SirPatrickwaitedinthehall。Eventhemomentarydelayofenteringoneofthereception-roomswasmorethanhecouldendureatthatmoment。Anne’shappinesswashopelesslysacrificedalready。Thepreservationofherpersonalsafety——whichSirPatrickfirmlybelievedtobeindanger——wastheoneservicewhichitwaspossibletorendertohernow。Theperilouspositioninwhichshestoodtowardherhusband——asanimmovableobstacle，whileshelived，betweenGeoffreyandMrs。Glenarm——wasbeyondthereachofremedy。ButitwasstillpossibletopreventherfrombecomingtheinnocentcauseofGeoffrey’specuniaryruin，bystandinginthewayofareconciliationbetweenfatherandson。
ResolutetoleavenomeansuntriedofservingAnne’sinterests，SirPatrickhadallowedArnoldandBlanchetogotohisownresidenceinLondon，alone，andhadnotevenwaitedtosayafarewellwordtoanyofthepersonswhohadtakenpartintheinquiry。“HerlifemaydependonwhatIcandoforheratHolchesterHouse!“Withthatconvictioninhim，hehadleftPortlandPlace。Withthatconvictioninhim，hehadsenthismessagetoLadyHolchester，andwasnowwaitingforthereply。
Theservantappearedagainonthestairs。SirPatrickwentuptomeethim。
“Herladyshipwillseeyou，Sir，forafewminutes。“
Thedoorofanupperroomwasopened；andSirPatrickfoundhimselfinthepresenceofGeoffrey’smother。Therewasonlytimetoobservethatshepossessedtheremainsofrarepersonalbeauty，andthatshereceivedhervisitorwithagraceandcourtesywhichimpliedunderthecircumstancesaconsiderateregardfor_his_positionattheexpenseofherown。