human
Now, said Ford,
gpt
It is all a mistake, she said, hurriedly.
human
It means nothing. I am not myself to-day. Do not think of it.
gpt
Certainly I shall not trouble myself to think of it much when--what is so much better--I have it.
human
No; it is nothing. Forget it. I shall not see you again. I am going back to America immediately--next week.
gpt
I know about the loss of your fortune, Katharine; you need not tell me. No, Sylvia did not betray you. I heard it quite by chance from another source while I was still in Heidelberg. That is the reason I came.
human
The reason you came! she repeated, moving from him, with the old proud light coming back into her eyes.
gpt
You thought I would be overwhelmed--you thought that I would be so broken that I would be glad--you pitied me--you came to help me? And you were _sure_--
human
Yes, Katharine, I did pity you. Yes, I came to help you if you would let me. But I was not sure. I was sure of nothing but my own obstinate love, which burst out uncontrollably when I thought of you in trouble. I have never thought of you in that way before; you have always had everything. The thought has brought me straight to your side.
gpt
I withdraw all I have said, she answered.
human
You have taken advantage.
gpt
As it happens, you have said nothing. As to taking advantage, of course I took advantage: I was glad enough to see your pale face and sad eyes. But that is because you have always carried things with such a high hand. First and last, I have had a great deal of bad treatment.
human
That is not true.
gpt
Very well; then it is not. It shall be as you please. Do you want me to go down on my knees to you on this wet gravel?
human
Katharine, he said, in a graver tone,
gpt
I am sorry on your account that your fortune is gone, or nearly gone; but on my own, how can I help being glad? It was a barrier between us, which, as I am, and as you are--but principally as you are--would have been, I fear, a hopeless one. I doubt if I should ever have surmounted it. Your loss brings you nearer to me--the woman I deeply love, love in spite of myself. Now if you are my wife--and a tenderly loved wife you will be--you will in a measure be dependent upon your husband, and that is very sweet to a self-willed man like myself. Perhaps in time I can even make it sweet to you.
human
It is very hard,
gpt
Well, on the whole, life _is_ hard,
human
Do you know what I am going to do? he said, some minutes later.
gpt
I am going to make Benjamin Franklin light a fire on one of those old literary hearths at the château. Your shoes shall be dried in the presence of Corinne herself (who must, however, have worn a much larger pair). And while they are drying I will offer a formal apology for any past want of respect, not only to Corinne, but to all the other portraits, especially to that blue-eyed Madame Necker in her very tight white satin gown. We will drink their healths in some of the native wine. If you insist, I will even make an effort to admire the yellow turban.
human
Here's to you all, charming vanished ladies of the past, he said;
gpt
That last touch has spoiled the whole,
human
This will never do, he said.
gpt
The shoes are not drying; you must take them off. And with that he knelt down and began to unbutton them. But Katharine, agreeing to obey orders, finished the task herself. The old custodian, who had been standing in the doorway laughing at Ford's portrait pantomime, now saw an opportunity to make himself useful; he came forward, took one of the shoes, put it upon his hand, and, kneeling down, held it close to the flame. The shoes were little boots of dark cloth like the habit, slender, dainty, and made with thin soles; they were for riding, not walking. Ford brought forward a second arm-chair and sat down.
human
The old room looks really cheerful, he said.
gpt
The portraits are beginning to thaw, presently we shall see them smile.
human
Where shall we go for the winter? said Ford.
gpt
I can give you one more winter over here, and then I must go home and get to work again. And as we have so little foreign time left, I suggest that we lose none of it, and begin our married life at once. Don't be alarmed; he does not understand a word of English. Shall we say, then, next week?
human
No.
gpt
Are you waiting to know me better? Take me, and make me better.
human
What are your principal faults--I mean besides those I already know?
gpt
I have very few. I like my own way; but it is always a good way. My opinions are rather decided ones; but would you like an undecided man? I do not enjoy general society, but I am extremely fond of the particular. I think that is all.
human
And your obstinacy?
gpt
Only firmness.
human
You are narrow, prejudiced; you do not believe in progress of any kind. You would keep women down with an iron hand.
gpt
A velvet one.
human
He will certainly stretch them with that broad palm of his, said Ford.
gpt
But perhaps it is as well; you have a habit of wearing shoes that are too small. What ridiculous little affairs those are! Will twelve pairs a year content you?
human
It will be very hard for you to give up your independence, your control of things,
gpt
You will do it all for me,
human
What in the world does that old wretch mean by staying here so persistently all this time?
gpt
To go back to your faults, she said;
human
You are mistaken. However, if you like jealousy, I can easily take it up.
gpt
It will not be necessary. It is already there.
human
You are thinking of some particular instance; of whom did you suppose I was jealous?
gpt
You thought I was jealous of Lorimer Percival,
human
Do you remember when I looked at you in the glass, in this same way, a year ago?
gpt
How you talked to me that day about my poor little book! You made me feel terribly.
human
I am sorry. Forgive it.
gpt
But you do not forgive the book?
human
I will forget it, instead. You will write no more.
gpt
Always so sure! However, I will promise, if you acknowledge that you have a jealous disposition.
human
Whether I have a jealous disposition or not I do not know, he answered.
gpt
But I was never jealous of Lorimer Percival; I held him in too light estimation. And I did not believe--no, not at any time--that you loved him; he was not a man whom you would love. Why you allowed yourself to become engaged to him I do not know; but I suspect it was because he flattered what you thought your literary talent. I do not believe you would ever have married him; you would have drawn back at the last moment. To be engaged to him was one thing, to marry him another. You kept your engagement along for months, when there was no reason at all for the delay. If you had married him I should have thought the less of you, but I should not have been jealous. He paused.
human
I might never have let you know it, Katharine, he went on;
gpt
How base are all men!
human
In him it was simply egotism. He knew that I had known of his engagement to you, and he wished me to appreciate that in order to marry that sweet young girl, who was quite without fortune, he had been obliged to make, and had made, a great sacrifice.
gpt
Great indeed! she commented, bitterly.
human
You do well to commend him.
gpt
I do not commend him. I simply say that he was following out his nature. Being a poet, he is what is called sympathetic, you know; and he wanted my appreciation and sympathy--I will not say applause.
human
It is too much, she said.
gpt
You wait until I have lost my fortune and am overwhelmed; you wait until I am rejected, cast aside; and then you come and win from me an avowal of my love, telling me afterwards--_afterwards_
human
Telling you afterwards nothing but that I love you. Telling you afterwards that I have not had one really happy moment since our conversation in this old house a year ago. Telling you afterwards that my life has resolved itself into but one unceasing, tormenting wish--the wish, Katharine, that you would love me, I suppose I ought to say a little, but I mean a great deal. Look at me; is this humble enough for you?