Thomas Hardy

“ No, hold your tongue, Cytherea.'
'I fancy I should have been tempted to tell her too,' Cytherea went on, 'had I not found out that there exists a very odd, almost imperceptible, and yet real connection of some kind between her and Mr. Manston, which is more than that of a mutual interest in the estate.'
'She is in love with him!' exclaimed Owen; 'fancy that!'
'Ah--that's what everybody says who has been keen enough to notice anything. I said so at first. ”

“ When they had advanced a few steps, she followed them in some doubt, still screened by the hedge.
'Do you believe in such odd coincidences?' said Cytherea.
'How do you mean, believe in them? They occur sometimes.'
'Yes, one will occur often enough--that is, two disconnected events will fall strangely together by chance, and people scarcely notice the fact beyond saying, "Oddly enough it happened that so and so were the same," and so on. ”

“ But when three such events coincide without any apparent reason for the coincidence, it seems as if there must be invisible means at work. You see, three things falling together in that manner are ten times as singular as two cases of coincidence which are distinct.'
'Well, of course: what a mathematical head you have, Cytherea! But I don't see so much to marvel at in our case. That the man who kept the public-house in which Miss Aldclyffe fainted, and who found out her name and position, lives in this neighbourhood, is accounted for by the fact that she got him the berth to stop his tongue. ”