“Youwillletmegowithyou？“
　　“Notto-day。Ishallbebackthiseveningtodinner。Youshallhearallthathashappened；andyoushallaccompanymetoLondonto-morrow——ifIfinditnecessarytomakeanylengthenedstaythere。Betweenthisandthen，aftertheshockthatyouhavesuffered，youwilldowelltobequiethere。BesatisfiedwithmyassurancethatBlancheshallhaveyourletter。Iwillforcemyauthorityonherstep-mothertothatextentifherstep-motherresistswithoutscruple。TherespectinwhichIholdthesexonlylastsaslongasthesexdeservesit——anddoes_not_extendtoLadyLundie。ThereisnoadvantagethatamancantakeofawomanwhichIamnotfullypreparedtotakeofmysister-in-law。“
　　Withthatcharacteristicfarewell，heshookhandswithArnold，anddepartedforthestation。
　　Atseveno’clockthedinnerwasonthetable。Atseveno’clockSirPatrickcamedownstairstoeatit，asperfectlydressedasusual，andascomposedasifnothinghadhappened。
　　“Shehasgotyourletter，“hewhispered，ashetookArnold’sarm，andledhimintothedining-room。
　　“Didshesayanything？“
　　“Notaword。“
　　“Howdidshelook？“
　　“Assheoughttolook——sorryforwhatshehasdone。“
　　Thedinnerbegan。Asamatterofnecessity，thesubjectofSirPatrick’sexpeditionwasdroppedwhiletheservantswereintheroom——toberegularlytakenupagainbyArnoldintheintervalsbetweenthecourses。Hebeganwhenthesoupwastakenaway。
　　“IconfessIhadhopedtoseeBlanchecomebackwithyou!“hesaid，sadlyenough。
　　“Inotherwords，“returnedSirPatrick，“youforgotthenativeobstinacyofthesex。Blancheisbeginningtofeelthatshehasbeenwrong。Whatisthenecessaryconsequence？Shenaturallypersistsinbeingwrong。Letheralone，andleaveyourlettertohaveitseffect。Theseriousdifficultiesinourwaydon’trestwithBlanche。Contentyourselfwithknowingthat。“
　　Thefishcamein，andArnoldwassilenced——untilhisnextopportunitycamewiththenextintervalinthecourseofthedinner。
　　“Whatarethedifficulties？“heasked“Thedifficultiesaremydifficultiesandyours，“answeredSirPatrick。“Mydifficultyis，thatIcan’tassertmyauthority，asguardian，ifIassumemynieceasIdotobeamarriedwoman。
　　Yourdifficultyis，thatyoucan’tassertyourauthorityasherhusband，untilitisdistinctlyprovedthatyouandMissSilvesterarenotmanandwife。LadyLundiewasperfectlyawarethatshewouldplaceusinthatposition，whensheremovedBlanchefromthishouse。Shehascross-examinedMrs。Inchbare；
　　shehaswrittentoyourstewardforthedateofyourarrivalatyourestate；shehasdoneeverything，calculatedeverything，andforeseeneverything——exceptmyexcellenttemper。Theonemistakeshehasmade，isinthinkingshecouldgetthebetterof_that。_No，mydearboy!Mytrumpcardismytemper。Ikeepitinmyhand，Arnold——Ikeepitinmyhand!“
　　Thenextcoursecamein——andtherewasanendofthesubjectagain。SirPatrickenjoyedhismutton，andenteredonalongandinterestingnarrativeofthehistoryofsomerarewhiteBurgundyonthetableimportedbyhimself。Arnoldresolutelyresumedthediscussionwiththedepartureofthemutton。
　　“Itseemstobeadeadlock，“hesaid。
　　“Noslang!“retortedSirPatrick。
　　“ForHeaven’ssake，Sir，considermyanxiety，andtellmewhatyouproposetodo!“
　　“IproposetotakeyoutoLondonwithmeto-morrow，onthiscondition——thatyoupromiseme，onyourwordofhonor，nottoattempttoseeyourwifebeforeSaturdaynext。“
　　“Ishallseeherthen？“
　　“Ifyougivemeyourpromise。“
　　“Ido!Ido!“
　　Thenextcoursecamein。SirPatrickenteredonthequestionofthemeritsofthepartridge，viewedasaneatablebird，“Byhimself，Arnold——plainlyroasted，andtestedonhisownmerits——anoverratedbird。Beingtoofondofshootinghiminthiscountry，webecometoofondofeatinghimnext。Properlyunderstood，heisavehicleforsauceandtruffles——nothingmore。
　　Orno——thatishardlydoinghimjustice。IamboundtoaddthatheishonorablyassociatedwiththefamousFrenchreceiptforcookinganolive。Doyouknowit？“
　　Therewasanendofthebird；therewasanendofthejelly。
　　Arnoldgothisnextchance——andtookit。
　　“WhatistobedoneinLondonto-morrow？“heasked。
　　“To-morrow，“answeredSirPatrick，“isamemorabledayinourcalendar。To-morrowisTuesday——thedayonwhichIamtoseeMissSilvester。“
　　Arnoldsetdowntheglassofwinewhichhewasjustraisingtohislips。
　　“Afterwhathashappened，“hesaid，“Icanhardlybeartohearhernamementioned。MissSilvesterhaspartedmefrommywife。“
　　“MissSilvestermayatoneforthat，Arnold，byunitingyouagain。“
　　“Shehasbeentheruinofmesofar。“
　　“Shemaybethesalvationofyouyet。“
　　Thecheesecamein；andSirPatrickreturnedtotheArtofCookery。
　　“Doyouknowthereceiptforcookinganolive，Arnold？“
　　“No。“
　　“What_does_thenewgenerationknow？Itknowshowtorow，howtoshoot，howtoplayatcricket，andhowtobat。Whenithaslostitsmuscleandlostitsmoney——thatistosay，whenithasgrownold——whatagenerationitwillbe!Itdoesn’tmatter：Isha’n’tlivetoseeit。Areyoulistening，Arnold？“
　　“Yes，Sir。“
　　“Howtocookanolive!Putanoliveintoalark，putalarkintoaquail；putaquailintoaplover；putaploverintoapartridge；putapartridgeintoapheasant；putapheasantintoaturkey。Good。First，partiallyroast，thencarefullystew——untilallisthoroughlydonedowntotheolive。Goodagain。Next，openthewindow。Throwouttheturkey，thepheasant，thepartridge，theplover，thequail，andthelark。_Then，eattheolive。_Thedishisexpensive，butwehaveitonthehighestauthoritywellworththesacrifice。Thequintessenceoftheflavorofsixbirds，concentratedinoneolive。Grandidea!TryanotherglassofthewhiteBurgundy，Arnold。“
　　Atlasttheservantsleftthem——withthewineanddessertonthetable。
　　“IhaveborneitaslongasIcan，Sir，“saidArnold。“AddtoallyourkindnesstomebytellingmeatoncewhathappenedatLadyLundie’s。“
　　Itwasachillyevening。Abrightwoodfirewasburningintheroom。SirPatrickdrewhischairtothefire。
　　“Thisisexactlywhathappened，“hesaid。“IfoundcompanyatLadyLundie’s，tobeginwith。Twoperfectstrangerstome。
　　CaptainNewenden，andhisniece，Mrs。Glenarm。LadyLundieofferedtoseemeinanotherroom；thetwostrangersofferedtowithdraw。Ideclinedbothproposals。Firstchecktoherladyship!
　　Shehasreckonedthroughout，Arnold，onourbeingafraidtofacepublicopinion。Ishowedheratstartingthatwewereasreadytofaceitasshewas。’IalwaysacceptwhattheFrenchcallaccomplishedfacts，’Isaid。’Youhavebroughtmatterstoacrisis，LadyLundie。Soletitbe。Ihaveawordtosaytomynieceinyourpresence，ifyoulike；andIhaveanotherwordtosaytoyouafterward——withoutpresumingtodisturbyourguests。’
　　Theguestssatdownagainbothnaturallydevouredbycuriosity。
　　Couldherladyshipdecentlyrefusemeaninterviewwithmyownniece，whiletwowitnesseswerelookingon？Impossible。IsawBlancheLadyLundiebeingpresent，itisneedlesstosayinthebackdrawing-room。Igaveheryourletter；Isaidagoodwordforyou；Isawthatshewassorry，thoughshewouldn’townit——andthatwasenough。Wewentbackintothefrontdrawing-room。Ihadnotspokenfivewordsonoursideofthequestionbeforeitappeared，tomyastonishmentanddelight，thatCaptainNewendenwasinthehouseontheveryquestionthathadbroughtmeintothehouse——thequestionofyouandMissSilvester。Mybusiness，intheinterestsof_my_niece，wastodenyyourmarriagetothelady。Hisbusiness，intheinterestsof_his_niece，wastoassertyourmarriagetothelady。Totheunutterabledisgustofthetwowomen，wejoinedissue，inthemostfriendlymanner，onthespot。’Charmedtohavethepleasureofmeetingyou，CaptainNewenden。’——’Delightedtohavethehonorofmakingyouracquaintance，SirPatrick。’——’Ithinkwecansettlethisintwominutes？’——’Myownideaperfectlyexpressed。’——’Stateyourposition，Captain。’——’Withthegreatestpleasure。Hereismyniece，Mrs。Glenarm，engagedtomarryMr。GeoffreyDelamayn。Allverywell，buttherehappenstobeanobstacle——intheshapeofalady。DoIputitplainly？’——’Youputitadmirably，Captain；butforthelosstotheBritishnavy，yououghttohavebeenalawyer。Pray，goon。’——’Youaretoogood，SirPatrick。Iresume。