He had never made love to her, nor could he discover that it was possible for him to do so.

She seemed to be a woman for whom all the ordinary stages of love-making were quite unsuitable, Of course he could declare his love and ask her to be his wife on any occasion on which he might find himself to be alone with her.

And on this morning he had made up his mind that he would do so before the day was over.

It might be possible that she would never speak to him again;--that all the pleasures and ambitious hopes to which she had introduced him might be over as soon as that rash word should have been spoken! But, nevertheless, he would speak it.
On this day there was to be a grouse-shooting party, and the shooters were to be out early.

It had been talked of for some day or two past, and Phineas knew that he could not escape it.