Sheslowlyturnedherhead，andlookedathimwithadullsurprise。
“Didn’tyousayhehadtoldyoueverything？“sheasked。
“Yes。“
“Don’tyoudespiseawomanlikeme？“
Arnold’sheartwentback，atthatdreadfulquestion，totheonewomanwhowaseternallysacredtohim——tothewomanfromwhosebosomhehaddrawnthebreathoflife。
“Doesthemanlive，“hesaid，“whocanthinkofhismother——anddespisewomen？“
Thatanswersettheprisonedmiseryinherfree。Shegavehimherhand——shefaintlythankedhim。Themercifultearscametoheratlast。
Arnoldrose，andturnedawaytothewindowindespair。“Imeanwell，“hesaid。“AndyetIonlydistressher!“
Sheheardhim，andstraggledtocomposeherself“No，“sheanswered，“youcomfortme。Don’tmindmycrying——I’mthebetterforit。“Shelookedroundathimgratefully。“Iwon’tdistressyou，Mr。Brinkworth。Ioughttothankyou——andIdo。ComebackorIshallthinkyouareangrywithme。“Arnoldwentbacktoher。
Shegavehimherhandoncemore。“Onedoesn’tunderstandpeopleallatonce，“shesaid，simply。“Ithoughtyouwerelikeothermen——Ididn’tknowtillto-dayhowkindyoucouldbe。Didyouwalkhere？“sheadded，suddenly，withanefforttochangethesubject。“Areyoutired？Ihavenotbeenkindlyreceivedatthisplace——butI’msureImayofferyouwhatevertheinnaffords。“
Itwasimpossiblenottofeelforher——itwasimpossiblenottobeinterestedinher。Arnold’shonestlongingtohelpherexpresseditselfalittletooopenlywhenhespokenext。“AllI
want，MissSilvester，istobeofsomeservicetoyou，ifIcan，“
hesaid。“IsthereanythingIcandotomakeyourpositionheremorecomfortable？Youwillstayatthisplace，won’tyou？Geoffreywishesit。“
Sheshuddered，andlookedaway。“Yes!yes!“sheanswered，hurriedly。
“YouwillhearfromGeoffrey，“Arnoldwenton，“to-morrowornextday。Iknowhemeanstowrite。“
“ForHeaven’ssake，don’tspeakofhimanymore!“shecriedout。
“HowdoyouthinkIcanlookyouintheface——“Hercheeksflusheddeep，andhereyesrestedonhimwithamomentaryfirmness。“Mindthis!Iamhiswife，ifpromisescanmakemehiswife!Hehaspledgedhiswordtomebyallthatissacred!“Shecheckedherselfimpatiently。“WhatamIsaying？Whatinterestcan_you_haveinthismiserablestateofthings？Don’tletustalkofit!Ihavesomethingelsetosaytoyou。Letusgobacktomytroubleshere。Didyouseethelandladywhenyoucamein？“
“No。Ionlysawthewaiter。“
“ThelandladyhasmadesomeabsurddifficultyaboutlettingmehavetheseroomsbecauseIcameherealone。“
“Shewon’tmakeanydifficultynow，“saidArnold。“Ihavesettledthat。“
“_You!_“
Arnoldsmiled。Afterwhathadpassed，itwasanindescribablerelieftohimtoseethehumoroussideofhisownpositionattheinn。
“Certainly，“heanswered。“WhenIaskedfortheladywhohadarrivedherealonethisafternoon——“
“Yes。“
“Iwastold，inyourinterests，toaskforherasmywife。“
Annelookedathim——inalarmaswellasinsurprise。
“Youaskedformeasyourwife？“sherepeated。
“Yes。Ihaven’tdonewrong——haveI？AsIunderstoodit，therewasnoalternative。Geoffreytoldmeyouhadsettledwithhimtopresentyourselfhereasamarriedlady，whosehusbandwascomingtojoinher。“
“Ithoughtof_him_whenIsaidthat。Ineverthoughtof_you。“_
“Naturalenough。Still，itcomestothesamethingdoesn’tit？
withthepeopleofthishouse。“
“Idon’tunderstandyou。“
“Iwilltryandexplainmyselfalittlebetter。Geoffreysaidyourpositionheredependedonmyaskingforyouatthedooras_he_wouldhaveaskedforyouifhehadcomeinthecharacterofyourhusband。“
“Hehadnorighttosaythat。“
“Noright？Afterwhatyouhavetoldmeofthelandlady，justthinkwhatmighthavehappenedifhehad_not_saidit!Ihaven’thadmuchexperiencemyselfofthesethings。But——allowmetoask——wouldn’tithavebeenalittleawkwardatmyageifIhadcomehereandinquiredforyouasafriend？Don’tyouthink，inthatcase，thelandladymighthavemadesomeadditionaldifficultyaboutlettingyouhavetherooms？“
Itwasbeyonddisputethatthelandladywouldhaverefusedtolettheroomsatall。ItwasequallyplainthatthedeceptionwhichArnoldhadpracticedonthepeopleoftheinnwasadeceptionwhichAnnehadherselfrenderednecessary，inherowninterests。
Shewasnottoblame；itwasclearlyimpossibleforhertohaveforeseensuchaneventasGeoffrey’sdepartureforLondon。Still，shefeltanuneasysenseofresponsibility——avaguedreadofwhatmighthappennext。Shesatnervouslytwistingherhandkerchiefinherlap，andmadenoanswer。
“Don’tsupposeIobjecttothislittlestratagem，“Arnoldwenton。“Iamservingmyoldfriend，andIamhelpingtheladywhoissoontobehiswife。“
Anneroseabruptlytoherfeet，andamazedhimbyaveryunexpectedquestion。
“Mr。Brinkworth，“shesaid，“forgivemetherudenessofsomethingIamabouttosaytoyou。Whenareyougoingaway？“
Arnoldburstoutlaughing。
“WhenIamquitesureIcandonothingmoretoassistyou，“heanswered。
“Praydon’tthinkof_me_anylonger。“
“Inyoursituation!whoelseamItothinkof？“
Annelaidherhandearnestlyonhisarm，andanswered：
“Blanche!“
“Blanche？“repeatedArnold，utterlyatalosstounderstandher。
“Yes——Blanche。ShefoundtimetotellmewhathadpassedbetweenyouthismorningbeforeIleftWindygates。Iknowyouhavemadeheranoffer：Iknowyouareengagedtobemarriedtoher。“
Arnoldwasdelightedtohearit。Hehadbeenmerelyunwillingtoleaveherthusfar。Hewasabsolutelydeterminedtostaywithhernow。
“Don’texpectmetogoafterthat!“hesaid。“Comeandsitdownagain，andlet’stalkaboutBlanche。“
Annedeclinedimpatiently，byagesture。Arnoldwastoodeeplyinterestedinthenewtopictotakeanynoticeofit。
“Youknowallaboutherhabitsandhertastes，“hewenton，“andwhatshelikes，andwhatshedislikes。It’smostimportantthatI
shouldtalktoyouabouther。Whenwearehusbandandwife，Blancheistohaveallherownwayineverything。That’smyideaoftheWholeDutyofMan——whenManismarried。Youarestillstanding？Letmegiveyouachair。“
Itwascruel——underothercircumstancesitwouldhavebeenimpossible——todisappointhim。ButthevaguefearofconsequenceswhichhadtakenpossessionofAnnewasnottobetrifledwith。
Shehadnoclearconceptionoftheriskanditistobeadded，injusticetoGeoffrey，that_he_hadnoclearconceptionoftheriskonwhichArnoldhadunconsciouslyventured，inundertakinghiserrandtotheinn。Neitherofthemhadanyadequateideafewpeoplehaveoftheinfamousabsenceofallneedfulwarning，ofalldecentprecautionandrestraint，whichmakesthemarriagelawofScotlandatraptocatchunmarriedmenandwomen，tothisday。
But，whileGeoffrey’smindwasincapableoflookingbeyondthepresentemergency，Anne’sfinerintelligencetoldherthatacountrywhichofferedsuchfacilitiesforprivatemarriageasthefacilitiesofwhichshehadproposedtotakeadvantageinherowncase，wasnotacountryinwhichamancouldactasArnoldhadacted，withoutdangerofsomeseriousembarrassmentfollowingasthepossibleresult。Withthismotivetoanimateher，sheresolutelydeclinedtotaketheofferedchair，ortoenterintotheproposedconversation。
“WhateverwehavetosayaboutBlanche，Mr。Brinkworth，mustbesaidatsomefittertime。Ibegyouwillleaveme。“
“Leaveyou!“
“Yes。Leavemetothesolitudethatisbestforme，andtothesorrowthatIhavedeserved。Thankyou——andgood-by。“
Arnoldmadenoattempttodisguisehisdisappointmentandsurprise。
“IfImustgo，Imust，“hesaid，“Butwhyareyouinsuchahurry？“
“Idon’twantyoutocallmeyourwifeagainbeforethepeopleofthisinn。“
“Is_that_all？Whatonearthareyouafraidof？“
Shewasunablefullytorealizeherownapprehensions。Shewasdoublyunabletoexpresstheminwords。Inheranxietytoproducesomereasonwhichmightprevailonhimtogo，shedriftedbackintothatveryconversationaboutBlancheintowhichshehaddeclinedtoenterbutthemomentbefore。