“IamgoingsofarasIknowtosurprise——possiblytoalarm——you。Thereisnoescapingfromit，foryouorforme；itmustbedone。
　　“ThinkingofhowbesttointroducewhatIamnowobligedtosay，Icanfindnobetterwaythanthis。Imustaskyoutotakeyourmemorybacktoadaywhichwehavebothbitterreasontoregret——thedaywhenGeoffreyDelamaynsentyoutoseemeattheinnatCraigFernie。
　　“Youmaypossiblynotremember——itunhappilyproducednoimpressiononyouatthetime——thatIfelt，andexpressed，morethanonceonthatoccasion，averygreatdisliketoyourpassingmeoffonthepeopleoftheinnasyourwife。ItwasnecessarytomybeingpermittedtoremainatCraigFerniethatyoushoulddoso。Iknewthis；butstillIshrankfromit。Itwasimpossibleformetocontradictyou，withoutinvolvingyouinthepainfulconsequences，andrunningtheriskofmakingascandalwhichmightfinditswaytoBlanche’sears。Iknewthisalso；butstillmyconsciencereproachedme。Itwasavaguefeeling。Iwasquiteunawareoftheactualdangerinwhichyouwereplacingyourself，orIwouldhavespokenout，nomatterwhatcameofit。Ihadwhatiscalledapresentimentthatyouwerenotactingdiscreetly——nothingmore。AsIloveandhonormymother’smemory——asItrustinthemercyofGod——thisisthetruth。
　　“Youlefttheinnthenextmorning，andwehavenotmetsince。
　　“AfewdaysafteryouwentawaymyanxietiesgrewmorethanI
　　couldbearalone。IwentsecretlytoWindygates，andhadaninterviewwithBlanche。
　　“Shewasabsentforafewminutesfromtheroominwhichwehadmet。InthatintervalIsawGeoffreyDelamaynforthefirsttimesinceIhadlefthimatLadyLundie’slawn-party。HetreatedmeasifIwasastranger。Hetoldmethathehadfoundoutallthathadpassedbetweenusattheinn。Hesaidhehadtakenalawyer’sopinion。Oh，Mr。Brinkworth!howcanIbreakittoyou？howcanI
　　writethewordswhichrepeatwhathesaidtomenext？Itmustbedone。Cruelasitis，itmustbedone。Herefusedtomyfacetomarryme。HesaidIwasmarriedalready。HesaidIwasyourwife。
　　“NowyouknowwhyIhavereferredyoutowhatIfeltandconfessedtofeelingwhenweweretogetheratCraigFernie。Ifyouthinkhardthoughts，andsayhardwordsofme，Icanclaimnorighttoblameyou。Iaminnocent——andyetitismyfault。
　　“Myheadswims，andthefoolishtearsarerisinginspiteofme。
　　Imustleaveoff，andrestalittle。
　　“Ihavebeensittingatthewindow，andwatchingthepeopleinthestreetastheygoby。Theyareallstrangers。But，somehow，thesightofthemseemstorestmymind。Thehumofthegreatcitygivesmeheart，andhelpsmetogoon。
　　“Icannottrustmyselftowriteofthemanwhohasbetrayedusboth。DisgracedandbrokenasIam，thereissomethingstillleftinmewhichliftsmeabove_him。_Ifhecamerepentant，atthismoment，andofferedmeallthatrankandwealthandworldlyconsiderationcangive，IwouldratherbewhatIamnowthanbehiswife。
　　“Letmespeakofyou；andforBlanche’ssakeletmespeakofmyself。
　　“Iought，nodoubt，tohavewaitedtoseeyouatWindygates，andtohavetoldyouatonceofwhathadhappened。ButIwasweakandillandtheshockofhearingwhatIheardfellsoheavilyonmethatIfainted。AfterIcametomyselfIwassohorrified，whenI
　　thoughtofyouandBlanchethatasortofmadnesspossessedme。I
　　hadbutoneidea——theideaofrunningawayandhidingmyself。
　　“Mymindgotclearerandquieteronthewaytothisplace；and，arrivedhere，IdidwhatIhopeandbelievewasthebestthingI
　　coulddo。Iconsultedtwolawyers。Theydifferedinopinionastowhetherweweremarriedornot——accordingtothelawwhichdecidesonsuchthingsinScotland。ThefirstsaidYes。ThesecondsaidNo——butadvisedmetowriteimmediatelyandtellyouthepositioninwhichyoustood。Iattemptedtowritethesameday，andfellillasyouknow。
　　“ThankGod，thedelaythathashappenedisofnoconsequence。I
　　askedBlanche，atWindygates，whenyouweretobemarried——andshetoldmenotuntiltheendoftheautumn。ItisonlythefifthofSeptembernow。Youhaveplentyoftimebeforeyou。Foralloursakes，makegooduseofit。
　　“Whatareyoutodo？
　　“GoatoncetoSirPatrickLundie，andshowhimthisletter。
　　Followhisadvice——nomatterhowitmayaffect_me。_Ishouldillrequiteyourkindness，IshouldbefalseindeedtotheloveI
　　beartoBlanche，ifIhesitatedtobraveanyexposurethatmaynowbenecessaryinyourinterestsandinhers。Youhavebeenallthatisgenerous，allthatisdelicate，allthatiskindinthismatter。Youhavekeptmydisgracefulsecret——Iamquitesureofit——withthefidelityofanhonorablemanwhohashadawoman’sreputationplacedinhischarge。Ireleaseyou，withmywholeheart，dearMr。Brinkworth，fromyourpledge。Ientreatyou，onmyknees，toconsideryourselffreetorevealthetruth。Iwillmakeanyacknowledgment，onmyside，thatisneedfulunderthecircumstances——nomatterhowpublicitmaybe。Releaseyourselfatanyprice；andthen，andnottillthen，givebackyourregardtothemiserablewomanwhohasladenyouwiththeburdenofhersorrow，anddarkenedyourlifeforamomentwiththeshadowofhershame。
　　“Praydon’tthinkthereisanypainfulsacrificeinvolvedinthis。Thequietingofmyownmindisinvolvedinit——andthatisall。
　　“Whathaslifeleftfor_me？_Nothingbutthebarrennecessityofliving。WhenIthinkofthefuturenow，mymindpassesovertheyearsthatmaybelefttomeinthisworld。SometimesIdaretohopethattheDivineMercyofChrist——whichoncepleadedonearthforawomanlikeme——mayplead，whendeathhastakenme，formyspiritinHeaven。SometimesIdaretohopethatImayseemymother，andBlanche’smother，inthebetterworld。Theirheartswereboundtogetherastheheartsofsisterswhiletheywerehere；andtheylefttotheirchildrenthelegacyoftheirlove。
　　Oh，helpmetosay，ifwemeetagain，thatnotinvainIpromisedtobeasistertoBlanche!ThedebtIowetoheristhehereditarydebtofmymother’sgratitude。AndwhatamInow？Anobstacleinthewayofthehappinessofherlife。Sacrificemetothathappiness，forGod’ssake!ItistheonethingIhavelefttolivefor。AgainandagainIsayit——Icarenothingformyself。
　　Ihavenorighttobeconsidered；Ihavenowishtobeconsidered。Tellthewholetruthaboutme，andcallmetobearwitnesstoitaspubliclyasyouplease!
　　“Ihavewaitedalittle，oncemore，tryingtothink，beforeI
　　closemyletter，whattheremaybestilllefttowrite。
　　“Icannotthinkofanythingleftbutthedutyofinformingyouhowyoumayfindme。ifyouwishtowrite——orifitisthoughtnecessarythatweshouldmeetagain。
　　“OnewordbeforeItellyouthis。
　　“Itisimpossibleformetoguesswhatyouwilldo，orwhatyouwillbeadvisedtodobyothers，whenyougetmyletter。Idon’tevenknowthatyoumaynotalreadyhaveheardofwhatyourpositionisfromGeoffreyDelamaynhimself。Inthisevent，orintheeventofyourthinkingitdesirabletotakeBlancheintoyourconfidence，Iventuretosuggestthatyoushouldappointsomepersonwhomyoucantrusttoseemeonyourbehalf——or，ifyoucannotdothisthatyoushouldseemeinthepresenceofathirdperson。Themanwhohasnothesitatedtobetrayusboth，willnothesitatetomisrepresentusinthevilestway，ifhecandoitinthefuture。Foryourownsake，letusbecarefultogivelyingtonguesnoopportunityofassailingyourplaceinBlanche’sestimation。Don’tactsoastoriskputtingyourselfinafalseposition_again!_Don’tletitbepossiblethatafeelingunworthyofhershouldberousedinthelovingandgenerousnatureofyourfuturewife!
　　“Thiswritten，ImaynowtellyouhowtocommunicatewithmeafterIhaveleftthisplace。
　　“YouwillfindontheslipofpaperinclosedthenameandaddressofthesecondofthetwolawyerswhomIconsultedinGlasgow。ItisarrangedbetweenusthatIamtoinformhim，byletter，ofthenextplacetowhichIremove，andthatheistocommunicatetheinformationeithertoyouortoSirPatrickLundie，onyourapplyingforitpersonallyorbywriting。Idon’tyetknowmyselfwhereImayfindrefuge。NothingiscertainbutthatIcannot，inmypresentstateofweakness，travelfar。
　　“IfyouwonderwhyImoveatalluntilIamstronger，Icanonlygiveareasonwhichmayappearfancifulandoverstrained。
　　“IhavebeeninformedthatIwasadvertisedintheGlasgownewspapersduringthetimewhenIlayatthishotel，astrangeratthepointofdeath。Troublehasperhapsmadememorbidlysuspicious。IamafraidofwhatmayhappenifIstayhere，aftermyplaceofresidencehasbeenmadepubliclyknown。So，assoonasIcanmove，Igoawayinsecret。Itwillbeenoughforme，ifIcanfindrestandpeaceinsomequietplace，inthecountryroundGlasgow。Youneedfeelnoanxietyaboutmymeansofliving。
　　IhavemoneyenoughforallthatIneed——and，ifIgetwellagain，Iknowhowtoearnmybread。
　　“IsendnomessagetoBlanche——Idarenottillthisisover。Waittillsheisyourhappywife；andthengiveherakiss，andsayitcomesfromAnne。
　　“Tryandforgiveme，dearMr。Brinkworth。Ihavesaidall。Yoursgratefully，“ANNESILVESTER。“
　　SirPatrickputtheletterdownwithunfeignedrespectforthewomanwhohadwrittenit。
　　SomethingofthepersonalinfluencewhichAnneexercisedmoreorlessoverallthemenwithwhomshecameincontactseemedtocommunicateitselftotheoldlawyerthroughthemediumofherletter。Histhoughtsperverselywanderedawayfromtheseriousandpressingquestionofhisniece’spositionintoaregionofpurelyspeculativeinquiryrelatingtoAnne。WhatinfatuationheaskedhimselfhadplacedthatnoblecreatureatthemercyofsuchamanasGeoffreyDelamayn？