Grewgious had pricked
it. That gentleman's steady convictions of what was right and what
was wrong in such a case as his, were neither to be frowned aside
nor laughed aside. They would not be moved. But for the dinner in
Staple Inn, and but for the ring he carried in the breast pocket of
his coat, he would have drifted into their wedding-day without
another pause for real thought, loosely trusting that all would go
well, left alone. But that serious putting him on his truth to the
living and the dead had brought him to a check. He must either
give the ring to Rosa, or he must take it back. Once put into this
narrowed way of action, it was curious that he began to consider
Rosa's claims upon him more unselfishly than he had ever considered
them before, and began to be less sure of himself than he had ever
been in all his easy-going days.
'I will be guided by what she says, and by how we get on,' was his
decision, walking from the gatehouse to the Nuns' House. 'Whatever
comes of it, I will bear his words in mind, and try to be true to
the living and the dead.'
Rosa was dressed for walking. She expected him. It was a bright,
frosty day, and Miss Twinkleton had already graciously sanctioned
fresh air. Thus they got out together before it became necessary
for either Miss Twinkleton, or the deputy high-priest Mrs. Tisher,
to lay even so much as one of those usual offerings on the shrine
of Propriety.
'My dear Eddy,' said Rosa, when they had turned out of the High
Street, and had got among the quiet walks in the neighbourhood of
the Cathedral and the river: 'I want to say something very serious
to you.
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