to see him once more up she sprang and climbed to an outshutting dizzy point of rock but a little above her sheltered nook yet commanding a wide view over the bare naked sands far away below touching the rippling waterline with Steven Bromley busily gathering in his nets besides him there was no living creature visible Ruth shaded her eyes as if she thought they might have deceived her but no there was no one there she went slowly down to her old place crying sadly as she went oh if I had not spoken so angrily to him the last things I said were so bitter so reproachful and I shall never never see him again she could not take in a general view and scope of their conversation the event was too near her for that but her heart felt sore at the echo of her last words just and true as their severity was her struggle her constant flowing tears which fell from very weakness made her experience a sensation of intense bodily fatigue and her soul had lost the power of throwing itself forward or contemplating anything beyond the dreary present when the expanse of gray wild bleak moors stretching wide away below a sunless sky seemed only an outward sign of the waste world within her heart for which she could claim no sympathy for she could not even define what its woes were and if she could no one would understand how the present time was haunted by the terrible ghost of the former love I am so weary I am so weary she moaned aloud at last I wonder if I might stop here and just die away she shut her eyes until through the closed lids came a ruddy blaze of light the clouds had parted away and the sun was going down in the crimson glory behind the distant purple hills the whole western sky was one flame of fire Ruth forgot herself in looking at the gorgeous sight she sat up gazing and as she gazed the tears dried on her cheeks and somehow all human care and sorrow were swallowed up in the unconscious sense of God's infinity the sunset calmed her more than any words however wise and tender could have done it even seemed to give her strength and courage she did not know how or why but so it was she rose and went slowly towards home her limbs were very stiff and every now and then she had to choke down an unbidden sob her pupils had been long returned from church and had busied themselves in preparing tea an occupation which had probably made them feel the time less long if they had ever seen a sleepwalker they might have likened Ruth to one for the next few days so slow and measured did her movement seem so far away was her intelligence from all that was passing around her so hushed and strange with the tones of her voice they had letters from home announcing the triumphant return of mr dunn as mp for eccleston mrs denby heard the news without a word and was too languid to join in the search after purple and yellow flowers with which to deck the sitting room at eagles crag a letter from jamaima came the next day summoning them home mr dunn and his friends had left the place and quiet was restored in the bradshaw household so it was time that mary and elizabeth's holiday should cease mrs denby had also a letter a letter from miss benson saying that lenard was not quite well there was so much pains taken to disguise anxiety that it was very evident much anxiety was felt and the girls were almost alarmed by ruth's sudden change from taciturn languor to eager vehement energy body and mind seemed strained to exertion every plan that could facilitate packing and winding up affairs at abramouth every errand and arrangement that could expedite their departure by one minute was done by ruth with stern promptitude she made them rest made them lie down while she herself lifted weights and transacted business with feverish power never resting and trying never to have time to think for in remembrance of the past there was remorse how had she forgotten lenard these last few days how had she repined and been dull of heart to her blessing and in anticipation of the future there was one sharp point of red light in the darkness which pierced her brain with agony and which she would not see or recognize and saw and recognized all the more for such mad determination which is not the true shield against the bitterness of the arrows of death when the seaside party arrived in eccleston they were met by mrs and miss bradshaw and mr benson by a firm resolution ruth kept from shaping the question is he alive as if by giving shape to her fears she made their realization more imminent she said merely how is he but she said it withdrawn tight bloodless lips and in her eyes mr benson read her anguish of anxiety he is very ill but we hope he will soon be better it is what every child has to go through end of chapter 24 chapter 25 of ruth this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox.org recording by synthia lions ruth by elizabeth claghorn gaskell chapter 25 jamaima makes a discovery mr bradshaw had been successful in carrying his point his member had been returned his proud opponents mortified so the public thought he ought to be well pleased but the public were disappointed to see that he did not show any of the gratification they supposed him to feel the truth was that he met with so many small mortifications during the progress of the election that the pleasure which he would otherwise have felt in the final success of his scheme was much diminished he had more than tacitly sanctioned bribery and now that the excitement was over he regretted it not entirely from conscientious motives though he was uneasy from the slight sense of wrongdoing but he was more pained after all to think that in the eyes of some of his townsmen his hitherto spotless character had received a blemish he who had been so stern and severe a censor on the undue influence exercised by the opposite party in all preceding elections could not expect to be spared by their adherence now when there were rumors that the hands of the scrupulous dissenters were not clean before it had been his boast that neither friend nor enemy could say one word against him now he was constantly afraid of an indictment for bribery and of being compelled to appear before a committee to swear to his own share in the business his uneasy fearful consciousness made him stricter and sterner than ever as if he would quench all wondering slanderous talk about him in the town by a renewed austerity of uprightness that the slack principle mr. Bradshaw of one month of ferment and excitement might not be confounded with the highly conscientious and deeply religious mr. Bradshaw who went to chapel twice a day and gave a hundred pounds apiece to every charity in the town as a sort of thank offering that his end was gained but he was secretly dissatisfied with mr. Dunn in general that gentleman had been rather too willing to act in accordance with anyone's advice no matter who's as if he had thought it too much trouble to weigh the wisdom of his friends in which case mr. Bradshaw's would have doubtless proved the most valuable but now and then he unexpectedly and utterly without reason took the conduct of affairs into his own hands as when he had been absent without leave only just before the day of nomination no one guessed whether he had gone but the fact of his being gone was enough to chagrin mr. Bradshaw who was quite ready to have picked a quarrel on this very head if the election had not terminated favorably as it was he had a feeling of proprietorship in mr. Dunn which was not disagreeable he had given the new mp his seat his resolution his promptitude his energy had made mr. Dunn our member and mr. Bradshaw began to feel proud of him accordingly but there had been no one circumstance during this period to bind jemima and mr. Falka hard together they were still misunderstanding each other with all their power the difference in the result was this jemima loved him all the more in spite of quarrels and coolness he was growing utterly weary of the petulant temper of which he was never certain of the reception which varied day after day according to the mood she was in and the thoughts that were uppermost and he was almost startled to find how very glad he was that the little girls and mrs. Denby were coming home his was a character to bask in peace and lovely quiet Ruth with her low tones and soft replies her delicate waving movements appeared to him the very type of what a woman should be a calm serene soul fashioning the body to angelic grace it was therefore with no slight interest that mr. Falka hard inquired daily after the health of little Leonard he asked at the Benson's house and Sally answered him with swollen and tearful eyes that the child was very bad very bad indeed he asked at the doctors and the doctor told him in a few short words that it was only a bad kind of measles and that the lad might have a struggle for it but he thought he would get through vigorous children carried their force into everything never did things by halves if they were ill they were sure to be in a high fever directly if they were well there was no peace in the house for their rioting for his part continued the doctor he thought he was glad he had no children as far as he could judge they were pretty much all plague and no profit but as he ended his speech he sighed and mr. Falka hard was nonetheless convinced that common report was true which represented the clever prosperous surgeon of Eccleston as bitterly disappointed at his failure of offspring while these various interests and feelings had their course outside the chapel house within there was but one thought which possessed all the inmates when Sally was not cooking for the little invalid she was crying for she had had a dream about green rushes not three months ago which by some queer process of aniromancy she interpreted to mean the death of a child and all miss Benson's endeavors were directed to making her keep silence to Ruth about this dream Sally thought that the mother ought to be told what were dreams sent for but for warnings but it was just like a pack of dissenters who would not believe anything like other folks miss Benson was too much accustomed to Sally's contempt for dissenters as viewed from the pinnacle of the establishment to pay much attention to all this grumbling especially as Sally was willing to take as much trouble about Leonard as if she believed he was going to live and that his recovery depended upon her care miss Benson's great object was to keep her from having any confidential talks with Ruth as if any repetition of the dream could have deepened the conviction in Ruth's mind that the child would die it seemed to her that his death would only be the fitting punishment for the state of indifference towards him toward life and death towards all things earthly or divine into which she had suffered herself to fall since her last interview with mr Dunn she did not understand that such exhaustion is but the natural consequence of violent agitation and severe tension of feeling the only relief she experienced was in constantly serving Leonard she had almost an animal's jealousy lest anyone should come between her and her young mr Benson saw this jealous suspicion although he could hardly understand it but he calmed his sister's wonder and a vicious kindness so that the two patiently and quietly provided all that Ruth might want but did not interfere with her right to nurse Leonard but when he was recovering mr Benson with a slight tone of authority he knew how to assume when need was bade Ruth lie down and take some rest while his sister watched Ruth did not answer but obeyed in a dull weary kind of surprise at being so commanded she lay down by her child gazing her fill at his calm slumber and as she gazed her large white eyelids were softly pressed down as with a gentle irresistible weight and she fell asleep she dreamed that she was once more on the lonely shore striving to carry away Leonard from some pursuer some human pursuer she knew he was human and she knew who he was although she dared not say his name even to herself he seemed so close and present gaining on her flying footsteps rushing after her as with the sound of the roaring tide her feet seemed heavy weights fixed to the ground they would not move all at once just near the shore a great black whirlwind of waves clutched her back to her pursuer she threw Leonard on to land which was safety but whether he reached it or no or was swept back like her into a mysterious something too dreadful to be born she did not know for the terror awakened her at first the dream seemed yet a reality and she thought that the pursuer was couched even there in that very room and the great boom of the sea was still in her ears but as full consciousness returned she saw herself safe in the dear old room the haven of rest the shelter from storms a bright fire was glowing in the little old-fashioned cup shape great niched into a corner of the wall and guarded on either side by whitewashed bricks which served for bobs on one of these the kettle hummed and buzzed within two points of boiling whenever she or Leonard required tea in her dream that home-like sound had been the roar of the relentless sea creeping swiftly on to seize its prey Miss Benson sat by the fire motionless and still it was too dark to read any longer without a candle but yet on the ceiling and upper part of the walls the golden light gives the feeling of rest to the weary yet more than perfect stillness the old clock on the staircase told its monotonous click-clack in that soothing way which more marked the quiet of the house than disturbed with any sense of sound Leonard still slept that renovating slumber almost in her arms far from that fatal pursuing sea with its human form of cruelty the dream was a vision the reality which prompted the dream was over and past Leonard was safe she was safe all this loosened the frozen springs and they gushed forth in her heart and her lips moved in accordance with her thoughts what were you saying my darling said Miss Benson who caught sight of the motion and fancied she was asking for something Miss Benson bent over the side of the bed on which Ruth lay to catch the low tones of her voice I only said replied Ruth timidly thank god I have so much to thank him for you don't know my dear I am sure we have all of us caused to be thankful that our boy is spared see he is waking up and we will have a cup of tea together Leonard strode on to perfect health but he was made older in character and looks by his severe illness he grew tall and thin and the lovely child was lost in the handsome boy he began to wonder and to question Ruth mourned a little over the vanished babyhood when she was all in all and over the childhood whose petals had fallen away it seemed as though two of her children were gone the one an infant the other a bright thoughtless darling and she wished that they could have remained quick in her memory forever instead of being absorbed in loving pride for the present boy but these were only fanciful regrets flitting like shadows across a mirror peace and thankfulness were once more the atmosphere of her mind nor was her unconsciousness disturbed by any suspicion of Mr. Falkohar's increasing approbation and admiration which he was diligently nursing up into love for her she knew that he had sent she did not know how often he had brought fruit for the convalescent Leonard she heard on her return from her daily employment that Mr. Falkohar had bought a little gentle pony on which Leonard weak as he was might ride to confess the truth her maternal pride was such that she thought that all kindness shown to such a boy as Leonard was but natural she believed him to be a child whom all that looked on loved as in truth he was and the proof of this was daily shown in many kind inquiries and many thoughtful little offerings besides Mr. Falkohar's the poor warm and kind of heart to all sorrow come into humanity were touched with pity for the young widow whose only child lay ill and nigh unto death they brought what they could a fresh egg when eggs were scarce a few ripe pears that grew on the sunniest side of the humblest cottage where the fruit was regarded as a source of income a call of inquiry and a prayer that god would spare the child from an old crippled woman who could scarcely drag herself so far as the chapel house yet felt her worn and weary heart stirred with the sharp pang of sympathy and a very present remembrance of the time when she too was young and saw the life breath quiver out of her child now an angel in that heaven which felt more like home to the desolate old creature than this empty earth to all such when Leonard was better Ruth wept and sank them from her heart she and the old cripple sat hand in hand over the scanty fire on the hearth of the ladder when she told in solemn broken homely words how her child sickened and died tears fell like rain down Ruth's cheeks but those of the old woman were dry all tears had been wept out of her long ago and now she sat patient and quiet waiting for death but after this Ruth clave unto her and the two were henceforward a pair of friends Mr. Falkahar was only included in the general gratitude which she felt towards all who had been kind to her boy the winter passed away in deep peace after the storms of the autumn yet every now and then a feeling of insecurity made Ruth shake for an instant those wild autumnal storms had torn aside the quiet flowers and herbage that had gathered over the wreck of her early life and shown her that all deeds however hidden and long past by have their eternal consequences she turned sick and faint whenever Mr. Dunn's name was casually mentioned no one saw it but she felt the miserable stop in her heart speeding and wished that she could prevent it by any exercise of self-command she had never named his identity with Mr. Bellingham nor had she spoken about the seaside interview deep shame made her silent and reserved on all her life before Leonard's birth from that time she rose again in her self-respect and spoke as openly as a child when need was of all occurrences which had taken place since then except that she could not and would not tell of this mocking echo this haunting phantom this past that would not rest in its grave the very circumstance that it was stalking abroad in the world and might reappear at any moment made her a coward she trembled away from contemplating what the reality had been only she clung more faithfully than before to the thought of the great god who was a rock in the dreary land where no shadow was autumn and winter with their lowering skies were less dreary than the woeful desolate feelings that shed a gloom on Jemima she found too late that she had considered Mr. Falkohar so securely her own for so long a time that her heart refused to recognize him as lost to her unless her reason went through the same weary convincing miserable evidence day after day and hour after hour he never spoke to her now except from common civility he never cared for her contradictions he never tried with patient perseverance to bring her over to his opinions he never used the wanted wiles so tenderly remembered now they had no existence but in memory to bring her round out of some willful mood and such moods were common enough now frequently she was sullenly indifferent to the feelings of others not from any unkindness but because her heart seemed numb and stony and incapable of sympathy then afterwards her self-reproach was terrible in the dead of night when no one saw it with a strange perversity the only intelligence she cared to hear the only sights she cared to see were the circumstances which gave confirmation to the idea that Mr. Falkohar was thinking of Ruth for a wife she craved with stinging curiosity to hear something of their affairs every day partly because the torture which such intelligence gave was almost a relief from the deadness of her heart to all other interests and so spring Giovento Delano came back to her bringing all the contrasts which spring alone can bring to add to the heaviness of the soul the little winged creatures filled the air with bursts of joy the vegetation came bright and hopefully onwards without any check of nipping frost the ash trees in the Bradshaw's garden were out in leaf by the middle of May which that year wore more the aspect of summer than most dunes do the sunny weather mocked Jemima and the unusual warmth oppressed her physical powers she felt very weak and languid she was acutely sensible that no one else noticed her want of strength father mother all seemed too full of other things to care if as she believed her life was waning she herself felt glad it was so but her delicacy was not unnoticed by all her mother often anxiously asked her husband if he did not think Jemima was looking ill nor did his affirmation to the contrary satisfy her as most of his affirmations did she thought every morning before she got up how she could tempt Jemima to eat by ordering some favorite dainty for dinner in many other little ways she tried to minister to her child but the poor girls own abrupt irritability of temper had made her mother afraid of openly speaking to her about her health Ruth too saw that Jemima was not looking well how she had become an object of dislike to her former friend she did not know but she was sensible that miss Bradshaw disliked her now she was not aware that this feeling was growing and strengthening almost into repugnance for she seldom saw Jemima out of school hours and then only for a minute or two but the evil element of a fellow creatures dislike oppressed the atmosphere of her life that fellow creature was one who had loved her so fondly and whom she still loved although she had learned to fear her as we fear those whose faces cloud over when we come in sight who cast unloving glances at us of which we though not seeing are conscious as of some occult influence and the cause of whose dislike is unknown to us though every word and action seems to increase it I believe that this sort of dislike is only shown by the jealous and that it renders the dislike or even more miserable because more continually conscious than the object but the growing evidence of Jemima's feeling made Ruth very unhappy at times this very May two an idea had come into her mind which she had tried to repress namely that Mr. Falkohar was in love with her it annoyed her extremely it made her reproach herself that she ever should think that such a thing possible she tried to strangle the notion to drown it to starve it out by neglect its existence caused her such pain and distress the worst was he had won Leonard's heart who was constantly seeking him out or when absent talking about him the best was some journey connected with business which would take him to the continent for several weeks and during that time surely this disagreeable fancy of his would die away if untrue and if true some way would be open by which she might put a stop to all increase of predilection on his part and yet retain him as a friend for Leonard that darling for whom she was far seeing and covetous and miserly of every scrap of love and kindly regard Mr. Falkohar would not have been flattered if he had known how much his departure contributed to Ruth's rest of mind on the Saturday afternoon on which he set out on his journey it was a beautiful day the sky of that intense quivering blue which seemed as though you could look through it forever yet not reach the black infinite space which is suggested as lying beyond now and then a thin torn vaporous cloud floated slowly within the vaulted depth but the soft air that gently wafted it was not perceptible among the leaves on the trees which did not even tremble Ruth sat at her work in the shadow formed by the old gray garden wall Miss Benson and Sally the one in the parlor window seat mending stockings the other hard at work in her kitchen were both within talking distance for it was weather for open doors and windows but none of the three kept up any continued conversation and in the intervals Ruth sang low a brooding song such as she remembered her mother singing long ago now and then she stopped to look at Leonard who was laboring away with vehement energy at digging over a small plot of ground where he meant to prick out some celery plants that had been given to him Ruth's heart warmed at the earnest spirited way in which he thrust his large spade deep down into the brown soil his ruddy face glowing his curly hair wet with the exertion and yet she sighed to think that the days were over when her deeds of skill could give him pleasure now his delight was enacting himself last year not 14 months ago he had watched her making a daisy chain for him as if he could not admire her cleverness enough this year this week when she had been devoting every spare hour to the simple tailoring which she performed for her boy she had always made every article he wore and felt almost jealous of the employment he had come to her with a wistful look and asked her when he might begin to have clothes made by a man ever since the wednesday when she had accompanied mary and elizabeth at mrs bradshaw's desire to be measured for spring clothes by the new eckleston dressmaker she had been looking forward to this saturday's afternoon's pleasure of making summer trousers for lenard but the satisfaction of the employment was a little taken away by lenard's speech it was a sign however that her life was very quiet and peaceful that she had leisure to think upon the thing at all and often she forgotten entirely in her low chanting song or in listening to the thrush warbling out his afternoon ditty to his patient mate in the holly bush below the distant rumble of carts through the busy streets it was market day not only formed a low rolling base to the nearer and pleasanter sounds but enhanced the sense of peace by the suggestion of the contrast afforded to the repose of the garden by the bustle not far off but besides physical din and bustle there is mental strife and turmoil that afternoon as jamaima was restlessly wondering about the house her mother desired her to go on an errand to mrs piercings the new dressmaker in order to give some directions about her sister's new frox jamaima went rather than have the trouble of resisting or else she would have preferred staying at home moving or being outwardly quiet according to her own fitful will mrs bratsha who as i have said had been aware for some time that something was wrong with her daughter and was very anxious to set it to rights if she only knew how had rather planned this errand with a view to dispel jamaima's melancholy and me me dear said her mother when you are there look out for new bonnet for yourself for she has got some very pretty ones and your old one is so shabby it does for me mother said jamaima heavily i don't want a new bonnet but i want you to have one my lassie i want my girl to look well and nice there was something of homely tenderness in mrs bratsha's tone that touched jamaima's heart she went to her mother and kissed her with more of affection than she had shown to anyone for weeks before and the kiss was returned with warm fondness i think you love me mother said jamaima we all love you dear if you would but think so and if you want anything or wish for anything only tell me and with a little patience i can get your father to give it you i know only be happy there's a good girl be happy as if one could buy an effort of will thought jamaima as she went along the street too absorbed in herself to notice the bows and acquaintances of friends but instinctively guiding herself right among the throng and press of carts and gigs and market people in high street but her mother's tones and looks with their comforting power remained longer in her recollection than the inconsistency of any words spoken when she had completed her errand about the frocks she asked to look at some bonnets in order to show her recognition of her mother's kind thought mrs pierce was a smart clever-looking woman of five or six and thirty she had all the variety of small talk at her finger ends that was formerly needed by barbers to amuse the people who came to be shaved she had admired the town till jamaima was weary of its praises sick and oppressed by its sameness as she had been there these many weeks here are some bonnets ma'am that will be just the thing for you elegant and tasty yet quite of the simple style suitable to young ladies oblige me by trying on this white silk jamaima looked at herself in the glass she was obliged to own it was very becoming and perhaps not the less so for the flush of modest shame which came into her cheeks as she heard mrs pierce's open praises of the rich beautiful hair and the oriental eyes of the wearer i induced the young lady who accompanied your sisters the other day the governess is she ma'am yes mrs denby is her name said jamaima clouding over thank you ma'am well i persuaded mrs denby to try on that bonnet and you can't think how charming she looked in it and yet i don't think it became her as much as it does you mrs denby is very beautiful said jamaima taking off the bonnet and not much inclined to try on any other very ma'am quite a peculiar style of beauty if i might be allowed i should say that hers was a grecian style of loveliness while yours was oriental she reminded me of a young person i once knew in fortum mrs pierce inside an audible sigh in fortum said jamaima remembering that ruth had once spoken of the place as one in which she had spent some time while the county in which it was situated was the same in which ruth was born in fortum why i think mrs denby comes from that neighborhood oh ma'am she cannot be the young person i mean i am sure ma'am holding the position she does in your establishment i should hardly say i knew her myself for i only saw her two or three times at my sister's house but she was so remarked for her beauty that i remember her face quite well the more so on account of her vicious conduct afterwards her vicious conduct repeated jamaima convinced by these words that there could be no identity between ruth and the young person alluded to then it could not have been our mrs denby oh no ma'am i am sure i should be sorry to be understood to have suggested anything of the kind i beg your pardon if i did so all i meant to say and perhaps that was a liberty i ought not to have taken considering what ruth hilton was ruth hilton said jamaima turning suddenly round and facing mrs pierce yes ma'am that was the name of the young person i allude to tell me about her what did she do asked jamaima subduing her eagerness of tone and look as best she might but trembling as on the verge of some strange discovery i don't know whether i ought to tell you ma'am it is hardly a fit story for a young lady but this ruth hilton was an apprentice to my sister-in-law who had a first rate business in fortum which brought her a good deal of patronage from the county families and this young creature was very artful and bold and thought sadly too much of her beauty and somehow she beguiled a young gentleman who took her into keeping i am sure ma'am i ought to apologize for polluting your ears go on said jamaima breathlessly i don't know much more his mother followed him into wales she was a lady of a great deal of religion and a very old family and was much shocked at her son's misfortune in being captivated by such a person but she led him to repentance and took him to paris where i think she died but i am not sure for owing to family differences i have not been on terms for some years with my sister-in-law who was my informant who died interrupted jamaima the young man's mother or ruth hilton oh dear ma'am pray don't confuse the two it was the mother mrs i forget the name something like billington it was the lady who died and what became of the other asked jamaima unable as her dark suspicion seemed thickening to speak the name the girl why ma'am what could become of her not that i know exactly only one knows they can but go from bad to worse poor creatures god forgive me if i am speaking too transiently of such degraded women who after all are a disgrace to our sex then you know nothing more about her asked jamaima i did hear that she had gone off with another gentleman that she met within wales but i'm sure i can't tell who told me there was a little pause jamaima was pondering on all she had heard suddenly she felt that mrs pierce's eyes were upon her watching her not with curiosity but with a newly awakened intelligence and yet she must ask one more question but she tried to ask it in an indifferent careless tone handling the bonnet while she spoke how long is it since all this all you have been telling me about happened lennard was eight years old why let me see it was before i was married and i was married three years and poor dear pierce has been deceased five i should say going on for nine years this summer blush roses would become your complexion perhaps better than these lilacs said she as with superficial observation she watched jamaima turning the bonnet round and round on her hand the bonnet that her dizzy eyes did not see thank you it is very pretty but i don't want a bonnet i beg your pardon for taking up your time and with an abrupt bow to the discomforted mrs pierce's she was out and away in the open air threading her way with instinctive energy along the crowded street suddenly she turned round and went back to mrs pierce's with even more rapidity than she had been walking away from the house i have changed my mind said she as she came breathless up into the showroom i will take the bonnet how much is it allow me to change the flowers it can be done in an instant and then you can see if you would not prefer the roses but with either foliage it is a lovely little bonnet said mrs pierce's holding it up admiringly on her hand oh never mind the flowers yes change them to the roses and she stood by agitated mrs pierce's thought with impatience all the time the milliner was making the alteration with skillful busy haste by the way said jamaima when she saw the last touches were being given and that she must not delay executing the purpose which was the real cause of her return papa i am sure would not like your connecting mrs denby's name with such a story as you have been telling me oh dear ma'am i have too much respect for you all to think of doing such a thing of course i know ma'am that it is not to be cast up to any lady that she is like anybody disreputable but i would rather you did not name the likeness to anyone said jamaima not to anyone don't tell anyone the story you have told me this morning indeed ma'am i should never think of such a thing my poor husband could have borne witness that i am as close as the grave where there is anything to conceal oh dear said jamaima mrs pierce's there is nothing to conceal only you must not speak about it i certainly shall not do it ma'am you may rest assured of me this time jamaima did not go towards home but in the direction of the outskirts of the town on the hilly side she had some dim recollection of hearing her sisters ask if they might not go and invite lenard and his mother to tea and how could she face ruth after the conviction had taken possession of her heart that she and the sinful creature she had just heard of were one and the same it was yet only the middle of the afternoon the hours were early in the old-fashioned town of eckleston soft white clouds had come slowly sailing up out of the west the plane was flecked with thin floating shadows gently born along by the westerly wind that was waving the long grass in the hay fields into alternate light and shade jamaima went into one of these fields lying by the side of the upland road she was stunned by the shock she had received the diver leaving the green smooth and known where his friends stand with their familiar smiling faces admiring his glad bravery the diver down in an instant in the hard depths of the sea close to some strange ghastly littlest eyes monster can hardly more feel his blood curdle at the near terror than jamaima did now two hours ago but a point of time on her mind style she had never imagined that she should ever come in contact with anyone who had committed open sin she had never shaped her conviction into words and sentences but still it was there that all the respectable all the family and religious circumstances of her life would hedge her in and guard her from ever encountering the great shock of coming face to face with vice without being feracycle in her estimation of herself she had all a Pharisees dread of publicans and sinners and all a child's cowardliness that cowardliness which prompts it to shut its eyes against the object of terror rather than acknowledge its existence with brave face her father's often reiterated speeches had not been without their effect he drew a clear line of partition which separated mankind into two great groups to one of which by the grace of god he and his belonged while the other was composed of those whom it was his duty to try and reform and bring the whole force of his morality to bear upon with lectures admonitions and exhortations a duty to be performed because it was a duty but with very little of that hope and faith which is the spirit that maketh alive jamima had rebelled against these hard doctrines of her father's but their frequent repetition had had its effect and led her to look upon those who had gone astray with shrinking shuttering recoil instead of with a pity so christlike as to have both wisdom and tenderness in it and now she saw among her own familiar associates one almost her house fellow who had been stained with that evil most repugnant to her womanly modesty that would feign have ignored its existence altogether she loath the thought of meeting Ruth again she wished that she could take her up and put her down at a distance somewhere anywhere where she might never see or hear of her more never be reminded as she must be whenever she saw her that such things were in this sunny bright lark singing earth over which the blue dome of heaven bent softly down as jamaima sat in the hayfield that june afternoon her cheeks flushed and read but her lips pale and compressed and her eyes full of a heavy angry sorrow it was saturday and the people in that part of the country left their work an hour earlier on that day by this jamaima knew it must be growing time for her to be at home she had had so much of conflict in her own mind of late that she had grown to dislike struggle or speech or explanation and so strove to conform to times and hours much more than she had done in happier days but oh how full of hate her heart was growing against the world and oh how she sickened at the thought of seeing Ruth who was to be trusted more if Ruth calm modest delicate dignified Ruth had a memory blackened by sin as she went heavily along the thought of mr. Falcahar came into her mind it showed how terrible had been the stun that he had been forgotten until now with the thought of him came in her first merciful feeling towards Ruth this would never have been had there been the least latent suspicion in jamaima's jealous mind that Ruth had purposely done ought looked a look uttered a word modulated a tone for the sake of attracting as jamaima recalled all the passages of their intercourse she slowly confessed to herself how pure and simple had been all Ruth's ways in relation to mr. Falcahar it was not merely that there had been no coquetting but there had been simple unconsciousness on Ruth's part for so long a time after jamaima had discovered mr. Falcahar's inclination for her and when at length she had slowly awakened to some perception of the state of his feelings there had been a modest shrinking dignity of manner not startled or emotional or even timid but pure grave and quiet and this conduct of Ruth's jamaima instinctively acknowledged to be of necessity transparent and sincere now and here there was no hypocrisy but sometime somewhere on the part of somebody what hypocrisy what lies must have been acted if not absolutely spoken before Ruth could have received by them all as the sweet gentle girlish widow which she remembered they had all believed mrs. Denby to be when first she came among them could mr. and miss Benson know could they be a party to the deceit not sufficiently acquainted with the world to understand how strong had been their temptation to play the part they did if they wish to give Ruth a chance jamaima could not believe them guilty of such deceit as the knowledge of mrs. Denby's previous conduct would imply and yet how it darkened the latter into a treacherous hypocrite with a black secret shut up in her soul for years living in apparent confidence and daily household familiarity with the bensons for years yet never telling the remorse that ought to be corroding her heart who was true who was not who was good and pure who was not the very foundations of jamaima's beliefs in her mind were shaken could it be false could there be two Ruth Hilton's she went over every morsel of evidence it could not be she knew that mrs. Denby's former name had been Hilton she had heard her speak casually but charlie of having lived in Fordham she knew she had been in wales but a short time before she made her appearance in Eccleston there was no doubt of the identity into the middle of jamaima's pain and horror at the afternoon's discovery there came a sense of the power which the knowledge of this secret gave her over Ruth but this was no relief only an aggravation of the regret with which jamaima looked back on her state of ignorance it was no wonder that when she arrived at home she was so oppressed with headache that she had to go to bed directly quiet mother quiet dear dear mother for she clung to the known and tried goodness of her mother more than ever now that is all i want and she was left to the stillness of her darkened room the blinds idly flapping to and fro in the soft evening breeze and letting in the rustling sound of the branches which waved close to her window and the thrush gurgling warble and the distant hum of the busy town her jealousy was gone and she knew not how or where she might shun and recall from Ruth but she now thought that she could never more be jealous of her in her pride of innocence she felt almost ashamed that such a feeling could have had existence could mr. Falka her hesitate between her own self and one who know she could not name what Ruth had been even in thought and yet he might never know so fair a seeming did her rival where oh for one ray of god's holy light to know what was seeming and what was truth in this traitorous hollow earth it might be she used to think such things possible before sorrow had embittered her that Ruth had worked away through the deep purgatory of repentance up to something like purity again god only knew if her present goodness was real if after having striven back thus far on the heights a fellow woman was to throw her down into some terrible depth with her unkind incontinent tongue that would be too cruel and yet if there was such woeful uncertainty and deceit somewhere if Ruth know that Jemima with noble candor admitted was impossible whatever Ruth had been she was good and to be respected as such now it did not follow that Jemima was to preserve the secret always she doubted her own power to do so if mr. Falka Hawke came home again and was still constant in his admiration of mrs. Denby and if mrs. Denby gave him any the least encouragement but this last she thought from what she knew of Ruth's character was impossible only what was impossible after this afternoon's discovery at any rate she would watch and wait come what might Ruth was in her power and strange to say this last certainty gave Jemima a kind of protecting almost pitying feeling for Ruth her horror at the wrong was not diminished but the more she thought of the struggles that the wrong doer must have made to extricate herself the more she felt how cruel it would be to baffle all by revealing what had been but for her sister's sake she had a duty to perform she must watch Ruth for her lover's sake she could not have helped watching but she was too much stunned to recognize the force of her love while duty seemed the only stable thing to cling to for the present she would neither meddle nor mar in Ruth's course of life end of chapter 25