Shecamenearer，andlaidherhandpersuasivelyonhisarm。
“Haven’tyouawordtosaytome？Noanswer？Notevenalook？“
Shewaitedamomentmore。Amarkedchangecameoverher。Sheturnedslowlytoleavethesummer-house。“Iamsorrytohavetroubledyou，Mr。Delamayn。Iwon’tdetainyouanylonger。“
Helookedather。Therewasatoneinhervoicethathehadneverheardbefore。Therewasalightinhereyesthathehadneverseeninthembefore。Suddenlyandfiercelyhereachedouthishand，andstoppedher。
“Whereareyougoing？“heasked。
Sheanswered，lookinghimstraightintheface，“Wheremanyamiserablewomanhasgonebeforeme。Outoftheworld。“
Hedrewhernearertohim，andeyedherclosely。Even_his_
intelligencediscoveredthathehadbroughthertobay，andthatshereallymeantit!
“Doyoumeanyouwilldestroyyourself？“hesaid。
“Yes。ImeanIwilldestroymyself。“
Hedroppedherarm。“ByJupiter，she_does_meanit!“
Withthatconvictioninhim，hepushedoneofthechairsinthesummer-housetoherwithhisfoot，andsignedtohertotakeit。
“Sitdown!“hesaid，roughly。Shehadfrightenedhim——andfearcomesseldomtomenofhistype。Theyfeelit，whenitdoescome，withanangrydistrust；theygrowloudandbrutal，ininstinctiveprotestagainstit。“Sitdown!“herepeated。Sheobeyedhim。
“Haven’tyougotawordtosaytome？“heasked，withanoath。
No!thereshesat，immovable，recklesshowitended——asonlywomencanbe，whenwomen’smindsaremadeup。Hetookaturninthesummer-houseandcameback，andstruckhishandangrilyontherailofherchair。“Whatdoyouwant？“
“YouknowwhatIwant。“
Hetookanotherturn。Therewasnothingforitbuttogivewayonhisside，orruntheriskofsomethinghappeningwhichmightcauseanawkwardscandal，andcometohisfather’sears。
“Lookhere，Anne，“hebegan，abruptly。“Ihavegotsomethingtopropose。“
Shelookedupathim。
“Whatdoyousaytoaprivatemarriage？“
Withoutaskingasinglequestion，withoutmakingobjections，sheansweredhim，speakingasbluntlyashehadspokenhimself：
“Iconsenttoaprivatemarriage。“
Hebegantotemporizedirectly。
“IownIdon’tseehowit’stobemanaged——“
Shestoppedhimthere。
“Ido!“
“What!“hecriedout，suspiciously。“Youhavethoughtofityourself，haveyou？“
“Yes。“
“Andplannedforit？“
“Andplannedforit!“
“Whydidn’tyoutellmesobefore？“
Sheansweredhaughtily；insistingontherespectwhichisduetowomen——therespectwhichwasdoublyduefrom_him，_inherposition。
“Because_you_oweditto_me，_Sir，tospeakfirst。“
“Verywell。I’vespokenfirst。Willyouwaitalittle？“
“Notaday!“
Thetonewaspositive。Therewasnomistakingit。Hermindwasmadeup。
“Where’sthehurry？“
“Haveyoueyes？“sheasked，vehemently。“Haveyouears？DoyouseehowLadyLundielooksatme？DoyouhearhowLadyLundiespeakstome？Iamsuspectedbythatwoman。Myshamefuldismissalfromthishousemaybeaquestionofafewhours。“Herheadsunkonherbosom；shewrungherclaspedhandsastheyrestedonherlap。“And，oh，Blanche!“shemoanedtoherself，thetearsgatheringagain，andfalling，thistime，unchecked。“Blanche，wholooksuptome!Blanche，wholovesme!Blanche，whotoldme，inthisveryplace，thatIwastolivewithherwhenshewasmarried!“Shestartedupfromthechair；thetearsdriedsuddenly；theharddespairsettledagain，wanandwhite，onherface。“Letmego!Whatisdeath，comparedtosuchalifeasiswaitingfor_me？_“Shelookedhimover，inonedisdainfulglancefromheadtofoot；hervoicerosetoitsloudestandfirmesttones。“Why，even_you_；wouldhavethecouragetodieifyouwereinmyplace!“
Geoffreyglancedroundtowardthelawn。
“Hush!“hesaid。“Theywillhearyou!“
“Letthemhearme!When_I_ampasthearing_them_，whatdoesitmatter？“
Heputherbackbymainforceonthechair。Inanothermomenttheymusthaveheardher，throughallthenoiseandlaughterofthegame。
“Saywhatyouwant，“heresumed，“andI’lldoit。Onlybereasonable。Ican’tmarryyouto-day。“
“Youcan!“
“Whatnonsenseyoutalk!Thehouseandgroundsareswarmingwithcompany。Itcan’tbe!“
“Itcan!Ihavebeenthinkingaboutiteversincewecametothishouse。Ihavegotsomethingtoproposetoyou。Willyouhearit，ornot？“
“Speaklower!“
“Willyouhearit，ornot？“
“There’ssomebodycoming!“
“Willyouhearit，ornot？“
“Thedeviltakeyourobstinacy!Yes!“
Theanswerhadbeenwrungfromhim。Still，itwastheanswershewanted——itopenedthedoortohope。Theinstanthehadconsentedtohearherhermindawakenedtotheseriousnecessityofavertingdiscoverybyanythirdpersonwhomightstrayidlyintothesummer-house。Sheheldupherhandforsilence，andlistenedtowhatwasgoingforwardonthelawn。
Thedullthumpofthecroquet-malletagainsttheballwasnolongertobeheard。Thegamehadstopped。
Inamomentmoresheheardherownnamecalled。Anintervalofanotherinstantpassed，andafamiliarvoicesaid，“Iknowwheresheis。I’llfetchher。“
SheturnedtoGeoffrey，andpointedtothebackofthesummer-house。
“It’smyturntoplay，“shesaid。“AndBlancheiscomingheretolookforme。Waitthere，andI’llstopheronthesteps。“
Shewentoutatonce。Itwasacriticalmoment。Discovery，whichmeantmoral-ruintothewoman，meantmoney-ruintotheman。
Geoffreyhadnotexaggeratedhispositionwithhisfather。LordHolchesterhadtwicepaidhisdebts，andhaddeclinedtoseehimsince。Onemoreoutrageonhisfather’srigidsenseofpropriety，andhewouldbeleftoutofthewillaswellaskeptoutofthehouse。Helookedforameansofretreat，incasetherewasnoescapingunperceivedbythefrontentrance。Adoor——intendedfortheuseofservants，whenpicnicsandgipsytea-partiesweregiveninthesummer-house——hadbeenmadeinthebackwall。Itopenedoutward，anditwaslocked。Withhisstrengthitwaseasytoremovethatobstacle。Heputhisshouldertothedoor。Atthemomentwhenheburstitopenhefeltahandonhisarm。Annewasbehindhim，alone。
“Youmaywantitbeforelong，“shesaid，observingtheopendoor，withoutexpressinganysurprise，“Youdon’twantitnow。Anotherpersonwillplayforme——IhavetoldBlancheIamnotwell。Sitdown。Ihavesecuredarespiteoffiveminutes，andImustmakethemostofit。Inthattime，orless，LadyLundie’ssuspicionswillbringherhere——toseehowIam。Forthepresent，shutthedoor。“
Sheseatedherself，andpointedtoasecondchair。Hetookit——withhiseyeonthecloseddoor。
“Cometothepoint!“hesaid，impatiently。“Whatisit？“
“Youcanmarrymeprivatelyto-day，“sheanswered。“Listen——andIwilltellyouhow!“