Sheslowlyturnedherhead，andlookedathimwithadullsurprise。
　　“Didn’tyousayhehadtoldyoueverything？“sheasked。
　　“Yes。“
　　“Don’tyoudespiseawomanlikeme？“
　　Arnold’sheartwentback，atthatdreadfulquestion，totheonewomanwhowaseternallysacredtohim——tothewomanfromwhosebosomhehaddrawnthebreathoflife。
　　“Doesthemanlive，“hesaid，“whocanthinkofhismother——anddespisewomen？“
　　Thatanswersettheprisonedmiseryinherfree。Shegavehimherhand——shefaintlythankedhim。Themercifultearscametoheratlast。
　　Arnoldrose，andturnedawaytothewindowindespair。“Imeanwell，“hesaid。“AndyetIonlydistressher!“
　　Sheheardhim，andstraggledtocomposeherself“No，“sheanswered，“youcomfortme。Don’tmindmycrying——I’mthebetterforit。“Shelookedroundathimgratefully。“Iwon’tdistressyou，Mr。Brinkworth。Ioughttothankyou——andIdo。ComebackorIshallthinkyouareangrywithme。“Arnoldwentbacktoher。
　　Shegavehimherhandoncemore。“Onedoesn’tunderstandpeopleallatonce，“shesaid，simply。“Ithoughtyouwerelikeothermen——Ididn’tknowtillto-dayhowkindyoucouldbe。Didyouwalkhere？“sheadded，suddenly，withanefforttochangethesubject。“Areyoutired？Ihavenotbeenkindlyreceivedatthisplace——butI’msureImayofferyouwhatevertheinnaffords。“
　　Itwasimpossiblenottofeelforher——itwasimpossiblenottobeinterestedinher。Arnold’shonestlongingtohelpherexpresseditselfalittletooopenlywhenhespokenext。“AllI
　　want，MissSilvester，istobeofsomeservicetoyou，ifIcan，“
　　hesaid。“IsthereanythingIcandotomakeyourpositionheremorecomfortable？Youwillstayatthisplace，won’tyou？Geoffreywishesit。“
　　Sheshuddered，andlookedaway。“Yes!yes!“sheanswered，hurriedly。
　　“YouwillhearfromGeoffrey，“Arnoldwenton，“to-morrowornextday。Iknowhemeanstowrite。“
　　“ForHeaven’ssake，don’tspeakofhimanymore!“shecriedout。
　　“HowdoyouthinkIcanlookyouintheface——“Hercheeksflusheddeep，andhereyesrestedonhimwithamomentaryfirmness。“Mindthis!Iamhiswife，ifpromisescanmakemehiswife!Hehaspledgedhiswordtomebyallthatissacred!“Shecheckedherselfimpatiently。“WhatamIsaying？Whatinterestcan_you_haveinthismiserablestateofthings？Don’tletustalkofit!Ihavesomethingelsetosaytoyou。Letusgobacktomytroubleshere。Didyouseethelandladywhenyoucamein？“
　　“No。Ionlysawthewaiter。“
　　“ThelandladyhasmadesomeabsurddifficultyaboutlettingmehavetheseroomsbecauseIcameherealone。“
　　“Shewon’tmakeanydifficultynow，“saidArnold。“Ihavesettledthat。“
　　“_You!_“
　　Arnoldsmiled。Afterwhathadpassed，itwasanindescribablerelieftohimtoseethehumoroussideofhisownpositionattheinn。
　　“Certainly，“heanswered。“WhenIaskedfortheladywhohadarrivedherealonethisafternoon——“
　　“Yes。“
　　“Iwastold，inyourinterests，toaskforherasmywife。“
　　Annelookedathim——inalarmaswellasinsurprise。
　　“Youaskedformeasyourwife？“sherepeated。
　　“Yes。Ihaven’tdonewrong——haveI？AsIunderstoodit，therewasnoalternative。Geoffreytoldmeyouhadsettledwithhimtopresentyourselfhereasamarriedlady，whosehusbandwascomingtojoinher。“
　　“Ithoughtof_him_whenIsaidthat。Ineverthoughtof_you。“_
　　“Naturalenough。Still，itcomestothesamethingdoesn’tit？
　　withthepeopleofthishouse。“
　　“Idon’tunderstandyou。“
　　“Iwilltryandexplainmyselfalittlebetter。Geoffreysaidyourpositionheredependedonmyaskingforyouatthedooras_he_wouldhaveaskedforyouifhehadcomeinthecharacterofyourhusband。“
　　“Hehadnorighttosaythat。“
　　“Noright？Afterwhatyouhavetoldmeofthelandlady，justthinkwhatmighthavehappenedifhehad_not_saidit!Ihaven’thadmuchexperiencemyselfofthesethings。But——allowmetoask——wouldn’tithavebeenalittleawkwardatmyageifIhadcomehereandinquiredforyouasafriend？Don’tyouthink，inthatcase，thelandladymighthavemadesomeadditionaldifficultyaboutlettingyouhavetherooms？“
　　Itwasbeyonddisputethatthelandladywouldhaverefusedtolettheroomsatall。ItwasequallyplainthatthedeceptionwhichArnoldhadpracticedonthepeopleoftheinnwasadeceptionwhichAnnehadherselfrenderednecessary，inherowninterests。
　　Shewasnottoblame；itwasclearlyimpossibleforhertohaveforeseensuchaneventasGeoffrey’sdepartureforLondon。Still，shefeltanuneasysenseofresponsibility——avaguedreadofwhatmighthappennext。Shesatnervouslytwistingherhandkerchiefinherlap，andmadenoanswer。
　　“Don’tsupposeIobjecttothislittlestratagem，“Arnoldwenton。“Iamservingmyoldfriend，andIamhelpingtheladywhoissoontobehiswife。“
　　Anneroseabruptlytoherfeet，andamazedhimbyaveryunexpectedquestion。
　　“Mr。Brinkworth，“shesaid，“forgivemetherudenessofsomethingIamabouttosaytoyou。Whenareyougoingaway？“
　　Arnoldburstoutlaughing。
　　“WhenIamquitesureIcandonothingmoretoassistyou，“heanswered。
　　“Praydon’tthinkof_me_anylonger。“
　　“Inyoursituation!whoelseamItothinkof？“
　　Annelaidherhandearnestlyonhisarm，andanswered：
　　“Blanche!“
　　“Blanche？“repeatedArnold，utterlyatalosstounderstandher。
　　“Yes——Blanche。ShefoundtimetotellmewhathadpassedbetweenyouthismorningbeforeIleftWindygates。Iknowyouhavemadeheranoffer：Iknowyouareengagedtobemarriedtoher。“
　　Arnoldwasdelightedtohearit。Hehadbeenmerelyunwillingtoleaveherthusfar。Hewasabsolutelydeterminedtostaywithhernow。
　　“Don’texpectmetogoafterthat!“hesaid。“Comeandsitdownagain，andlet’stalkaboutBlanche。“
　　Annedeclinedimpatiently，byagesture。Arnoldwastoodeeplyinterestedinthenewtopictotakeanynoticeofit。
　　“Youknowallaboutherhabitsandhertastes，“hewenton，“andwhatshelikes，andwhatshedislikes。It’smostimportantthatI
　　shouldtalktoyouabouther。Whenwearehusbandandwife，Blancheistohaveallherownwayineverything。That’smyideaoftheWholeDutyofMan——whenManismarried。Youarestillstanding？Letmegiveyouachair。“
　　Itwascruel——underothercircumstancesitwouldhavebeenimpossible——todisappointhim。ButthevaguefearofconsequenceswhichhadtakenpossessionofAnnewasnottobetrifledwith。
　　Shehadnoclearconceptionoftheriskanditistobeadded，injusticetoGeoffrey，that_he_hadnoclearconceptionoftheriskonwhichArnoldhadunconsciouslyventured，inundertakinghiserrandtotheinn。Neitherofthemhadanyadequateideafewpeoplehaveoftheinfamousabsenceofallneedfulwarning，ofalldecentprecautionandrestraint，whichmakesthemarriagelawofScotlandatraptocatchunmarriedmenandwomen，tothisday。
　　But，whileGeoffrey’smindwasincapableoflookingbeyondthepresentemergency，Anne’sfinerintelligencetoldherthatacountrywhichofferedsuchfacilitiesforprivatemarriageasthefacilitiesofwhichshehadproposedtotakeadvantageinherowncase，wasnotacountryinwhichamancouldactasArnoldhadacted，withoutdangerofsomeseriousembarrassmentfollowingasthepossibleresult。Withthismotivetoanimateher，sheresolutelydeclinedtotaketheofferedchair，ortoenterintotheproposedconversation。
　　“WhateverwehavetosayaboutBlanche，Mr。Brinkworth，mustbesaidatsomefittertime。Ibegyouwillleaveme。“
　　“Leaveyou!“
　　“Yes。Leavemetothesolitudethatisbestforme，andtothesorrowthatIhavedeserved。Thankyou——andgood-by。“
　　Arnoldmadenoattempttodisguisehisdisappointmentandsurprise。
　　“IfImustgo，Imust，“hesaid，“Butwhyareyouinsuchahurry？“
　　“Idon’twantyoutocallmeyourwifeagainbeforethepeopleofthisinn。“
　　“Is_that_all？Whatonearthareyouafraidof？“
　　Shewasunablefullytorealizeherownapprehensions。Shewasdoublyunabletoexpresstheminwords。Inheranxietytoproducesomereasonwhichmightprevailonhimtogo，shedriftedbackintothatveryconversationaboutBlancheintowhichshehaddeclinedtoenterbutthemomentbefore。