Ingram
was to leave London at once, and go to Wanless--to his duties of the
bench, his delights of the field, cares of the farm. He was to announce to
his househould his intention of "settling down"; and he was to announce
the advent of a housekeeper. In this very outset of his bliss he must
needs do as she bade him. He went, and made her ways as smooth as they
could be made. Her rooms were assigned to her; her duties mapped out, the
exact range of her authority. Her wages were fixed, to be paid quarterly.
She would take nothing else from him--no jewellery (she wore nothing but
simple things, which had been given her by her parents or sisters--amber,
a string of cowries, an agate heart, a bangle or two), no frocks. She was
to have two hundred a year, and throughout her time to this present she
had no more, and kept herself exquisitely upon it, with a sense of what
was due to him, to herself, and to her position, which was admirable,
unhesitating, and never at fault. In due time she arrived and entered upon
her career. That which was unlawful seemed now justified; the secret
intimacy, the wedded amity, the giving, which was the dearest gain she
had. Discretion, on her side unsleeping, on his the more effective because
he never seemed to have any, secured them.
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