That was another burden, Gwendolen's mother! The Warden's face became hard. But he thought he knew how he should deal with Gwendolen's mother; he should begin from the very first.
"Yes," he said; "but as to her coming here—she mentions it in her letter—Lady Dashwood will decide about that. I don't know what her plans are."
Gwendolen looked disappointed. "And I may talk to Lady Dashwood, to Mrs. Dashwood, and anybody about our engagement?" she asked.
"Certainly," he said, but he spoke stiffly.
"And—and—" said the girl, following him to the door and stretching out her hand towards his arm as she walked but not touching it,—"shall I see you to-morrow morning before you go to town?"
The Warden felt as if he had been dealt a light but acutely painful blow.
Shall I see you to-morrow morning? Already she was claiming her right over him, her right to see him, to know of his movements. He had for many years been the servant of the College. He had given the College his entire allegiance, but he had also been its master. He had been the strong man among weaker men, and, as all men of his type are, he had been alone, uninterfered with, rather remote in matters concerning his private personal life. And now this mere child demanded explanations of him. It was a bitter moment for his pride and independence. However strictly he might bind his wife to his will, his own freedom had gone; he was no longer the man he had been. If this simple question, "Shall I see you to-morrow morning?" tortured his self-respect, how would he be able to bear what was coming upon him day by day? He had to bear it. That was the only answer to the question!
"I am starting early," he said. "But I shall be back on Saturday, some time in the afternoon probably."
Gwendolen's brain was in a whirl. Her desire had been consummated. The Warden was hers, but, somehow, he was not quite what he had been on that Monday evening. He was cold, at least rather cold. Still he was hers; that was fixed.
She waited for a moment to see if he meant to kiss her again. He did not mean to, he held out his hand and smiled a little.