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。
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