ndhecouldnotbearittobesaidofhimthathedidnotknowhowtotreatalady—ortomanageawife.Andhisownsocialpositionwasuncertain.EveninEnglandadentistisatroublesomecreature,whomcarefulpeoplefinddifficulttoclass.Hehoversbetweentheprofessionsandthetradeshemaybeonlyalittlelowerthanthedoctors,orhemaybedownamongthechemists,orevenbeneaththem.ThesonoftheItaliandentistfeltthistoo.Forhimselfnothingmatteredhemadefriendswiththepeopleheliked,forhewasthatgloriousinvariablecreature,aman.Buthiswifeshouldvisitnowhereratherthanvisitwrongly:seclusionwasbothdecentandsafe.ThesocialidealsofNorthandSouthhadhadtheirbriefcontention,andthistimetheSouthhadwon.
Itwouldhavebeenwellifhehadbeenasstrictoverhisownbehaviourashewasoverhers.Buttheincongruityneveroccurredtohimforamoment.HismoralitywasthatoftheaverageLatin,andashewassuddenlyplacedinthepositionofagentleman,hedidnotseewhyheshouldnotbehaveassuch.Ofcourse,hadLiliabeendifferent—hadsheassertedherselfandgotagriponhischaracter—hemightpossibly—thoughnotprobably—havebeenmadeabetterhusbandaswellasabetterman,andatalleventshecouldhaveadoptedtheattitudeoftheEnglishman,whosestandardishigherevenwhenhispracticeisthesame.ButhadLiliabeendifferentshemightnothavemarriedhim.
Thediscoveryofhisinfidelity—whichshemadebyaccident—destroyedsuchremnantsofself-satisfactionasherlifemightyetpossess.ShebrokedownutterlyandsobbedandcriedinPerfetta’sarms.Perfettawaskindandevensympathetic,butcautionedheronnoaccounttospeaktoGino,whowouldbefuriousifhewassuspected.AndLiliaagreed,partlybecauseshewasafraidofhim,partlybecauseitwas,afterall,thebestandmostdignifiedthingtodo.Shehadgivenupeverythingforhim—herdaughter,herrelatives,herfriends,allthelittlecomfortsandluxuriesofacivilizedlife—andevenifshehadthecouragetobreakaway,therewasnoonewhowouldreceivehernow.TheHerritonshadbeenalmostmalignantintheireffortsagainsther,andallherfriendshadonebyonefallenoff.Soitwasbettertoli