“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？“