Buttheresultofputtingthedeceptioninpracticewas，tosaytheleastofit，alittleembarrassingatfirst。HerewasthewaiterdescribingMissSilvesterashis“goodlady；“andleavingitmostnaturallyandproperlytothe“goodlady’s“husbandtoknockatherbedroomdoor，andtellherthathewasthere。Indespairofknowingwhatelsetodoatthemoment，Arnoldaskedforthelandlady，whomhehadnotseenonarrivingattheinn。
“Thelandleddy’sjusttottin’uptheledgerso’thehottleinherainroom，“answeredMr。Bishopriggs。“She’llbehereanon——thewearyfulwoman!——speerin’whoyeareandwhatyeare，andtakin’
a’thebusinesso’thehooseonherainpairo’shouthers。“Hedroppedthesubjectofthelandlady，andputinapleaforhimself。“Iha’lookitaftera’theleddy’slittlecomforts，Sir，“hewhispered。“Trustinme!trustinme!“
Arnold’sattentionwasabsorbedintheveryseriousdifficultyofannouncinghisarrivaltoAnne。“HowamItogetherout？“hesaidtohimself，withalookofperplexitydirectedatthebedroomdoor。
Hehadspokenloudenoughforthewaitertohearhim。Arnold’slookofperplexitywasinstantlyreflectedonthefaceofMr。
Bishopriggs。Thehead-waiteratCraigFerniepossessedanimmenseexperienceofthemannersandcustomsofnewly-marriedpeopleontheirhoneymoontrip。Hehadbeenasecondfatherwithexcellentpecuniaryresultstoinnumerablebridesandbridegrooms。Heknewyoungmarriedcouplesinalltheirvarieties：——Thecoupleswhotrytobehaveasiftheyhadbeenmarriedformanyyears；thecoupleswhoattemptnoconcealment，andtakeadvicefromcompetentauthoritiesaboutthem。Thecoupleswhoarebashfullytalkativebeforethirdpersons；thecoupleswhoarebashfullysilentundersimilarcircumstances。Thecoupleswhodon’tknowwhattodo，thecoupleswhowishitwasover；thecoupleswhomustneverbeintrudeduponwithoutcarefulpreliminaryknockingatthedoor；thecoupleswho_can_eatanddrinkintheintervalsof“bliss，“andtheothercoupleswho_can’t。_Butthebridegroomwhostoodhelplessononesideofthedoor，andthebridewhoremainedlockedinontheother，werenewvarietiesofthenuptialspecies，eveninthevastexperienceofMr。Bishopriggshimself。
“Hooareyetogetheroot？“herepeated。“I’llshowyehoo!“Headvancedasrapidlyashisgoutyfeetwouldlethim，andknockedatthebedroomdoor。“Eh，myleddy!hereheisinfleshandbluid。Mercypreserveus!doyelockthedoorofthenuptialchamberinyourhusband’sface？“
Atthatunanswerableappealthelockwasheardturninginthedoor。Mr。BishopriggswinkedatArnoldwithhisoneavailableeye，andlaidhisforefingerknowinglyalonghisenormousnose。
“I’mawaybeforeshefallsintoyourarms!RelyonitI’llnocomeinagainwithoutknockingfirst!“
HeleftArnoldaloneintheroom。Thebedroomdooropenedslowlybyafewinchesatatime。Anne’svoicewasjustaudiblespeakingcautiouslybehindit。
“Isthatyou，Geoffrey？“
Arnold’sheartbegantobeatfast，inanticipationofthedisclosurewhichwasnowcloseathand。Heknewneitherwhattosayordo——heremainedsilent。
Annerepeatedthequestioninloudertones：
“Isthatyou？“
Therewasthecertainprospectofalarmingher，ifsomereplywasnotgiven。Therewasnohelpforit。Comewhatcomemight，Arnoldanswered，inawhisper：
“Yes。“
Thedoorwasflungwideopen。AnneSilvesterappearedonthethreshold，confrontinghim。
“Mr。Brinkworth!!!“sheexclaimed，standingpetrifiedwithastonishment。
Foramomentmoreneitherofthemspoke。Anneadvancedonestepintothesitting-room，andputthenextinevitablequestion，withaninstantaneouschangefromsurprisetosuspicion。
“Whatdoyouwanthere？“
Geoffrey’sletterrepresentedtheonlypossibleexcuseforArnold’sappearanceinthatplace，andatthattime。
“Ihavegotaletterforyou，“hesaid——andofferedittoher。
Shewasinstantlyonherguard。Theywerelittlebetterthanstrangerstoeachother，asArnoldhadsaid。AsickeningpresentimentofsometreacheryonGeoffrey’spartstruckcoldtoherheart。Sherefusedtotaketheletter。
“Iexpectnoletter，“shesaid。“WhotoldyouIwashere？“Sheputthequestion，notonlywithatoneofsuspicion，butwithalookofcontempt。Thelookwasnotaneasyoneforamantobear。
Itrequiredamomentaryexertionofself-controlonArnold’spart，beforehecouldtrusthimselftoanswerwithdueconsiderationforher。“Isthereawatchsetonmyactions？“shewenton，withrisinganger。“Andare_you_thespy？“
“Youhaven’tknownmeverylong，MissSilvester，“Arnoldanswered，quietly。“Butyououghttoknowmebetterthantosaythat。IamthebearerofaletterfromGeoffrey。“
Shewasanthepointoffollowinghisexample，andofspeakingofGeoffreybyhisChristianname，onherside。Butshecheckedherself，beforethewordhadpassedherlips。
“DoyoumeanMr。Delamayn？“sheasked，coldly。
“Yes。“
“Whatoccasionhave_I_foraletterfromMr。Delamayn？“
Shewasdeterminedtoacknowledgenothing——shekepthimobstinatelyatarm’s-length。Arnolddid，asamatterofinstinct，whatamanoflargerexperiencewouldhavedone，asamatterofcalculation——heclosedwithherboldly，thenandthere。
“MissSilvester!it’snousebeatingaboutthebush。Ifyouwon’ttaketheletter，youforcemetospeakout。Iamhereonaveryunpleasanterrand。Ibegintowish，fromthebottomofmyheart，Ihadneverundertakenit。“
Aquickspasmofpainpassedacrossherface。Shewasbeginning，dimlybeginning，tounderstandhim。Hehesitated。Hisgenerousnatureshrankfromhurtingher。
“Goon，“shesaid，withaneffort。
“Trynottobeangrywithme，MissSilvester。GeoffreyandIareoldfriends。Geoffreyknowshecantrustme——“
“Trustyou？“sheinterposed。“Stop!“
Arnoldwaited。Shewenton，speakingtoherself，nottohim。
“WhenIwasintheotherroomIaskedifGeoffreywasthere。Andthismanansweredforhim。“Shesprangforwardwithacryofhorror。
“Hashetoldyou——“
“ForGod’ssake，readhisletter!“
SheviolentlypushedbackthehandwithwhichArnoldoncemoreofferedtheletter。“Youdon’tlookatme!He_has_toldyou!“
“Readhisletter，“persistedArnold。“Injusticetohim，ifyouwon’tinjusticetome。“
Thesituationwastoopainfultobeendured。Arnoldlookedather，thistime，withaman’sresolutioninhiseyes——spoketoher，thistime，withaman’sresolutioninhisvoice。Shetooktheletter。
“Ibegyourpardon，Sir，“shesaid，withasuddenhumiliationoftoneandmanner，inexpressiblyshocking，inexpressiblypitiabletosee。“Iunderstandmypositionatlast。Iamawomandoublybetrayed。PleasetoexcusewhatIsaidtoyoujustnow，whenI
supposedmyselftohavesomeclaimonyourrespect。Perhapsyouwillgrantmeyourpity？Icanaskfornothingmore。“
Arnoldwassilent。Wordswereuselessinthefaceofsuchutterself-abandonmentasthis。Anymanliving——evenGeoffreyhimself——musthavefeltforheratthatmoment。
Shelookedforthefirsttimeattheletter。Sheopeneditonthewrongside。“Myownletter!“shesaidtoherself。“Inthehandsofanotherman!“
“Lookatthelastpage，“saidArnold。
Sheturnedtothelastpage，andreadthehurriedpenciledlines。
“Villain!villain!villain!“Atthethirdrepetitionoftheword，shecrushedtheletterinthepalmofherhand，andflungitfromhertotheotherendoftheroom。Theinstantafter，thefirethathadflamedupinherdiedout。Feeblyandslowlyshereachedoutherhandtothenearestchair，andsatdowninitwithherbacktoArnold。“Hehasdesertedme!“wasallshesaid。Thewordsfelllowandquietonthesilence：theyweretheutteranceofanimmeasurabledespair。
“Youarewrong!“exclaimedArnold。“Indeed，indeedyouarewrong!
It’snoexcuse——it’sthetruth。Iwaspresentwhenthemessagecameabouthisfather。“
Sheneverheededhim，andnevermoved。Sheonlyrepeatedthewords“Hehasdesertedme!“
“Don’ttakeitinthatway!“pleadedArnold——“praydon’t!It’sdreadfultohearyou；itisindeed。Iamsurehehas_not_
desertedyou。“Therewasnoanswer；nosignthatsheheardhim；
shesatthere，strucktostone。Itwasimpossibletocallthelandladyinatsuchamomentasthis。Indespairofknowinghowelsetorouseher，Arnolddrewachairtoherside，andpattedhertimidlyontheshoulder。“Come!“hesaid，inhissingle-hearted，boyishway。“Cheerupalittle!“