Ihavewaitedinthehopethatyouwouldrideoverfromyourbrother’splace，andseeme——andIhavewaitedinvain。Yourconducttomeiscrueltyitself；Iwillbearitnolonger。Consider!inyourowninterests，consider——beforeyoudrivethemiserablewomanwhohastrustedyoutodespair。Youhavepromisedmemarriagebyallthatissacred。Iclaimyourpromise。IinsistonnothinglessthantobewhatyouvowedI
shouldbe——whatIhavewaitedallthiswearytimetobe——whatI
_am_，inthesightofHeaven，yourweddedwife。LadyLundiegivesalawn-partyhereonthe14th。Iknowyouhavebeenasked。I
expectyoutoacceptherinvitation。IfIdon’tseeyou，Iwon’tanswerforwhatmayhappen。Mymindismadeuptoendurethissuspensenolonger。Oh，Geoffrey，rememberthepast!Befaithful——bejust——toyourlovingwife，“ANNESILVESTER。“
Mr。Bishopriggspaused。Hiscommentaryonthecorrespondence，sofar，wassimpleenough。“Hotwordsininkfromtheleddytothegentleman!“Heranhiseyeoverthesecondletter，onthefourthpageofthepaper，andadded，cynically，“Atriflecaulderinpencilfromthegentlemantotheleddy!Thewayo’thewarld，Sirs!Fromthetimeo’Adamdownwards，thewayo’thewarld!“
Thesecondletterranthus：
“DEARANNE，——JustcalledtoLondontomyfather。Theyhavetelegraphedhiminabadway。Stopwhereyouare，andIwillwriteyou。Trustthebearer。Uponmysoul，I’llkeepmypromise。
Yourlovinghusbandthatistobe，“GEOFFREYDELAMAYN。“
WINDYGATESHOUSE，_Augt。_14，4P。M。
“Inamortalhurry。Trainstartsat4。30。“
Thereitended!
“Whoarethepairtiesintheparlor？Isaneo’them’Silvester？’
andt’other’Delamayn？’“ponderedMr。Bishopriggs，slowlyfoldingtheletterupagaininitsoriginalform。“Hech，Sirs!
what，beingintairpreted，maya’thismean？“
Hemixedhimselfasecondglassoftoddy，asanaidtoreflection，andsatsippingtheliquor，andtwistingandturningtheletterinhisgoutyfingers。Itwasnoteasytoseehiswaytothetrueconnectionbetweentheladyandgentlemanintheparlorandthetwolettersnowinhisownpossession。Theymightbethemselvesthewritersoftheletters，ortheymightbeonlyfriendsofthewriters。Whowastodecide？
Inthefirstcase，thelady’sobjectwouldappeartohavebeenasgoodasgained；forthetwohadcertainlyassertedthemselvestobemanandwife，inhisownpresence，andinthepresenceofthelandlady。Inthesecondcase，thecorrespondencesocarelesslythrownasidemight，forallastrangerknewtothecontrary，provetobeofsomeimportanceinthefuture。Actingonthislatterview，Mr。Bishopriggs——whosepastexperienceas“abitclerkbody，“inSirPatrick’schambers，hadmadeamanofbusinessofhim——producedhispenandink，andindorsedtheletterwithabriefdatedstatementofthecircumstancesunderwhichhehadfoundit。“I’lldoweeltokeeptheDoecument，“hethoughttohimself。“Whaknowsbutthere’llbearewardofferedforitaneo’thesedays？Eh!eh!theremaybethewartho’afi’
pun’noteinthis，toapuirladlikeme!“
Withthatcomfortingreflection，hedrewoutabatteredtincash-boxfromtheinnerrecessesofthedrawer，andlockedupthestolencorrespondencetobideitstime。
Thestormrosehigherandhigherastheeveningadvanced。
Inthesitting-room，thestateofaffairs，perpetuallychanging，nowpresenteditselfunderanothernewaspect。
Arnoldhadfinishedhisdinner，andhadsentitaway。Hehadnextdrawnaside-tableuptothesofaonwhichAnnelay——hadshuffledthepackofcards——andwasnowusingallhispowersofpersuasiontoinducehertotryonegameat_Ecarté；_withhim，bywayofdivertingherattentionfromthetumultofthestorm。Insheerweariness，shegaveupcontestingthematter；and，raisingherselflanguidlyonthesofa，saidshewouldtrytoplay。
“Nothingcanmakemattersworsethantheyare，“shethought，despairingly，asArnolddealtthecardsforher。“Nothingcanjustifymyinflictingmyownwretchednessonthiskind-heartedboy!“
Twoworseplayersneverprobablysatdowntoagame。Anne’sattentionperpetuallywandered；andAnne’scompanionwas，inallhumanprobability，themostincapablecard-playerinEurope。
Anneturnedupthetrump——thenineofDiamonds。Arnoldlookedathishand——and“proposed。“Annedeclinedtochangethecards。
Arnoldannounced，withundiminishedgood-humor，thathesawhiswayclearly，now，tolosingthegame，andthenplayedhisfirstcard——theQueenofTrumps!
AnnetookitwiththeKing，andforgottodeclaretheKing。SheplayedthetenofTrumps。
ArnoldunexpectedlydiscoveredtheeightofTrumpsinhishand。
“Whatapity!“hesaid，asheplayedit。“Hullo!youhaven’tmarkedtheKing!I’lldoitforyou。That’stwo——no，three——toyou。IsaidIshouldlosethegame。Couldn’tbeexpectedtodoanythingcouldI？withsuchahandasmine。I’velosteverythingnowI’velostmytrumps。Youtoplay。“
Annelookedatherhand。Atthesamemomentthelightningflashedintotheroomthroughtheill-closedshutters；theroarofthethunderburstoverthehouse，andshookittoitsfoundation。Thescreamingofsomehystericalfemaletourist，andthebarkingofadog，roseshrillfromtheupperflooroftheinn。Anne’snervescouldsupportitnolonger。Sheflunghercardsonthetable，andsprangtoherfeet。
“Icanplaynomore，“shesaid。“Forgiveme——Iamquiteunequaltoit。Myheadburns!myheartstiflesme!“
Shebegantopacetheroomagain。Aggravatedbytheeffectofthestormonhernerves，herfirstvaguedistrustofthefalsepositionintowhichsheandArnoldhadallowedthemselvestodrifthadstrengthened，bythistime，intoadownrighthorroroftheirsituationwhichwasnottobeendured。Nothingcouldjustifysuchariskastherisktheywerenowrunning!Theyhaddinedtogetherlikemarriedpeople——andtheretheywere，atthatmoment，shutintogether，andpassingtheeveninglikemanandwife!
“Oh，Mr。Brinkworth!“shepleaded。“Think——forBlanche’ssake，think——istherenowayoutofthis？“
Arnoldwasquietlycollectingthescatteredcards。
“Blanche，again？“hesaid，withthemostexasperatingcomposure。
“Iwonderhowshefeels，inthisstorm？“
InAnne’sexcitedstate，thereplyalmostmaddenedher。SheturnedfromArnold，andhurriedtothedoor。
“Idon’tcare!“shecried，wildly。“Iwon’tletthisdeceptiongoon。I’lldowhatIoughttohavedonebefore。Comewhatmayofit，I’lltellthelandladythetruth!“
Shehadopenedthedoor，andwasonthepointofsteppingintothepassage——whenshestopped，andstartedviolently。Wasitpossible，inthatdreadfulweather，thatshehadactuallyheardthesoundofcarriagewheelsonthestripofpavedroadoutsidetheinn？
Yes!othershadheardthesoundtoo。ThehobblingfigureofMr。
Bishopriggspassedherinthepassage，makingforthehousedoor。
Thehardvoiceofthelandladyrangthroughtheinn，ejaculatingastonishmentinbroadScotch。Anneclosedthesitting-roomdooragain，andturnedtoArnold——whohadrisen，insurprise，tohisfeet。
“Travelers!“sheexclaimed。“Atthistime!“
“Andinthisweather!“addedArnold。
“_Can_itbeGeoffrey？“sheasked——goingbacktotheoldvaindelusionthathemightyetfeelforher，andreturn。
Arnoldshookhishead。“NotGeoffrey。Whoeverelseitmaybe——notGeoffrey!“
Mrs。Inchbaresuddenlyenteredtheroom——withhercap-ribbonsflying，hereyesstaring，andherboneslookingharderthanever。
“Eh，mistress!“shesaidtoAnne。“Whadoyethinkhasdrivenheretoseeye，fromWindygatesHoose，andbeenowertakeninthestorm？“
Annewasspeechless。Arnoldputthequestion：“Whoisit？“
“Whais’t？“repeatedMrs。Inchbare。“It’sjoostthebonnyyoungleddy——MissBlanchehersel’。“
AnirrepressiblecryofhorrorburstfromAnne。Thelandladysetitdowntothelightning，whichflashedintotheroomagainatthesamemoment。
“Eh，mistress!ye’llfindMissBlancheabitbaulderthantoskirlataflasho’lightning，thatgait!Heresheis，thebonnybirdie!“exclaimedMrs。Inchbare，deferentiallybackingoutintothepassageagain。
Blanche’svoicereachedthem，callingforAnne。
AnnecaughtArnoldbythehandandwrungithard。“Go!“shewhispered。Thenextinstantshewasatthemantle-piece，andhadblownoutboththecandles。
Anotherflashoflightningcamethroughthedarkness，andshowedBlanche’sfigurestandingatthedoor。