There would be no indelicacy then in asking her for an interview more
free from interruption than this public veranda. Without conceit, he
did not doubt what the answer would be. His indecision, his sudden
resolution to leave her, had been all based upon the uncertainty of HIS
own feelings, the propriety of HIS declaration, the possibility of some
previous experience of hers that might compromise HIM. Convinced by
her unembarrassed manner of her innocence, or rather satisfied of her
indifference to Richardson's gossip, he had been hurried by his feelings
into an unexpected avowal. Brought up in the perfect security of his
own social position, and familiarly conscious--without vanity--of
its importance and power in such a situation, he believed, without
undervaluing Louise's charms or independence, that he had no one else
than himself to consult. Even the slight uneasiness that still pursued
him was more due to his habitual conscientiousness of his own intention
than to any fear that she would not fully respond to it. Indeed, with
his conservative ideas of proper feminine self-restraint, Louise's calm
passivity and undemonstrative attitude were a proof of her superiority;
had she blushed overmuch, cried, or thrown herself into his arms, he
would have doubted the wisdom of so easy a selection.
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