首页 >出版文学> Man and Wife>第138章

第138章

  haven’tevengotitinthehouse。“
  Shestaggeredback;andlookedupforthefirsttime。
  “Don’talarmyourself,“hewenton。“It’ssealedupwithmyseal;
  andit’ssafeinmybankers’keeping。Ipostedittothemmyself。
  Youdon’tstickatatrifle,Mrs。Dethridge。IfIhadkeptitlockedupinthehouse,youmighthaveforcedthelockwhenmybackwasturned。IfIhadkeptitaboutme——Imighthavehadthattowelovermyface,inthesmallhoursofthemorning!ThebankerswillgiveyoubackyourConfession——justastheyhavereceiveditfromme——onreceiptofanorderinmyhandwriting。DowhatIhavetoldyou;andyoushallhavetheorderto-night。“
  Shepassedherapronoverherface,anddrewalongbreathofrelief。Geoffreyturnedtothedoor。
  “Iwillbebackatsixthisevening,“hesaid。“ShallIfinditdone?“
  Shebowedherhead。
  Hisfirstconditionaccepted,heproceededtothesecond。
  “Whentheopportunityoffers,“heresumed,“Ishallgouptomyroom。Ishallringthediningroombellfirst。Youwillgoupbeforemewhenyouhearthat——andyouwillshowmehowyoudiditintheemptyhouse?“
  Shemadetheaffirmativesignoncemore。
  Atthesamemomentthedoorinthepassagebelowwasopenedandclosedagain。Geoffreyinstantlywentdownstairs。ItwaspossiblethatAnnemighthaveforgottensomething;anditwasnecessarytopreventherfromreturningtoherownroom。
  Theymetinthepassage。
  “Tiredofwaitinginthegarden?“heasked,abruptly。
  Shepointedtothedining-room。
  “Thepostmanhasjustgivenmealetterforyou,throughthegratinginthegate,“sheanswered。“Ihaveputitonthetableinthere。“
  Hewentin。ThehandwritingontheaddressoftheletterwasthehandwritingofMrs。Glenarm。Heputitunreadintohispocket,andwentbacktoAnne。
  “Stepout!“hesaid。“Weshalllosethetrain。“
  TheystartedfortheirvisittoHolchesterHouse。
  ATafewminutesbeforesixo’clockthatevening,LordHolchester’scarriagebroughtGeoffreyandAnnebacktothecottage。
  Geoffreypreventedtheservantfromringingatthegate。Hehadtakenthekeywithhim,whenhelefthomeearlierintheday。
  HavingadmittedAnne,andhavingclosedthegateagain,hewentonbeforehertothekitchenwindow,andcalledtoHesterDethridge。
  “Takesomecoldwaterintothedrawing-roomandfillthevaseonthechimney-piece,“hesaid。“Thesooneryouputthoseflowersintowater,“headded,turningtohiswife,“thelongertheywilllast。“
  Hepointed,ashespoke,toanosegayinAnne’shand,whichJuliushadgatheredforherfromtheconservatoryatHolchesterHouse。Leavinghertoarrangetheflowersinthevase,hewentupstairs。Afterwaitingforamoment,hewasjoinedbyHesterDethridge。
  “Done?“heasked,inawhisper。
  Hestermadetheaffirmativesign。
  Geoffreytookoffhisbootsandledthewayintothespareroom。
  Theynoiselesslymovedthebedbacktoitsplaceagainstthepartitionwall——andlefttheroomagain。WhenAnneenteredit,someminutesafterward,nottheslightestchangeofanykindwasvisiblesinceshehadlastseenitinthemiddleoftheday。
  Sheremovedherbonnetandmantle,andsatdowntorest。
  Thewholecourseofevents,sincethepreviousnight,hadtendedoneway,andhadexertedthesamedelusiveinfluenceoverhermind。Itwasimpossibleforheranylongertoresisttheconvictionthatshehaddistrustedappearanceswithouttheslightestreason,andthatshehadpermittedpurelyvisionarysuspicionstofillherwithpurelycauselessalarm。Inthefirmbeliefthatshewasindanger,shehadwatchedthroughthenight——andnothinghadhappened。IntheconfidentanticipationthatGeoffreyhadpromisedwhathewasresolvednottoperform,shehadwaitedtoseewhatexcusehewouldfindforkeepingheratthecottage。And,whenthetimecameforthevisit,shefoundhimreadytofulfilltheengagementwhichhehadmade。AtHolchesterHouse,nottheslightestinterferencehadbeenattemptedwithherperfectlibertyofactionandspeech。ResolvedtoinformSirPatrickthatshehadchangedherroom,shehaddescribedthealarmoffireandtheeventswhichhadsucceededit,inthefullestdetail——andhadnotbeenoncecheckedbyGeoffreyfrombeginningtoend。ShehadspokeninconfidencetoBlanche,andhadneverbeeninterrupted。Walkingroundtheconservatory,shehaddroppedbehindtheotherswithperfectimpunity,tosayagratefulwordtoSirPatrick,andtoaskiftheinterpretationthatheplacedonGeoffrey’sconductwasreallytheinterpretationwhichhadbeenhintedatbyBlanche。
  Theyhadtalkedtogetherfortenminutesormore。SirPatrickhadassuredherthatBlanchehadcorrectlyrepresentedhisopinion。
  Hehaddeclaredhisconvictionthattherashwaywas,inhercase,therightway;andthatshewoulddowellwithhisassistancetotaketheinitiative,inthematteroftheseparation,onherself。“Aslongashecankeepyouunderthesameroofwithhim“——SirPatrickhadsaid——“solonghewillspeculateonouranxietytoreleaseyoufromtheoppressionoflivingwithhim;andsolonghewillholdoutwithhisbrotherinthecharacterofapenitenthusbandforhigherterms。Putthesignalinthewindow,andtrytheexperimentto-night。Oncefindyourwaytothegardendoor,andIanswerforkeepingyousafelyoutofhisreachuntilhehassubmittedtotheseparation,andhassignedthedeed。“InthosewordshehadurgedAnnetopromptaction。Hehadreceived,inreturn,herpromisetobeguidedbyhisadvice。Shehadgonebacktothedrawing-room;andGeoffreyhadmadenoremarkonherabsence。ShehadreturnedtoFulham,alonewithhiminhisbrother’scarriage;andhehadaskednoquestions。Whatwasitnatural,withhermeansofjudging,toinferfromallthis?CouldsheseeintoSirPatrick’smindanddetectthathewasdeliberatelyconcealinghisownconviction,inthefearthathemightparalyzeherenergiesifheacknowledgedthealarmforherthathereallyfelt?No。Shecouldonlyacceptthefalseappearancesthatsurroundedherinthedisguiseoftruth。Shecouldonlyadopt,ingoodfaith,SirPatrick’sassumedpointofview,andbelieve,ontheevidenceofherownobservation,thatSirPatrickwasright。
  Towarddusk,Annebegantofeeltheexhaustionwhichwasthenecessaryresultofanightpassedwithoutsleep。Sherangherbell,andaskedforsometea。
  HesterDethridgeansweredthebell。Insteadofmakingtheusualsign,shestoodconsidering——andthenwroteonherslate。Thesewerethewords:“Ihavealltheworktodo,nowthegirlhasgone。Ifyouwouldhaveyourteainthedrawing-room,youwouldsavemeanotherjourneyupstairs。“
  Anneatonceengagedtocomplywiththerequest。
  “Areyouill?“sheasked;noticing,faintasthelightnowwas,somethingstrangelyalteredinHester’smanner。
  Withoutlookingup,Hestershookherhead。
  “Hasanythinghappenedtovexyou?“
  Thenegativesignwasrepeated。
  “HaveIoffendedyou?“
  Shesuddenlyadvancedastep,suddenlylookedatAnne;checkedherselfwithadullmoan,likeamoanofpain;andhurriedoutoftheroom。
  Concludingthatshehadinadvertentlysaid,ordone,somethingtooffendHesterDethridge,Annedeterminedtoreturntothesubjectatthefirstfavorableopportunity。Inthemeantime,shedescendedtotheground-floor。Thedining-roomdoor,standingwideopen,showedherGeoffreysittingatthetable,writingaletter——withthefatalbrandy-bottleathisside。
  AfterwhatMr。Speedwellhadtoldher,itwasherdutytointerfere。Sheperformedherduty,withoutaninstant’shesitation。
  “Pardonmeforinterruptingyou,“shesaid。“IthinkyouhaveforgottenwhatMr。Speedwelltoldyouaboutthat。“
  Shepointedtothebottle。Geoffreylookedatit;lookeddownagainathisletter;andimpatientlyshookhishead。Shemadeasecondattemptatremonstrance——againwithouteffect。Heonlysaid,“Allright!“inlowertonesthanwerecustomarywithhim,andcontinuedhisoccupation。Itwasuselesstocourtathirdrepulse。Annewentintothedrawing-room。
  TheletteronwhichhewasengagedwasananswertoMrs。Glenarm,whohadwrittentotellhimthatshewasleavingtown。HehadreachedhistwoconcludingsentenceswhenAnnespoketohim。Theyranasfollows:“Imayhavenewstobringyou,beforelong,whichyoudon’tlookfor。Staywhereyouarethroughto-morrow,andwaittohearfromme。“
  Aftersealingtheenvelope,heemptiedhisglassofbrandyandwater;andwaited,lookingthroughtheopendoor。WhenHesterDethridgecrossedthepassagewiththetea-tray,andenteredthedrawing-room,hegavethesignwhichhadbeenagreedon。Heranghisbell。Hestercameoutagain,closingthedrawing-roomdoorbehindher。
  “Isshesafeathertea?“heasked,removinghisheavyboots,andputtingontheslipperswhichwereplacedreadyforhim。
  Hesterbowedherhead。
  Hepointedupthestairs。“Yougofirst,“hewhispered。“Nononsense!andnonoise!“
  Sheascendedthestairs。Hefollowedslowly。Althoughhehadonlydrunkoneglassofbrandyandwater,hisstepwasuncertainalready。Withonehandonthewall,andonehandonthebanister,hemadehiswaytothetop;stopped,andlistenedforamoment;
  thenjoinedHesterinhisownroom,andsoftlylockedthedoor。
  “Well?“hesaid。