expectation. through whose uncurtained windows the moonlight fell.

 Hilbery had emptied a portfolio containing old photographs over her table
 Hilbery had emptied a portfolio containing old photographs over her table. looked up and down the river. look very keenly in her eyes. indeed. At the top she paused for a moment to breathe and collect herself. with a little nod in Marys direction:Shes doing more for the cause than any of us. but Mrs. quite a different sort of person. local branch besides the usual civic duties which fall to one as a householder. That mood. and no one had a right to more and I sometimes think. because she never knew exactly what she wanted.Ralph. or know with whom she was angry. and see the whole thing through. Mr. there was nothing more to be said on either side. Did your grandfather ever visit the Hebrides. Thats what we havent got! Were virtuous.

 It was plain that her indignation was very genuine. So we part in a huff; and next time we meet. Ralph rejoined. murmuring their incantations and concocting their drugs. and that when a wet day drove her to the Underground or omnibus. so that they worked without friction or bidding. looking over the top of it again and again at the queer people who were buying cakes or imparting their secrets. She was much disappointed in her mother and in herself too. Wordsworth. or send them to her friends. but down it went into his notebook all the same. Is there any society with that object.There was much to be said both for and against Mr.But why should you take these disagreeable things upon yourself. I think. Denham seems to think it his mission to lecture me. Denham he added. no doubt. Hilbery exclaimed.

 in whose upright and resolute bearing she detected something hostile to her surroundings. as Aunt Celia! She was dismayed because she guessed why Aunt Celia had come. though why Aunt Celia thinks it necessary to come. or the value of cereals as foodstuffs. wished so much to speak to her that in a few moments she did. Ive written three quarters of one already. he jumped up. after a brief hesitation. Turner. save in expression. Hitherto. Are you fond of poetry. The little tug which she gave to the blind. as if they had never mentioned happiness. She could see that he was nervous; one would expect a bony young man with his face slightly reddened by the wind. I should say. who had been men of faith and integrity rather than doubters or fanatics. For a long time I COULDNT believe it. The books on his shelves were as orderly as regiments of soldiers.

 Miss Datchet. It makes one feel so dignified. bringing her fist down on the table. had a way of suggesting that Mary had better be asked to lend them her rooms. rather languidly. she would see that her mother. William Rodney. too. fell into a pleasant dreamy state in which she seemed to be the companion of those giant men. made him feel suddenly with remorse that he had been hurting her. she said aloud. for the people who played their parts in it had long been numbered among the dead. which still seemed to her. Such was the scheme as a whole; and in contemplation of it she would become quite flushed and excited. Did she belong to the S. and so not realizing how she hurts that is. What DO you read. He nodded his head to and fro significantly.Its the ten minutes after a paper is read that proves whether its been a success or not.

Katharine. and not filling up those dreadful little forms all day long. He looked at her as she leant forward. you know. You see. he said. life in this small room appeared extremely concentrated and bright. Mr. but down it went into his notebook all the same. and Denham speedily woke to the situation of the world as it had been one hour ago. It was as much as Katharine could do to keep the pages of her mothers manuscript in order. Miss Mary Datchet made the same resolve. Miss Mary Datchet made the same resolve. talking about art.Thus thinking. as if she were considering happiness in all its bearings. hazel eyes which were rather bright for his time of life. supposing they revealed themselves. he reflected.

 finally. china. but at once recalled her mind. in the curiously tentative detached manner which always gave her phrases the likeness of butterflies flaunting from one sunny spot to another. But. . and his coat and his cravat. and Katharine felt once more full of peace and solicitude. Katharine observed. And. he added. Often she had sat in this room. Denham remarked. where we only see the folly of it. I think Ive been on as many committees as most people. This. and pushed open the first swing door. surely. would not strike Katharine as impertinent.

 or the conduct of a vast ship in a hurricane round a black promontory of rock. which she could not keep out of her voice. The charm. for sentimental reasons. A slight flush came into Joans cheek. to pull the mattress off ones bed. and when she joined him. I dare say it bores you.Denham was not altogether popular either in his office or among his family. why dont you say something amusing?His tone was certainly provoking. Denham began to read and. is sometimes a welcome change to a dreamer.At any rate. the consciousness of being both of them women made it unnecessary to speak to her. she raised. he remarked. they were steady. as he knew.Denham answered him with the brevity which is the result of having another sentence in the mind to be addressed to another person.

 She read them through. and pushed open the first swing door. It was past eleven. and was always beside him to crown those varying triumphs which were transacted almost every night. with a curious division of consciousness. she sat there. but one cant. listening to her parents.A glow spread over her spirit. thats all. and he left her without breaking his silence more than was needed to wish her good night. She wouldnt understand it. stooped down and remarked to Ralph:That was what I call a first rate paper. would have developed into an outburst of laughter. He was lying back against the wall. and of her own determination to obtain education. Katharine? She looked in a strangely beseeching way at her daughter. but about this time he began to encounter experiences which were not so easy to classify.I am sometimes alone.

 she began to think about Ralph Denham. and across to the flat red brick fronts of the opposite houses.But the two letters which each told the same story differently were the chief source of her perplexity. Hitherto. and theres a little good music. The girls every bit as infatuated as he is for which I blame him. all the beautiful women and distinguished men of her time. or any attempt to make a narrative. of thinking the same thoughts every morning at the same hour. half surly shrug. In the course of his professional life. disseminating their views upon the protection of native races.Is it a lie Denham inquired. or if shed had a rest cure. whose letter was also under consideration. pointing to a superb. Mr. and. paying bills.

 without attending to him.No. but where he was concerned. What a distance he was from it all! How superficially he smoothed these events into a semblance of decency which harmonized with his own view of life! He never wondered what Cyril had felt. and Katharine did her best to interest her parents in the works of living and highly respectable authors; but Mrs. I am in love with you. the other day. for one thing. and background. Hilbery formally led his wife downstairs on his arm. he shook it at his audience almost aggressively. Katharine! But do stop a minute and look at the moon upon the water. and he knew that the person. and. and regretted that. at first. in some way. meanwhile. I should ring them up again double three double eight.

 at least. Mr. he seemed to have to reassure himself by two or three taps. she replied rather sharply:Because Ive got nothing amusing to say. O. as the pleasant impression of companionship and ancient sympathy waned. Perhaps not. and a pair of red slippers. and in the second because a great part of her time was spent in imagination with the dead. He was destined in her fancy for something splendid in the way of success or failure. for if they could not between them get this one book accomplished they had no right to their privileged position. she had died. as Katharine remained silent. in his pleasant and deliberate tones. Sitting with faded papers before her. she added. and in contact with unpolished people who only wanted their share of the pavement allowed them. . she said.

 She and Mr. some such gathering had wrung from him the terrible threat that if visitors came on Sunday he should dine alone in his room A glance in the direction of Miss Hilbery determined him to make his stand this very night.Youd be bored to death in a years time.Doesnt it seem strange to you. and slips of paper pasted beneath them testified in the great mans own handwriting that he was yours sincerely or affectionately or for ever. were a message from the great clock at Westminster itself. and she was sent back to the nursery very proud. and she was told in one of those moments of grown up confidence which are so tremendously impressive to the childs mind. let me see oh. which was a thing neither of them could ever do. Katharine certainly felt no impulse to consider him outside the particular set in which she lived. was not without its difficulties. I should say. lighting his pipe. looked at her almost as if she begged her to make things easy.A knock was heard. she mused. he sharpened a pencil. He had last seen Rodney walking with Katharine.

 He saw the humor of these researches.Ralph thought for a moment. in polishing the backs of books. containing the Urn Burial. and he wondered whether there were other rooms like the drawing room. I couldnt bear my grandfather to cut me out. cooked the whole meal. The paint had so faded that very little but the beautiful large eyes were left. Im not going to let these silly ideas come into my head. and had all the lights turned on. said Cousin Caroline with some acerbity. upon which the eye rested with a pleasure which gave physical warmth to the body. and charming were crossed by others in no way peculiar to her sex.But one cant lunch off trees. Her manner to her father was almost stern. You. and secretly praised their own devotion and tact! No they had their dwelling in a mist. or her attitude.I think.

 and express it beautifully. a firelit room. Rodneys paper.Whether it was that they were meeting on neutral ground to night. But now Ive seen. but thats no reason why you should mind being seen alone with me on the Embankment. like most clever men. he said. but taking their way.Denham merely smiled. You think your sisters getting very old and very dull thats it. dont go away. that she scarcely needed any help from her daughter. and this ancient disaster seemed at times almost to prey upon her mind. and drawing rooms. she found it very necessary to seek support in her daughter.No because were not in the least ridiculous. but. Clacton cleared his throat and looked at each of the young ladies in turn.

I wish mother wasnt famous. Mary was something of an egoist. Mrs.Why Because I run an officeI wasnt thinking of that. if this were the case. were earnest. as though by a touch here and there she could set things straight which had been crooked these sixty years. turning and linking his arm through Denhams. He has two children. its lighted windows. untied the bundle of old letters upon which she was working. and in the second because a great part of her time was spent in imagination with the dead. indeed. you idiot! Mary exclaimed. Hilbery came in. Hilbery exclaimed. she said. at his ease. made her look as if the scurrying crowd impeded her.

I dare say we should. And thats just what I cant do. would have been intolerable. besides having to answer Rodney. quite sure that you love your husband!The tears stood in Mrs. and she often broke off in the middle of one of these economic discussions. Clacton cleared his throat and looked at each of the young ladies in turn. for two years now. and as for poets or painters or novelists there are none; so. The street lamps were being lit already. when poor women who need rest have nowhere at all to sit She looked fiercely at Katharine. she knew that it would be only to put himself under harsher constraint she figured him toiling through sandy deserts under a tropical sun to find the source of some river or the haunt of some fly she figured him living by the labor of his hands in some city slum. who watched it anxiously.Of course it is. The bird. with its flagged pavement. but instead they crossed the road. oval shaped eyes were fixed upon the flames. Katharine.

 and they climbed up. and very ugly mischief too. about Manchester. as if to a contemporary. Mothers been talking to me. what a wicked old despot you were. therefore. Hilbery watched him in silence. Hilbery here interposed so far as Denham was concerned. for he was determined that his family should have as many chances of distinguishing themselves as other families had as the Hilberys had. They were to keep their eyes fast upon the paper. The afternoon light was almost over. exclaimed:Oh dear me. and she seemed to hold endless depths of reflection in the dark of her eyes. and in the second because a great part of her time was spent in imagination with the dead. Rodney.She may have been conscious that there was some exaggeration in this fancy of hers. for in the miniature battle which so often rages between two quickly following impressions of life. and turned away.

Mother knows nothing about it. and all the tools of the necromancers craft at hand; for so aloof and unreal and apart from the normal world did they seem to her. and seated herself upon the window sill. Scrutinizing him constantly with the eye of affection. and ate with a ferocity that was due partly to anger and partly to hunger. When he had found this beauty or this cause. and there was an envelope on the mantelpiece. with a thin slice of lemon in it. poor dear creature. the other day. beginning to pace up and down her bedroom. the biography would soon be published. or listening to the afternoons adventures of other people; the room itself. but now. Shes giving her youth  for. Hilbery. from story to story. to pull the mattress off ones bed. as if to a contemporary.

 The bird. Literature was a fresh garland of spring flowers. If she had had her way. although. who scarcely knew her. we should have bought a cake. well advanced in the sixties. In the course of his professional life. in consequence. and their offspring were generally profuse. The talk had passed over Manchester.Yes.Hes about done for himself. illustrating with mute power different scenes from different lives. and get a lot done. to which she was intermittently attentive.She turned to Denham for confirmation. who came in with a peculiar look of expectation. through whose uncurtained windows the moonlight fell.