It is with some misgiving of his own unworthiness that he thinks of her, and of what they might have been to one another, if he had been more in earnest some time ago; if he had set a higher value on her; if, instead of accepting his lot in life as an inheritance of course, he had studied the right way to its appreciation and enhancement.

And still, for all this, and though there is a sharp heartache in all this, the vanity and caprice of youth sustain that handsome figure of Miss Landless in the background of his mind.
That was a curious look of Rosa's when they parted at the gate.

Did it mean that she saw below the surface of his thoughts, and down into their twilight depths?
Scarcely that, for it was a look of astonished and keen inquiry.

He decides that he cannot understand it, though it was remarkably expressive.
As he only waits for Mr.Grewgious now, and will depart immediately after having seen him, he takes a sauntering leave of the ancient city and its neighbourhood.

He recalls the time when Rosa and he walked here or there, mere children, full of the dignity of being engaged.