His head bent for a moment, as if under a weight, and he then looked up again, moistening his lips. “I was going on with the little I had left to say. I knew all this about Mr. Eugene Wrayburn, all the while you were drawing me to you. I strove against the knowledge, but quite in vain. It made no difference in me. With Mr. Eugene Wrayburn in my mind, I went on. With Mr. Eugene Wrayburn in my mind, I spoke to you just now. With Mr. Eugene Wrayburn in my mind, I have been set aside and I have been cast out.”

“If you give those names to my thanking you for your proposal and declining it, is it my fault, Mr. Headstone?” said Lizzie, compassionating the bitter struggle he could not conceal, almost as much as she was repelled and alarmed by it.