She divined that his hint had encouraged him to bring the crisis nearer, and he that her comprehension had become tremblingly awake.

They shrank, each of them, the more from an end drawing closely into view.

All subjects glooming off or darkening up to it were shunned by them verbally, and if they found themselves entering beneath that shadow, conversation passed to an involuntary gesture, more explicit with him, significant of the prohibited, though not acknowledging it.
All the stronger was it Victor's purpose, leaping in his fashion to the cover of action as an escape from perplexity, to burn and scheme for the wedding of their girl--the safe wedding of that dearest, to have her protected, secure, with the world warm about her.

And he well knew why his Nataly had her look of a closed vault (threatening, if opened, to thunder upon Life) when he dropped his further hints.

He chose to call it feminine inconsistency, in a woman who walked abroad with a basket of marriage-ties for the market on her arm.