Shecouldnot，asyet，beartothinkdeliberatelyofDarrow；
　　butshekeptonrepeatingtoherself"Byandbyethatwillcometoo。"Evennowshewasdeterminednottolethisimagebedistortedbyhersuffering。Assoonasshecould，shewouldtrytosingleoutforremembrancetheindividualthingsshehadlikedinhimbeforeshehadlovedhimaltogether。No"spiritualexercise"devisedbythedisciplineofpietycouldhavebeenmoretorturing；butitsverycrueltyattractedher。Shewantedtowearherselfoutwithnewpains……
　　XXXI
　　ThesoundofMissPainter’slatch—keymadeherstart。Shewasstillabundleofquiveringfearstowhomeachcomingmomentseemedamenace。
　　Therewasaslightinterval，andasoundofvoicesinthehall；thenMissPainter’svigoroushandwasonthedoor。
　　Annastoodupasshecamein。"You’vefoundhim？"
　　"I’vefoundSophy。"
　　"AndOwen？——hassheseenhim？Ishehere？"
　　"SHE’Shere：inthehall。Shewantstospeaktoyou。"
　　"Here——NOW？"Annafoundnovoiceformore。
　　"Shedrovebackwithme，"MissPaintercontinuedinthetoneofimpartialnarrative。"Thecabmanwasimpertinent。I’vegothisnumber。"Shefumbledinastoutblackreticule。
　　"Oh，Ican’t——"brokefromAnna；butshecollectedherself，rememberingthattobetrayherunwillingnesstoseethegirlwastoriskrevealingmuchmore。
　　"Shethoughtyoumightbetootiredtoseeher：shewouldn’tcomeintillI’dfoundout。"
　　Annadrewaquickbreath。Aninstant’sthoughthadtoldherthatSophyVinerwouldhardlyhavetakensuchastepunlesssomethingmoreimportanthadhappened。"Askhertocome，please，"shesaid。
　　MissPainter，fromthethreshold，turnedbacktoannounceherintentionofgoingimmediatelytothepolicestationtoreportthecabman’sdelinquency；thenshepassedout，andSophyVinerentered。
　　Thelookinthegirl’sfaceshowedthatshehadindeedcomeunwillingly；yetsheseemedanimatedbyaneagerresolutenessthatmadeAnnaashamedofhertremors。Foramomenttheylookedateachotherinsilence，asifthethoughtsbetweenthemwerepackedtoothickforspeech；thenAnnasaid，inavoicefromwhichshestrovetotaketheedgeofhardness："YouknowwhereOwenis，MissPaintertellsme。"
　　"Yes；thatwasmyreasonforaskingyoutoseeme。"Sophyspokesimply，withoutconstraintorhesitation。
　　"Ithoughthe’dpromisedyou——"Annainterposed。
　　"Hedid；buthebrokehispromise。That’swhatIthoughtI
　　oughttotellyou。"
　　"Thankyou。"Annawentontentatively："HeleftGivrethismorningwithoutaword。IfollowedhimbecauseIwasafraid……"
　　Shebrokeoffagainandthegirltookupherphrase。"Youwereafraidhe’dguessed？HeHAS……"
　　"Whatdoyoumean——guessedwhat？"
　　"Thatyouknowsomethinghedoesn’t……somethingthatmadeyougladtohavemego。"
　　"Oh——"Annamoaned。Ifshehadwantedmorepainshehaditnow。"He’stoldyouthis？"shefaltered。
　　"Hehasn’ttoldme，becauseIhaven’tseenhim。Ikepthimoff——ImadeMrs。Farlowgetridofhim。Buthe’swrittenmewhathecametosay；andthatwasit。"
　　"Oh，poorOwen！"brokefromAnna。Throughalltheintricaciesofhersufferingshefelttheseparatepangofhis。
　　"AndIwanttoaskyou，"thegirlcontinued，"toletmeseehim；forofcourse，"sheaddedinthesamestrangevoiceofenergy，"Iwouldn’tunlessyouconsented。"
　　"Toseehim？"Annatriedtogathertogetherherstartledthoughts。"Whatusewoulditbe？Whatcouldyoutellhim？"
　　"Iwanttotellhimthetruth，"saidSophyViner。
　　Thetwowomenlookedateachother，andaburningblushrosetoAnna’sforehead。"Idon’tunderstand，"shefaltered。
　　Sophywaitedamoment；thensheloweredhervoicetosay："I
　　don’twanthimtothinkworseofmethanheneed……"
　　"Worse？"
　　"Yes——tothinksuchthingsasyou’rethinkingnow……Iwanthimtoknowexactlywhathappened……thenIwanttobidhimgood—bye。"
　　Annatriedtoclearawaythroughherownwonderandconfusion。Shefeltherselfobscurelymoved。
　　"Wouldn’titbeworseforhim？"
　　"Tohearthetruth？Itwouldbebetter，atanyrate，foryouandMr。Darrow。"
　　AtthesoundofthenameAnnaliftedherheadquickly。"I’veonlymystep—sontoconsider！"
　　Thegirlthrewastartledlookather。"Youdon’tmean——
　　you’renotgoingtogivehimup？"
　　Annafeltherlipsharden。"Idon’tthinkit’sofanyusetotalkofthat。"
　　"Oh，Iknow！It’smyfaultfornotknowinghowtosaywhatI
　　wantyoutohear。Yourwordsaredifferent；youknowhowtochoosethem。Mineoffendyou……andthedreadofitmakesmeblunder。That’swhy，theotherday，Icouldn’tsayanything……couldn’tmakethingscleartoyou。ButnowMUST，evenifyouhateit！"Shedrewastepnearer，herslenderfigureswayedforwardinapassionofentreaty。"Dolistentome！Whatyou’vesaidisdreadful。Howcanyouspeakofhiminthatvoice？Don’tyouseethatIwentawaysothatheshouldn’thavetoloseyou？"
　　Annalookedathercoldly。"AreyouspeakingofMr。Darrow？
　　Idon’tknowwhyyouthinkyourgoingorstayingcaninanywayaffectourrelations。"
　　"YoumeanthatyouHAVEgivenhimup——becauseofme？Oh，howcouldyou？Youcan’treallylovehim！——Andyet，"thegirlsuddenlyadded，"youmust，oryou’dbemoresorryforme！"
　　"I’mverysorryforyou，"Annasaid，feelingasiftheironbandaboutherheartpressedonitalittlelessinexorably。
　　"Thenwhywon’tyouhearme？Whywon’tyoutrytounderstand？It’sallsodifferentfromwhatyouimagine！"
　　"I’veneverjudgedyou。"
　　"I’mnotthinkingofmyself。Helovesyou！"
　　"Ithoughtyou’dcometospeakofOwen。"
　　SophyVinerseemednottohearher。"He’sneverlovedanyoneelse。Eventhosefewdays……Iknewitallthewhile……henevercaredforme。"
　　"Pleasedon’tsayanymore！"Annasaid。
　　"IknowitmustseemstrangetoyouthatIshouldsaysomuch。Ishockyou，Ioffendyou：youthinkmeacreaturewithoutshame。SoIam——butnotinthesenseyouthink！I’mnotashamedofhavinglovedhim；no；andI’mnotashamedoftellingyouso。It’sthatthatjustifiesme——andhimtoo……Oh，letmetellyouhowithappened！Hewassorryforme：hesawIcared。IKNEWthatwasallheeverfelt。I
　　couldseehewasthinkingofsomeoneelse。Iknewitwasonlyforaweek……Heneversaidawordtomisleadme……I
　　wantedtobehappyjustonce——andIdidn’tdreamoftheharmImightbedoinghim！"
　　Annacouldnotspeak。Shehardlyknew，asyet，whatthegirl’swordsconveyedtoher，savethesenseoftheirtragicfervour；butshewasconsciousofbeinginthepresenceofanintenserpassionthanshehadeverfelt。
　　"Iamsorryforyou。"Shepaused。"Butwhydoyousaythistome？"Afteranotherintervalsheexclaimed："You’dnorighttoletOwenloveyou。"
　　"No；thatwaswrong。Atleastwhat’shappenedsincehasmadeitso。IfthingshadbeendifferentIthinkIcouldhavemadeOwenhappy。Youwereallsogoodtome——Iwantedsotostaywithyou！Isupposeyou’llsaythatmakesitworse：mydaringtodreamIhadtheright……Butallthatdoesn’tmatternow。Iwon’tseeOwenunlessyou’rewilling。
　　IshouldhavelikedtotellhimwhatI’vetriedtotellyou；
　　butyoumustknowbetter；youfeelthingsinafinerway。
　　Onlyyou’llhavetohelphimifIcan’t。Hecaresagreatdeal……it’sgoingtohurthim……"
　　Annatrembled。"Oh，Iknow！WhatcanIdo？"
　　"YoucangostraightbacktoGivre——now，atonce！SothatOwenshallneverknowyou’vefollowedhim。"Sophy’sclaspedhandsreachedouturgently。"AndyoucansendforMr。
　　Darrow——bringhimback。Owenmustbeconvincedthathe’smistaken，andnothingelsewillconvincehim。AfterwardI’llfindapretext——oh，Ipromiseyou！Butfirsthemustseeforhimselfthatnothing’schangedforyou。"
　　Annastoodmotionless，subduedanddominated。Thegirl’sardoursweptherlikeawind。
　　"Oh，can’tImoveyou？Somedayyou’llknow！"Sophypleaded，hereyesfulloftears。
　　Annasawthem，andfeltafullnessinherthroat。Againthebandaboutherheartseemedloosened。Shewantedtofindaword，butcouldnot：allwithinherwastoodarkandviolent。Shegavethegirlaspeechlesslook。
　　"Idobelieveyou，"shesaidsuddenly；thensheturnedandwalkedoutoftheroom。
　　XXXII
　　ShedrovefromMissPainter’stoherownapartment。Themaid—servantwhohaditinchargehadbeenapprisedofhercoming，andhadopenedoneortwooftherooms，andpreparedafireinherbedroom。Annashutherselfin，refusingthewoman’sministrations。Shefeltcoldandfaint，andaftershehadtakenoffherhatandcloakshekneltdownbythefireandstretchedherhandstoit。
　　Inonerespect，atleast，itwascleartoherthatshewoulddowelltofollowSophyViner’scounsel。IthadbeenanactoffollytofollowOwen，andherfirstbusinesswastogetbacktoGivrebeforehim。Buttheonlytrainleavingthateveningwasaslowone，whichdidnotreachFrancheuiltillmidnight，andsheknewthathertakingitwouldexciteMadamedeChantelle’swonderandleadtointerminabletalk。
　　ShehadcomeuptoParisonthepretextoffindinganewgovernessforEffie，andthenaturalthingwastodeferherreturntillthenextmorning。SheknewOwenwellenoughtobesurethathewouldmakeanotherattempttoseeMissViner，andfailingthat，wouldwriteagainandawaitheranswer：sothattherewasnolikelihoodofhisreachingGivretillthefollowingevening。
　　Hersenseofreliefatnothavingtostartoutatonceshowedherforthefirsttimehowtiredshewas。Thebonnehadsuggestedacupoftea，butthedreadofhavinganyoneaboutherhadmadeAnnarefuse，andshehadeatennothingsincemorningbutasandwichboughtatabuffet。
　　Shewastootiredtogetup，butstretchingoutherarmshedrewtowardherthearm—chairwhichstoodbesidethehearthandrestedherheadagainstitscushions。Graduallythewarmthofthefirestoleintoherveinsandherheavinessofsoulwasreplacedbyadreamybuoyancy。Sheseemedtobeseatedonthehearthinhersitting—roomatGivre，andDarrowwasbesideher，inthechairagainstwhichsheleaned。Heputhisarmsabouthershouldersanddrawingherheadbacklookedintohereyes。"Ofallthewaysyoudoyourhair，that’sthewayIlikebest，"hesaid……
　　Alogdropped，andshesatupwithastart。Therewasawarmthinherheart，andshewassmiling。Thenshelookedabouther，andsawwhereshewas，andthegloryfell。Shehidherfaceandsobbed。
　　Presentlysheperceivedthatitwasgrowingdark，andgettingupstifflyshebegantoundothethingsinherbagandspreadthemonthedressing—table。Sheshrankfromlightingthelights，andgropedherwayabout，tryingtofindwhatsheneeded。Sheseemedimmeasurablyfarofffromeveryone，andmostofallfromherself。Itwasasifherconsciousnesshadbeentransmittedtosomestrangerwhosethoughtsandgestureswereindifferenttoher……
　　Suddenlysheheardashrilltinkle，andwithabeatingheartshestoodstillinthemiddleoftheroom。Itwasthetelephoneinherdressing—room——acall，nodoubt，fromAdelaidePainter。OrcouldOwenhavelearnedshewasintown？Thethoughtalarmedherandsheopenedthedoorandstumbledacrosstheunlitroomtotheinstrument。Sheheldittoherear，andheardDarrow’svoicepronouncehername。
　　"Willyouletmeseeyou？I’vecomeback——Ihadtocome。
　　MissPaintertoldmeyouwerehere。"
　　Shebegantotremble，andfearedthathewouldguessitfromhervoice。Shedidnotknowwhatsheanswered：sheheardhimsay："Ican’thear。"Shecalled"Yes！"andlaidthetelephonedown，andcaughtitupagain——buthewasgone。
　　Shewonderedifher"Yes"hadreachedhim。
　　Shesatinherchairandlistened。Whyhadshesaidthatshewouldseehim？Whatdidshemeantosaytohimwhenhecame？Nowandthen，asshesatthere，thesenseofhispresenceenvelopedherasinherdream，andsheshuthereyesandfelthisarmsabouther。Thenshewoketorealityandshivered。Alongtimeelapsed，andatlengthshesaidtoherself："Heisn’tcoming。"
　　Thedoor—bellrangasshesaidit，andshestoodup，coldandtrembling。Shethought："Canheimaginethere’sanyuseincoming？"andmovedforwardtobidtheservantsayshecouldnotseehim。
　　Thedooropenedandshesawhimstandinginthedrawing—
　　room。Theroomwascoldandfireless，andahardglarefellfromthewall—lightsontheshroudedfurnitureandthewhiteslipscoveringthecurtains。Helookedpaleandstern，withafrownoffatiguebetweenhiseyes；andsherememberedthatinthreedayshehadtravelledfromGivretoLondonandback。Itseemedincrediblethatallthathadbefallenhershouldhavebeencompressedwithinthespaceofthreedays！
　　"Thankyou，"hesaidasshecamein。
　　Sheanswered："It’sbetter，Isuppose————"
　　Hecametowardherandtookherinhisarms。Shestruggledalittle，afraidofyielding，buthepressedhertohim，notbendingtoherbutholdingherfast，asthoughhehadfoundherafteralongsearch：sheheardhishurriedbreathing。
　　Itseemedtocomefromherownbreast，socloseheheldher；
　　anditwasshewho，atlast，liftedupherfaceanddrewdownhis。
　　Shefreedherselfandwentandsatonasofaattheotherendoftheroom。Amirrorbetweentheshroudedwindow—
　　curtainsshowedhercrumpledtravellingdressandthewhitefaceunderherdisorderedhairShefoundhervoice，andaskedhimhowhehadbeenabletoleaveLondon。Heansweredthathehadmanaged——he’darrangedit；andshesawhehardlyheardwhatshewassaying。
　　"Ihadtoseeyou，"hewenton，andmovednearer，sittingdownatherside。
　　"Yes；wemustthinkofOwen————"
　　"Oh，Owen——！"
　　HermindhadflownbacktoSophyViner’spleathatsheshouldletDarrowreturntoGivreinorderthatOwenmightbepersuadedofthefollyofhissuspicions。Thesuggestionwasabsurd，ofcourse。ShecouldnotaskDarrowtolendhimselftosuchafraud，evenhadshehadtheinhumancouragetoplayherpartinit。Shewassuddenlyoverwhelmedbythefutilityofeveryattempttoreconstructherruinedworld。No，itwasuseless；andsinceitwasuseless，everymomentwithDarrowwaspurepain……
　　"I’vecometotalkofmyself，notofOwen，"sheheardhimsaying。"WhenyousentmeawaytheotherdayIunderstoodthatitcouldn’tbeotherwise——then。Butit’snotpossiblethatyouandIshouldpartlikethat。IfI’mtoloseyou，itmustbeforabetterreason。"
　　"Abetterreason？"
　　"Yes：adeeperone。Onethatmeansafundamentaldisaccordbetweenus。Thisonedoesn’t——inspiteofeverythingitdoesn’t。That’swhatIwantyoutosee，andhavethecouragetoacknowledge。"
　　"IfIsawitIshouldhavethecourage！"
　　"Yes：couragewasthewrongword。Youhavethat。That’swhyI’mhere。"
　　"ButIdon’tseeit，"shecontinuedsadly。"Soit’suseless，isn’tit？——andsocruel……"Hewasabouttospeak，butshewenton："Ishallneverunderstandit——never！"
　　Helookedather。"Youwillsomeday：youweremadetofeeleverything"
　　"Ishouldhavethoughtthiswasacaseofnotfeeling————"
　　"Onmypart，youmean？"Hefacedherresolutely。"Yes，itwas：tomyshame……WhatImeantwasthatwhenyou’velivedalittlelongeryou’llseewhatcomplexblunderersweallare：
　　howwe’restruckblindsometimes，andmadsometimes——andthen，whenoursightandoursensescomeback，howwehavetosettowork，andbuildup，littlebylittle，bitbybit，thepreciousthingswe’dsmashedtoatomswithoutknowingit。Life’sjustaperpetualpiecingtogetherofbrokenbits。"
　　Shelookedupquickly。"That’swhatIfeel：thatyououghtto————"
　　Hestoodup，interruptingherwithagesture。"Oh，don’t——
　　don’tsaywhatyou’regoingto！Mendon’tgivetheirlivesawaylikethat。Ifyouwon’thavemine，it’satleastmyown，todothebestIcanwith。"
　　"Thebestyoucan——that’swhatImean！Howcantherebea’best’foryouthat’smadeofsomeoneelse’sworst？"
　　Hesatdownagainwithagroan。"Idon’tknow！Itseemedsuchaslightthing——allonthesurface——andI’vegoneagroundonitbecauseitwasonthesurface。Iseethehorrorofitjustasyoudo。ButIsee，alittlemoreclearly，theextent，andthelimits，ofmywrong。It’snotasblackasyouimagine。"
　　Sheloweredhervoicetosay："IsupposeIshallneverunderstand；butsheseemstoloveyou……"
　　"There’smyshame！ThatIdidn’tguessit，didn’tflyfromit。Yousayyou’llneverunderstand：butwhyshouldn’tyou？
　　Isitanythingtobeproudof，toknowsolittleofthestringsthatpullus？Ifyouknewalittlemore，Icouldtellyouhowsuchthingshappenwithoutoffendingyou；andperhapsyou’dlistenwithoutcondemningme。"
　　"Idon’tcondemnyou。"Shewasdizzywithstrugglingimpulses。Shelongedtocryout："IDOunderstand！I’veunderstoodeversinceyou’vebeenhere！"Forshewasaware，inherownbosom，ofsensationssoseparatefromherromanticthoughtsofhimthatshesawherbodyandsouldividedagainstthemselves。SherecalledhavingreadsomewherethatinancientRometheslaveswerenotallowedtowearadistinctivedresslesttheyshouldrecognizeeachotherandlearntheirnumbersandtheirpower。So，inherself，shediscernedforthefirsttimeinstinctsanddesires，which，muteandunmarked，hadgonetoandfrointhedimpassagesofhermind，andnowhailedeachotherwithacryofmutiny。
　　"Oh，Idon’tknowwhattothink！"shebrokeout。"Yousayyoudidn’tknowshelovedyou。Butyouknowitnow。
　　Doesn’tthatshowyouhowyoucanputthebrokenbitstogether？"
　　"CanyouseriouslythinkitwouldbedoingsotomarryonewomanwhileIcareforanother？"
　　"Oh，Idon’tknow……Idon’tknow……"Thesenseofherweaknessmadehertrytohardenherselfagainsthisarguments。
　　"Youdoknow！We’veoftentalkedofsuchthings：ofthemonstrousnessofuselesssacrifices。IfI’mtoexpiate，it’snotinthatway。"Headdedabruptly："It’sinhavingtosaythistoyounow……"
　　Shefoundnoanswer。
　　Throughthesilentapartmenttheyheardthesuddenpealofthedoor—bell，andsherosetoherfeet。"Owen！"sheinstantlyexclaimed。
　　"IsOweninParis？"
　　SheexplainedinarapidundertonewhatshehadlearnedfromSophyViner。
　　"ShallIleaveyou？"Darrowasked。
　　"Yes……no……"Shemovedtothedining—roomdoor，withthehalf—formedpurposeofmakinghimpassout，andthenturnedback。"ItmaybeAdelaide。"
　　Theyheardtheouterdooropen，andamomentlaterOwenwalkedintotheroom。Hewaspale，withexcitedeyes：astheyfellonDarrow，Annasawhisstartofwonder。Hemadeaslightsignofrecognition，andthenwentuptohisstep—
　　motherwithanairofexaggeratedgaiety。
　　"Youfurtiveperson！IranacrosstheomniscientAdelaideandheardfromherthatyou’drushedupsuddenlyandsecretly"HestoodbetweenAnnaandDarrow，strained，questioning，dangerouslyonedge。
　　"IcameuptomeetMr。Darrow，"Annaanswered。"Hisleave’sbeenprolonged——he’sgoingbackwithme。"
　　Thewordsseemedtohaveutteredthemselveswithoutherwill，yetshefeltagreatsenseoffreedomasshespokethem。
　　ThehardtensionofOwen’sfacechangedtoincreduloussurprise。HelookedatDarrow。
　　"Themerestluck……acolleaguewhosewifewasill……Icamestraightback，"sheheardthelattertranquillyexplaining。
　　Hisself—commandhelpedtosteadyher，andshesmiledatOwen。
　　"We’llallgobacktogethertomorrowmorning，"shesaidassheslippedherarmthroughhis。
　　XXXIII
　　OwenLeathdidnotgobackwithhisstep—mothertoGivre。
　　InreplytohersuggestionheannouncedhisintentionofstayingonadayortwolongerinParis。
　　Annaleftalonebythefirsttrainthenextmorning。Darrowwastofollowintheafternoon。WhenOwenhadleftthemtheeveningbefore，Darrowwaitedamomentforhertospeak；
　　then，asshesaidnothing，heaskedherifshereallywishedhimtoreturntoGivre。Shemadeamutesignofassent，andheadded："Foryouknowthat，muchasI’mreadytodoforOwen，Ican’tdothatforhim——Ican’tgobacktobesentawayagain。"
　　"No——no！"
　　Hecamenearer，andlookedather，andshewenttohim。Allherfearsseemedtofallfromherasheheldher。Itwasadifferentfeelingfromanyshehadknownbefore：confusedandturbid，asifsecretshamesandrancoursstirredinit，yetricher，deeper，moreenslaving。Sheleanedherheadbackandshuthereyesbeneathhiskisses。Sheknewnowthatshecouldnevergivehimup。
　　Neverthelesssheaskedhim，thenextmorning，tolethergobackalonetoGivre。Shewantedtimetothink。Shewasconvincedthatwhathadhappenedwasinevitable，thatsheandDarrowbelongedtoeachother，andthathewasrightinsayingnopastfollycouldeverputthemasunder。Iftherewasashadeofdifferenceinherfeelingforhimitwasthatofanaddedintensity。Shefeltrestless，insecureoutofhissight：shehadasenseofincompleteness，ofpassionatedependence，thatwassomehowatvariancewithherownconceptionofhercharacter。
　　Itwaspartlytheconsciousnessofthischangeinherselfthatmadeherwanttobealone。Thesolitudeofherinnerlifehadgivenherthehabitofthesehoursofself—
　　examination，andsheneededthemassheneededhermorningplungeintocoldwater。
　　Duringthejourneyshetriedtoreviewwhathadhappenedinthelightofhernewdecisionandofhersuddenrelieffrompain。Sheseemedtoherselftohavepassedthroughsomefieryinitiationfromwhichshehademergedsearedandquivering，butclutchingtoherbreastamagictalisman。
　　SophyVinerhadcriedouttoher："Somedayyou’llknow！"
　　andDarrowhadusedthesamewords。Theymeant，shesupposed，thatwhenshehadexploredtheintricaciesanddarknessesofherownheartherjudgmentofotherswouldbelessabsolute。Well，sheknewnow——knewweaknessesandstrengthsshehadnotdreamedof，andthedeepdiscordandstilldeepercomplicitiesbetweenwhatthoughtinherandwhatblindlywanted……
　　HermindturnedanxiouslytoOwen。Atleasttheblowthatwastofallonhimwouldnotseemtohavebeeninflictedbyherhand。HewouldbeleftwiththeimpressionthathisbreachwithSophyVinerwasduetooneoftheordinarycausesofsuchdisruptions：thoughhemustloseher，hismemoryofherwouldnotbepoisoned。AnnaneverforamomentpermittedherselfthedelusionthatshehadrenewedherpromisetoDarrowinordertospareherstep—sonthislastrefinementofmisery。Sheknewshehadbeenpromptedbytheirresistibleimpulsetoholdfasttowhatwasmostprecioustoher，andthatOwen’sarrivalonthescenehadbeenthepretextforherdecision，andnotitscause；yetshefeltherselffortifiedbythethoughtofwhatshehadsparedhim。Itwasasthoughastarshehadbeenusedtofollowhadsheditsfamiliarrayonwaysunknowntoher。