“Youaretotakeit，“shesaid，“asexpressingmyconvictionthatIsaddledmyselfwiththechargeofanincorrigiblyheartless，obstinateandperversegirl，whenIundertookthecareofBlanche。“
“Didyousay’incorrigibly？’“
“Isaid’incorrigibly。’“
“Ifthecaseisashopelessasthat，mydearMadam——asBlanche’sguardian，IoughttofindmeanstorelieveyouofthechargeofBlanche。“
“Nobodyshallrelieve_me_ofadutythatIhaveonceundertaken!“retortedLadyLundie。“NotifIdieatmypost!“
“Supposeitwasconsistentwithyourduty，“pleadedSirPatrick，“toberelievedatyourpost？Supposeitwasinharmonywiththat’self-sacrifice’whichis’themottoofwomen？’“
“Idon’tunderstandyou，SirPatrick。Besogoodastoexplainyourself。“
SirPatrickassumedanewcharacter——thecharacterofahesitatingman。Hecastalookofrespectfulinquiryathissister-in-law，sighed，andshookhishead。
“No!“hesaid。“Itwouldbeaskingtoomuch。Evenwithyourhighstandardofduty，itwouldbeaskingtoomuch。“
“Nothingwhichyoucanaskmeinthenameofdutyistoomuch。“
“No!no!Letmeremindyou。Humannaturehasitslimits。“
“AChristiangentlewoman’ssenseofdutyknowsnolimits。“
“Oh，surelyyes!“
“SirPatrick!afterwhatIhavejustsaidyourperseveranceindoubtingmeamountstosomethinglikeaninsult!“
“Don’tsaythat!Letmeputacase。Let’ssupposethefutureinterestsofanotherpersondependonyoursaying，Yes——whenallyourownmostcherishedideasandopinionsurgeyoutosay，No。
Doyoureallymeantotellmethatyoucouldtrampleyourownconvictionsunderfoot，ifitcouldbeshownthatthepurelyabstractconsiderationofdutywasinvolvedinthesacrifice？“
“Yes!“criedLadyLundie，mountingthepedestalofhervirtueonthespot。“Yes——withoutamoment’shesitation!“
“Isitcorrected，LadyLundie。Youemboldenmetoproceed。AllowmetoaskafterwhatIjustheard——whetheritisnotyourdutytoactonadvicegivenforBlanche’sbenefit，byonethehighestmedicalauthoritiesinEngland？“Herladyshipadmittedthatitwasherduty；pendingamorefavorableopportunityforcontradictingherbrother-in-law。
“Verygood，“pursuedSirPatrick。“AssumingthatBlancheislikemostotherhumanbeings，andhassomeprospectofhappinesstocontemplate，ifshecouldonlybemadetoseeit——arewenotboundtomakeherseeit，byourmoralobligationtoactonthemedicaladvice？“Hecastacourteously-persuasivelookatherladyship，andpausedinthemostinnocentmannerforareply。
IfLadyLundiehadnotbeenbent——thankstotheirritationfomentedbyherbrother-in-law——ondisputingthegroundwithhim，inchbyinch，shemusthaveseensigns，bythistime，ofthesnarethatwasbeingsetforher。Asitwas，shesawnothingbuttheopportunityofdisparagingBlancheandcontradictingSirPatrick。
“Ifmystep-daughterhadanysuchprospectasyoudescribe，“sheanswered，“Ishouldofcoursesay，Yes。ButBlanche’sisanill-regulatedmind。Anill-regulatedmindhasnoprospectofhappiness。“
“Pardonme，“saidSirPatrick。“Blanche_has_aprospectofhappiness。Inotherwords，Blanchehasaprospectofbeingmarried。Andwhatismore，ArnoldBrinkworthisreadytomarryherassoonasthesettlementscanbeprepared。“
LadyLundiestartedinherchair——turnedcrimsonwithrage——andopenedherlipstospeak。SirPatrickrosetohisfeet，andwentonbeforeshecouldutteraword。
“Ibegtorelieveyou，LadyLundie——bymeanswhichyouhavejustacknowledgedittobeyourdutytoaccept——ofallfurtherchargeofanincorrigiblegirl。AsBlanche’sguardian，Ihavethehonorofproposingthathermarriagebeadvancedtoadaytobehereafternamedinthefirstfortnightoftheensuingmonth。“
Inthosewordsheclosedthetrapwhichhehadsetforhissister-in-law，andwaitedtoseewhatcameofit。
Athoroughlyspitefulwoman，thoroughlyroused，iscapableofsubordinatingeveryotherconsiderationtotheoneimperativenecessityofgratifyingherspite。TherewasbutonewaynowofturningthetablesonSirPatrick——andLadyLundietookit。Shehatedhim，atthatmoment，sointensely，thatnoteventheassertionofherownobstinatewillpromisedhermorethanatamesatisfaction，bycomparisonwiththepricelessenjoymentofbeatingherbrother-in-lawwithhisownweapons。
“MydearSirPatrick!“shesaid，withalittlesilverylaugh，“youhavewastedmuchprecioustimeandmanyeloquentwordsintryingtoentrapmeintogivingmyconsent，whenyoumighthavehaditfortheasking。IthinktheideaofhasteningBlanche’smarriageanexcellentone。Iamcharmedtotransferthechargeofsuchapersonasmystep-daughtertotheunfortunateyoungmanwhoiswillingtotakeheroffmyhands。ThelessheseesofBlanche’scharacterthemoresatisfiedIshallfeelofhisperforminghisengagementtomarryher。Prayhurrythelawyers，SirPatrick，andletitbeaweeksoonerratherthanaweeklater，ifyouwishtopleaseMe。“
Herladyshiproseinhergrandestproportions，andmadeacourtesywhichwasnothinglessthanatriumphofpolitesatireindumbshow。SirPatrickansweredbyaprofoundbowandasmilewhichsaid，eloquently，“Ibelieveeverywordofthatcharminganswer。Admirablewoman——adieu!“
Sotheonepersoninthefamilycircle，whoseoppositionmighthaveforcedSirPatricktosubmittoatimelydelay，wassilencedbyadroitmanagementofthevicesofherowncharacter。So，indespiteofherself，LadyLundiewaswonovertotheprojectforhurryingthemarriageofArnoldandBlanche。
ITisthenatureofTruthtostruggletothelight。Inmorethanonedirection，thetruthstrovetopiercetheoverlyingdarkness，andtorevealitselftoview，duringtheintervalbetweenthedateofSirPatrick’svictoryandthedateofthewedding-day。
Signsofperturbationunderthesurface，suggestiveofsomehiddeninfluenceatwork，werenotwanting，asthetimepassedon。TheonethingmissingwasthepropheticfacultythatcouldreadthosesignsarightatWindygatesHouse。
OntheverydaywhenSirPatrick’sdextroustreatmentofhissister-in-lawhadsmoothedthewaytothehasteningofthemarriage，anobstaclewasraisedtothenewarrangementbynolessapersonthanBlancheherself。Shehadsufficientlyrecovered，towardnoon，tobeabletoreceiveArnoldinherownlittlesitting-room。Itprovedtobeaverybriefinterview。A
quarterofanhourlater，ArnoldappearedbeforeSirPatrick——whiletheoldgentlemanwassunninghimselfinthegarden——withafaceofblankdespair。Blanchehadindignantlydeclinedeventothinkofsuchathingashermarriage，atatimewhenshewasheart-brokenbythediscoverythatAnnehadleftherforever。
“Yougavemeleavetomentionit，SirPatrick——didn’tyou？“saidArnold。
SirPatrickshiftedroundalittle，soastogetthesunonhisback，andadmittedthathehadgivenleave。
“IfIhadonlyknown，Iwouldratherhavecutmytongueoutthanhavesaidawordaboutit。Whatdoyouthinkshedid？Sheburstoutcrying，andorderedmetoleavetheroom。“
Itwasalovelymorning——acoolbreezetemperedtheheatofthesun；thebirdsweresinging；thegardenworeitsbrightestlook。
SirPatrickwassupremelycomfortable。Thelittlewearisomevexationsofthismortallifehadretiredtoarespectfuldistancefromhim。Hepositivelydeclinedtoinvitethemtocomeanynearer。
“Hereisaworld，“saidtheoldgentleman，gettingthesunalittlemorebroadlyonhisback，“whichamercifulCreatorhasfilledwithlovelysights，harmonioussounds，deliciousscents；
andherearecreatureswithfacultiesexpresslymadeforenjoymentofthosesights，sounds，andscents——tosaynothingofLove，Dinner，andSleep，allthrownintothebargain。Andthesesamecreatureshate，starve，tosssleeplessontheirpillows，seenothingpleasant，hearnothingpleasant，smellnothingpleasant——crybittertears，sayhardwords，contractpainfulillnesses；wither，sink，age，die!Whatdoesitmean，Arnold？Andhowmuchlongerisitalltogoon？“
ThefineconnectinglinkbetweentheblindnessofBlanchetotheadvantageofbeingmarried，andtheblindnessofhumanitytotheadvantageofbeinginexistence，thoughsufficientlyperceptiblenodoubttovenerablePhilosophyripeninginthesun，wasabsolutelyinvisibletoArnold。HedeliberatelydroppedthevastquestionopenedbySirPatrick；and，revertingtoBlanche，askedwhatwastobedone。
“Whatdoyoudowithafire，whenyoucan’textinguishit？“saidSirPatrick。“Youletitblazetillitgoesout。Whatdoyoudowithawomanwhenyoucan’tpacifyher？Let_her_blazetillshegoesout。“
Arnoldfailedtoseethewisdomembodiedinthatexcellentadvice。“IthoughtyouwouldhavehelpedmetoputthingsrightwithBlanche，“hesaid。
“I_am_helpingyou。LetBlanchealone。Don’tspeakofthemarriageagain，thenexttimeyouseeher。Ifshementionsit，begherpardon，andtellheryouwon’tpressthequestionanymore。Ishallseeherinanhourortwo，andIshalltakeexactlythesametonemyself。Youhaveputtheideaintohermind——leaveittheretoripen。GiveherdistressaboutMissSilvesternothingtofeedon。Don’tstimulateitbycontradiction；don’trouseittodefenditselfbydisparagementofherlostfriend。LeaveTimetoedgehergentlynearerandnearertothehusbandwhoiswaitingforher——andtakemywordforit，Timewillhaveherreadywhenthesettlementsareready。“
TowardtheluncheonhourSirPatricksawBlanche，andputinpracticetheprinciplewhichhehadlaiddown。Shewasperfectlytranquilbeforeherunclelefther。Alittlelater，Arnoldwasforgiven。Alittlelaterstill，theoldgentleman’ssharpobservationnotedthathisniecewasunusuallythoughtful，andthatshelookedatArnold，fromtimetotime，withaninterestofanewkind——aninterestwhichshylyhiditselffromArnold’sview。SirPatrickwentuptodressfordinner，withacomfortableinnerconvictionthatthedifficultieswhichhadbesethimweresettledatlast。SirPatrickhadneverbeenmoremistakeninhislife。