Thedooropenedsuddenly；andMr。Bishopriggsappearedwiththedinner。AnnenervouslyseparatedherselffromArnold。TheoneavailableeyeofMr。Bishopriggsfollowedherreproachfully，asheputthedishesonthetable。
“Iwarnedyebaith，itwasacleanimpossibilitytoknockatthedoorthistime。Don’tblameme，youngmadam——don’tblame_me!“_
“Wherewillyousit？“askedArnold，bywayofdivertingAnne’sattentionfromthefamiliaritiesofFatherBishopriggs。
“Anywhere!“sheanswered，impatiently；snatchingupachair，andplacingitatthebottomofthetable。
Mr。Bishopriggspolitely，butfirmly，putthechairbackagaininitsplace。
“Lord’ssake!whatareyedoin’？It’scleancontrarytoa’thelawsandcustomso’thehoney-mune，tositasfarawayfromyourhusbandasthat!“
Hewavedhispersuasivenapkintooneofthetwochairsplacedclosetogetheratthetable。
Arnoldinterferedoncemore，andpreventedanotheroutbreakofimpatiencefromAnne。
“Whatdoesitmatter？“hesaid。“Letthemanhavehisway。“
“Getitoverassoonasyoucan，“shereturned。“Ican’t，andwon’t，bearitmuchlonger。“
Theytooktheirplacesatthetable，withFatherBishopriggsbehindthem，inthemixedcharacterofmajordomoandguardianangel。
“Here’sthetrout!“hecried，takingthecoveroffwithaflourish。“Halfanhoursince，hewasloupin’inthewater。Thereheliesnoo，friedinthedish。Anemblemo’humanlifeforye!
Whenyecanspareanyleisuretimefromyertwaselves，meditateonthat。“
Arnoldtookupthespoon，togiveAnneoneofthetrout。Mr。
Bishopriggsclappedthecoveronthedishagain，withacountenanceexpressiveofdevouthorror。
“Istherenaebodygaun’tosaygrace？“heasked。
“Come!come!“saidArnold。“Thefishisgettingcold。“
Mr。Bishopriggspiouslyclosedhisavailableeye，andheldthecoverfirmlyonthedish。“Forwhatye’regaun’toreceive，mayyebaithbetrulythankful!“Heopenedhisavailableeye，andwhippedthecoveroffagain。“Myconscienceiseasynoo。Fallto!
Fallto!“
“Sendhimaway!“saidAnne。“Hisfamiliarityisbeyondallendurance。“
“Youneedn’twait，“saidArnold。
“Eh!butI’mheretowait，“objectedMr。Bishopriggs。“What’stheuseo’mygaun’away，whenye’llwantmeanontochangetheplatesforye？“HeconsideredforamomentprivatelyconsultinghisexperienceandarrivedatasatisfactoryconclusionastoArnold’smotiveforwantingtogetridofhim。“Tak’heronyerknee，“hewhisperedinArnold’sear，“assoonasyelike!Feedhimatthefork’send，“headdedtoAnne，“wheneveryeplease!
I’llthinkofsomethingelse，andlookoutattheproaspect。“Hewinked——andwenttothewindow。
“Come!come!“saidArnoldtoAnne。“There’sacomicsidetoallthis。TryandseeitasIdo。“
Mr。Bishopriggsreturnedfromthewindow，andannouncedtheappearanceofanewelementofembarrassmentinthesituationattheinn。
“Mycertie!“hesaid，“it’sweelyecam’whenyedid。It’sillgettingtothishottleinastorm。“
Annestarted。andlookedroundathim。“Astormcoming!“sheexclaimed。
“Eh!ye’rewellhoosedhere——yeneedn’tmindit。There’stheclouddownthevalley，“headded，pointingoutofthewindow，“
cominguponeway，whenthewind’sblawingtheother。Thestorm’sbrewing，myleddy，whenyeseethat!“
Therewasanotherknockatthedoor。AsArnoldhadpredicted，thelandladymadeherappearanceonthescene。
“Iha’justlookitin，Sir，“saidMrs。Inchbare，addressingherselfexclusivelytoArnold，“toseeye’vegotwhatyewant。“
“Oh!youarethelandlady？Verynice，ma’am——verynice。“
MistressInchbarehadherownprivatemotiveforenteringtheroom，andcametoitwithoutfurtherpreface。
“Ye’llexcuseme，Sir，“sheproceeded。“Iwasnainthewaywhenyecam’here，orIsuldha’madebauldtoaskyethequestionwhichImaune’enasknoo。AmItounderstandthatyehiretheseroomsforyersel’，andthisleddyhere——yerwife？“
Anneraisedherheadtospeak。Arnoldpressedherhandwarningly，underthetable，andsilencedher。
“Certainly，“hesaid。“Itaketheroomsformyself，andthisladyhere——mywife!“
Annemadeasecondattempttospeak。
“Thisgentleman——“shebegan。
Arnoldstoppedherforthesecondtime。
“Thisgentleman？“repeatedMrs。Inchbare，withabroadstareofsurprise。“I’monlyapuirwoman，myleddy——d’yemeanyerhusbandhere？“
Arnold’swarninghandtouchedAnne’s，forthethirdtime。
MistressInchbare’seyesremainedfixedonherinmercilessinquiry。TohavegivenutterancetothecontradictionwhichtrembledonherlipswouldhavebeentoinvolveArnoldafterallthathehadsacrificedforherinthescandalwhichwouldinevitablyfollow——ascandalwhichwouldbetalkedofintheneighborhood，andwhichmightfinditswaytoBlanche’sears。
Whiteandcold，hereyesnevermovingfromthetable，sheacceptedthelandlady’simpliedcorrection，andfaintlyrepeatedthewords：“Myhusband。“
MistressInchbaredrewabreathofvirtuousrelief，andwaitedforwhatAnnehadtosaynext。Arnoldcameconsideratelytotherescue，andgotheroutoftheroom。
“Nevermind，“hesaidtoAnne；“Iknowwhatitis，andI’llseeaboutit。She’salwayslikethis，ma’am，whenastorm’scoming，“
hewenton，turningtothelandlady。“No，thankyou——Iknowhowtomanageher。Wellsendtoyou，ifwewantyourassistance。“
“Atyerainpleasure，Sir，“answeredMistressInchbare。Sheturned，andapologizedtoAnneunderprotest，withastiffcourtesy。“Nooffense，myleddy!Ye’llrememberthatyecam’herealane，andthatthehottlehasitsaingudenametokeepup。“
Havingoncemorevindicated“thehottle，“shemadethelong-desiredmovetothedoor，andlefttheroom。
“I’mfaint!“Annewhispered。“Givemesomewater。“
Therewasnowateronthetable。ArnoldordereditofMr。
Bishopriggs——whohadremainedpassiveintheback-groundamodelofdiscreetattentionaslongasthemistresswasintheroom。
“Mr。Brinkworth!“saidAnne，whentheywerealone，“youareactingwithinexcusablerashness。Thatwoman’squestionwasanimpertinence。Whydidyouanswerit？Whydidyouforceme——？“
Shestopped，unabletofinishthesentence。Arnoldinsistedonherdrinkingaglassofwine——andthendefendedhimselfwiththepatientconsiderationforherwhichhehadshownfromthefirst。
“Whydidn’tIhavetheinndoorshutinyourface“——heasked，goodhumoredly——“withastormcomingon，andwithoutaplaceinwhichyoucantakerefuge？No，no，MissSilvester!Idon’tpresumetoblameyouforanyscruplesyoumayfeel——butscruplesaresadlyoutofplacewithsuchawomanasthatlandlady。IamresponsibleforyoursafetytoGeoffrey；andGeoffreyexpectstofindyouhere。Let’schangethesubject。Thewaterisalongtimecoming。Tryanotherglassofwine。No？Well——hereisBlanche’shealth“hetooksomeofthewinehimself，“intheweakestsherryIeverdrankinmylife。“Ashesetdownhisglass，Mr。
Bishopriggscameinwiththewater。Arnoldhailedhimsatirically。“Well？haveyougotthewater？orhaveyouuseditallforthesherry？“
Mr。Bishopriggsstoppedinthemiddleoftheroom，thunder-struckattheaspersioncastonthewine。
“Isthatthewayyetalkoftheauldestbottleo’sherrywineinScotland？“heasked，gravely。“What’sthewarldcomingto？Thenewgeneration’safootbeyondmyfathoming。Themaircieso’
Providence，asshowntomaninthechoicestveentageso’Spain，arecleanthrownawayon’em。“
“Haveyoubroughtthewater？“
“Iha’broughtthewater——andmairthanthewater。Iha’broughtyenewsfromootside。There’sacompanyo’gentlemenonhorseback，joostcanteringbytowhattheyca’theshootin’
cottage，amilefromthis。“
“Well——andwhathavewegottodowithit？“