She loved him unutterably.

She never forgot for an instant the quiet heroism with which he bore his hard life.

As the months had gone on, she had gradually established a certain kindly familiarity with his mother; going in often to see her, taking her little gifts of flowers or fruit, and telling her of all little incidents which might amuse her.

She seemed to herself in this way to be doing a little towards sharing Stephen's burden; and she also felt a certain bond to the woman who, being Stephen's mother, ought to have been hers by adoption.

The more she saw of Mrs.
White's tyrannical, exacting nature, the more she yearned over Stephen.
Her first feeling of impatience with him, of resentment at the seeming want of manliness in such subjection, had long ago worn away.