A quarter-of-an-hour of egoism was about as much as he, taking one situation with another, usually got.

Mrs.Rance opened the door--more tentatively indeed than he himself had just done; but on the other hand, as if to make up for this, she pushed forward even more briskly on seeing him than he had been moved to do on seeing nobody.
Then, with force, it came home to him that he had, definitely, a week before, established a precedent.

He did her at least that justice--it was a kind of justice he was always doing someone.

He had on the previous Sunday liked to stop at home, and he had exposed himself thereby to be caught in the act.

To make this possible, that is, Mrs.
Rance had only had to like to do the same--the trick was so easily played.