I foresaw at Florence that her quiet, uneventful childhood must end, and it has ended. I realised dimly enough that she might take some momentous steps. She has taken it. She has learned — you will let me talk freely, as I have begun freely — she has learned what it is to love: the greatest lesson, some people will tell you, that our earthly life provides.’ It was now time for him to wave his hat at the approaching trio. He did not omit to do so. ‘She has learned through you,’ and if his voice was still not clerical, it was now also sincere; ‘let it be your care that her knowledge is profitable to her.
From A Room with a View