The only disappointment was Rose's reception of his offer. At first she was unaffectedly surprised. She had looked upon the whole affair as a flirtation, of which she had had several, and had never expected it to take such a serious turn. Even when she had recovered from her surprise, she refused to give him an answer. He became suddenly alarmed lest she thought him too old, and pressing her for her reasons, found that the real matter was that she did not want to sacrifice her freedom. "Wot do you mean, sweetheart? Döan't you love me?" "Of course I love you--but it doesn't follow I want to belong to you. Can't we go on as we are?" "You queer me, Rose. How can we go on as we are?--it's like walking on a road that never leads nowhere." "Well, that's very nice--I don't always want to go somewhere every time I take a walk, I much prefer just wandering." "I döan't." "Because you're so practical and business-like, and I'm afraid you'd try and make me practical and business-like too. That's why I said I wanted to be free." "You shall be free, Rose--I promise you. You shall do wotsumdever you please." "Absolutely 'wotsumdever'?" "Yes--wudin reason, of course." "Ah, that's it. Your reason mightn't be my reason." "You wudn't find me unreasonable, dear." "Well, I shall have to think it over." She thought it over for two months, during which Reuben suffered all the torments of his lot. She soon came to realise and appreciate her powers; she dangled hopes and fears with equal zest before his eyes, she used his anxieties to stoke the furnaces of his passion, till she had betrayed him into blazes and explosions which he looked on afterwards with uneasy shame. Once in sick amazement at himself he took refuge at Cheat Land, and sat for an hour in Alice Jury's kitchen, watching her sew. But the springs of his confidence were dried, he could not tell Alice what he felt about Rose. She knew, of course. All the neighbourhood knew he was in love with Rose Lardner, and watched the progress of his courtship with covert smiles.