Was it not Danty who told of those poor people who were exposed to the molten drizzle?
Ah yes! Danty knew, of course, for he had been a great sufferer.

What a beautiful, yet sad, word is that, "to suffer"! How gentle and lovely to suffer without complaint! Had the Countess ever thought of it?
To suffer silently--and long--( here Silas cast a love-sick glance out of his small dark eyes)--with the hope of gaining an object infinitely far removed, but--( another glance)--infinitely beautiful and worth obtaining.

Oh! Silas would suffer for ever in such a hope! There was nothing Silas would not do that was saintly that he might gain heaven.
After a time, Margaret, who disliked this kind of talk intensely, began to look grave, an omen which Barker did not fail to interpret to his advantage, for it is a step gained when a woman begins to be serious.
Only a man ignorant of Margaret's real character, and incapable of appreciating it, could have been so deceived in this case.

She had felt strongly that Barker had saved her life, and that he had acted with a boldness and determination on that occasion which would have merited her admiration even had it not commanded her gratitude.

But she was really grateful, and, wishing to show it, could devise no better plan than to receive his visits and to listen politely to his conversation.
One day, late in the afternoon, they were sitting together over a cup of tea, and Barker was pouring out his experiences, or what he was pleased to call by that name, for they were not genuine.