Probably the very longing to avoid him lent additional weight to the conviction; for she was markedly one of those who sigh for the unattainable--to whom, superlatively, a hope is pleasing because not a possession.

And she knew it so well that her intellect was inclined to exaggerate this defect in herself.
So during the day she looked her duty steadfastly in the face; read Wordsworth's astringent yet depressing ode to that Deity; committed herself to her guidance; and still felt the weight of chance desires.
But she began to take a melancholy pleasure in contemplating the sacrifice of herself to the man whom a maidenly sense of propriety compelled her to regard as her only possible husband.

She would meet him, and do all that lay in her power to marry him.

To guard against a relapse, a note was at once despatched to his father's cottage for Stephen on his arrival, fixing an hour for the interview..