“Ihavereasonsforbeingafraid，“shesaid。“OnethatIcan’tgive；andonethatIcan。SupposeBlancheheardofwhatyouhavedone？Thelongeryoustayhere——themorepeopleyousee——themorechancethereisthatshe_might_hearofit。“
“Andwhatifshedid？“askedArnold，inhisownstraightforwardway。“Doyouthinkshewouldbeangrywithmeformakingmyselfusefulto_you？_“
“Yes，“rejoinedAnne，sharply，“ifshewasjealousofme。“
Arnold’sunlimitedbeliefinBlancheexpresseditself，withouttheslightestcompromise，intwowords：
“That’simpossible!“
Anxiousasshewas，miserableasshewas，afaintsmileflittedoverAnne’sface。
“SirPatrickwouldtellyou，Mr。Brinkworth，thatnothingisimpossiblewherewomenareconcerned。“Shedroppedhermomentarylightnessoftone，andwentonasearnestlyasever。“Youcan’tputyourselfinBlanche’splace——Ican。Oncemore，Ibegyoutogo。Idon’tlikeyourcominghere，inthisway!Idon’tlikeitatall!“
Sheheldoutherhandtotakeleave。Atthesamemomenttherewasaloudknockatthedooroftheroom。
Annesankintothechairatherside，andutteredafaintcryofalarm。Arnold，perfectlyimpenetrabletoallsenseofhisposition，askedwhattherewastofrightenher——andansweredtheknockinthetwocustomarywords：
“Comein!“
THEknockatthedoorwasrepeated——alouderknockthanbefore。
“Areyoudeaf？“shoutedArnold。
Thedooropened，littlebylittle，aninchatatime。Mr。
Bishopriggsappearedmysteriously，withtheclothfordinneroverhisarm，andwithhissecondincommandbehindhim，bearing“thefurnishingofthetable“asitwascalledatCraigFernieonatray。
“Whatthedeucewereyouwaitingfor？“askedArnold。“Itoldyoutocomein。“
“And_I_tauld_you，_“answeredMr。Bishopriggs，“thatIwadnacomeinwithoutknockingfirst。Eh，man!“hewenton，dismissinghissecondincommand，andlayingtheclothwithhisownvenerablehands，“d’yethinkI’velivedinthishottleinblindedeegnoranceofhooyoungmarriedcouplespassthetimewhenthey’relefttothemselves？Twaknocksatthedoor——andanuncotroubleinopeningit，afterthat——isjoosttheleastyecandoforthem!Whar’doyethink，noo，I’llsettheplacesforyouandyourleddythere？“
Annewalkedawaytothewindow，inundisguiseddisgust。ArnoldfoundMr。Bishopriggstobequiteirresistible。Heanswered，humoringthejoke，“Oneatthetopandoneatthebottomofthetable，Isuppose？“
“Oneattapandoneatbottom？“repeatedMr。Bishopriggs，inhighdisdain。“De’ilabitofit!Baithyerchairsasclosetogetheraschairscanbe。Hech!hech!——haven’tIcaught’em，aftergoodnessknowshoomanypreleeminaryknocksatthedoor，diningontheirhusbands’knees，andsteemulatingaman’sappetitebyfeedinghimatthefork’sendlikeachild？Eh!“sighedthesageofCraigFernie，“it’sashortlifewi’thatnuptialbusiness，andamerryone!Amouthforyerbillin’andcooin’；anda’theresto’yerdaysforwonderingyewereeversuchafule，andwishingitwasa’tobedoneoweragain——Ye’llbeforabottleo’sherrywine，naedoot？andadraptoddyafterwards，todoyerdigestin’on？“
Arnoldnodded——andthen，inobediencetoasignalfromAnne，joinedheratthewindow。Mr。Bishopriggslookedafterthemattentively——observedthattheyweretalkinginwhispers——andapprovedofthatproceeding，asrepresentinganotheroftheestablishedcustomsofyoungmarriedcouplesatinns，inthepresenceofthirdpersonsappointedtowaitonthem。
“Ay!ay!“hesaid，lookingoverhisshoulderatArnold，“gaetoyourdeerie!gaetoyourdeerie!andleavea’thesolidbusinesso’lifetoMe。Ye’veScreepturewarrantforit。AmanmaunleavefetherandmotherI’myerfether，andcleavetohiswife。Mycertie!’cleave’isastrongword——there’snaesorto’dootabootit，whenitcomesto’cleaving!’“Hewaggedhisheadthoughtfully，andwalkedtotheside-tableinacorner，tocutthebread。
Ashetookuptheknife，hisonewaryeyedetectedamorselofcrumpledpaper，lyinglostbetweenthetableandthewall。ItwastheletterfromGeoffrey，whichAnnehadflungfromher，inthefirstindignationofreadingit——andwhichneithershenorArnoldhadthoughtofsince。
“What’sthatIseeyonder？“mutteredMr。Bishopriggs，underhisbreath。“Mairlitterintheroom，afterI’vedoostedandtidieditwi’myainhands!“
Hepickedupthecrumpledpaper，andpartlyopenedit。“Eh!
what’shere？Writingonitinink？andwritingonitinpencil？
Whomaythisbelongto？“HelookedroundcautiouslytowardArnoldandAnne。Theywerebothstilltalkinginwhispers，andbothstandingwiththeirbackstohim，lookingoutofthewindow。
“Hereitis，cleanforgottenanddunewith!“thoughtMr。
Bishopriggs。“Noowhatwouldafuledo，ifhefundthis？Afulewadlighthispipewi’it，andthenwonderwhetherhewadnaha’
dunebettertoreaditfirst。Andwhatwadawisemando，inaseemilarposition？“Hepracticallyansweredthatquestionbyputtingtheletterintohispocket。Itmightbeworthkeeping，oritmightnot；fiveminutes’privateexaminationofitwoulddecidethealternative，atthefirstconvenientopportunity。“Amgaun’tobreengthedinnerin!“hecalledouttoArnold。“And，mindye，there’snaeknockingatthedoorpossible，whenI’vegotthetrayinbaithmyhands，andmairsthepity，thegoutinbaithmyfeet。“Withthatfriendlywarning，Mr。Bishopriggswenthiswaytotheregionsofthekitchen。
ArnoldcontinuedhisconversationwithAnneintermswhichshowedthatthequestionofhisleavingtheinnhadbeenthequestiononcemorediscussedbetweenthemwhiletheywerestandingatthewindow。
“Youseewecan’thelpit，“hesaid。“Thewaiterhasgonetobringthedinnerin。Whatwilltheythinkinthehouse，ifIgoawayalready，andleave’mywife’todinealone？“
Itwassoplainlynecessarytokeepupappearancesforthepresent，thattherewasnothingmoretobesaid。Arnoldwascommittingaseriousimprudence——andyet，onthisoccasion，Arnoldwasright。Anne’sannoyanceatfeelingthatconclusionforcedonherproducedthefirstbetrayalofimpatiencewhichshehadshownyet。SheleftArnoldatthewindow，andflungherselfonthesofa。“Acurseseemstofollowme!“shethought，bitterly。
“Thiswillendill——andIshallbeanswerableforit!“
InthemeantimeMr。Bishopriggshadfoundthedinnerinthekitchen，ready，andwaitingforhim。Insteadofatoncetakingthetrayonwhichitwasplacedintothesitting-room，heconveyeditprivatelyintohisownpantry，andshutthedoor。
“Lieyethere，myfreend，tillthesparemomentcomes——andI’lllookatyeagain，“hesaid，puttingtheletterawaycarefullyinthedresser-drawer。“Nooabootthedinnero’theytwaturtle-dovesintheparlor？“hecontinued，directinghisattentiontothedinnertray。“Imaunjoostseethatthecook’s；’sduneherduty——thecreaturesareno’capableo’
decidin’thatknottypointfortheirainselves。“Hetookoffoneofthecovers，andpickedbits，hereandthere，outofthedishwiththefork“Eh!eh!thecollopsareno’thatbad!“Hetookoffanothercover，andshookhisheadinsolemndoubt。“Here’sthegreenmeat。Idootgreenmeat’swindydietforamanatmytimeo’life!“Heputthecoveronagain，andtriedthenextdish。“Thefesh？Whatthede’ildoesthewomanfrythetroutfor？
Boilitnexttime，yebetch，wi’apincho’sautandaspunefu’
o’vinegar。“Hedrewthecorkfromabottleofsherry，anddecantedthewine。“Thesherrywine？“hesaid，intonesofdeepfeeling，holdingthedecanteruptothelight。“HoodoIknowbutwhatitmaybecorkit？Imauntasteandtry。It’sonmyconscience，asanhonestman，totasteandtry。“Heforthwithrelievedhisconscience——copiously。Therewasavacantspace，ofnoinconsiderabledimensions，leftinthedecanter。Mr。
Bishopriggsgravelyfilleditupfromthewater-bottle。“Eh!
it’sjoostaddin’tenyearstotheageo’thewine。Theturtle-doveswillbenanethewaur——andImysel’amaglasso’
sherrythebetter。PraiseProvidencefora’itsmaircies!“Havingrelievedhimselfofthatdevoutaspiration，hetookupthetrayagain，anddecidedonlettingtheturtle-doveshavetheirdinner。
Theconversationintheparlordroppedforthemomenthadbeenrenewed，intheabsenceofMr。Bishopriggs。Toorestlesstoremainlonginoneplace，Annehadrisenagainfromthesofa，andhadrejoinedArnoldatthewindow。
“WheredoyourfriendsatLadyLundie’sbelieveyoutobenow？“
sheasked，abruptly。
“Iambelieved，“repliedArnold，“tobemeetingmytenants，andtakingpossessionofmyestate。“
“Howareyoutogettoyourestateto-night？“
“Byrailway，Isuppose。By-the-by，whatexcuseamItomakeforgoingawayafterdinner？Wearesuretohavethelandladyinherebeforelong。Whatwillshesaytomygoingoffbymyselftothetrain，andleaving’mywife’behindme？“
“Mr。Brinkworth!thatjoke——ifit_is_ajoke——iswornout!“
“Ibegyourpardon，“saidArnold。
“Youmayleaveyourexcusetome，“pursuedAnne。“Doyougobytheuptrain，orthedown？“
“Bytheuptrain。“