When would he see Amanda again? He would ask his mother to make the
acquaintance of these very interesting people, but as they did not
come to London very much it might be some time before he had a
chance of seeing her again. And, besides, he was going to America
and India. The prospect of an exploration of the world was still
noble and attractive; but he realized it would stand very much in
the way of his seeing more of Amanda. Would it be a startling and
unforgivable thing if presently he began to write to her? Girls of
that age and spirit living in out-of-the-way villages have been
known to marry. . . .
Marriage didn't at this stage strike Benham as an agreeable aspect
of Amanda's possibilities; it was an inconvenience; his mind was
running in the direction of pedestrian tours in armour of no
particular weight, amidst scenery of a romantic wildness. . . .
When he had gone to the house and taken his leave that morning it
had seemed quite in the vein of the establishment that he should be
received by Amanda alone and taken up the long garden before anybody
else appeared, to see the daffodils and the early apple-trees in
blossom and the pear-trees white and delicious.
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