Anne’sparentswereheartlessanddepraved。Theironeidea，inconnectionwiththeirdaughter，wastospeculateonherbeauty，andtoturnherabilitiestoprofitableaccount。
Thegirlswerestartinginlifeunderwidelydifferentconditions。BlanchewasgoingtoIndia，tobegovernessinthehouseholdofaJudge，undercareoftheJudge’swife。AnnewastowaitathomeuntilthefirstopportunityofferedofsendinghercheaplytoMilan。There，amongstrangers，shewastobeperfectedintheactress’sandthesinger’sart；thentoreturntoEngland，andmakethefortuneofherfamilyonthelyricstage。
SuchweretheprospectsofthetwoastheysattogetherinthecabinoftheIndiamanlockedfastineachother’sarms，andcryingbitterly。Thewhisperedfarewelltalkexchangedbetweenthem——exaggeratedandimpulsiveasgirls’talkisapttobe——camehonestly，ineachcase，straightfromtheheart。
“Blanche!youmaybemarriedinIndia。MakeyourhusbandbringyoubacktoEngland。“
“Anne!youmaytakeadisliketothestage。ComeouttoIndiaifyoudo。“
“InEnglandoroutofEngland，marriedornotmarried，wewillmeet，darling——ifit’syearshence——withalltheoldlovebetweenus；friendswhohelpeachother，sisterswhotrusteachother，forlife!Vowit，Blanche!“
“Ivowit，Anne!“
“Withallyourheartandsoul？“
“Withallmyheartandsoul!“
Thesailswerespreadtothewind，andtheshipbegantomoveinthewater。Itwasnecessarytoappealtothecaptain’sauthoritybeforethegirlscouldbeparted。Thecaptaininterferedgentlyandfirmly。“Come，mydear，“hesaid，puttinghisarmroundAnne；
“youwon’tmind_me!_Ihavegotadaughterofmyown。“Anne’sheadfellonthesailor’sshoulder。Heputher，withhisownhands，intotheshore-boatalongside。Infiveminutesmoretheshiphadgatheredway；theboatwasatthelanding-stage——andthegirlshadseenthelastofeachotherformanyalongyeartocome。
Thiswasinthesummerofeighteenhundredandthirty-one。
Twenty-fouryearslater——inthesummerofeighteenhundredandfifty-five——therewasavillaatHampsteadtobelet，furnished。
Thehousewasstilloccupiedbythepersonswhodesiredtoletit。Ontheeveningonwhichthissceneopensaladyandtwogentlemenwereseatedatthedinner-table。Theladyhadreachedthematureageofforty-two。Shewasstillararelybeautifulwoman。Herhusband，someyearsyoungerthanherself，facedheratthetable，sittingsilentandconstrained，andnever，evenbyaccident，lookingathiswife。Thethirdpersonwasaguest。Thehusband’snamewasVanborough。Theguest’snamewasKendrew。
Itwastheendofthedinner。Thefruitandthewinewereonthetable。Mr。VanboroughpushedthebottlesinsilencetoMr。
Kendrew。Theladyofthehouselookedroundattheservantwhowaswaiting，andsaid，“Tellthechildrentocomein。“
Thedooropened，andagirltwelveyearsoldentered，lendingbythehandayoungergirloffive。Theywerebothprettilydressedinwhite，withsashesofthesameshadeoflightblue。Buttherewasnofamilyresemblancebetweenthem。Theeldergirlwasfrailanddelicate，withapale，sensitiveface。Theyoungerwaslightandflorid，withroundredcheeksandbright，saucyeyes——acharminglittlepictureofhappinessandhealth。
Mr。Kendrewlookedinquiringlyattheyoungestofthetwogirls。
“Hereisayounglady，“hesaid，“whoisatotalstrangertome。“
“Ifyouhadnotbeenatotalstrangeryourselfforawholeyearpast，“answeredMrs。Vanborough，“youwouldneverhavemadethatconfession。ThisislittleBlanche——theonlychildofthedearestfriendIhave。WhenBlanche’smotherandIlastsaweachotherweweretwopoorschool-girlsbeginningtheworld。MyfriendwenttoIndia，andmarriedtherelateinlife。Youmayhaveheardofherhusband——thefamousIndianofficer，SirThomasLundie？Yes：’therichSirThomas，’asyoucallhim。LadyLundieisnowonherwaybacktoEngland，forthefirsttimesincesheleftit——Iamafraidtosayhowmanyyearssince。Iexpectedheryesterday；I
expectherto-day——shemaycomeatanymoment。Weexchangedpromisestomeet，intheshipthattookhertoIndia——’vows’wecalledtheminthedearoldtimes。Imaginehowchangedweshallfindeachotherwhenwe_do_meetagainatlast!“
“Inthemeantime，“saidMr。Kendrew，“yourfriendappearstohavesentyouherlittledaughtertorepresenther？It’salongjourneyforsoyoungatraveler。“
“AjourneyorderedbythedoctorsinIndiaayearsince，“
rejoinedMrs。Vanborough。“TheysaidBlanche’shealthrequiredEnglishair。SirThomaswasillatthetime，andhiswifecouldn’tleavehim。ShehadtosendthechildtoEngland，andwhoshouldshesendhertobutme？Lookathernow，andsayiftheEnglishairhasn’tagreedwithher!Wetwomothers，Mr。Kendrew，seemliterallytoliveagaininourchildren。Ihaveanonlychild。Myfriendhasanonlychild。MydaughterislittleAnne——as_I_was。Myfriend’sdaughterislittleBlanche——as_she_was。And，tocrownitall，thosetwogirlshavetakenthesamefancytoeachotherwhichwetooktoeachotherintheby-gonedaysatschool。Onehasoftenheardofhereditaryhatred。
Istheresuchathingashereditaryloveaswell？“
Beforetheguestcouldanswer，hisattentionwasclaimedbythemasterofthehouse。
“Kendrew，“saidMr。Vanborough，“whenyouhavehadenoughofdomesticsentiment，supposeyoutakeaglassofwine？“
Thewordswerespokenwithundisguisedcontemptoftoneandmanner。Mrs。Vanborough’scolorrose。Shewaited，andcontrolledthemomentaryirritation。Whenshespoketoherhusbanditwasevidentlywithawishtosootheandconciliatehim。
“Iamafraid，mydear，youarenotwellthisevening？“
“Ishallbebetterwhenthosechildrenhavedoneclatteringwiththeirknivesandforks。“
Thegirlswerepeelingfruit。Theyoungeronewenton。Theelderstopped，andlookedathermother。Mrs。VanboroughbeckonedtoBlanchetocometoher，andpointedtowardtheFrenchwindowopeningtothefloor。
“Wouldyouliketoeatyourfruitinthegarden，Blanche？“
“Yes，“saidBlanche，“ifAnnewillgowithme。“
Anneroseatonce，andthetwogirlswentawaytogetherintothegarden，handinhand。OntheirdepartureMr。Kendrewwiselystartedanewsubject。Hereferredtothelettingofthehouse。
“Thelossofthegardenwillbeasadlosstothosetwoyoungladies，“hesaid。“Itreallyseemstobeapitythatyoushouldbegivingupthisprettyplace。“
“Leavingthehouseisnottheworstofthesacrifice，“answeredMrs。Vanborough。“IfJohnfindsHampsteadtoofarforhimfromLondon，ofcoursewemustmove。TheonlyhardshipthatIcomplainofisthehardshipofhavingthehousetolet。“
Mr。Vanboroughlookedacrossthetable，asungraciouslyaspossible，athiswife。
“Whathave_you_todowithit？“heasked。
Mrs。Vanboroughtriedtocleartheconjugalhorizonbyasmile。
“MydearJohn，“shesaid，gently，“youforgetthat，whileyouareatbusiness，Iamhereallday。Ican’thelpseeingthepeoplewhocometolookatthehouse。Suchpeople!“shecontinued，turningtoMr。Kendrew。“Theydistrusteverything，fromthescraperatthedoortothechimneysontheroof。Theyforcetheirwayinatallhours。Theyaskallsortsofimpudentquestions——andtheyshowyouplainlythattheydon’tmeantobelieveyouranswers，beforeyouhavetimetomakethem。Somewretchofawomansays，’Doyouthinkthedrainsareright？’——andsniffssuspiciously，beforeIcansayYes。Somebruteofamanasks，’Areyouquitesurethishouseissolidlybuilt，ma’am？’——andjumpsontheflooratthefullstretchofhislegs，withoutwaitingformetoreply。Nobodybelievesinourgravelsoilandoursouthaspect。Nobodywantsanyofourimprovements。
ThemomenttheyhearofJohn’sArtesianwell，theylookasiftheyneverdrankwater。And，iftheyhappentopassmypoultry-yard，theyinstantlyloseallappreciationofthemeritsofafreshegg!“
Mr。Kendrewlaughed。“Ihavebeenthroughitallinmytime，“hesaid。“Thepeoplewhowanttotakeahousearethebornenemiesofthepeoplewhowanttoletahouse。Odd——isn’tit，Vanborough？“
Mr。Vanborough’ssullenhumorresistedhisfriendasobstinatelyasithadresistedhiswife。
“Idaresay，“heanswered。“Iwasn’tlistening。“
Thistimethetonewasalmostbrutal。Mrs。Vanboroughlookedatherhusbandwithunconcealedsurpriseanddistress。
“John!“shesaid。“What_can_bethematterwithyou？Areyouinpain？“
“Amanmaybeanxiousandworried，Isuppose，withoutbeingactuallyinpain。“
“Iamsorrytohearyouareworried。Isitbusiness？“
“Yes——business。“
“ConsultMr。Kendrew。“
“Iamwaitingtoconsulthim。“