The conversation had taken a more serious tone than he had intended--it would quite mislead Irwine--he would imagine there was a deep passion for Hetty, while there was no such thing.

He was conscious of colouring, and was annoyed at his boyishness.
"Oh no, no danger," he said as indifferently as he could.

"I don't know that I am more liable to irresolution than other people; only there are little incidents now and then that set one speculating on what might happen in the future." Was there a motive at work under this strange reluctance of Arthur's which had a sort of backstairs influence, not admitted to himself?
Our mental business is carried on much in the same way as the business of the State: a great deal of hard work is done by agents who are not acknowledged.

In a piece of machinery, too, I believe there is often a small unnoticeable wheel which has a great deal to do with the motion of the large obvious ones.

Possibly there was some such unrecognized agent secretly busy in Arthur's mind at this moment--possibly it was the fear lest he might hereafter find the fact of having made a confession to the rector a serious annoyance, in case he should NOT be able quite to carry out his good resolutions?
I dare not assert that it was not so.