Sheansweredhiminoneword。
　　“Blanche!“
　　Heshookhisheadimpatiently。“NoteveninBlanche’sinterests!
　　NotevenforBlanche’ssake!Ifthereisanyrisk，itisariskI
　　amreadytorun。Iholdtomyownopinion。Ibelievemyownviewtoberight。Letitcometoanappealtothelaw!Iwillfightthecase，andwinit。“
　　“Areyou_sure_ofwinningit，SirPatrick？“
　　Insteadofreplying，hepressedtheletteronher。“Destroyit，“
　　hewhispered。“Andrelyonmysilence。“
　　Shetooktheletterfromhim。
　　“Destroyit，“herepeated。“Theymayopenthedoors。Theymaycomeinatanymoment，andseeitinyourhand。“
　　“Ihavesomethingtoaskyou，SirPatrick，beforeIdestroyit。
　　Blancherefusestogobacktoherhusband，unlessshereturnswiththecertainassuranceofbeingreallyhiswife。IfIproducethisletter，shemaygobacktohimto-day。IfIdeclaremyselfGeoffreyDelamayn’swife，IclearArnoldBrinkworth，atonceandforeverofallsuspicionofbeingmarriedtome。Canyouascertainlyandeffectuallyclearhiminanyotherway？Answermethat，asamanofhonorspeakingtoawomanwhoimplicitlytrustshim!“
　　Shelookedhimfullintheface。Hiseyesdroppedbeforehers——hemadenoreply。
　　“Iamanswered，“shesaid。
　　Withthosewords，shepassedhim，andlaidherhandonthedoor。
　　Hecheckedher。Thetearsroseinhiseyesashedrewhergentlybackintotheroom。
　　“Whyshouldwewait？“sheasked。
　　“Wait，“heanswered，“asafavorto_me。_“
　　Sheseatedherselfcalmlyinthenearestchair，andrestedherheadonherhand，thinking。
　　Hebentoverher，androusedher，impatiently，almostangrily。
　　Thesteadyresolutioninherfacewasterribletohim，whenhethoughtofthemaninthenextroom。
　　“Taketimetoconsider，“hepleaded。“Don’tbeledawaybyyourownimpulse。Don’tactunderafalseexcitement。Nothingbindsyoutothisdreadfulsacrificeofyourself。“
　　“Excitement!Sacrifice!“Shesmiledsadlyassherepeatedthewords。“Doyouknow，SirPatrick，whatIwasthinkingofamomentsince？Onlyofoldtimes，whenIwasalittlegirl。Isawthesadsideoflifesoonerthanmostchildrenseeit。Mymotherwascruellydeserted。Thehardmarriagelawsofthiscountrywereharderonherthanonme。Shediedbroken-hearted。Butonefriendcomfortedheratthelastmoment，andpromisedtobeamothertoherchild。Ican’trememberoneunhappydayinalltheafter-timewhenIlivedwiththatfaithfulwomanandherlittledaughter——tillthedaythatpartedus。Shewentawaywithherhusband；andIandthelittledaughterwereleftbehind。Shesaidherlastwordstome。Herheartwassinkingunderthedreadofcomingdeath。’Ipromisedyourmotherthatyoushouldbelikemyownchildtome，anditquietedhermind。Quiet_my_mind，Anne，beforeIgo。Whateverhappensinyearstocome——promisemetobealwayswhatyouarenow，asistertoBlanche。’Whereisthefalseexcitement，SirPatrick，inoldremembranceslikethese？AndhowcantherebeasacrificeinanythingthatIdoforBlanche？“
　　Sherose，andofferedhimherhand。SirPatrickliftedittohislipsinsilence。
　　“Come!“shesaid。“Forbothoursakes，letusnotprolongthis。“
　　Heturnedasidehishead。Itwasnomomenttoletherseethatshehadcompletelyunmannedhim。Shewaitedforhim，withherhandonthelock。Heralliedhiscourage——heforcedhimselftofacethehorrorofthesituationcalmly。Sheopenedthedoor，andledthewaybackintotheotherroom。
　　Notawordwasspokenbyanyofthepersonspresent，asthetworeturnedtotheirplaces。Thenoiseofacarriagepassinginthestreetwaspainfullyaudible。Thechancebangingofadoorinthelowerregionsofthehousemadeeveryonestart。
　　Anne’ssweetvoicebrokethedrearysilence。
　　“MustIspeakformyself，SirPatrick？OrwillyouIaskitasalastandgreatestfavorspeakforme？“
　　“Youinsistonappealingtotheletterinyourhand？“
　　“Iamresolvedtoappealtoit。“
　　“Willnothinginduceyoutodeferthecloseofthisinquiry——sofarasyouareconcerned——forfour-and-twentyhours？“
　　“EitheryouorI，SirPatrick，mustsaywhatistobesaid，anddowhatistobedone，beforeweleavethisroom。“
　　“Givemetheletter。“
　　Shegaveittohim。Mr。Moywhisperedtohisclient，“Doyouknowwhatthatis？“Geoffreyshookhishead。“Doyoureallyremembernothingaboutit？“Geoffreyansweredinonesurlyword，“Nothing!“
　　SirPatrickaddressedhimselftotheassembledcompany。
　　“Ihavetoaskyourpardon，“hesaid，“forabruptlyleavingtheroom，andforobligingMissSilvestertoleaveitwithme。Everybodypresent，exceptthatman“hepointedtoGeoffrey，“will，I
　　believe，understandandforgiveme，nowthatIamforcedtomakemyconductthesubjectoftheplainestandthefullestexplanation。Ishalladdressthatexplanation，forreasonswhichwillpresentlyappear，tomyniece。“
　　Blanchestarted。“Tome!“sheexclaimed。
　　“Toyou，“SirPatrickanswered。
　　BlancheturnedtowardArnold，dauntedbyavaguesenseofsomethingserioustocome。TheletterthatshehadreceivedfromherhusbandonherdeparturefromHamFarmhadnecessarilyalludedtorelationsbetweenGeoffreyandAnne，ofwhichBlanchehadbeenpreviouslyignorant。Wasanyreferencecomingtothoserelations？WastheresomethingyettobedisclosedwhichArnold’sletterhadnotpreparedhertohear？
　　SirPatrickresumed。
　　“Ashorttimesince，“hesaidtoBlanche，“Iproposedtoyoutoreturntoyourhusband’sprotection——andtoleavetheterminationofthismatterinmyhands。Youhaverefusedtogobacktohimuntilyouarefirstcertainlyassuredthatyouarehiswife。
　　Thankstoasacrificetoyourinterestsandyourhappiness，onMissSilvester’spart——whichItellyoufranklyIhavedonemyutmosttoprevent——IaminapositiontoprovepositivelythatArnoldBrinkworthwasasinglemanwhenhemarriedyoufrommyhouseinKent。“
　　Mr。Moy’sexperienceforewarnedhimofwhatwascoming。HepointedtotheletterinSirPatrick’shand。
　　“Doyouclaimonapromiseofmarriage？“heasked。
　　SirPatrickrejoinedbyputtingaquestiononhisside。
　　“DoyourememberthefamousdecisionatDoctors’Commons，whichestablishedthemarriageofCaptainDalrympleandMissGordon？“
　　Mr。Moywasanswered。“Iunderstandyou，SirPatrick，“hesaid。
　　Afteramoment’spause，headdressedhisnextwordstoAnne。“Andfromthebottomofmyheart，madam，Irespect_you。_“
　　Itwassaidwithaferventsincerityoftonewhichwroughttheinterestoftheotherpersons，whowerestillwaitingforenlightenment，tothehighestpitch。LadyLundieandCaptainNewendenwhisperedtoeachotheranxiously。Arnoldturnedpale。
　　Blancheburstintotears。
　　SirPatrickturnedoncemoretohisniece。
　　“Somelittletimesince，“hesaid，“IhadoccasiontospeaktoyouofthescandalousuncertaintyofthemarriagelawsofScotland。ButforthatuncertaintyentirelywithoutparallelinanyothercivilizedcountryinEurope，ArnoldBrinkworthwouldneverhaveoccupiedthepositioninwhichhestandshereto-day——andtheseproceedingswouldneverhavetakenplace。Bearthatfactinmind。Itisnotonlyanswerableforthemischiefthathasbeenalreadydone，butforthefarmoreseriousevilwhichisstilltocome。“
　　Mr。Moytookanote。SirPatrickwenton。
　　“LooseandrecklessastheScotchlawis，therehappens，however，tobeonecaseinwhichtheactionofithasbeenconfirmedandsettledbytheEnglishCourts。Awrittenpromiseofmarriageexchangedbetweenamanandwoman，inScotland，marriesthatmanandwomanbyScotchlaw。AnEnglishCourtofJusticesittinginjudgmentontheeaseIhavejustmentionedtoMr。Moyhaspronouncedthatlawtobegood——andthedecisionhassincebeenconfirmedbythesupremeauthorityoftheHouseofLords。Wherethepersonstherefore——livinginScotlandatthetime——havepromisedeachothermarriageinwriting，thereisnownolongeranydoubttheyarecertainly，andlawfully，ManandWife。“Heturnedfromhisniece，andappealedtoMr。Moy。“AmIright？“
　　“Quiteright，SirPatrick，astothefacts。Iown，however，thatyourcommentaryonthemsurprisesme。IhavethehighestopinionofourScottishmarriagelaw。Amanwhohasbetrayedawomanunderapromiseofmarriageisforcedbythatlawintheinterestsofpublicmoralitytoacknowledgeherashiswife。“