首页 >出版文学> Man and Wife>第84章

第84章

  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。