Whowasthewoman？Themanwhosavedherlifeneverknew。Themagistratewhoremandedher，thechaplainwhoexhortedher，thereporterwhoexhibitedherinprint，neverknew。Itwasrecordedofherwithsurprisethat，thoughmostrespectablydressed，shehadneverthelessdescribedherselfasbeing“indistress。”Shehadexpressedthedeepestcontrition，buthadpersistedingivinganamewhichwasonthefaceofitafalseone;intellingacommonplacestory，whichwasmanifestlyaninvention;andinrefusingtothelasttofurnishanyclewtoherfriends。Aladyconnectedwithacharitableinstitution“interestedbyherextremeeleganceandbeauty“hadvolunteeredtotakechargeofher，andtobringherintoabetterframeofmind。Thefirstday’sexperienceofthepenitenthadbeenfarfromcheering，andthesecondday’sexperiencehadbeenconclusive。Shehadlefttheinstitutionbystealth;and——thoughthevisitingclergyman，takingaspecialinterestinthecase，hadcausedspecialeffortstobemade——allsearchafterher，fromthattimeforth，hadprovedfruitless。
WhilethisuselessinvestigationundertakenatAllan’sexpressdesirewasinprogress，thelawyershadsettledthepreliminaryformalitiesconnectedwiththesuccessiontotheproperty。AllthatremainedwasforthenewmasterofThorpeAmbrosetodecidewhenhewouldpersonallyestablishhimselfontheestateofwhichhewasnowthelegalpossessor。
Leftnecessarilytohisownguidanceinthismatter，Allansettleditforhimselfinhisusualhot-headed，generousway。HepositivelydeclinedtotakepossessionuntilMrs。Blanchardandherniecewhohadbeenpermittedthusfar，asamatterofcourtesy，toremainintheiroldhomehadrecoveredfromthecalamitythathadbefallenthem，andwerefittodecideforthemselveswhattheirfutureproceedingsshouldbe。Aprivatecorrespondencefollowedthisresolution，comprehending，onAllan’sside，unlimitedoffersofeverythinghehadtogiveinahousewhichhehadnotyetseen，and，ontheladies’side，adiscreetlyreluctantreadinesstoprofitbytheyounggentleman’sgenerosityinthematteroftime。Totheastonishmentofhislegaladvisers，Allanenteredtheirofficeonemorning，accompaniedbyMr。Brock，andannounced，withperfectcomposure，thattheladieshadbeengoodenoughtotakehisownarrangementsoffhishands，andthat，indeferencetotheirconvenience，hemeanttodeferestablishinghimselfatThorpeAmbrosetillthatdaytwomonths。ThelawyersstaredatAllan，andAllan，returningthecompliment，staredatthelawyers。
“Whatonearthareyouwonderingat，gentlemen？”heinquired，withaboyishbewildermentinhisgood-humoredblueeyes。“Whyshouldn’tIgivetheladiestheirtwomonths，iftheladieswantthem？Letthepoorthingstaketheirowntime，andwelcome。Myrights？andmyposition？Oh，pooh！pooh！I’minnohurrytobesquireoftheparish;it’snotinmyway。WhatdoImeantodoforthetwomonths？WhatIshouldhavedoneanyhow，whethertheladieshadstayedornot;Imeantogocruisingatsea。That’swhat_I_like！I’vegotanewyachtathomeinSomersetshire——ayachtofmyownbuilding。AndI’lltellyouwhat，sir。”continuedAllan，seizingtheheadpartnerbythearminthefervorofhisfriendlyintentions，“youlooksadlyinwantofaholidayinthefreshair，andyoushallcomealongwithmeonthetrialtripofmynewvessel。Andyourpartners，too，iftheylike。Andtheheadclerk，whoisthebestfellowIevermetwithinmylife。Plentyofroom——we’llallshakedowntogetheronthefloor，andwe’llgiveMr。Brockarugonthecabintable。ThorpeAmbrosebehanged！Doyoumeantosay，ifyouhadbuiltavesselyourselfasIhave，youwouldgotoanyestateinthethreekingdoms，whileyourownlittlebeautywassittinglikeaduckonthewaterathome，andwaitingforyoutotryher？Youlegalgentlemenaregreathandsatargument。Whatdoyouthinkofthatargument？I
thinkit’sunanswerable——andI’mofftoSomersetshireto-morrow。”