Even now he was attached to her, and would
have been glad to remain her friend if she would have allowed it. But
then came the time when her heroics began to weary him, and he on his
side began to fall in love with Ida de la Molle, and as he drew back
so she came forward, till at length he was worn out, and things
culminated as has been described. He was sorry for her too, knowing
how deeply she was attached to him, though it is probable that he did
not in the least realise the extent to which she suffered, for neither
men nor women who have intentionally or otherwise been the cause of
intense mental anguish to one of the opposite sex ever do quite
realise this. They, not unnaturally, measure the trouble by the depth
of their own, and are therefore very apt to come to erroneous
conclusions. Of course this is said of cases where all the real
passion is on one side, and indifference or comparative indifference
on the other; for where it is mutual, the grief will in natures of
equal depth be mutual also.
At any rate, Edward Cossey was quite sensitive enough to acutely feel
parting with Mrs. Quest, and perhaps he felt the manner of it even
more than the fact of the separation. Then came another consideration.
He was, it is true, free from his entanglement, in itself an enormous
relief, but the freedom was of a conditional nature.
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