“Ithinkthereisnodoubtofthat。Even_his_hatredofhisbrother’swidowcanhardlygotothelength——afterleavingmyletterunanswered——ofclosinghisdoorsagainstmenext。“
　　“Howwillyoumanageitwhenyougetthere？“
　　“WhenIgetthere，mydear，Ishallbebreathinganatmosphereoftreacheryanddeceit；and，formypoorchild’ssakeabhorrentasalldissimulationistome，ImustbecarefulwhatIdo。NotawordwillescapemylipsuntilIhavefirstseenBlancheinprivate。Howeverpainfulitmaybe，Ishallnotshrinkfrommyduty，ifmydutycompelsmetoopenhereyestothetruth。SirPatrickandMr。BrinkworthwillhavesomebodyelsebesidesaninexperiencedyoungcreaturetodealwithonMondaynext。Ishallbethere。“
　　Withthatformidableannouncement，LadyLundieclosedtheconversation；andMrs。Glenarmrosetotakeherleave。
　　“WemeetattheJunction，dearLadyLundie？“
　　“AttheJunction，onSaturday。“
　　“ICAN’Tbelieveit!Iwon’tbelieveit!You’retryingtopartmefrommyhusband——you’retryingtosetmeagainstmydearestfriend。It’sinfamous。It’shorrible。WhathaveIdonetoyou？
　　Oh，myhead!myhead!Areyoutryingtodrivememad？“
　　Paleandwild；herhandstwistedinherhair；herfeethurryingheraimlesslytoandfrointheroom——soBlancheansweredherstep-mother，whentheobjectofLadyLundie’spilgrimagehadbeenaccomplished，andthecrueltruthhadbeenplainlytold。
　　Herladyshipsat，superblycomposed，lookingoutthroughthewindowattheplacidlandscapeofwoodsandfieldswhichsurroundedHamFarm。
　　“Iwaspreparedforthisoutbreak，“shesaid，sadly。“Thesewildwordsrelieveyourover-burdenedheart，mypoorchild。Icanwait，Blanche——Icanwait!“
　　Blanchestopped，andconfrontedLadyLundie。
　　“YouandIneverlikedeachother，“shesaid。“Iwroteyouapertletterfromthisplace。IhavealwaystakenAnne’spartagainstyou。Ihaveshownyouplainly——rudely，Idaresay——thatIwasgladtobemarriedandgetawayfromyou。Thisisnotyourrevenge，isit？“
　　“Oh，Blanche，Blanche，whatthoughtstothink!whatwordstosay!
　　Icanonlyprayforyou。“
　　“Iammad，LadyLundie。Youbearwithmadpeople。Bearwithme。I
　　havebeenhardlymorethanafortnightmarried。Ilove_him_——I
　　love_her_——withallmyheart。Rememberwhatyouhavetoldmeaboutthem。Remember!remember!remember!“
　　Shereiteratedthewordswithalowcryofpain。Herhandswentuptoherheadagain；andshereturnedrestlesslytopacingthiswayandthatintheroom。
　　LadyLundietriedtheeffectofagentleremonstrance。“Foryourownsake，“shesaid，“don’tpersistinestrangingyourselffromme。Inthisdreadfultrial，Iamtheonlyfriendyouhave。“
　　Blanchecamebacktoherstep-mother’schair；andlookedathersteadily，insilence。LadyLundiesubmittedtoinspection——andboreitperfectly。
　　“Lookintomyheart，“shesaid。“Blanche!itbleedsforyou!“
　　Blancheheard，withoutheeding。Hermindwaspainfullyintentonitsownthoughts。“Youareareligiouswoman，“shesaid，abruptly。“WillyouswearonyourBible，thatwhatyoutoldmeistrue？“
　　“_My_Bible!“repeatedLadyLundiewithsorrowfulemphasis。“Oh，mychild!have_you_nopartinthatpreciousinheritance？Isitnot_your_Bible，too？“
　　AmomentarytriumphshoweditselfinBlanche’sface。“Youdaren’tswearit!“shesaid。“That’senoughforme!“
　　Sheturnedawayscornfully。LadyLundiecaughtherbythehand，anddrewhersharplyback。Thesufferingsaintdisappeared，andthewomanwhowasnolongertobetrifledwithtookherplace。
　　“Theremustbeanendtothis，“shesaid。“Youdon’tbelievewhatIhavetoldyou。Haveyoucourageenoughtoputittothetest？“
　　Blanchestarted，andreleasedherhand。Shetrembledalittle。
　　TherewasahorriblecertaintyofconvictionexpressedinLadyLundie’ssuddenchangeofmanner。
　　“How？“sheasked。
　　“Youshallsee。Tellmethetruth，onyourside，first。WhereisSirPatrick？Ishereallyout，ashisservanttoldme？“
　　“Yes。Heisoutwiththefarmbailiff。Youhavetakenusallbysurprise。Youwrotethatweweretoexpectyoubythenexttrain。“
　　“Whendoesthenexttrainarrive？Itiseleveno’clocknow。“
　　“Betweenoneandtwo。“
　　“SirPatrickwillnotbebacktillthen？“
　　“Nottillthen。“
　　“WhereisMr。Brinkworth？“
　　“Myhusband？“
　　“Yourhusband——ifyoulike。Isheout，too？“
　　“Heisinthesmoking-room。“
　　“Doyoumeanthelongroom，builtoutfromthebackofthehouse？“
　　“Yes。“
　　“Comedownstairsatoncewithme。“
　　Blancheadvancedastep——anddrewback。“Whatdoyouwantofme？“
　　sheasked，inspiredbyasuddendistrust。
　　LadyLundieturnedround，andlookedatherimpatiently。
　　“Can’tyouseeyet，“shesaid，sharply，“thatyourinterestandmyinterestinthismatterareone？WhathaveItoldyou？“
　　“Don’trepeatit!“
　　“Imustrepeatit!IhavetoldyouthatArnoldBrinkworthwasprivatelyatCraigFernie，withMissSilvester，intheacknowledgedcharacterofherhusband——whenwesupposedhimtobevisitingtheestatelefthimbyhisaunt。Yourefusetobelieveit——andIamabouttoputittotheproof。Isityourinterestorisitnot，toknowwhetherthismandeservestheblindbeliefthatyouplaceinhim？“
　　Blanchetrembledfromheadtofoot，andmadenoreply。
　　“Iamgoingintothegarden，tospeaktoMr。Brinkworththroughthesmoking-roomwindow，“pursuedherladyship。“Haveyouthecouragetocomewithme；towaitbehindoutofsight；andtohearwhathesayswithhisownlips？Iamnotafraidofputtingittothattest。Areyou？“
　　ThetoneinwhichsheaskedthequestionrousedBlanche’sspirit。
　　“IfIbelievedhimtobeguilty，“shesaid，resolutely，“Ishould_not_havethecourage。Ibelievehimtobeinnocent。Leadtheway，LadyLundie，assoonasyouplease。“
　　Theylefttheroom——Blanche’sownroomatHamFarm——anddescendedtothehall。LadyLundiestopped，andconsultedtherailwaytime-tablehangingnearthehouse-door。
　　“ThereisatraintoLondonataquartertotwelve，“shesaid。
　　“Howlongdoesittaketowalktothestation？“
　　“Whydoyouask？“
　　“Youwillsoonknow。Answermyquestion。“
　　“It’sawalkoftwentyminutestothestation。“
　　LadyLundiereferredtoherwatch。“Therewillbejusttime，“shesaid。
　　“Timeforwhat？“
　　“Comeintothegarden。“
　　Withthatanswer，sheledthewayoutThesmoking-roomprojectedatrightanglesfromthewallofthehouse，inanoblongform——withabow-windowatthefartherend，lookingintothegarden。Beforesheturnedthecorner，andshowedherselfwithintherangeofviewfromthewindowLadyLundielookedback，andsignedtoBlanchetowaitbehindtheangleofthewall。Blanchewaited。
　　Thenextinstantsheheardthevoicesinconversationthroughtheopenwindow。Arnold’svoicewasthefirstthatspoke。
　　“LadyLundie!Why，wedidn’texpectyoutillluncheontime!“
　　LadyLundiewasreadywithheranswer。
　　“IwasabletoleavetownearlierthanIhadanticipated。Don’tputoutyourcigar；anddon’tmove。Iamnotcomingin。“
　　Thequickinterchangeofquestionandanswerwenton；everywordbeingaudibleintheperfectstillnessoftheplace。Arnoldwasthenexttospeak。
　　“HaveyouseenBlanche？“