Somethingmightcomeofit!LetitberememberedthatLadyLundiehadbeenleftentirelyinthedark——thatshehadwrittentoSirPatrickinatonewhichplainlyshowedthatherself-esteemwaswoundedandhersuspicionroused——andthatherfirstintimationoftheseriousdilemmainwhichArnoldBrinkworthstoodwasnowlikely,thankstoJuliusDelamayn,toreachherfromthelipsofamereacquaintance。Letthisberemembered;andthenlettheestimatebeformedofwhatmightcomeofit——notatWindygatesonly,butalsoatHamFarm!
“Whatdoyouthink?“askedJulius。
Mrs。Glenarmwasenchanted。“Theverypersontogoto!“shesaid。
“IfIamnotletinIcaneasilywrite——andexplainmyobjectasanapology。LadyLundieissoright-minded,sosympathetic。Ifsheseesnooneelse——Ihaveonlytoconfidemyanxietiestoher,andIamsureshewillseeme。Youwilllendmeacarriage,won’tyou?I’llgotoWindygatesto-morrow。“
Juliustookhisviolinoffthepiano。
“Don’tthinkmeverytroublesome,“hesaidcoaxingly。“Betweenthisandto-morrowwehavenothingtodo。Anditis_such_music,ifyouoncegetintotheswingofit!Wouldyoumindtryingagain?“
Mrs。Glenarmwaswillingtodoanythingtoprovehergratitude,aftertheinvaluablehintwhichshehadjustreceived。Atthesecondtrialthefairpianist’seyeandhandwereinperfectharmony。ThelovelymelodywhichtheAdagioofMozart’sFifteenthSonatahasgiventoviolinandpianoflowedsmoothlyatlast——andJuliusDelamaynsoaredtotheseventhheavenofmusicaldelight。
ThenextdayMrs。GlenarmandMrs。DelamaynwenttogethertoWindygatesHouse。
THEsceneopensonabedroom——anddiscloses,inbroaddaylight,aladyinbed。
Personswithanirritablesenseofpropriety,whoseself-appointeddutyitistobealwayscryingout,arewarnedtopausebeforetheycryoutonthisoccasion。TheladynowpresentedtoviewbeingnolessapersonthanLadyLundieherself,itfollows,asamatterofcourse,thattheutmostdemandsofproprietyare,bythemereassertionofthatfact,abundantlyandindisputablysatisfied。Tosaythatanythingshortofdirectmoraladvantagecould,byanypossibility,accruetoanylivingcreaturebythepresentationofherladyshipinahorizontal,insteadofaperpendicularposition,istoassertthatVirtueisaquestionofposture,andthatRespectabilityceasestoassertitselfwhenitceasestoappearinmorningoreveningdress。Willanybodybeboldenoughtosaythat?Letnobodycryout,then,onthepresentoccasion。
LadyLundiewasinbed。
HerladyshiphadreceivedBlanche’swrittenannouncementofthesuddenstoppageofthebridaltour;andhadpennedtheanswertoSirPatrick——thereceiptofwhichatHamFarmhasbeenalreadydescribed。Thisdone,LadyLundiefeltitduetoherselftotakeabecomingpositioninherownhouse,pendingthepossiblearrivalofSirPatrick’sreply。Whatdoesaright-mindedwomando,whenshehasreasontobelievethatsheiscruellydistrustedbythemembersofherownfamily?Aright-mindedwomanfeelsitsoacutelythatshefallsill。LadyLundiefellillaccordingly。
Thecasebeingaseriousone,amedicalpractitionerofthehighestgradeintheprofessionwasrequiredtotreatit。A
physicianfromtheneighboringtownofKirkandrewwascalledin。
Thephysiciancameinacarriageandpair,withthenecessarybaldhead,andtheindispensablewhitecravat。Hefeltherladyship’spulse,andputafewgentlequestions。Heturnedhisbacksolemnly,asonlyagreatdoctorcan,onhisownpositiveinternalconvictionthathispatienthadnothingwhateverthematterwithher。Hesaid,witheveryappearanceofbelievinginhimself,“Nerves,LadyLundie。Reposeinbedisessentiallynecessary。Iwillwriteaprescription。“Heprescribed,withperfectgravity:AromaticSpiritsofAmmonia——16drops。SpiritsofRedLavender——10drops。SyrupofOrangePeel——2drams。CamphorJulep——1ounce。Whenhehadwritten,MiscefiatHanstusinsteadofMixaDraught——whenhehadadded,TerdieSumendusinsteadofTobetakenThreetimesaday——andwhenhehadcertifiedtohisownLatin,byputtinghisinitialsattheend,hehadonlytomakehisbow;tosliptwoguineasintohispocket;andtogohisway,withanapprovingprofessionalconscience,inthecharacterofaphysicianwhohaddonehisduty。
LadyLundiewasinbed。Thevisiblepartofherladyshipwasperfectlyattired,withaviewtotheoccasion。Afilletofsuperbwhitelaceencircledherhead。Sheworeanadorableinvalidjacketofwhitecambric,trimmedwithlaceandpinkribbons。Therestwas——bed-clothes。OnatableathersidestoodtheRedLavenderDraught——incolorsoothingtotheeye;inflavornotunpleasanttothetaste。Abookofdevotionalcharacterwasnearit。Thedomesticledgers,andthekitchenreportfortheday,wererangedmodestlybehindthedevoutbook。Notevenherladyship’snerves,observe,werepermittedtointerferewithherladyship’sduty。Afan,asmelling-bottle,andahandkerchieflaywithinreachonthecounterpane。Thespaciousroomwaspartiallydarkened。Oneofthelowerwindowswasopen,affordingherladyshipthenecessarycubicsupplyofair。ThelateSirThomaslookedathiswidow,ineffigy,fromthewalloppositetheendofthebed。Notachairwasoutofitsplace;notavestigeofwearingappareldaredtoshowitselfoutsidethesacredlimitsofthewardrobeandthedrawers。Thesparklingtreasuresofthetoilet-tableglitteredinthedimdistance,Thejugsandbasinswereofarareandcreamywhite;spotlessandbeautifultosee。
Lookwhereyoumight,yousawaperfectroom。Thenlookatthebed——andyousawaperfectwoman,andcompletedthepicture。
ItwasthedayafterAnne’sappearanceatSwanhaven——towardtheendoftheafternoon。
LadyLundie’sownmaidopenedthedoornoiselessly,andstoleontip-toetothebedside。Herladyship’seyeswereclosed。Herladyshipsuddenlyopenedthem。
“Notasleep,Hopkins。Suffering。Whatisit?“
Hopkinslaidtwocardsonthecounterpane。“Mrs。Delamayn,mylady——andMrs。Glenarm。“
“TheyweretoldIwasill,ofcourse?“
“Yes,mylady。Mrs。Glenarmsentforme。Shewentintothelibrary,andwrotethisnote。“Hopkinsproducedthenote,neatlyfoldedinthree-corneredform。
“Havetheygone?“
“No,mylady。Mrs。GlenarmtoldmeYesorNowoulddoforanswer,ifyoucouldonlyhavethegoodnesstoreadthis。“
“ThoughtlessofMrs。Glenarm——atatimewhenthedoctorinsistsonperfectrepose,“saidLadyLundie。“Itdoesn’tmatter。Onesacrificemoreorlessisofverylittleconsequence。“
Shefortifiedherselfbyanapplicationofthesmelling-bottle,andopenedthenote。Itranthus:
“Sogrieved,dearLadyLundie,tohearthatyouareaprisonerinyourroom!IhadtakentheopportunityofcallingwithMrs。
Delamayn,inthehopethatImightbeabletoaskyouaquestion。
WillyourinexhaustiblekindnessforgivemeifIaskitinwriting?HaveyouhadanyunexpectednewsofMr。ArnoldBrinkworthlately?Imean,haveyouheardanythingabouthim,whichhastakenyouverymuchbysurprise?Ihaveaseriousreasonforaskingthis。Iwilltellyouwhatitis,themomentyouareabletoseeme。Untilthen,onewordofanswerisallI
expect。Sendworddown——Yes,orNo。Athousandapologies——andpraygetbettersoon!“
ThesingularquestioncontainedinthisnotesuggestedoneoftwoinferencestoLadyLundie’smind。EitherMrs。GlenarmhadheardareportoftheunexpectedreturnofthemarriedcoupletoEngland——orshewasinthefarmoreinterestingandimportantpositionofpossessingaclewtothesecretofwhatwasgoingonunderthesurfaceatHamFarm。Thephraseusedinthenote,“I
haveaseriousreasonforaskingthis,“appearedtofavorthelatterofthetwointerpretations。ImpossibleasitseemedtobethatMrs。GlenarmcouldknowsomethingaboutArnoldofwhichLadyLundiewasinabsoluteignorance,herladyship’scuriosityalreadypowerfullyexcitedbyBlanche’smysteriousletterwasonlytobequietedbyobtainingthenecessaryexplanationforthwith,atapersonalinterview。
“Hopkins,“shesaid,“ImustseeMrs。Glenarm。“
Hopkinsrespectfullyheldupherhandsinhorror。Companyinthebedroominthepresentstateofherladyship’shealth!
“Amatterofdutyisinvolvedinthis,Hopkins。Givemetheglass。“
Hopkinsproducedanelegantlittlehand-mirror。LadyLundiecarefullysurveyedherselfinitdowntothemarginofthebedclothes。Abovecriticismineveryrespect?Yes——evenwhenthecriticwasawoman。
“ShowMrs。Glenarmuphere。“
Inaminuteortwomoretheiron-master’swidowflutteredintotheroom——alittleover-dressedasusual;andalittleprofuseinexpressionsofgratitudeforherladyship’skindness,andofanxietyaboutherladyship’shealth。LadyLundieendureditaslongasshecould——thenstoppeditwithagestureofpoliteremonstrance,andcametothepoint。
“Now,mydear——aboutthisquestioninyournote?IsitpossibleyouhaveheardalreadythatArnoldBrinkworthandhiswifehavecomebackfromBaden?“Mrs。Glenarmopenedhereyesinastonishment。LadyLundieputitmoreplainly。“TheyweretohavegoneontoSwitzerland,youknow,fortheirweddingtour,andtheysuddenlyalteredtheirminds,andcamebacktoEnglandonSundaylast。“
“DearLadyLundie,it’snotthat!HaveyouheardnothingaboutMr。Brinkworthexceptwhatyouhavejusttoldme?“
“Nothing。“
Therewasapause。Mrs。Glenarmtoyedhesitatinglywithherparasol。LadyLundieleanedforwardinthebed,andlookedatherattentively。
“Whathave_you_heardabouthim?“sheasked。
Mrs。Glenarmwasembarrassed。“It’ssodifficulttosay,“shebegan。
“Icanbearanythingbutsuspense,“saidLadyLundie。“Tellmetheworst。“
第95章