Hehadonlytofinishthesentence，andthethingwasdone。Butthetenderpassionperverselydelightsinraisingobstaclestoitself。AsuddentimidityseizedonArnoldexactlyatthewrongmoment。Hestoppedshort，inthemostawkwardmannerpossible。
Blancheheardfromthelawntheblowofthemalletontheball，andthelaughterofthecompanyatsomeblunderofSirPatrick’s。
Theprecioussecondswereslippingaway。ShecouldhaveboxedArnoldonbothearsforbeingsounreasonablyafraidofher。
“Well，“shesaid，impatiently，“ifIdidlookinyourface，whatshouldIsee？“
Arnoldmadeanotherplunge。Heanswered：“YouwouldseethatI
wantalittleencouragement。“
“From_me？_“
“Yes——ifyouplease。“
Blanchelookedbackoverhershoulder。Thesummer-housestoodonaneminence，approachedbysteps。Theplayersonthelawnbeneathwereaudible，butnotvisible。Anyoneofthemmightappear，unexpectedly，atamoment’snotice。Blanchelistened。Therewasnosoundofapproachingfootsteps——therewasageneralhush，andthenanotherbangofthemalletontheballandthenaclappingofhands。SirPatrickwasaprivilegedperson。Hehadbeenallowed，inallprobability，totryagain；andhewassucceedingatthesecondeffort。Thisimpliedareprieveofsomeseconds。
BlanchelookedbackagainatArnold。
“Consideryourselfencouraged，“shewhispered；andinstantlyadded，withtheineradicablefemaleinstinctofself-defense，“withinlimits!“
Arnoldmadealastplunge——straighttothebottom，thistime。
“Consideryourselfloved，“heburstout，“withoutanylimitsatall。“
Itwasallover——thewordswerespoken——hehadgotherbythehand。Againtheperversityofthetenderpassionshoweditselfmorestronglythanever。TheconfessionwhichBlanchehadbeenlongingtohear，hadbarelyescapedherlover’slipsbeforeBlancheprotestedagainstit!Shestruggledtoreleaseherhand。
SheformallyappealedtoArnoldtolethergo。
Arnoldonlyheldherthetighter。
“Dotrytolikemealittle!“hepleaded。“Iamsofondof_you!_“
Whowastoresistsuchwooingasthis？——whenyouwereprivatelyfondofhimyourself，remember，andwhenyouwerecertaintobeinterruptedinanothermoment!Blancheleftoffstruggling，andlookedupatheryoungsailorwithasmile。
“Didyoulearnthismethodofmakingloveinthemerchant-service？“sheinquired，saucily。
Arnoldpersistedincontemplatinghisprospectsfromtheseriouspointofview。
“I’llgobacktothemerchant-service，“hesaid，“ifIhavemadeyouangrywithme。“
Blancheadministeredanotherdoseofencouragement。
“Anger，Mr。Brinkworth，isoneofthebadpassions，“sheanswered，demurely。“Ayoungladywhohasbeenproperlybroughtuphasnobadpassions。“
Therewasasuddencryfromtheplayersonthelawn——acryfor“Mr。Brinkworth。“Blanchetriedtopushhimout。Arnoldwasimmovable。
“SaysomethingtoencouragemebeforeIgo，“hepleaded。“Onewordwilldo。Say，Yes。“
Blancheshookherhead。Nowshehadgothim，thetemptationtoteasehimwasirresistible。
“Quiteimpossible!“sherejoined。“Ifyouwantanymoreencouragement，youmustspeaktomyuncle。“
“I’llspeaktohim，“returnedArnold，“beforeIleavethehouse。“
Therewasanothercryfor“Mr。Brinkworth。“Blanchemadeanotherefforttopushhimout。
“Go!“shesaid。“Andmindyougetthroughthehoop!“
Shehadbothhandsonhisshoulders——herfacewasclosetohis——shewassimplyirresistible。Arnoldcaughtherroundthewaistandkissedher。Needlesstotellhimtogetthroughthehoop。Hehadsurelygotthroughitalready!Blanchewasspeechless。Arnold’slasteffortintheartofcourtshiphadtakenawayherbreath。Beforeshecouldrecoverherselfasoundofapproachingfootstepsbecameplainlyaudible。Arnoldgaveheralastsqueeze，andranout。
Shesankonthenearestchair，andclosedhereyesinaflutterofdeliciousconfusion。
Thefootstepsascendingtothesummer-housecamenearer。Blancheopenedhereyes，andsawAnneSilvester，standingalone，lookingather。Shesprangtoherfeet，andthrewherarmsimpulsivelyroundAnne’sneck。
“Youdon’tknowwhathashappened，“shewhispered。“Wishmejoy，darling。Hehassaidthewords。Heismineforlife!“
Allthesisterlyloveandsisterlyconfidenceofmanyyearswasexpressedinthatembrace，andinthetoneinwhichthewordswerespoken。Theheartsofthemothers，inthepasttime，couldhardlyhavebeenclosertoeachother——asitseemed——thantheheartsofthedaughterswerenow。Andyet，ifBlanchehadlookedupinAnne’sfaceatthatmoment，shemusthaveseenthatAnne’smindwasfarawayfromherlittlelove-story。
“Youknowwhoitis？“shewenton，afterwaitingforareply。
“Mr。Brinkworth？“
“Ofcourse!Whoelseshoulditbe？“
“Andyouarereallyhappy，mylove？“
“Happy？“repeatedBlanche“Mind!thisisstrictlybetweenourselves。Iamreadytojumpoutofmyskinforjoy。Ilovehim!
Ilovehim!Ilovehim!“shecried，withachildishpleasureinrepeatingthewords。Theywereechoedbyaheavysigh。BlancheinstantlylookedupintoAnne’sface。“What’sthematter？“sheasked，withasuddenchangeofvoiceandmanner。
“Nothing。“
Blanche’sobservationsawtooplainlytobeblindedinthatway。
“There_is_somethingthematter，“shesaid。“Isitmoney？“sheadded，afteramoment’sconsideration。“Billstopay？Ihavegotplentyofmoney，Anne。I’lllendyouwhatyoulike。“
“No，no，mydear!“
Blanchedrewback，alittlehurt。AnnewaskeepingheratadistanceforthefirsttimeinBlanche’sexperienceofher。
“Itellyouallmysecrets，“shesaid。“Whyare_you_keepingasecretfrom_me？_Doyouknowthatyouhavebeenlookinganxiousandoutofspiritsforsometimepast？Perhapsyoudon’tlikeMr。
Brinkworth？No？you_do_likehim？Isitmymarrying，then？I
believeitis!Youfancyweshallbeparted，yougoose？AsifI
coulddowithoutyou!Ofcourse，whenIammarriedtoArnold，youwillcomeandlivewithus。That’squiteunderstoodbetweenus——isn’tit？“
Annedrewherselfsuddenly，almostroughly，awayfromBlanche，andpointedouttothesteps。
“Thereissomebodycoming，“shesaid。“Look!“
ThepersoncomingwasArnold。ItwasBlanche’sturntoplay，andhehadvolunteeredtofetchher。
Blanche’sattention——easilyenoughdistractedonotheroccasions——remainedsteadilyfixedonAnne。
“Youarenotyourself，“shesaid，“andImustknowthereasonofit。Iwillwaittillto-night；andthenyouwilltellme，whenyoucomeintomyroom。Don’tlooklikethat!You_shall_tellme。
Andthere’sakissforyouinthemeantime!“
ShejoinedArnold，andrecoveredhergayetythemomentshelookedathim。
“Well？Haveyougotthroughthehoops？“
“Nevermindthehoops。IhavebrokentheicewithSirPatrick。“
“What!beforeallthecompany!“
“Ofcoursenot!Ihavemadeanappointmenttospeaktohimhere。“
Theywentlaughingdownthesteps，andjoinedthegame。
Leftalone，AnneSilvesterwalkedslowlytotheinneranddarkerpartofthesummer-house。Aglass，inacarvedwoodenframe，wasfixedagainstoneofthesidewalls。Shestoppedandlookedintoit——looked，shuddering，atthereflectionofherself。
“Isthetimecoming，“shesaid，“whenevenBlanchewillseewhatIaminmyface？“
Sheturnedasidefromtheglass。Withasuddencryofdespairsheflungupherarmsandlaidthemheavilyagainstthewall，andrestedherheadonthemwithherbacktothelight。Atthesamemomentaman’sfigureappeared——standingdarkinthefloodofsunshineattheentrancetothesummer-house。ThemanwasGeoffreyDelamayn。