“Whatmaythatbe？“
　　“Youarelivinghereveryunhappily，Geoffrey，withyourwife。“
　　“Whosaysso？Idon’t，forone。“
　　Juliuslaidhishandkindlyonhisbrother’sarm。
　　“Don’ttriflewithsuchaseriousmatterasthis，“hesaid。“Yourmarriageis，ineverysenseoftheword，amisfortune——notonlytoyoubuttoyourwife。Itisimpossiblethatyoucanlivetogether。Ihavecomeheretoaskyoutoconsenttoaseparation。
　　Dothat——andtheprovisionmadeforyouintheunsignedcodicilisyours。Whatdoyousay？“
　　Geoffreyshookhisbrother’shandoffhisarm。
　　“Isay——No!“heanswered。
　　LadyHolchesterinterferedforthefirsttime。
　　“Yourbrother’sgenerousofferdeservesabetteranswerthanthat，“shesaid。
　　“Myanswer，“reiteratedGeoffrey，“is——No!“
　　Hesatbetweenthemwithhisclenchedfistsrestingonhisknees——absolutelyimpenetrabletoanythingthateitherofthemcouldsay。
　　“Inyoursituation，“saidJulius，“arefusalissheermadness。I
　　won’tacceptit。“
　　“Doasyoulikeaboutthat。Mymind’smadeup。Iwon’tletmywifebetakenawayfromme。Hereshestays。“
　　ThebrutaltoneinwhichhehadmadethatreplyrousedLadyHolchester’sindignation。
　　“Takecare!“shesaid。“Youarenotonlybehavingwiththegrossestingratitudetowardyourbrother——youareforcingasuspicionintoyourmother’smind。Youhavesomemotivethatyouarehidingfromus。“
　　HeturnedonhismotherwithasuddenferocitywhichmadeJuliusspringtohisfeet。Thenextinstanthiseyeswereontheground，andthedevilthatpossessedhimwasquietagain。
　　“SomemotiveI’mhidingfromyou？“herepeated，withhisheaddown，andhisutterancethickerthanever。“I’mreadytohavemymotivepostedalloverLondon，ifyoulike。I’mfondofher。“
　　Helookedupashesaidthelastwords。LadyHolchesterturnedawayherhead——recoilingfromherownson。SooverwhelmingwastheshockinflictedonherthateventhestronglyrootedprejudicewhichMrs。Glenarmhadimplantedinhermindyieldedtoit。AtthatmomentsheabsolutelypitiedAnne!
　　“Poorcreature!“saidLadyHolchester。
　　Hetookinstantoffenseatthosetwowords。“Iwon’thavemywifepitiedbyanybody。“Withthatreply，hedashedintothepassage；
　　andcalledout，“Anne!comedown!“
　　Hersoftvoiceanswered；herlightfootfallwasheardonthestairs。Shecameintotheroom。Juliusadvanced，tookherhand，andhelditkindlyinhis。“Wearehavingalittlefamilydiscussion，“hesaid，tryingtogiveherconfidence。“AndGeoffreyisgettinghotoverit，asusual。“
　　Geoffreyappealedsternlytohismother。
　　“Lookather!“hesaid。“Isshestarved？Issheinrags？Isshecoveredwithbruises？“HeturnedtoAnne。“Theyhavecomeheretoproposeaseparation。TheybothbelieveIhateyou。Idon’thateyou。I’magoodChristian。IoweittoyouthatI’mcutoutofmyfather’swill。Iforgiveyouthat。IoweittoyouthatI’velostthechanceofmarryingawomanwithtenthousandayear。I
　　forgiveyou_that。_I’mnotamanwhodoesthingsbyhalves。I
　　saiditshouldbemyendeavortomakeyouagoodhusband。Isaiditwasmywishtomakeitup。Well!Iamasgoodasmyword。Andwhat’stheconsequence？Iaminsulted。Mymothercomeshere，andmybrothercomeshere——andtheyoffermemoneytopartfromyou。
　　Moneybehanged!I’llbebeholdentonobody。I’llgetmyownliving。Shameonthepeoplewhointerferebetweenmanandwife!
　　Shame!——that’swhatIsay——shame!“
　　Annelooked，foranexplanation，fromherhusbandtoherhusband’smother。
　　“Haveyouproposedaseparationbetweenus？“sheasked。
　　“Yes——ontermsoftheutmostadvantagetomyson；arrangedwitheverypossibleconsiderationtowardyou。Isthereanyobjectiononyourside？“
　　“Oh，LadyHolchester!isitnecessarytoaskme？Whatdoeshesay？“
　　“Hehasrefused。“
　　“Refused!“
　　“Yes，“saidGeoffrey。“Idon’tgobackfrommyword；IsticktowhatIsaidthismorning。It’smyendeavortomakeyouagoodhusband。It’smywishtomakeitup。“Hepaused，andthenaddedhislastreason：“I’mfondofyou。“
　　Theireyesmetashesaidittoher。JuliusfeltAnne’shandsuddenlytightenroundhis。Thedesperategraspofthefrailcoldfingers，theimploringterrorinthegentlesensitivefaceasitslowlyturnedhisway，saidtohimasifinwords，“Don’tleavemefriendlessto-night!“
　　“Ifyoubothstopheretilldomesday，“saidGeoffrey，“you’llgetnothingmoreoutofme。Youhavehadmyreply。“
　　Withthat，heseatedhimselfdoggedlyinacorneroftheroom；
　　waiting——ostentatiouslywaiting——forhismotherandhisbrothertotaketheirleave。Thepositionwasserious。Toarguethematterwithhimthatnightwashopeless。ToinviteSirPatrick’sinterferencewouldonlybetoprovokehissavagetempertoanewoutbreak。Ontheotherhand，toleavethehelplesswoman，afterwhathadpassed，withoutanotherefforttobefriendher，was，inhersituation，anactofdownrightinhumanity，andnothingless。
　　Juliustooktheonewayoutofthedifficultythatwasleft——theonewayworthyofhimasacompassionateandanhonorableman。
　　“Wewilldropitforto-night，Geoffrey，“hesaid。“ButIamnotthelessresolved，inspiteofallthatyouhavesaid，toreturntothesubjectto-morrow。Itwouldsavemesomeinconvenience——asecondjourneyherefromtown，andthengoingbackagaintomyengagements——ifIstaidwithyouto-night。Canyougivemeabed？“
　　AlookflashedonhimfromAnne，whichthankedhimasnowordscouldhavethankedhim。
　　“Giveyouabed？“repeatedGeoffrey。Hecheckedhimself，onthepointofrefusing。Hismotherwaswatchinghim；hiswifewaswatchinghim——andhiswifeknewthattheroomabovethemwasaroomtospare。“Allright!“heresumed，inanothertone，withhiseyeonhismother。“There’smyemptyroomupstairs。Haveit，ifyoulike。Youwon’tfindI’vechangedmymindto-morrow——butthat’syourlook-out。Stophere，ifthefancytakesyou。I’venoobjection。Itdon’tmattertoMe——Willyoutrusthislordshipundermyroof？“headded，addressinghismother。“ImighthavesomemotivethatI’mhidingfromyou，youknow!“Withoutwaitingforananswer，heturnedtoAnne。“GoandtelloldDummytoputthesheetsonthebed。Saythere’salivelordinthehouse——she’stosendinsomethingdevilishgoodforsupper!“Heburstfiercelyintoaforcedlaugh。LadyHolchesterroseatthemomentwhenAnnewasleavingtheroom。“Ishallnotbeherewhenyoureturn，“shesaid。“Letmebidyougood-night。“
　　SheshookhandswithAnne——givingherSirPatrick’snote，unseen，atthesamemoment。Annelefttheroom。Withoutaddressinganotherwordtohersecondson，LadyHolchesterbeckonedtoJuliustogiveherhisarm。“Youhaveactednoblytowardyourbrother，“shesaidtohim。“Myonecomfortandmyonehope，Julius，areinyou。“Theywentouttogethertothegate，Geoffreyfollowingthemwiththekeyinhishand。“Don’tbetooanxious，“
　　Juliuswhisperedtohismother。“Iwillkeepthedrinkoutofhiswayto-night——andIwillbringyouabetteraccountofhimto-morrow。ExplaineverythingtoSirPatrickasyougohome。“
　　HehandedLadyHolchesterintothecarriage；andre-entered，leavingGeoffreytolockthegate。Thebrothersreturnedinsilencetothecottage。Juliushadconcealeditfromhismother——buthewasseriouslyuneasyinsecret。Naturallypronetolookatallthingsontheirbrighterside，hecouldplacenohopefulinterpretationonwhatGeoffreyhadsaidanddonethatnight。Theconvictionthathewasdeliberatelyactingapart，inhispresentrelationswithhiswife，forsomeabominablepurposeofhisown，hadrooteditselffirmlyinJulius。Forthefirsttimeinhisexperienceofhisbrother，thepecuniaryconsiderationwasnottheuppermostconsiderationinGeoffrey’smind。Theywentbackintothedrawing-room。“Whatwillyouhavetodrink？“saidGeoffrey。
　　“Nothing。“
　　“Youwon’tkeepmecompanyoveradropofbrandy-and-water？“
　　“No。Youhavehadenoughbrandy-and-water。“
　　Afteramomentoffrowningself-considerationintheglass，GeoffreyabruptlyagreedwithJulius“Ilooklikeit，“hesaid。
　　“I’llsoonputthatright。“Hedisappeared，andreturnedwithawettoweltiedroundhishead。“Whatwillyoudowhilethewomenaregettingyourbedready？LibertyHallhere。I’vetakentocultivatingmymind——I’mareformedcharacter，youknow，nowI’mamarriedman。Youdowhatyoulike。Ishallread。“
　　Heturnedtotheside-table，and，producingthevolumesoftheNewgateCalendar，gaveonetohisbrother。Juliushandeditbackagain。
　　“Youwon’tcultivateyourmind，“hesaid，“withsuchabookasthat。VileactionsrecordedinvileEnglish，makevilereading，Geoffrey，ineverysenseoftheword。“