, making allowance, of course, for the weakness
of women in affairs such as this. He might admit that she would fret, but the
thought of her fretting did not affect him as a reality. Emma had never been
demonstrative, had never sought to show him all that was in her heart; hence he
rated her devotion lightly.
    The opinion of those who knew him! What of the opinion of Emma herself? Yes,
that went for much; he knew shame at the thought, perhaps keener shame than in
anticipating the judgment, say, of Daniel Dabbs. No one of his acquaintances
thought of him so highly as Emma did; to see himself dethroned, the object of
her contempt, was a bitter pill to swallow. In all that concerned his own
dignity Richard was keenly appreciative; he felt in advance every pricking of
the blood that was in store for him if he became guilty of this treachery. Yes,
from that point of view he feared Emma Vine.
    Considerations of larger scope did not come within the purview of his
intellect. It never occurred to him, for instance, that in forfeiting his honour
in this instance he began a process of undermining which would sooner or later
threaten the stability of the purposes on which he most prided himself. A
suggestion that domestic perfidy was in the end incompatible with public zeal
would have seemed to him ridiculous, and for the simple reason that he
recognised no moral sanctions. He could not regard his nature as a whole; he had
no understanding for the subtle network of communication between its various
parts. Nay, he told himself that the genuineness and value of his life's work
would be increased by a marriage with Adela Waltham; he and she would represent
the union of classes - of the wage-earning with the bourgeois, between which two
lay the real gist of the combat. He thought of this frequently, and allowed the
thought to inspirit him.
    To the question of whether Adela would ever find out what he had done, and,
if so, with what result, he gave scarcely a moment. Marriages are not undone by
subsequent discovery of moral faults on either side.
    This is a tabular exposition of the man's consciousness. Logically, there
should result from it a self-possessed state of mind, bordering on cynicism. But
logic was not predominant in Mutimer's constitution. So far from contemplating
treason with the calm intelligence which demands judgment on other grounds than
the common, he was in reality possessed by a spirit of perturbation. Such reason
as he could command bade him look up and view