SheaccompaniedthelastwordsbyafarewelllookwhicharousedMrs。Vanboroughtofrenzy。ShesprangforwardandpreventedLadyJanefromleavingtheroom。
“No!“shesaid。“Youdon’tgoyet!“
Mr。Vanboroughcameforwardtointerfere。Hiswifeeyedhimwithaterriblelook，andturnedfromhimwithaterriblecontempt。
“Thatmanhaslied!“shesaid。“Injusticetomyself，Iinsistonprovingit!“Shestruckabellonatablenearher。Theservantcamein。“Fetchmywriting-deskoutofthenextroom。“Shewaited——withherbackturnedonherhusband，withhereyesfixedonLadyJane。Defenselessandaloneshestoodonthewreckofhermarriedlife，superiortothehusband’streachery，thelawyer’sindifference，andherrival’scontempt。Atthatdreadfulmomentherbeautyshoneoutagainwithagleamofitsoldglory。Thegrandwoman，whointheoldstagedayshadheldthousandsbreathlessoverthemimicwoesofthescene，stoodtheregranderthanever，inherownwoe，andheldthethreepeoplewholookedatherbreathlesstillshespokeagain。
Theservantcameinwiththedesk。ShetookoutapaperandhandedittoLadyJane。
“Iwasasingeronthestage，“shesaid，“whenIwasasinglewoman。Theslandertowhichsuchwomenareexposeddoubtedmymarriage。Iprovidedmyselfwiththepaperinyourhand。Itspeaksforitself。Eventhehighestsociety，madam，respects_that!_“
LadyJaneexaminedthepaper。Itwasamarriage-certificate。Sheturneddeadlypale，andbeckonedtoMr。Vanborough。“Areyoudeceivingme？“sheasked。
Mr。Vanboroughlookedbackintothefarcorneroftheroom，inwhichthelawyersat，impenetrablywaitingforevents。“Obligemebycominghereforamoment，“hesaid。
Mr。Delamaynroseandcompliedwiththerequest。Mr。VanboroughaddressedhimselftoLadyJane。
“Ibegtoreferyoutomymanofbusiness。_He_isnotinterestedindeceivingyou。“
“AmIrequiredsimplytospeaktothefact？“askedMr。Delamayn。
“Ideclinetodomore。“
“Youarenotwantedtodomore。“
Listeningintentlytothatinterchangeofquestionandanswer，Mrs。Vanboroughadvancedastepinsilence。Thehighcouragethathadsustainedheragainstoutragewhichhadopenlydeclareditselfshrankunderthesenseofsomethingcomingwhichshehadnotforeseen。Anamelessdreadthrobbedatherheartandcreptamongtherootsofherhair。
LadyJanehandedthecertificatetothelawyer。
“Intwowords，Sir，“shesaid，impatiently，“whatisthis？“
“Intwowords，madam，“answeredMr。Delamayn；“wastepaper。“
“Heis_not_married？“
“Heis_not_married。“
Afteramoment’shesitationLadyJanelookedroundatMrs。
Vanborough，standingsilentatherside——looked，andstartedbackinterror。“Takemeaway!“shecried，shrinkingfromtheghastlyfacethatconfrontedherwiththefixedstareofagonyinthegreat，glitteringeyes。“Takemeaway!Thatwomanwillmurderme!“
Mr。Vanboroughgaveherhisarmandledhertothedoor。Therewasdeadsilenceintheroomashedidit。Stepbystepthewife’seyesfollowedthemwiththesamedreadfulstare，tillthedoorclosedandshutthemout。Thelawyer，leftalonewiththedisownedanddesertedwoman，puttheuselesscertificatesilentlyonthetable。Shelookedfromhimtothepaper，anddropped，withoutacrytowarnhim，withoutanefforttosaveherself，senselessathisfeet。
Heliftedherfromthefloorandplacedheronthesofa，andwaitedtoseeifMr。Vanboroughwouldcomeback。Lookingatthebeautifulface——stillbeautiful，evenintheswoon——heowneditwashardonher。Yes!inhisownimpenetrableway，therisinglawyerowneditwashardonher。
Butthelawjustifiedit。Therewasnodoubtinthiscase。Thelawjustifiedit。
Thetramplingofhorsesandthegratingofwheelssoundedoutside。LadyJane’scarriagewasdrivingaway。Wouldthehusbandcomeback？Seewhatathinghabitis!EvenMr。Delamaynstillmechanicallythoughtofhimasthehusband——inthefaceofthelaw!inthefaceofthefacts!
No。Thenminutespassed。Andnosignofthehusbandcomingback。
Itwasnotwisetomakeascandalinthehouse。Itwasnotdesirableonhisownsoleresponsibilitytolettheservantsseewhathadhappened。Still，thereshelaysenseless。Thecooleveningaircameinthroughtheopenwindowandliftedthelightribbonsinherlacecap，liftedthelittlelockofhairthathadbrokenlooseanddroopedoverherneck。Still，thereshelay——thewifewhohadlovedhim，themotherofhischild——thereshelay。
Hestretchedouthishandtoringthebellandsummonhelp。
Atthesamemomentthequietofthesummereveningwasoncemoredisturbed。Heheldhishandsuspendedoverthebell。Thenoiseoutsidecamenearer。Itwasagainthetramplingofhorsesandthegratingofwheels。Advancing——rapidlyadvancing——stoppingatthehouse。
WasLadyJanecomingback？
Wasthehusbandcomingback？
Therewasaloudringatthebell——aquickopeningofthehouse-door——arustlingofawoman’sdressinthepassage。Thedooroftheroomopened，andthewomanappeared——alone。NotLadyJane。Astranger——older，yearsolder，thanLadyJane。Aplainwoman，perhaps，atothertimes。Awomanalmostbeautifulnow，withtheeagerhappinessthatbeamedinherface。
Shesawthefigureonthesofa。Sherantoitwithacry——acryofrecognitionandacryofterrorinone。Shedroppedonherknees——andlaidthathelplessheadonherbosom，andkissed，withasister’skisses，thatcold，whitecheek。
“Oh，mydarling!“shesaid。“Isitthuswemeetagain？“
Yes!Afteralltheyearsthathadpassedsincethepartinginthecabinoftheship，itwasthusthetwoschool-friendsmetagain。
ParttheSecond。
ADVANCINGfromtimepasttotimepresent，thePrologueleavesthedatelastattainedthesummerofeighteenhundredandfifty-five，andtravelsonthroughanintervaloftwelveyears——tellswholived，whodied，whoprospered，andwhofailedamongthepersonsconcernedinthetragedyattheHampsteadvilla——and，thisdone，leavesthereaderattheopeningofTHE
STORYinthespringofeighteenhundredandsixty-eight。
Therecordbeginswithamarriage——themarriageofMr。VanboroughandLadyJaneParnell。