That absurd refusal of hers was, after all, a
reprieve, although until now he had not looked upon it in that light.
No doubt it was a good thing affairs had turned out as they had; the
marriage would have been in many ways disadvantageous. Yet he
certainly would have insisted on it, and taken trouble to do so, if
she had not put it altogether out of his power. All the same, he did
not feel as gratified as he ought, perhaps because the arrogance of
man is not pleased to have woman arbitrator of his fate, and the
instinct of gentleman is not satisfied to have her bear his burden,
perhaps for some other less clear reason. He really did not know
himself, and did not try to think; there seemed little object in doing
so, seeing that incident was closed.
The next day he went north, and by accident travelled part of the way
with a lady of his acquaintance. She was young, not more than five or
six and twenty, nice looking too, and very well dressed. She had a lot
of small impediments with her--a cloak, a dressing-bag, sunshade,
umbrella, golf clubs--some one, no doubt, would come and clear her
when the destination was reached; in the mean time, she and her
belongings were an eminently feminine presence. She talked pleasantly
of what had happened since they last met; she had been to Baireuth
that summer, she told him, and spoke intelligently of the music, the
technique and the beauty of it, and what it stood for.
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