was perhaps the more odd as he gave no clue what
ever to what he had admired, as he went, or to what
he hadn t. He simply drenched her with his socia
ble story especially during the time they were away
from the others. She had stopped then being Amer
ican all to let him be English; a permission of
which he took, she could feel, both immense and un
conscious advantage. She had really never cared
less for the " States " than at this moment; but that
had nothing to do with the matter. It would have
been the occasion of her life to learn about them, for
nothing could put him off, and he ventured on no
reference to what had happened for herself. It
might have been almost as if he had known that the
greatest of all these adventures was her doing just
what she did then.

It was at this point that she saw the smash of her
great question as complete, saw that all she had to
do with was the sense of being there with him. And
there was no chill for this in what she also presently
saw that, however he had begun, he was now act
ing from a particular desire, determined either by
new facts or new fancies, to be like everyone else,
simplifyingly " kind " to her. He had caught on
already as to manner fallen into line with everyone
else; and if his spirits verily had gone up it might
well be that he had thus felt himself lighting on the
remedy for all awkwardness. Whatever he did or
he didn t, Milly knew she should still like him there
was no alternative to that; but her heart could none

[[327]]

p326 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p327w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p328

v?