'You obeyed him blindly.'
'I did. But perhaps I was not justified in doing it.'
'I don't know,' said Jim musingly. 'I think he's a good man.'
Margery did not explain. And then a sunnier mood succeeded her
tremblings and tears, till old Mr. Vine came into the house below,
and Jim went down to declare that all was well, and sent off his
partner to break the news to Margery's father, who as yet remained
unenlightened.
The dairyman bore the intelligence of his daughter's untitled state
as best he could, and punished her by not coming near her for several
weeks, though at last he grumbled his forgiveness, and made up
matters with Jim. The handsome Mrs. Peach vanished to Plymouth, and
found another sailor, not without a reasonable complaint against Jim
and Margery both that she had been unfairly used.
As for the mysterious gentleman who had exercised such an influence
over their lives, he kept his word, and was a stranger to Lower
Wessex thenceforward. Baron or no Baron, Englishman or foreigner, he
had shown a genuine interest in Jim, and real sorrow for a certain
reckless phase of his acquaintance with Margery. That he had a more
tender feeling toward the young girl than he wished her or any one
else to perceive there could be no doubt. That he was strongly
tempted at times to adopt other than conventional courses with regard
to her is also clear, particularly at that critical hour when she
rolled along the high road with him in the carriage, after turning
from the fancied pursuit of Jim.
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