"They that marry do well, but they that
refrain do better." So ran his belief, and he never heard that an
engagement was broken off but with a slight feeling of pleasure.
In the case of Lucy, the feeling was intensified through dislike
of Cecil; and he was willing to go further--to place her out of
danger until she could confirm her resolution of virginity. The
feeling was very subtle and quite undogmatic, and he never
imparted it to any other of the characters in this entanglement.
Yet it existed, and it alone explains his action subsequently,
and his influence on the action of others. The compact that he
made with Miss Bartlett in the tavern, was to help not only Lucy,
but religion also.
They hurried home through a world of black and grey. He conversed
on indifferent topics: the Emersons' need of a housekeeper;
servants; Italian servants; novels about Italy; novels with a
purpose; could literature influence life? Windy Corner glimmered.
In the garden, Mrs. Honeychurch, now helped by Freddy, still
wrestled with the lives of her flowers.
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