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He had reserved that. His thoughts having come to Elizabeth gravitated
about her for some time. How little Elizabeth understood him!
That thought became intolerable. Before all other things he must set
that right. He realised that there was still something for him to do in
life, his struggle against Elizabeth was even yet not over. He could
never overcome her now, as he had hoped and prayed. But he might still
impress her!
From that idea he expanded. He might impress her profoundly--he might
impress her so that she should for evermore regret her treatment of him.
The thing that she must realise before everything else was his
magnanimity. His magnanimity! Yes! he had loved her with amazing
greatness of heart. He had not seen it so clearly before--but of course
he was going to leave her all his property. He saw it instantly, as a
thing determined and inevitable. She would think how good he was, how
spaciously generous; surrounded by all that makes life tolerable from
his hand, she would recall with infinite regret her scorn and coldness.
And when she sought expression for that regret, she would find that
occasion gone forever, she should be met by a locked door, by a
disdainful stillness, by a white dead face. He closed his eyes and
remained for a space imagining himself that white dead face.
From that he passed to other aspects of the matter, but his
determination was assured. He meditated elaborately before he took
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