"I am
quite sure he is an honourable man--quite sure I believe he has
very high thoughts. Have you heard him play? No man who hadn't a
noble nature could play like that."
Serena drew a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, dear Mrs. Quarrier--thank you so very much! You have
put my mind at rest."
These words gave delight to the hearer. To do good and to receive
gratitude were all but the prime necessities of Lilian's heart.
Obeying her impulse, she began to say all manner of kind, tender,
hopeful things. Was there not a similarity between this girl's
position and that in which she had herself stood when consenting to
the wretched marriage which happily came to an end at the church
door? Another woman might have been disposed to say, in the female
parrot-language: "But do you love him or not? That is the whole
question." It was _not_ the whole question, even granting that love
had spoken plainly; and Lilian understood very well that it is
possible for a girl to contemplate wedlock without passionate
feeling such as could obscure her judgment.
They talked with much intimacy, much reciprocal good-will, and
Serena took her leave with a comparatively cheerful mind. She had
resolved what to do.
And the opportunity for action came that afternoon. Glazzard called
upon her. He looked rather gloomy, but smiled in reply to the smile
she gave him.
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