Anne’scolorrose。Anne’spridewasupinarmsonthespot。
“TheimpertinenceofLadyLundie’smessageisnomorethanI
shouldhaveexpectedfromher，“shesaid。“IamonlysurprisedatSirPatrick’sdeliveringit。“
“SirPatrick’smotiveswillappearpresently，“rejoinedtheincorrigibleoldgentleman。“Secondmessage：’Blanche’sfondestlove。IsdyingtobeacquaintedwithAnne’shusband，andtobeinformedofAnne’smarriedname。FeelsindescribableanxietyandapprehensiononAnne’saccount。InsistsonhearingfromAnneimmediately。Longs，assheneverlongedforanythingyet，toorderherpony-chaiseanddrivefullgalloptotheinn。Yields，underirresistiblepressure，totheexertionofherguardian’sauthority，andcommitstheexpressionofherfeelingstoSirPatrick，whoisaborntyrant，anddoesn’tintheleastmindbreakingotherpeople’shearts。’SirPatrick，speakingforhimself，placeshissister-in-law’sviewandhisniece’sview，sidebyside，beforetheladywhomhehasnowthehonorofaddressing，andonwhoseconfidenceheisespeciallycarefulnottointrude。RemindstheladythathisinfluenceatWindygates，howeverstrenuouslyhemayexertit，isnotlikelytolastforever。Requestshertoconsiderwhetherhissister-in-law’sviewandhisniece’sviewincollision，maynotleadtoveryundesirabledomesticresults；andleaveshertotakethecoursewhichseemsbesttoherselfunderthosecircumstances——Secondmessagedeliveredtextually。Time，threeminutes。Astormcomingon。Aquarterofanhour’sridefromheretotheshooting-cottage。Madam，Iwishyougood-evening。“
Hebowedlowerthanever——and，withoutawordmore，quietlylefttheroom。
Anne’sfirstimpulsewasexcusablyenough，poorsoulanimpulseofresentment。
“Thankyou，SirPatrick!“shesaid，withabitterlookattheclosingdoor。“Thesympathyofsocietywithafriendlesswomancouldhardlyhavebeenexpressedinamoreamusingway!“
Thelittleirritationofthemomentpassedoffwiththemoment。
Anne’sownintelligenceandgoodsenseshowedherthepositioninitstruerlight。
SherecognizedinSirPatrick’sabruptdepartureSirPatrick’sconsiderateresolutiontospareherfromenteringintoanydetailsonthesubjectofherpositionattheinn。Hehadgivenherafriendlywarning；andhehaddelicatelylefthertodecideforherselfastotheassistancewhichshemightrenderhiminmaintainingtranquillityatWindygates。Shewentatoncetoaside-tableintheroom，onwhichwritingmaterialswereplaced，andsatdowntowritetoBlanche。
“IcandonothingwithLadyLundie，“shethought。“ButIhavemoreinfluencethananybodyelseoverBlancheandIcanpreventthecollisionbetweenthemwhichSirPatrickdreads。“
Shebegantheletter。“MydearestBlanche，IhaveseenSirPatrick，andhehasgivenmeyourmessage。IwillsetyourmindateaseaboutmeassoonasIcan。But，beforeIsayanythingelse，letmeentreatyou，asthegreatestfavoryoucandotoyoursisterandyourfriend，nottoenterintoanydisputesaboutmewithLadyLundie，andnottocommittheimprudence——theuselessimprudence，mylove——ofcominghere。“Shestopped——thepaperswambeforehereyes。“Myowndarling!“shethought，“whocouldhaveforeseenthatIshouldevershrinkfromthethoughtofseeing_you？“_Shesighed，anddippedthepenintheink，andwentonwiththeletter。
Theskydarkenedrapidlyastheeveningfell。Thewindsweptinfainterandfaintergustsacrossthedrearymoor。FarandwideoverthefaceofNaturethestillnesswasfastfallingwhichtellsofacomingstorm。
MEANWHILEArnoldremainedshutupinthehead-waiter’spantry——chafingsecretlyatthepositionforceduponhim。
Hewas，forthefirsttimeinhislife，inhidingfromanotherperson，andthatpersonaman。Twice——stungtoitbytheinevitablelossofself-respectwhichhissituationoccasioned——hehadgonetothedoor，determinedtofaceSirPatrickboldly；andtwicehehadabandonedtheidea，inmercytoAnne。ItwouldhavebeenimpossibleforhimtosethimselfrightwithBlanche’sguardianwithoutbetrayingtheunhappywomanwhosesecrethewasboundinhonortokeep。“IwishtoHeavenIhadnevercomehere!“wastheuselessaspirationthatescapedhim，ashedoggedlyseatedhimselfonthedressertowaittillSirPatrick’sdeparturesethimfree。
Afteraninterval——notbyanymeansthelongintervalwhichhehadanticipated——hissolitudewasenlivenedbytheappearanceofFatherBishopriggs。
“Well？“criedArnold，jumpingoffthedresser，“isthecoastclear？“
TherewereoccasionswhenMr。Bishopriggsbecame，onasudden，unexpectedlyhardofhearing，Thiswasoneofthem。
“Hoodoyefindthepaintry？“heasked，withoutpayingtheslightestattentiontoArnold’squestion。“Snugandprivate？A
Patmosintheweelderness，asyemaysay!“
Hisoneavailableeye，whichhadbegunbylookingatArnold’sface，droppedslowlydownward，andfixeditself，inmutebuteloquentexpectation，onArnold’swaistcoatpocket。
“Iunderstand!“saidArnold。“IpromisedtopayyouforthePatmos——eh？Thereyouare!“
Mr。Bishopriggspocketedthemoneywithadrearysmileandasympatheticshakeofthehead。Otherwaiterswouldhavereturnedthanks。ThesageofCraigFerniereturnedafewbriefremarksinstead。Admirableinmanythings，FatherBishopriggswasespeciallygreatatdrawingamoral。Hedrewamoralonthisoccasionfromhisowngratuity。
“ThereIam——asyesay。Mercypresairveus!yeneedthesillerateveryturn，whenthere’sawomanatyerheels。It’sanawfu’
reflection——yecannahaeanythingtodowi’thesextheyca’theoppositesexwithoutitsbeinganexpensetoye。There’sthisyoungleddyo’yours，Idootshe’llha’beenanexpensetoyefromthefirst。Whenyouwerecoortin’her，yedidit，I’llgobail，wi’theopenhand。Presentsandkeep-sakes，flowersandjewelery，andlittledogues。Sairexpensesallofthem!“
“Hangyourreflections!HasSirPatricklefttheinn？“
ThereflectionsofMr。Bishopriggsdeclinedtobedisposedofinanythingapproachingtoasummaryway。Ontheyflowedfromtheirparentsource，asslowlyandassmoothlyasever!
“Nooye’remarriedtoher，there’sherbonnetsandgoonsandunder-clothin’——herribbons，laces，furbelows，andfallals。A
sairexpenseagain!“
“Whatistheexpenseofcuttingyourreflectionsshort，Mr。
Bishopriggs？“
“Thirdly，andlastly，ifyecannaagreewi’herastimegaeson——ifthere’sincompaitibeelityoftemperbetwixtye——inshort，ifyewantaweebitseparation，hech，Sirs!yepetyerhandinyerpoaket，andcometoanaimicableunderstandin’wi’herinthatway。Or，maybeshetakesyeintoCourt，andpets_her_handinyourpoaket，andcomestoahoastileunderstandin’wi’yethere。Showmeawoman——andI’llshowyeamannotfaroffwha’
hasmairexpensesonhisbackthanheeverbairgainedfor。“
Arnold’spatiencewouldlastnolonger——heturnedtothedoor。
Mr。Bishopriggs，withequalalacrityonhisside，turnedtothematterinhand。“Yes，Sir!Theroomise’enclearo’SirPaitrick，andtheleddy’salane，andwaitin’forye。“
InamomentmoreArnoldwasbackinthesitting-room。
“Well？“heasked，anxiously。“Whatisit？BadnewsfromLadyLundie’s？“
AnneclosedanddirectedthelettertoBlanche，whichshehadjustcompleted。“No，“shereplied。“Nothingtointerest_you。“_。“
“WhatdidSirPatrickwant？“
“Onlytowarnme。TheyhavefoundoutatWindygatesthatIamhere。“
“That’sawkward，isn’tit？“
“Notintheleast。Icanmanageperfectly；Ihavenothingtofear。Don’tthinkof_me_——thinkofyourself。“
“Iamnotsuspected，amI？“
“Thankheaven——no。Butthereisnoknowingwhatmayhappenifyoustayhere。Ringthebellatonce，andaskthewaiteraboutthetrains。“
Struckbytheunusualobscurityoftheskyatthathouroftheevening，Arnoldwenttothewindow。Therainhadcome——andwasfallingheavily。Theviewonthemoorwasfastdisappearinginmistanddarkness。
“Pleasantweathertotravelin!“hesaid。
“Therailway!“Anneexclaimed，impatiently。“It’sgettinglate。
Seeabouttherailway!“
Arnoldwalkedtothefire-placetoringthebell。Therailwaytime-tablehangingoveritmethiseye。