And the feeling on her side?
Well, that he could not pretend to be ignorant of, and, in spite of everything, there was still the same half-acknowledged pleasure in the thought.

He tried to persuade himself that he should have the moral courage to let her as soon as possible understand his new position; he also tried to believe that this would not involve any serious shock to Ida.

For all that, he knew only too well that man is "_ein erbarmlicher Schuft_," and there was always the possibility that he might say nothing of what had happened, and let things take their course.
On the Monday he was already looking forward to the meeting with restlessness.

Could he have foreseen that anything would occur to prevent his keeping his promise, it would have caused him extreme anxiety.

But such a possibility never entered his thoughts, and, shortly before mid-day, he went down to collect his rents as usual.
The effect of a hard winter was seen in the decrease of the collector's weekly receipts.