“Youmightfindhimflatlycontradicted，ifyoudidaskhimbyanotherauthorityequallylearnedandequallyeminent，“answeredSirPatrick。“Iamnotjoking——Iamonlystatingfacts。HaveyouheardoftheQueen’sCommission？“
“No。“
“Thenlistentothis。InMarch，’sixty-five，theQueenappointedaCommissiontoinquireintotheMarriage-LawsoftheUnitedKingdom。TheReportofthatCommissionispublishedinLondon；
andisaccessibletoanybodywhochoosestopaythepriceoftwoorthreeshillingsforit。Oneoftheresultsoftheinquirywas，thediscoverythathighauthoritieswereofentirelycontraryopinionsononeofthevitalquestionsofScottishmarriage-law。
AndtheCommissioners，inannouncingthatfact，addthatthequestionofwhichopinionisrightisstilldisputed，andhasneverbeenmadethesubjectoflegaldecision。AuthoritiesareeverywhereatvariancethroughouttheReport。AhazeofdoubtanduncertaintyhangsinScotlandoverthemostimportantcontractofcivilizedlife。IfnootherreasonexistedforreformingtheScotchmarriage-law，therewouldbereasonenoughaffordedbythatonefact。Anuncertainmarriage-lawisanationalcalamity。“
“Youcantellmewhatyouthinkyourselfaboutmyfriend’scase——can’tyou？“saidGeoffrey，stillholdingobstinatelytotheendthathehadinview。
“Certainly。NowthatIhavegivenyouduewarningofthedangerofimplicitlyrelyingonanyindividualopinion，Imaygivemyopinionwithaclearconscience。Isaythattherehasnotbeenapositivemarriageinthiscase。Therehasbeenevidenceinfavorofpossiblyestablishingamarriage——nothingmore。“
ThedistinctionherewasfartoofinetobeappreciatedbyGeoffrey’smind。Hefrownedheavily，inbewildermentanddisgust。
“Notmarried!“heexclaimed，“whentheysaidtheyweremanandwife，beforewitnesses？“
“Thatisacommonpopularerror，“saidSirPatrick。“AsIhavealreadytoldyou，witnessesarenotlegallynecessarytomakeamarriageinScotland。Theyareonlyvaluable——asinthiscase——tohelp，atsomefuturetime，inprovingamarriagethatisindispute。“
Geoffreycaughtatthelastwords。
“Thelandladyandthewaiter_might_makeitouttobeamarriage，then？“hesaid。
“Yes。And，remember，ifyouchoosetoapplytooneofmyprofessionalcolleagues，hemightpossiblytellyoutheyweremarriedalready。Astateofthelawwhichallowstheinterchangeofmatrimonialconsenttobeprovedbyinferenceleavesawidedooropentoconjecture。Yourfriendreferstoacertainlady，insomanywords，ashiswife。Theladyreferstoyourfriend，insomanywords，asherhusband。Intheroomswhichtheyhavetaken，asmanandwife，theyremain，asmanandwife，tillthenextmorning。Yourfriendgoesaway，withoutundeceivinganybody。Theladystaysattheinn，forsomedaysafter，inthecharacterofhiswife。Andallthesecircumstancestakeplaceinthepresenceofcompetentwitnesses。Logically——ifnotlegally——thereisapparentlyaninferenceoftheinterchangeofmatrimonialconsenthere。Isticktomyownopinion，nevertheless。EvidenceinproofofamarriageIsay——nothingmore。“
WhileSirPatrickhadbeenspeaking，Geoffreyhadbeenconsideringwithhimself。Bydintofhardthinkinghehadfoundhiswaytoadecisivequestiononhisside。
“Lookhere!“hesaid，droppinghisheavyhanddownonthetable。“
Iwanttobringyoutobook，Sir!Supposemyfriendhadanotherladyinhiseye？“
“Yes？“
“Asthingsarenow——wouldyouadvisehimtomarryher？“
“Asthingsarenow——certainlynot!“
Geoffreygotbrisklyonhislegs，andclosedtheinterview。
“Thatwilldo，“hesaid，“forhimandforme。“
Withthosewordshewalkedback，withoutceremony，intothemainthoroughfareoftheroom。
“Idon’tknowwhoyourfriendis，“thoughtSirPatrick，lookingafterhim。“Butifyourinterestinthequestionofhismarriageisanhonestandaharmlessinterest，Iknownomoreofhumannaturethanthebabeunborn!“
ImmediatelyonleavingSirPatrick，Geoffreywasencounteredbyoneoftheservantsinsearchofhim。
“Ibegyourpardon，Sir，“begantheman。“ThegroomfromtheHonorableMr。Delamayn’s——“
“Yes？Thefellowwhobroughtmeanotefrommybrotherthismorning？“
“He’sexpectedback，Sir——he’safraidhemustn’twaitanylonger。“
“Comehere，andI’llgiveyoutheanswerforhim。“
Heledthewaytothewriting-table，andreferredtoJulius’sletteragain。Heranhiseyecarelesslyoverit，untilhereachedthefinallines：“Cometo-morrow，andhelpustoreceiveMrs。
Glenarm。“Forawhilehepaused，withhiseyefixedonthatsentence；andwiththehappinessofthreepeople——ofAnne，whohadlovedhim；ofArnold，whohadservedhim；ofBlanche，guiltlessofinjuringhim——restingonthedecisionthatguidedhismovementsforthenextday。AfterwhathadpassedthatmorningbetweenArnoldandBlanche，ifheremainedatLadyLundie’s，hehadnoalternativebuttoperformhispromisetoAnne。Ifhereturnedtohisbrother’shouse，hehadnoalternativebuttodesertAnne，ontheinfamouspretextthatshewasArnold’swife。
Hesuddenlytossedtheletterawayfromhimonthetable，andsnatchedasheetofnote-paperoutofthewriting-case。“HeregoesforMrs。Glenarm!“hesaidtohimself；andwrotebacktohisbrother，inoneline：“DearJulius，Expectmeto-morrow。G。D。“
Theimpassibleman-servantstoodbywhilehewrote，lookingathismagnificentbreadthofchest，andthinkingwhataglorious“staying-power“wasthereforthelastterriblemileofthecomingrace。
“Thereyouare!“hesaid，andhandedhisnotetotheman。
“Allright，Geoffrey？“askedafriendlyvoicebehindhim。
Heturned——andsawArnold，anxiousfornewsoftheconsultationwithSirPatrick。
“Yes，“hesaid。“Allright。“——TherearecertainreaderswhofeeladispositiontodoubtFacts，whentheymeetwiththeminaworkoffiction。PersonsofthiswayofthinkingmaybeprofitablyreferredtothebookwhichfirstsuggestedtometheideaofwritingthepresentNovel。ThebookistheReportoftheRoyalCommissionersonTheLawsofMarriage。PublishedbytheQueen’sPrintersForherMajesty’sStationeryOffice。London，1868。
WhatSirPatricksaysprofessionallyofScotchMarriagesinthischapteristakenfromthishighauthority。WhatthelawyerintheProloguesaysprofessionallyofIrishMarriagesisalsoderivedfromthesamesource。Itisneedlesstoencumberthesepageswithquotations。Butasameansofsatisfyingmyreadersthattheymaydependonme，IsubjoinanextractfrommylistofreferencestotheReportoftheMarriageCommission，whichanypersonswhomaybesoinclinedcanverifyforthemselves。
_IrishMarriages_InthePrologue——SeeReport，pagesXII。，XIII。，XXIV。
_IrregularMarriagesinScotland。_——StatementofthelawbyLordDeas。Report，pageXVI——Marriagesofchildrenoftenderyears。
ExaminationofMr。MuirheadbyLordChelmsfordQuestion689——Interchangeofconsent，establishedbyinference。
ExaminationofMr。MuirheadbytheLordJusticeClerkQuestion654——Marriagewhereconsenthasneverbeeninterchanged。
ObservationsofLordDeas。Report，pageXIX——Contradictionofopinionsbetweenauthorities。Report，pagesXIX。，XX——Legalprovisionforthesaleofhorsesanddogs。Nolegalprovisionforthemarriageofmenandwomen。Mr。Seeton’sRemarks。Report，pageXXX——ConclusionoftheCommissioners。InspiteoftheargumentsadvancedbeforetheminfavorofnotinterferingwithIrregularMarriagesinScotland，theCommissionersdeclaretheiropinionthat“Suchmarriagesoughtnottocontinue。“Report，pageXXXIV。
Inreferencetotheargumentsalludedtoaboveinfavorofallowingthepresentdisgracefulstateofthingstocontinue，I
findthemrestingmainlyonthesegrounds：ThatScotlanddoesn’tlikebeinginterferedwithbyEngland!。ThatIrregularMarriagescostnothing!!。Thattheyarediminishinginnumber，andmaythereforebetrusted，incourseoftime，toexhaustthemselves!!!。Thattheyact，oncertainoccasions，inthecapacityofamoraltraptocatchaprofligateman!!!!。SuchistheelevatedpointofviewfromwhichtheInstitutionofMarriageisregardedbysomeofthemostpiousandlearnedmeninScotland。Alegalenactmentprovidingforthesaleofyourwife，whenyouhavedonewithher，orofyourhusband；whenyou“reallycan’tputupwithhimanylonger，“appearstobeallthatiswantingtorenderthisNorthBritishestimateofthe“EstateofMatrimony“practicallycomplete。Itisonlyfairtoaddthat，ofthewitnessesgivingevidence——oralandwritten——beforetheCommissioners，fullyone-halfregardtheIrregularMarriagesofScotlandfromtheChristianandthecivilizedpointofview，andentirelyagreewiththeauthoritativeconclusionalreadycited——thatsuchmarriagesoughttobeabolished。
DONE!
ARNOLDwasalittlesurprisedbythecurtmannerinwhichGeoffreyansweredhim。
“HasSirPatricksaidanythingunpleasant？“heasked。
“SirPatrickhassaidjustwhatIwantedhimtosay。“
“Nodifficultyaboutthemarriage？“
“None。“
“NofearofBlanche——“
“Shewon’taskyoutogotoCraigFernie——I’llanswerforthat!“
Hesaidthewordswithastrongemphasisonthem，tookhisbrother’sletterfromthetable，snatcheduphishat，andwentout。
Hisfriends，idlingonthelawn，hailedhim。Hepassedbythemquicklywithoutanswering，withoutsomuchasaglanceatthemoverhisshoulder。Arrivingattherose-garden，hestoppedandtookouthispipe；thensuddenlychangedhismind，andturnedbackagainbyanotherpath。Therewasnocertainty，atthathouroftheday，ofhisbeingleftaloneintherose-garden。Hehadafierceandhungrylongingtobebyhimself；hefeltasifhecouldhavebeenthedeathofanybodywhocameandspoketohimatthatmoment。Withhisheaddownandhisbrowsknitheavily，hefollowedthepathtoseewhatitendedin。Itendedinawicket-gatewhichledintoakitchen-garden。Herehewaswelloutofthewayofinterruption：therewasnothingtoattractvisitorsinthekitchen-garden。Hewentontoawalnut-treeplantedinthemiddleoftheinclosure，withawoodenbenchandabroadstripofturfrunningroundit。Afterfirstlookingabouthim，heseatedhimselfandlithispipe。
“Iwishitwasdone!“hesaid。