It was not
for himself, it was for her and for her children. He was willing to
wait for her; it would be hard, but he could do it. And over there,
among beautiful scenes and noble monuments, perhaps the old gentleman
would be softened; such things were supposed to exert a humanising
influence. He might be touched by her gentleness, her patience, her
willingness to make any sacrifice but THAT one; and if she should
appeal to him some day, in some celebrated spot--in Italy, say, in
the evening; in Venice, in a gondola, by moonlight--if she should be
a little clever about it and touch the right chord, perhaps he would
fold her in his arms and tell her that he forgave her. Catherine was
immensely struck with this conception of the affair, which seemed
eminently worthy of her lover's brilliant intellect; though she
viewed it askance in so far as it depended upon her own powers of
execution. The idea of being "clever" in a gondola by moonlight
appeared to her to involve elements of which her grasp was not
active. But it was settled between them that she should tell her
father that she was ready to follow him obediently anywhere, making
the mental reservation that she loved Morris Townsend more than ever.
She informed the Doctor she was ready to embark, and he made rapid
arrangements for this event. Catherine had many farewells to make,
but with only two of them are we actively concerned.
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