When once he had grasped the full significance of his own conduct he was much too fine an intelligence to deceive himself, or persuade himself to see any other aspect but the hopeless one, that the entire chain of events was the result of his own action.

But surely there must be some way out?
If he wrote straight to Cecilia and told her the truth?
And then he almost laughed bitterly as he realized the futility of this plan.

What would the truth matter to Mrs.Cricklander?
She could very well retort that he had known all this truth from the beginning, and had been willing to marry her while his financial position made it an advantage to himself, but was now _recalcitrant_ only because fortune had otherwise poured gold into his lap.
No, there was no hope.

He must go through with it.
So he crushed down his emotions and forced himself to return to Miss Lutworth and talk brightly to her until they landed.
And when they parted at the Gare du Nord, Cora was left with the impression that, whatever might be the undercurrent, John Derringham was strong enough to face his fate, and not give anyone the satisfaction of knowing whether in it he found pleasure or pain.
When he arrived about ten days later at the hotel in Florence, where Mrs.Cricklander was staying, waiting for him to accompany her on to Venice, he found her in a very bad temper.

She felt that she had not been treated with that deference and respect which was her due, to say nothing of the ardor that a lover ought to have shown by hastening to her side.