MRS。INCHBAREwasthefirstpersonwhoactedintheemergency。
Shecalledforlights；andsternlyrebukedthehouse-maid，whobroughtthem，fornothavingclosedthehousedoor。“Yefecklessne’er-do-weel!“criedthelandlady；“thewind’sblawnthecandlesoot。“
Thewomandeclaredwithperfecttruththatthedoorhadbeenclosed。AnawkwarddisputemighthaveensuedifBlanchehadnotdivertedMrs。Inchbare’sattentiontoherself。Theappearanceofthelightsdisclosedher，wetthroughwithherarmsroundAnne’sneck。Mrs。Inchbaredigressedatoncetothepressingquestionofchangingtheyounglady’sclothes，andgaveAnnetheopportunityoflookingroundher，unobserved。Arnoldhadmadehisescapebeforethecandleshadbeenbroughtin。
InthemeantimeBlanche’sattentionwasabsorbedinherowndrippingskirts。
“Goodgracious!I’mabsolutelydistillingrainfromeverypartofme。AndI’mmakingyou，Anne，aswetasIam!Lendmesomedrythings。Youcan’t？Mrs。Inchbare，whatdoesyourexperiencesuggest？WhichhadIbetterdo？Gotobedwhilemyclothesarebeingdried？orborrowfromyourwardrobe——thoughyou_are_aheadandshoulderstallerthanIam？“
Mrs。Inchbareinstantlybustledouttofetchthechoicestgarmentsthatherwardrobecouldproduce。ThemomentthedoorhadclosedonherBlanchelookedroundtheroominherturn。
Therightsofaffectionhavingbeenalreadyasserted，theclaimsofcuriositynaturallypressedforsatisfactionnext。
“Somebodypassedmeinthedark，“shewhispered。“Wasityourhusband？I’mdyingtobeintroducedtohim。And，ohmydear!what_is_yourmarriedname？“
Anneanswered，coldly，“Waitalittle。Ican’tspeakaboutityet。“
“Areyouill？“askedBlanche。
“Iamalittlenervous。“
“Hasanythingunpleasanthappenedbetweenyouandmyuncle？Youhaveseenhim，haven’tyou？“
“Yes。“
“Didhegiveyoumymessage？“
“Hegavemeyourmessage——Blanche!youpromisedhimtostayatWindygates。Why，inthenameofheaven，didyoucomehereto-night？“
“IfyouwerehalfasfondofmeasIamofyou，“returnedBlanche，“youwouldn’taskthat。Itriedhardtokeepmypromise，butIcouldn’tdoit。Itwasallverywell，whilemyunclewaslayingdownthelaw——withLadyLundieinarage，andthedogsbarking，andthedoorsbanging，andallthat。Theexcitementkeptmeup。Butwhenmyunclehadgone，andthedreadfulgray，quiet，rainyeveningcame，andithadallcalmeddownagain，therewasnobearingit。Thehouse——withoutyou——waslikeatomb。IfIhadhadArnoldwithmeImighthavedoneverywell。ButIwasallbymyself。Thinkofthat!Notasoultospeakto!Therewasn’tahorriblethingthatcouldpossiblyhappentoyouthatIdidn’tfancywasgoingtohappen。Iwentintoyouremptyroomandlookedatyourthings。_That_settledit，mydarling!Irusheddownstairs——carriedaway，positivelycarriedaway，byanImpulsebeyondhumanresistance。HowcouldIhelpit？IaskanyreasonablepersonhowcouldIhelpit？IrantothestablesandfoundJacob。Impulse——allimpulse!Isaid，’Getthepony-chaise——Imusthaveadrive——Idon’tcareifitrains——youcomewithme。’Allinabreath，andallimpulse!Jacobbehavedlikeanangel。Hesaid，’Allright，miss。’IamperfectlycertainJacobwoulddieformeifIaskedhim。Heisdrinkinghotgrogatthismoment，topreventhimfromcatchingcold，bymyexpressorders。Hehadthepony-chaiseoutintwominutes；andoffwewent。LadyLundie，mydear，prostrateinherownroom——toomuchsalvolatile。Ihateher。Theraingotworse。Ididn’tmindit。
Jacobdidn’tmindit。Theponydidn’tmindit。Theyhadbothcaughtmyimpulse——especiallythepony。Itdidn’tcomeontothundertillsometimeafterward；andthenwewerenearerCraigFerniethanWindygates——tosaynothingofyourbeingatoneplaceandnotattheother。Thelightningwasquiteawfulonthemoor。
IfIhadhadoneofthehorses，hewouldhavebeenfrightened。
Theponyshookhisdarlinglittlehead，anddashedthroughit。Heistohavebeer。Amashwithbeerinit——bymyexpressorders。
Whenhehasdonewe’llborrowalantern，andgointothestable，andkisshim。Inthemeantime，mydear，hereIam——wetthroughinathunderstorm，whichdoesn’tintheleastmatter——anddeterminedtosatisfymyownmindaboutyou，whichmattersagreatdeal，andmustandshallbedonebeforeIrestto-night!“
SheturnedAnne，bymainforce，asshespoke，towardthelightofthecandles。
HertonechangedthemomentshelookedatAnne’sface。
“Iknewit!“shesaid。“Youwouldneverhavekeptthemostinterestingeventinyourlifeasecretfrom_me_——youwouldneverhavewrittenmesuchacoldformalletterastheletteryouleftinyourroom——iftherehadnotbeensomethingwrong。Isaidsoatthetime。Iknowitnow!WhyhasyourhusbandforcedyoutoleaveWindygatesatamoment’snotice？Whydoesheslipoutoftheroominthedark，asifhewasafraidofbeingseen？Anne!
Anne!whathascometoyou？Whydoyoureceivemeinthisway？“
AtthatcriticalmomentMrs。Inchbarereappeared，withthechoicestselectionofwearingapparelwhichherwardrobecouldfurnish。Annehailedthewelcomeinterruption。Shetookthecandles，andledthewayintothebedroomimmediately。
“Changeyourwetclothesfirst，“shesaid。“Wecantalkafterthat。“
Thebedroomdoorhadhardlybeenclosedaminutebeforetherewasatapatit。SigningtoMrs。InchbarenottointerrupttheservicesshewasrenderingtoBlanche，Annepassedquicklyintothesitting-room，andclosedthedoorbehindher。Toherinfiniterelief，sheonlyfoundherselffacetofacewiththediscreetMr。
Bishopriggs。
“Whatdoyouwant？“sheasked。
TheeyeofMr。Bishopriggsannounced，byawink，thathismissionwasofaconfidentialnature。ThehandofMr。Bishopriggswavered；thebreathofMr。Bishopriggsexhaledaspirituousfume。
Heslowlyproducedaslipofpaper，withsomelinesofwritingonit。
“Fromyekenwho，“heexplained，jocosely。“Abitlove-letter，I
trow，fromhimthat’sdeartoye。Eh!he’sanawfu’reprobateishimthat’sdeartoye。Miss，inthebedchamberthere，willnaedootbetheonehe’sjiltedfor_you？_Iseeitall——yecan’tblindMe——Iha’beenafrailpersonmyainself，inmytime。
Hech!he’ssafeandsound，isthereprobate。Iha’lookitaftera’hislittlecreature-comforts——I’mjoostafethertohim，aswellasafethertoyou。TrustBishopriggs——whenpuirhumannaturewantsabitpatontheback，trustBishopriggs。“
Whilethesagewasspeakingthesecomfortablewords，Annewasreadingthelinestracedonthepaper。TheyweresignedbyArnold；andtheyranthus：
“Iaminthesmoking-roomoftheinn。ItrestswithyoutosaywhetherImuststopthere。Idon’tbelieveBlanchewouldbejealous。IfIknewhowtoexplainmybeingattheinnwithoutbetrayingtheconfidencewhichyouandGeoffreyhaveplacedinme，Iwouldn’tbeawayfromheranothermoment。Itdoesgrateonmeso!Atthesametime，Idon’twanttomakeyourpositionharderthanitis。Thinkofyourselffirst。Ileaveitinyourhands。Youhaveonlytosay，Wait，bythebearer——andIshallunderstandthatIamtostaywhereIamtillIhearfromyouagain。“
Annelookedupfromthemessage。
“Askhimtowait，“shesaid；“andIwillsendwordtohimagain。“
“Wi’monylovesandkisses，“suggestedMr。Bishopriggs，asanecessarysupplementtothemessage。“Eh!itcomesaseasyasA。
B。C。toamano’myexperience。Yecanha’naebettergae-betweenthanyerpuirservanttocommand，SawmuelBishopriggs。Iunderstandyebaithpairfeckly。“Helaidhisforefingeralonghisflamingnose，andwithdrew。
Withoutallowingherselftohesitateforaninstant，Anneopenedthebedroomdoor——withtheresolutionofrelievingArnoldfromthenewsacrificeimposedonhimbyowningthetruth。
“Isthatyou？“askedBlanche。
Atthesoundofhervoice，Annestartedbackguiltily。“I’llbewithyouinamoment，“sheanswered，andclosedthedooragainbetweenthem。
No!itwasnottobedone。SomethinginBlanche’strivialquestion——orsomething，perhaps，inthesightofBlanche’sface——rousedthewarninginstinctinAnne，whichsilencedherontheverybrinkofthedisclosure。Atthelastmomenttheironchainofcircumstancesmadeitselffelt，bindingherwithoutmercytothehateful，thedegradingdeceit。Couldsheownthetruth，aboutGeoffreyandherself，toBlanche？and，withoutowningit，couldsheexplainandjustifyArnold’sconductinjoiningherprivatelyatCraigFernie？Ashamefulconfessionmadetoaninnocentgirl；ariskoffatallyshakingArnold’splaceinBlanche’sestimation；ascandalattheinn，inthedisgraceofwhichtheotherswouldbeinvolvedwithherself——thiswasthepriceatwhichshemustspeak，ifshefollowedherfirstimpulse，andsaid，insomanywords，“Arnoldishere。“
Itwasnottobethoughtof。Costwhatitmightinpresentwretchedness——endhowitmight，ifthedeceptionwasdiscoveredinthefuture——Blanchemustbekeptinignoranceofthetruth，Arnoldmustbekeptinhidinguntilshehadgone。
Anneopenedthedoorforthesecondtime，andwentin。
Thebusinessofthetoiletwasstandingstill。BlanchewasinconfidentialcommunicationwithMrs。Inchbare。AtthemomentwhenAnneenteredtheroomshewaseagerlyquestioningthelandladyaboutherfriend’s“invisiblehusband“——shewasjustsaying，“Dotellme!whatishelike？“
Thecapacityforaccurateobservationisacapacitysouncommon，andissoseldomassociated，evenwhereitdoesexist，withtheequallyraregiftofaccuratelydescribingthethingorthepersonobserved，thatAnne’sdreadoftheconsequencesifMrs。
InchbarewasallowedtimetocomplywithBlanchesrequest，was，inallprobability，adreadmisplaced。Rightorwrong，however，thealarmthatshefelthurriedherintotakingmeasuresfordismissingthelandladyonthespot。“Wemustn’tkeepyoufromyouroccupationsanylonger，“shesaidtoMrs。Inchbare。“IwillgiveMissLundieallthehelpsheneeds。“
Barredfromadvancinginonedirection，Blanche’scuriosityturnedback，andtriedinanother。SheboldlyaddressedherselftoAnne。
“I_must_knowsomethingabouthim，“shesaid。“Isheshybeforestrangers？Iheardyouwhisperingwithhimontheothersideofthedoor。Areyoujealous，Anne？AreyouafraidIshallfascinatehiminthisdress？“