“Iwasabouttoremindyou，SirPatrick，thatMissLundiehasanotherinterestinherlifetoturnto。IfthismatterofMissSilvesterendsbadly——andIownitbeginstolookasifitwould——Ishouldhurrymyniece’smarriage，Sir，andseeif_that_
　　wouldn’tconsoleher。“
　　SirPatrickstartedunderthegentledisciplineofthehair-brushinDuncan’shand。
　　“That’sverysensiblyput，“saidtheoldgentleman。“Duncan!youare，whatIcall，aclear-mindedman。Wellworththinkingof，oldTruepenny!Iftheworstcomestotheworst，wellworththinkingof!“
　　ItwasnotthefirsttimethatDuncan’ssteadygoodsensehadstrucklight，undertheformofanewthought，inhismaster’smind。Butneveryethadhewroughtsuchmischiefasthemischiefwhichhehadinnocentlydonenow。HehadsentSirPatricktobedwiththefatalideaofhasteningthemarriageofArnoldandBlanche。
　　ThesituationofaffairsatWindygates——nowthatAnnehadapparentlyobliteratedalltraceofherself——wasbecomingserious。TheonechanceonwhichthediscoveryofArnold’spositiondepended，wasthechancethataccidentmightrevealthetruthinthelapseoftime。Inthispostureofcircumstances，SirPatricknowresolved——ifnothinghappenedtorelieveBlanche’sanxietyinthecourseoftheweek——toadvancethecelebrationofthemarriagefromtheendoftheautumnasoriginallycontemplatedtothefirstfortnightoftheensuingmonth。Asdatesthenstood，thechangeledsofarasfreescopeforthedevelopmentofaccidentwasconcernedtothisseriousresult。Itabridgedalapseofthreemonthsintoanintervalofthreeweeks。
　　Thenextmorningcame；andBlanchemarkeditasamemorablemorning，bycommittinganactofimprudence，whichstruckawayonemoreofthechancesofdiscoverythathadexisted，beforethearrivaloftheEdinburghtelegramonthepreviousday。
　　Shehadpassedasleeplessnight；feveredinmindandbody；
　　thinking，hourafterhour，ofnothingbutAnne。Atsunriseshecouldendureitnolonger。Herpowertocontrolherselfwascompletelyexhausted；herownimpulsesledherastheypleased。
　　Shegotup，determinednottoletGeoffreyleavethehousewithoutriskinganefforttomakehimrevealwhatheknewaboutAnne。ItwasnothinglessthandownrighttreasontoSirPatricktoactonherownresponsibilityinthisway。Sheknewitwaswrong；shewasheartilyashamedofherselffordoingit。Butthedemonthatpossesseswomenwitharecklessnessalltheirown，atthecriticalmomentsoftheirlives，hadgother——andshedidit。
　　Geoffreyhadarrangedovernight，tobreakfastearly，byhimself，andtowalkthetenmilestohisbrother’shouse；sendingaservanttofetchhisluggagelaterintheday。
　　Hehadgotonhishat；hewasstandinginthehall，searchinghispocketforhissecondself，thepipe——whenBlanchesuddenlyappearedfromthemorning-room，andplacedherselfbetweenhimandthehousedoor。
　　“Upearly——eh？“saidGeoffrey。“I’mofftomybrother’s。“
　　Shemadenoreply。Helookedathercloser。Thegirl’seyesweretryingtoreadhisface，withanuttercarelessnessofconcealment，whichforbadeeventohismindallunworthyinterpretationofhermotiveforstoppinghimonhiswayout“Anycommandsforme？“heinquiredThistimesheansweredhim。“Ihavesomethingtoaskyou，“shesaid。
　　Hesmiledgraciously，andopenedhistobacco-pouch。Hewasfreshandstrongafterhisnight’ssleep——healthyandhandsomeandgood-humored。Thehouse-maidshadhadapeepathimthatmorning，andhadwished——likeDesdemona，withadifference——that“Heavenhadmadeallthreeofthemsuchaman。“
　　“Well，“hesaid，“whatisit？“
　　Sheputherquestion，withoutasinglewordofpreface——purposelytosurprisehim。
　　“Mr。Delamayn，“shesaid，“doyouknowwhereAnneSilvesteristhismorning？“
　　Hewasfillinghispipeasshespoke，andhedroppedsomeofthetobaccoonthefloor。Insteadofansweringbeforehepickedupthetobaccoheansweredafter——insurlyself-possession，andinoneword——“No。“
　　“Doyouknownothingabouther？“
　　Hedevotedhimselfdoggedlytothefillingofhispipe。
　　“Nothing。“
　　“Onyourwordofhonor，asagentleman？“
　　“Onmywordofhonor，asagentleman。“
　　Heputbackhistobacco-pouchinhispocket。Hishandsomefacewasashardasstone。HisclearblueeyesdefiedallthegirlsinEnglandputtogethertoseeinto_his_mind。“Haveyoudone，MissLundie？“heasked，suddenlychangingtoabanteringpolitenessoftoneandmanner。
　　Blanchesawthatitwashopeless——sawthatshehadcompromisedherowninterestsbyherownheadlongact。SirPatrick’swarningwordscamebackreproachfullytohernowwhenitwastoolate。
　　“Wecommitaseriousmistakeifweputhimonhisguardatstarting。“
　　Therewasbutonecoursetotakenow。“Yes，“shesaid。“Ihavedone。“
　　“Myturnnow，“rejoinedGeoffrey。“YouwanttoknowwhereMissSilvesteris。WhydoyouaskMe？“
　　Blanchedidallthatcouldbedonetowardrepairingtheerrorthatshehadcommitted。ShekeptGeoffreyasfarawayasGeoffreyhadkept_her_fromthetruth。
　　“Ihappentoknow，“shereplied“thatMissSilvesterlefttheplaceatwhichshehadbeenstayingaboutthetimewhenyouwentoutwalkingyesterday。AndIthoughtyoumighthaveseenher。“
　　“Oh？That’sthereason——isit？“saidGeoffrey，withasmile。
　　ThesmilestungBlanche’ssensitivetempertothequick。Shemadeafinalefforttocontrolherself，beforeherindignationgotthebetterofher。
　　“Ihavenomoretosay，Mr。Delamayn。“Withthatreplysheturnedherbackonhim，andclosedthedoorofthemorning-roombetweenthem。
　　Geoffreydescendedthehousestepsandlithispipe。Hewasnotattheslightestloss，onthisoccasion，toaccountforwhathadhappened。HeassumedatoncethatArnoldhadtakenameanrevengeonhimafterhisconductofthedaybefore，andhadtoldthewholesecretofhiserrandatCraigFernietoBlanche。Thethingwouldgetnext，nodoubt，toSirPatrick’sears；andSirPatrickwouldthereuponbeprobablythefirstpersonwhorevealedtoArnoldthepositioninwhichhehadplacedhimselfwithAnne。Allright!SirPatrickwouldbeanexcellentwitnesstoappealto，whenthescandalbrokeout，andwhenthetimecameforrepudiatingAnne’sclaimonhimasthebarefacedimpostureofawomanwhowasmarriedalreadytoanotherman。Hepuffedawayunconcernedlyathispipe，andstarted，athisswinging，steadypace，forhisbrother’shouse。
　　Blancheremainedaloneinthemorning-room。Theprospectofgettingatthetruth，bymeansofwhatGeoffreymightsayonthenextoccasionwhenheconsultedSirPatrick，wasaprospectthatsheherselfhadclosedfromthatmoment。Shesatdownindespairbythewindow。Itcommandedaviewofthelittleside-terracewhichhadbeenAnne’sfavoritewalkatWindygates。Withwearyeyesandachingheartthepoorchildlookedatthefamiliarplace；andaskedherself，withthebitterrepentancethatcomestoolate，ifshehaddestroyedthelastchanceoffindingAnne!
　　Shesatpassivelyatthewindow，whilethehoursofthemorningworeon，untilthepostmancame。Beforetheservantcouldtaketheletterbagshewasinthehalltoreceiveit。WasitpossibletohopethatthebaghadbroughttidingsofAnne？Shesortedtheletters；andlightedsuddenlyonalettertoherself。ItboretheKirkandrewpostmark，andItwasaddressedtoherinAnne’shandwriting。
　　Shetoretheletteropen，andreadtheselines：
　　“Ihaveleftyouforever，Blanche。Godblessandrewardyou!Godmakeyouahappywomaninallyourlifetocome!Cruelasyouwillthinkme，love，IhaveneverbeensotrulyyoursisterasI
　　amnow。Icanonlytellyouthis——Icannevertellyoumore。
　　Forgiveme，andforgetme，ourlivesarepartedlivesfromthisday。“
　　Goingdowntobreakfastabouthisusualhour，SirPatrickmissedBlanche，whomhewasaccustomedtoseewaitingforhimatthetableatthattime。Theroomwasempty；theothermembersofthehouseholdhavingallfinishedtheirmorningmeal。SirPatrickdislikedbreakfastingalone。HesentDuncanwithamessage，tobegiventoBlanche’smaid。
　　ThemaidappearedinduetimeMissLundiewasunabletoleaveherroom。Shesentalettertoheruncle，withherlove——andbeggedhewouldreadit。
　　SirPatrickopenedtheletterandsawwhatAnnehadwrittentoBlanche。
　　Hewaitedalittle，reflecting，withevidentpainandanxiety，onwhathehadread——thenopenedhisownletters，andhurriedlylookedatthesignatures。Therewasnothingforhimfromhisfriend，thesheriff，atEdinburgh，andnocommunicationfromtherailway，intheshapeofatelegram。Hehaddecided，overnight，onwaitingtilltheendoftheweekbeforeheinterferedinthematterofBlanche’smarriage。Theeventsofthemorningdeterminedhimonnotwaitinganotherday。Duncanreturnedtothebreakfast-roomtopourouthismaster’scoffee。SirPatricksenthimawayagainwithasecondmessage“DoyouknowwhereLadyLundieis，Duncan？“
　　“Yes，SirPatrick。“
　　“Mycomplimentstoherladyship。Ifsheisnototherwiseengaged，Ishallbegladtospeaktoherprivatelyinanhour’stime。“