amverymuchmistaken，Bishopriggswillcomebacktotheinn。Theoldrascalthereisnodenyingitisamostamusingperson。Heleftaterribleblankwhenheleftmyclerks’room。OldcustomersatCraigFernieespeciallytheEnglish，inmissingBishopriggs，will，youmayrelyonit，missoneoftheattractionsoftheinn。
Mrs。Inchbareisnotawomantoletherdignitystandinthewayofherbusiness。SheandBishopriggswillcometogetheragain，soonerorlater，andmakeitup。WhenIhaveputcertainquestionstoher，whichmaypossiblyleadtoveryimportantresults，IshallleavealetterforBishopriggsinMrs。
Inchbare’shands。TheletterwilltellhimIhavesomethingforhimtodo，andwillcontainanaddressatwhichhecanwritetome。Ishallhearofhim，Blancheand，iftheletterisinhispossession，Ishallgetit。“
“Won’thebeafraid——ifhehasstolentheletter——totellyouhehasgotit？“
“Verywellput，mychild。Hemighthesitatewithotherpeople。
ButIhavemyownwayofdealingwithhim-andIknowhowtomakehimtellMe——EnoughofBishopriggstillhistimecomes。
Thereisoneotherpoint，inregardtoMissSilvester。Imayhavetodescribeher。Howwasshedressedwhenshecamehere？
Remember，Iamaman——andifanEnglishwoman’sdress_can_bedescribedinanEnglishwoman’slanguagetellme，inEnglish，whatshehadon。“
“Sheworeastrawhat，withcorn-flowersinit，andawhiteveil。
Corn-flowersatonesideuncle，whichislesscommonthancornflowersinfront。Andshehadonalightgrayshawl。Anda_Piqué；_——“
“ThereyougowithyourFrench!Notawordmore!Astrawhat，withawhiteveil，andwithcorn-flowersatonesideofthehat。
Andalightgrayshawl。That’sasmuchastheordinarymalemindcantakein；andthatwilldo。Ihavegotmyinstructions，andsavedprecioustime。Sofarsogood。Hereweareattheendofourconference——inotherwords，atthegateofthestable-yard。
YouunderstandwhatyouhavetodowhileIamaway？“
“IhavetosendArnoldtothecross-roads。AndIhavetobehaveifIcanasifnothinghadhappened。“
“Goodchild!Wellputagain!youhavegotwhatIcallgraspofmind，Blanche。Aninvaluablefaculty!Youwillgovernthefuturedomestickingdom。Arnoldwillbenothingbutaconstitutionalhusband。Thosearetheonlyhusbandswhoarethoroughlyhappy。
Youshallheareverything，mylove，whenIcomelack。Gotyourbag，Duncan？Good。Andthetime-table？Good。Youtakethereins——Iwon’tdrive。Iwanttothink。Drivingisincompatiblewithintellectualexertion。Amanputshismindintohishorse，andsinkstothelevelofthatusefulanimal——asanecessaryconditionofgettingtohisdestinationwithoutbeingupset。Godblessyou，Blanche!Tothestation，Duncan!tothestation!“
THEchaiserattledourthroughthegates。Thedogsbarkedfuriously。SirPatricklookedround，andwavedhishandasheturnedthecorneroftheroad。Blanchewasleftaloneintheyard。
Shelingeredalittle，absentlypattingthedogs。Theyhadespecialclaimsonhersympathyatthatmoment；they，too，evidentlythoughtithardtobeleftbehindatthehouse。Afterawhilesherousedherself。SirPatrickhadlefttheresponsibilityofsuperintendingthecrossroadsonhershoulders。TherewassomethingtobedoneyetbeforethearrangementsfortracingAnnewerecomplete。Blanchelefttheyardtodoit。
OnherwaybacktothehouseshemetArnold，dispatchedbyLadyLundieinsearchofher。
TheplanofoccupationfortheafternoonhadbeensettledduringBlanche’sabsence。SomedemonhadwhisperedtoLadyLundietocultivateatasteforfeudalantiquities，andtoinsistonspreadingthattasteamongherguests。Shehadproposedanexcursiontoanoldbaronialcastleamongthehills——fartothewestwardfortunatelyforSirPatrick’schanceofescapingdiscoveryofthehillsatCraigFernie。Someoftheguestsweretoride，andsometoaccompanytheirhostessintheopencarriage。Lookingrightandleftforproselytes，LadyLundiehadnecessarilyremarkedthedisappearanceofcertainmembersofhercircle。Mr。Delamaynhadvanished，nobodyknewwhere。SirPatrickandBlanchehadfollowedhisexample。Herladyshiphadobserved，uponthis，withsomeasperity，thatiftheywerealltotreateachotherinthatunceremoniousmanner，thesoonerWindygateswasturnedintoaPenitentiary，onthesilentsystem，thefitterthehousewouldbeforthepeoplewhoinhabitedit。Underthesecircumstances，ArnoldsuggestedthatBlanchewoulddowelltomakeherexcusesassoonaspossibleathead-quarters，andaccepttheseatinthecarriagewhichherstep-motherwishedhertotake。“Weareinforthefeudalantiquities，Blanche；andwemusthelpeachotherthroughaswellaswecan。Ifyouwillgointhecarriage，I’llgotoo。“
Blancheshookherhead。
“Thereareseriousreasonsfor_my_keepingupappearances，“shesaid。“Ishallgointhecarriage。Youmustn’tgoatall。“
Arnoldnaturallylookedalittlesurprised，andaskedtobefavoredwithanexplanation。
Blanchetookhisarmandhuggeditclose。NowthatAnnewaslost，Arnoldwasmoreprecioustoherthanever。Sheliterallyhungeredtohearatthatmoment，fromhisownlips，howfondhewasofher。Itmatterednothingthatshewasalreadyperfectlysatisfiedonthispoint。Itwassoniceafterhehadsaiditfivehundredtimesalreadytomakehimsayitoncemore!
“SupposeIhadnoexplanationtogive？“shesaid。“Wouldyoustaybehindbyyourselftopleaseme？“
“Iwoulddoanythingtopleaseyou!“
“Doyoureallylovemeasmuchasthat？“
Theywerestillintheyard；andtheonlywitnessespresentwerethedogs。Arnoldansweredinthelanguagewithoutwords——whichisneverthelessthemostexpressivelanguageinuse，betweenmenandwomen，allovertheworld。
“Thisisnotdoingmyduty，“saidBlanche，penitently。“But，ohArnold，Iamsoanxiousandsomiserable!Andit_is_suchaconsolationtoknowthat_you_won’tturnyourbackonmetoo!“
Withthatprefaceshetoldhimwhathadhappenedinthelibrary。
EvenBlanche’sestimateofherlover’scapacityforsympathizingwithherwasmorethanrealizedbytheeffectwhichhernarrativeproducedonArnold。Hewasnotmerelysurprisedandsorryforher。Hisfaceshowedplainlythathefeltgenuineconcernanddistress。HehadneverstoodhigherinBlanche’sopinionthanhestoodatthatmoment。
“Whatistobedone？“heasked。“HowdoesSirPatrickproposetofindher？“
BlancherepeatedSirPatrick’sinstructionsrelatingtothecrossroads，andalsototheseriousnecessityofpursuingtheinvestigationinthestrictestprivacy。ArnoldrelievedfromallfearofbeingsentbacktoCraigFernieundertooktodoeverythingthatwasaskedofhim，andpromisedtokeepthesecretfromeverybody。
Theywentbacktothehouse，andmetwithanicywelcomefromLadyLundie。HerladyshiprepeatedherremarkonthesubjectofturningWindygatesintoaPenitentiaryforBlanche’sbenefit。ShereceivedArnold’spetitiontobeexcusedfromgoingtoseethecastlewiththebarestcivility。“Oh，takeyourwalkbyallmeans!Youmaymeetyourfriend，Mr。Delamayn——whoappearstohavesuchapassionforwalkingthathecan’tevenwaittillluncheonisover。AsforSirPatrick——Oh!SirPatrickhasborrowedthepony-carriage？andgoneoutdrivingbyhimself？——I’msureInevermeanttooffendmybrother-in-lawwhenIofferedhimasliceofmypoorlittlecake。Don’tletmeoffendanybodyelse。Disposeofyourafternoon，Blanche，withouttheslightestreferencetome。Nobodyseemsinclinedtovisittheruins——themostinterestingrelicoffeudaltimesinPerthshire，Mr。
Brinkworth。Itdoesn’tmatter——oh，dearme，itdoesn’tmatter!I
can’tforcemygueststofeelanintelligentcuriosityonthesubjectofScottishAntiquities。No!no!mydearBlanche!——itwon’tbethefirsttime，orthelast，thatIhavedrivenoutalone。Idon’tatallobjecttobeingalone。’Mymindtomeakingdomis，’asthepoetsays。“SoLadyLundie’soutragedself-importanceasserteditsviolatedclaimsonhumanrespect，untilherdistinguishedmedicalguestcametotherescueandsmoothedhishostess’sruffledplumes。Thesurgeonheprivatelydetestedruinsbeggedtogo。Blanchebeggedtogo。SmithandJonesprofoundlyinterestedinfeudalantiquitiessaidtheywouldsitbehind，inthe“rumble“——ratherthanmissthisunexpectedtreat。One，Two，andThreecaughttheinfection，andvolunteeredtobetheescortonhorseback。LadyLundie’scelebrated“smile“warrantedtoremainunalteredonherfaceforhourstogethermadeitsappearanceoncemore。Sheissuedherorderswiththemostcharmingamiability。“We’lltaketheguidebook，“saidherladyship，withtheeyetomeaneconomy，whichisonlytobemetwithinveryrichpeople，“andsaveashillingtothemanwhoshowstheruins。“Withthatshewentupstairstoarrayherselfforthedrive，andlookedintheglass；
andsawaperfectlyvirtuous，fascinating，andaccomplishedwoman，facingherirresistiblyinanewFrenchbonnet!
AtaprivatesignalfromBlanche，Arnoldslippedoutandrepairedtohispost，wheretheroadscrossedtheroadthatledtotherailway。
Therewasaspaceofopenheathononesideofhim，andthestonewallandgatesofafarmhouseinclosureontheother。Arnoldsatdownonthesoftheather——andlitacigar——andtriedtoseehiswaythroughthedoublemysteryofAnne’sappearanceandAnne’sflight。