Let us pray for darkness, more darkness, lest, to our bewildered sight, they do but serve to show that which shall murder Hope.
So think Geoffrey and his kin, and in their unexpressed dismay, turn, seeking refuge from their physical and spiritual loneliness, but for the most part finding none.

Nature, still strong in them, points to the dear fellowship of woman, and they make the venture to find a mate, not a companion.

But as it chanced in Geoffrey's case he did find such a companion in Beatrice, after he had, by marriage, built up an impassable wall between them.
And yet he longed for her society with an intensity that alarmed him.
He had her letters indeed, but what are letters! One touch of a beloved hand is worth a thousand letters.

In the midst of his great success Geoffrey was wretched at heart, yet it seemed to him that if he once more could have Beatrice at his side, though only as a friend, he would find rest and happiness.
When a man's heart is thus set upon an object, his reason is soon convinced of its innocence, even of its desirability, and a kindly fate will generally contrive to give him the opportunity of ruin which he so ardently desires..