Shewasstillpursuingthetrainofthoughtthussuggested，whenthegate-bellrang。
Thenoisesinthespareroomsuddenlystopped。
Annelookedout。Theroofofacarriagewasvisibleontheothersideofthewall。SirPatrickandBlanchehadarrived。AfteranintervalHesterDethridgeappearedinthegarden，andwenttothegratinginthegate。AnneheardSirPatrick’svoice，clearandresolute。Everywordhesaidreachedherearsthroughtheopenwindow。
“BesogoodastogivemycardtoMr。Delamayn。SaythatIbringhimamessagefromHolchesterHouse，andthatIcanonlydeliveritatapersonalinterview。“
HesterDethridgereturnedtothecottage。Another，andalongerintervalelapsed。Attheendofthetime，Geoffreyhimselfappearedinthefrontgarden，withthekeyinhishand。Anne’sheartthrobbedfastasshesawhimunlockthegate，andaskedherselfwhatwastofollow。
Toherunutterableastonishment，GeoffreyadmittedSirPatrickwithouttheslightesthesitation——and，morestill，heinvitedBlanchetoleavethecarriageandcomein!
“Letby-gonesbeby-gones，“AnneheardhimsaytoSirPatrick。“I
onlywanttodotherightthing。Ifit’stherightthingforvisitorstocomehere，sosoonaftermyfather’sdeath，come，andwelcome。Myownnotionwas，whenyouproposeditbefore，thatitwaswrong。Iamnotmuchversedinthesethings。Ileaveittoyou。“
“Avisitorwhobringsyoumessagesfromyourmotherandyourbrother，“SirPatrickansweredgravely，“isapersonwhomitisyourdutytoadmit，Mr。Delamayn，underanycircumstances。“
“Andheoughttobenonethelesswelcome，“addedBlanche，“whenheisaccompaniedbyyourwife’soldestanddearestfriend。“
Geoffreylooked，instolidsubmission，fromonetotheother。
“Iamnotmuchversedinthesethings，“herepeated。“Ihavesaidalready，Ileaveittoyou。“
TheywerebythistimecloseunderAnne’swindow。Sheshowedherself。SirPatricktookoffhishat。Blanchekissedherhandwithacryofjoy，andattemptedtoenterthecottage。Geoffreystoppedher——andcalledtohiswifetocomedown。
“No!no!“saidBlanche。“Letmegouptoherinherroom。“
Sheattemptedforthesecondtimetogainthestairs。ForthesecondtimeGeoffreystoppedher。“Don’ttroubleyourself，“hesaid；“sheiscomingdown。“
Annejoinedtheminthefrontgarden。Blancheflewintoherarmsanddevouredherwithkisses。SirPatricktookherhandinsilence。ForthefirsttimeinAnne’sexperienceofhim，thebright，resolute，self-reliantoldmanwas，forthemoment，atalosswhattosay，atalosswhattodo。Hiseyes，restingonherinmutesympathyandinterest，saidplainly，“Inyourhusband’spresenceImustnottrustmyselftospeak。“
Geoffreybrokethesilence。
“Willyougointothedrawing-room？“heasked，lookingwithsteadyattentionathiswifeandBlanche。
Geoffrey’svoiceappearedtorouseSirPatrick。Heraisedhishead——helookedlikehimselfagain。
“Whygoindoorsthislovelyweather？“hesaid。“Supposewetakeaturninthegarden？“
BlanchepressedAnne’shandsignificantly。Theproposalwasevidentlymadeforapurpose。Theyturnedthecornerofthecottageandgainedthelargegardenattheback——thetwoladieswalkingtogether，arminarm；SirPatrickandGeoffreyfollowingthem。Littlebylittle，Blanchequickenedherpace。“Ihavegotmyinstructions，“shewhisperedtoAnne。“Let’sgetoutofhishearing。“
Itwasmoreeasilysaidthandone。Geoffreykeptclosebehindthem。
“Considermylameness，Mr。Delamayn，“saidSirPatrick。“Notquitesofast。“
Itwaswellintended。ButGeoffrey’scunninghadtakenthealarm。
InsteadofdroppingbehindwithSirPatrick，hecalledtohiswife。
“ConsiderSirPatrick’slameness，“herepeated。“Notquitesofast。“
SirPatrickmetthatcheckwithcharacteristicreadiness。WhenAnneslackenedherpace，headdressedhimselftoGeoffrey，stoppingdeliberatelyinthemiddleofthepath。“LetmegiveyoumymessagefromHolchesterHouse，“hesaid。Thetwoladieswerestillslowlywalkingon。GeoffreywasplacedbetweenthealternativesofstayingwithSirPatrickandleavingthembythemselves——oroffollowingthemandleavingSirPatrick。
Deliberately，onhisside，hefollowedtheladies。
SirPatrickcalledhimback。“ItoldyouIwishedtospeaktoyou，“hesaid，sharply。
Driventobay，GeoffreyopenlyrevealedhisresolutiontogiveBlanchenoopportunityofspeakinginprivatetoAnne。HecalledtoAnnetostop。
“Ihavenosecretsfrommywife，“hesaid。“AndIexpectmywifetohavenosecretsfromme。Givemethemessageinherhearing。“
SirPatrick’seyesbrightenedwithindignation。Hecontrolledhimself，andlookedforaninstantsignificantlyathisniecebeforehespoketoGeoffrey。
“Asyouplease，“hesaid。“Yourbrotherrequestsmetotellyouthatthedutiesofthenewpositioninwhichheisplacedoccupythewholeofhistime，andwillpreventhimfromreturningtoFulham，ashehadproposed，forsomedaystocome。LadyHolchester，hearingthatIwaslikelytoseeyou，haschargedmewithanothermessage，fromherself。Sheisnotwellenoughtoleavehome；andshewishestoseeyouatHolchesterHouseto-morrow——accompaniedasshespeciallydesiresbyMrs。
Delamayn。“
Ingivingthetwomessages，hegraduallyraisedhisvoicetoaloudertonethanusual。Whilehewasspeaking，Blanchewarnedtofollowherinstructionsbytheglanceherunclehadcastather
loweredhervoice，andsaidtoAnne：
“Hewon’tconsenttotheseparationaslongashehasgotyouhere。Heistryingforhigherterms。Leavehim，andhemustsubmit。Putacandleinyourwindow，ifyoucangetintothegardento-night。Ifnot，anyothernight。Makeforthebackgateinthewall。SirPatrickandArnoldwillmanagetherest。“
SheslippedthosewordsintoAnne’sears——swingingherparasoltoandfro，andlookingasifthemerestgossipwasdroppingfromherlips——withthedexteritywhichrarelyfailsawomanwhensheiscalledontoassistadeceptioninwhichherowninterestsareconcerned。Cleverlyasithadbeendone，however，Geoffrey’sinveteratedistrustwasstirredintoactionbyit。BlanchehadgottoherlastsentencebeforehewasabletoturnhisattentionfromwhatSirPatrickwassayingtowhathisniecewassaying。A
quickermanwouldhaveheardmore。Geoffreyhadonlydistinctlyheardthefirsthalfofthelastsentence。
“What’sthat，“heasked，“aboutSirPatrickandArnold？“
“Nothingveryinterestingtoyou，“Blancheanswered，readily。“I
willrepeatitifyoulike。IwastellingAnneaboutmystep-mother，LadyLundie。AfterwhathappenedthatdayinPortlandPlace，shehasrequestedSirPatrickandArnoldtoconsiderthemselves，forthefuture，astotalstrangerstoher。
That’sall。“
“Oh!“saidGeoffrey，eyinghernarrowly。
“Askmyuncle，“returnedBlanche，“ifyoudon’tbelievethatI
havereportedhercorrectly。Shegaveusallourdismissal，inhermostmagnificentmanner，andinthoseverywords。Didn’tshe，SirPatrick？“
Itwasperfectlytrue。Blanche’sreadinessofresourcehadmettheemergencyofthemomentbydescribingsomething，inconnectionwithSirPatrickandArnold，whichhadreallyhappened。Silencedononeside，inspiteofhimself，Geoffreywasatthesamemomentpressedontheotherforananswertohismother’smessage。
“ImusttakeyourreplytoLadyHolchester，“saidSirPatrick。
“Whatisittobe？“
Geoffreylookedhardathim，withoutmakinganyreply。
SirPatrickrepeatedthemessage——withaspecialemphasisonthatpartofitwhichrelatedtoAnne。TheemphasisrousedGeoffrey’stemper。
“Youandmymotherhavemadethatmessageupbetweenyou，totryme!“heburstout。“Damnallunderhandworkiswhat_I_say!“
“Iamwaitingforyouranswer，“persistedSirPatrick，steadilyignoringthewordswhichhadjustbeenaddressedtohim。
GeoffreyglancedatAnne，andsuddenlyrecoveredhimself。
“Mylovetomymother，“hesaid。“I’llgotoherto-morrow——andtakemywifewithme，withthegreatestpleasure。Doyouhearthat？Withthegreatestpleasure。“Hestoppedtoobservetheeffectofhisreply。SirPatrickwaitedimpenetrablytohearmore——ifhehadmoretosay。“I’msorryIlostmytemperjustnow，“heresumed“Iambadlytreated——I’mdistrustedwithoutacause。Iaskyoutobearwitness，“headded，hisvoicegettinglouderagain，whilehiseyesmoveduneasilybackwardandforwardbetweenSirPatrickandAnne，“thatItreatmywifeasbecomesalady。Herfriendcallsonher——andshe’sfreetoreceiveherfriend。Mymotherwantstoseeher——andIpromisetotakehertomymother’s。Attwoo’clockto-morrow。WhereamItoblame？Youstandtherelookingatme，andsayingnothing。WhereamItoblame？“