Wehaveall,atonetimeoranotherinourlives,beenperplexedasSirPatrickwasperplexednow。
Ifweknowanythingbyexperience,weknowthatwomencastthemselvesawayimpulsivelyonunworthymen,andthatmenruinthemselvesheadlongforunworthywomen。WehavetheinstitutionofDivorceactuallyamongus,existingmainlybecausethetwosexesareperpetuallyplacingthemselvesintheseanomalousrelationstowardeachother。Andyet,ateveryfreshinstancewhichcomesbeforeus,wepersistinbeingastonishedtofindthatthemanandthewomanhavenotchoseneachotheronrationalandproduciblegrounds!Weexpecthumanpassiontoactonlogicalprinciples;andhumanfallibility——withloveforitsguide——tobeabovealldangerofmakingamistake!AskthewisestamongAnneSilvester’ssexwhattheysawtorationallyjustifytheminchoosingthementowhomtheyhavegiventheirheartsandtheirlives,andyouwillbeputtingaquestiontothosewisewomenwhichtheyneveroncethoughtofputtingtothemselves。Nay,morestill。Lookintoyourownexperience,andsayfrankly,Couldyoujustifyyourownexcellentchoiceatthetimewhenyouirrevocablymadeit?Couldyouhaveputyourreasonsonpaperwhenyoufirstownedtoyourselfthatyoulovedhim?Andwouldthereasonshavebornecriticalinspectionifyouhad?
SirPatrickgaveitupindespair。Theinterestsofhisniecewereatstake。Hewiselydeterminedtorousehismindbyoccupyinghimselfwiththepracticalnecessitiesofthemoment。
Itwasessentialtosendanapologytotherector,inthefirstplace,soastoleavetheeveningathisdisposalforconsideringwhatpreliminarycourseofconductheshouldadviseArnoldtopursue。
AfterwritingafewlinesofapologytohispartneratPiquet——assigningfamilybusinessastheexcuseforbreakinghisengagement——SirPatrickrangthebell。ThefaithfulDuncanappeared,andsawatonceinhismastersfacethatsomethinghadhappened。
“SendamanwiththistotheRectory,“saidSirPatrick。“Ican’tdineoutto-day。Imusthaveachopathome。“
“Iamafraid,SirPatrick——ifImaybeexcusedforremarkingit——youhavehadsomebadnews?“
“Theworstpossiblenews,Duncan。Ican’ttellyouaboutitnow。
Waitwithinhearingofthebell。Inthemeantimeletnobodyinterruptme。IfthestewardhimselfcomesIcan’tseehim。“
Afterthinkingitovercarefully,SirPatrickdecidedthattherewasnoalternativebuttosendamessagetoArnoldandBlanche,summoningthembacktoEnglandinthefirstplace。ThenecessityofquestioningArnold,intheminutestdetail,astoeverythingthathadhappenedbetweenAnneSilvesterandhimselfattheCraigFernieinn,wasthefirstandforemostnecessityofthecase。
Atthesametimeitappearedtobedesirable,forBlanche’ssake,tokeepherinignorance,forthepresentatleast,ofwhathadhappened。SirPatrickmetthisdifficultywithcharacteristicingenuityandreadinessofresource。
HewroteatelegramtoArnold,expressedinthefollowingterms:
“Yourletterandinclosuresreceived。ReturntoHamFarmassoonasyouconvenientlycan。KeepthethingstillasecretfromBlanche。Tellher,asthereasonforcomingback,thatthelosttraceofAnneSilvesterhasbeenrecovered,andthattheremaybereasonsforherreturningtoEnglandbeforeanythingfurthercanbedone。“
Duncanhavingbeendispatchedtothestationwiththismessage,Duncan’smasterproceededtocalculatethequestionoftime。
ArnoldwouldinallprobabilityreceivethetelegramatBaden,onthenextday,Septembertheseventeenth。InthreedaysmoreheandBlanchemightbeexpectedtoreachHamFarm。DuringtheintervalthusplacedathisdisposalSirPatrickwouldhaveampletimeinwhichtorecoverhimself,andtoseehiswaytoactingforthebestinthealarmingemergencythatnowconfrontedhim。
OnthenineteenthSirPatrickreceivedatelegraminforminghimthathemightexpecttoseetheyoungcouplelateintheeveningonthetwentieth。
Lateintheeveningthesoundofcarriage-wheelswasaudibleonthedrive;andSirPatrick,openingthedoorofhisroom,heardthefamiliarvoicesinthehall。
“Well!“criedBlanche,catchingsightofhimatthedoor,“isAnnefound?“
“Notjustyet,mydear。“
“Istherenewsofher?“
“Yes。“
“AmIintimetobeofuse?“
“Inexcellenttime。Youshallhearallaboutitto-morrow。Goandtakeoffyourtraveling-things,andcomedownagaintosupperassoonasyoucan。“
Blanchekissedhim,andwentonupstairs。Shehad,asherunclethoughtintheglimpsehehadcaughtofher,beenimprovedbyhermarriage。Ithadquietedandsteadiedher。ThereweregracesinherlookandmannerwhichSirPatrickhadnotnoticedbefore。
Arnold,onhisside,appearedtolessadvantage。Hewasrestlessandanxious;hispositionwithMissSilvesterseemedtobepreyingonhismind。Assoonashisyoungwife’sbackwasturned,heappealedtoSirPatrickinaneagerwhisper。
“IhardlydareaskyouwhatIhavegotitonmymindtosay,“hebegan。“Imustbearitifyouareangrywithme,SirPatrick。
But——onlytellmeonething。Isthereawayoutofitforus?
Haveyouthoughtofthat?“
“Icannottrustmyselftospeakofitclearlyandcomposedlyto-night,“saidSirPatrick。“BesatisfiedifItellyouthatI
havethoughtitallout——andwaitfortheresttillto-morrow。“
Otherpersonsconcernedinthecomingdramahadhadpastdifficultiestothinkout,andfuturemovementstoconsider,duringtheintervaloccupiedbyArnoldandBlancheontheirreturnjourneytoEngland。BetweentheseventeenthandthetwentiethofSeptemberGeoffreyDelamaynhadleftSwanhaven,onthewaytohisnewtrainingquartersintheneighborhoodinwhichtheFoot-RaceatFulhamwastoberun。Betweenthesamedates,also,CaptainNewendenhadtakentheopportunity,whilepassingthroughLondononhiswaysouth,toconsulthissolicitors。Theobjectoftheconferencewastofindmeansofdiscoveringananonymousletter-writerinScotland,whohadpresumedtocauseseriousannoyancetoMrs。Glenarm。
Thus,byonesandtwos,convergingfromwidelydistantquarters,theywerenowbeginningtodrawtogether,inthenearneighborhoodofthegreatcitywhichwassoondestinedtoassemblethemall,forthefirstandthelasttimeinthisworld,facetoface。
BREAKFASTwasjustover。Blanche,seeingapleasantly-idlemorningbeforeher,proposedtoArnoldtotakeastrollinthegrounds。
Thegardenwasblightwithsunshine,andthebridewasbrightwithgood-humor。Shecaughtheruncle’seye,lookingatheradmiringly,andpaidhimalittlecomplimentinreturn。“Youhavenoidea,“shesaid,“howniceitistobebackatHamFarm!“
“Iamtounderstandthen,“rejoinedSirPatrick,“thatIamforgivenforinterruptingthehoney-moon?“
“Youaremorethanforgivenforinterruptingit,“saidBlanche——“youarethanked。Asamarriedwoman,“sheproceeded,withtheairofamatronofatleasttwentyyears’standing,“I
havebeenthinkingthesubjectover;andIhavearrivedattheconclusionthatahoney-moonwhichtakestheformofatourontheContinent,isoneofournationalabuseswhichstandsinneedofreform。Whenyouareinlovewitheachotherconsideramarriagewithoutlovetobenomarriageatall,whatdoyouwantwiththeexcitementofseeingstrangeplaces?Isn’titexcitementenough,andisn’titstrangeenough,toanewly-marriedwomantoseesuchatotalnoveltyasahusband?WhatisthemostinterestingobjectonthefaceofcreationtoamaninArnold’sposition?TheAlps?Certainlynot!Themostinterestingobjectisthewife。Andthepropertimeforabridaltouristhetime——saytenoradozenyearslater——whenyouarebeginningnottogettiredofeachother,that’soutofthequestionbuttogetalittletoowellusedtoeachother。ThentakeyourtourtoSwitzerland——andyougivetheAlpsachance。Asuccessionofhoney-moontrips,intheautumnofmarriedlife——thereismyproposalforanimprovementonthepresentstateofthings!Comeintothegarden,Arnold;andletuscalculatehowlongitwillbebeforewegetwearyofeachother,andwantthebeautiesofnaturetokeepuscompany。“
ArnoldlookedappealinglytoSirPatrick。Notawordhadpassedbetweenthem,asyet,ontheserioussubjectofAnneSilvester’sletter。SirPatrickundertooktheresponsibilityofmakingthenecessaryexcusestoBlanche。
“Forgiveme,“hesaid,“ifIaskleavetointerferewithyourmonopolyofArnoldforalittlewhile。IhavesomethingtosaytohimabouthispropertyinScotland。Willyouleavehimwithme,ifIpromisetoreleasehimassoonaspossible?“
Blanchesmiledgraciously。“Youshallhavehimaslongasyoulike,uncle。There’syourhat,“sheadded,tossingittoherhusband,gayly。“IbroughtitinforyouwhenIgotmyown。Youwillfindmeonthelawn。“
Shenodded,andwentout。
“Letmeheartheworstatonce,SirPatrick,“Arnoldbegan。“Isitserious?DoyouthinkIamtoblame?“
“Iwillansweryourlastquestionfirst,“saidSirPatrick。“DoI
thinkyouaretoblame?Yes——inthisway。Youcommittedanactofunpardonablerashnesswhenyouconsentedtogo,asGeoffreyDelamayn’smessenger,toMissSilvesterattheinn。Havingonceplacedyourselfinthatfalseposition,youcouldhardlyhaveacted,afterward,otherwisethanyoudid。YoucouldnotbeexpectedtoknowtheScotchlaw。And,asanhonorableman,youwereboundtokeepasecretconfidedtoyou,inwhichthereputationofawomanwasconcerned。Yourfirstandlasterrorinthismatter,wasthefatalerrorofinvolvingyourselfinresponsibilitieswhichbelongedexclusivelytoanotherman。“
“Themanhadsavedmylife。“pleadedArnold——“andIbelievedI
wasgivingserviceforservicetomydearestfriend。“
“Astoyourotherquestion,“proceededSirPatrick。“DoI
consideryourpositiontobeaseriousone?Mostassuredly,Ido!
SolongaswearenotabsolutelycertainthatBlancheisyourlawfulwife,thepositionismorethanserious:itisunendurable。Imaintaintheopinion,mind,outofwhichthankstoyourhonorablesilencethatscoundrelDelamayncontrivedtocheatme。Itoldhim,whatInowtellyou——thatyoursayingsanddoingsatCraigFernie,do_not_constituteamarriage,accordingtoScottishlaw。But,“pursuedSirPatrick,holdingupawarningforefingeratArnold,“youhavereaditinMissSilvester’sletter,andyoumaynowtakeitalsoasaresultofmyexperience,thatnoindividualopinion,inamatterofthiskind,istobereliedon。Oftwolawyers,consultedbyMissSilvesteratGlasgow,onedrawsadirectlyoppositeconclusiontomine,anddecidesthatyouandshearemarried。Ibelievehimtobewrong,butinoursituation,wehavenootherchoicethantoboldlyencountertheviewofthecasewhichherepresents。InplainEnglish,wemustbeginbylookingtheworstintheface。“
ArnoldtwistedthetravelinghatwhichBlanchehadthrowntohim,nervously,inbothhands。“Supposingtheworstcomestotheworst,“heasked,“whatwillhappen?“
SirPatrickshookhishead。
第84章