“IamgoingsofarasIknowtosurprise——possiblytoalarm——you。Thereisnoescapingfromit，foryouorforme；itmustbedone。
“ThinkingofhowbesttointroducewhatIamnowobligedtosay，Icanfindnobetterwaythanthis。Imustaskyoutotakeyourmemorybacktoadaywhichwehavebothbitterreasontoregret——thedaywhenGeoffreyDelamaynsentyoutoseemeattheinnatCraigFernie。
“Youmaypossiblynotremember——itunhappilyproducednoimpressiononyouatthetime——thatIfelt，andexpressed，morethanonceonthatoccasion，averygreatdisliketoyourpassingmeoffonthepeopleoftheinnasyourwife。ItwasnecessarytomybeingpermittedtoremainatCraigFerniethatyoushoulddoso。Iknewthis；butstillIshrankfromit。Itwasimpossibleformetocontradictyou，withoutinvolvingyouinthepainfulconsequences，andrunningtheriskofmakingascandalwhichmightfinditswaytoBlanche’sears。Iknewthisalso；butstillmyconsciencereproachedme。Itwasavaguefeeling。Iwasquiteunawareoftheactualdangerinwhichyouwereplacingyourself，orIwouldhavespokenout，nomatterwhatcameofit。Ihadwhatiscalledapresentimentthatyouwerenotactingdiscreetly——nothingmore。AsIloveandhonormymother’smemory——asItrustinthemercyofGod——thisisthetruth。
“Youlefttheinnthenextmorning，andwehavenotmetsince。
“AfewdaysafteryouwentawaymyanxietiesgrewmorethanI
couldbearalone。IwentsecretlytoWindygates，andhadaninterviewwithBlanche。
“Shewasabsentforafewminutesfromtheroominwhichwehadmet。InthatintervalIsawGeoffreyDelamaynforthefirsttimesinceIhadlefthimatLadyLundie’slawn-party。HetreatedmeasifIwasastranger。Hetoldmethathehadfoundoutallthathadpassedbetweenusattheinn。Hesaidhehadtakenalawyer’sopinion。Oh，Mr。Brinkworth!howcanIbreakittoyou？howcanI
writethewordswhichrepeatwhathesaidtomenext？Itmustbedone。Cruelasitis，itmustbedone。Herefusedtomyfacetomarryme。HesaidIwasmarriedalready。HesaidIwasyourwife。
“NowyouknowwhyIhavereferredyoutowhatIfeltandconfessedtofeelingwhenweweretogetheratCraigFernie。Ifyouthinkhardthoughts，andsayhardwordsofme，Icanclaimnorighttoblameyou。Iaminnocent——andyetitismyfault。
“Myheadswims，andthefoolishtearsarerisinginspiteofme。
Imustleaveoff，andrestalittle。
“Ihavebeensittingatthewindow，andwatchingthepeopleinthestreetastheygoby。Theyareallstrangers。But，somehow，thesightofthemseemstorestmymind。Thehumofthegreatcitygivesmeheart，andhelpsmetogoon。
“Icannottrustmyselftowriteofthemanwhohasbetrayedusboth。DisgracedandbrokenasIam，thereissomethingstillleftinmewhichliftsmeabove_him。_Ifhecamerepentant，atthismoment，andofferedmeallthatrankandwealthandworldlyconsiderationcangive，IwouldratherbewhatIamnowthanbehiswife。
“Letmespeakofyou；andforBlanche’ssakeletmespeakofmyself。
“Iought，nodoubt，tohavewaitedtoseeyouatWindygates，andtohavetoldyouatonceofwhathadhappened。ButIwasweakandillandtheshockofhearingwhatIheardfellsoheavilyonmethatIfainted。AfterIcametomyselfIwassohorrified，whenI
thoughtofyouandBlanchethatasortofmadnesspossessedme。I
hadbutoneidea——theideaofrunningawayandhidingmyself。
“Mymindgotclearerandquieteronthewaytothisplace；and，arrivedhere，IdidwhatIhopeandbelievewasthebestthingI
coulddo。Iconsultedtwolawyers。Theydifferedinopinionastowhetherweweremarriedornot——accordingtothelawwhichdecidesonsuchthingsinScotland。ThefirstsaidYes。ThesecondsaidNo——butadvisedmetowriteimmediatelyandtellyouthepositioninwhichyoustood。Iattemptedtowritethesameday，andfellillasyouknow。
“ThankGod，thedelaythathashappenedisofnoconsequence。I
askedBlanche，atWindygates，whenyouweretobemarried——andshetoldmenotuntiltheendoftheautumn。ItisonlythefifthofSeptembernow。Youhaveplentyoftimebeforeyou。Foralloursakes，makegooduseofit。
“Whatareyoutodo？
“GoatoncetoSirPatrickLundie，andshowhimthisletter。
Followhisadvice——nomatterhowitmayaffect_me。_Ishouldillrequiteyourkindness，IshouldbefalseindeedtotheloveI
beartoBlanche，ifIhesitatedtobraveanyexposurethatmaynowbenecessaryinyourinterestsandinhers。Youhavebeenallthatisgenerous，allthatisdelicate，allthatiskindinthismatter。Youhavekeptmydisgracefulsecret——Iamquitesureofit——withthefidelityofanhonorablemanwhohashadawoman’sreputationplacedinhischarge。Ireleaseyou，withmywholeheart，dearMr。Brinkworth，fromyourpledge。Ientreatyou，onmyknees，toconsideryourselffreetorevealthetruth。Iwillmakeanyacknowledgment，onmyside，thatisneedfulunderthecircumstances——nomatterhowpublicitmaybe。Releaseyourselfatanyprice；andthen，andnottillthen，givebackyourregardtothemiserablewomanwhohasladenyouwiththeburdenofhersorrow，anddarkenedyourlifeforamomentwiththeshadowofhershame。
“Praydon’tthinkthereisanypainfulsacrificeinvolvedinthis。Thequietingofmyownmindisinvolvedinit——andthatisall。
“Whathaslifeleftfor_me？_Nothingbutthebarrennecessityofliving。WhenIthinkofthefuturenow，mymindpassesovertheyearsthatmaybelefttomeinthisworld。SometimesIdaretohopethattheDivineMercyofChrist——whichoncepleadedonearthforawomanlikeme——mayplead，whendeathhastakenme，formyspiritinHeaven。SometimesIdaretohopethatImayseemymother，andBlanche’smother，inthebetterworld。Theirheartswereboundtogetherastheheartsofsisterswhiletheywerehere；andtheylefttotheirchildrenthelegacyoftheirlove。
Oh，helpmetosay，ifwemeetagain，thatnotinvainIpromisedtobeasistertoBlanche!ThedebtIowetoheristhehereditarydebtofmymother’sgratitude。AndwhatamInow？Anobstacleinthewayofthehappinessofherlife。Sacrificemetothathappiness，forGod’ssake!ItistheonethingIhavelefttolivefor。AgainandagainIsayit——Icarenothingformyself。
Ihavenorighttobeconsidered；Ihavenowishtobeconsidered。Tellthewholetruthaboutme，andcallmetobearwitnesstoitaspubliclyasyouplease!
“Ihavewaitedalittle，oncemore，tryingtothink，beforeI
closemyletter，whattheremaybestilllefttowrite。
“Icannotthinkofanythingleftbutthedutyofinformingyouhowyoumayfindme。ifyouwishtowrite——orifitisthoughtnecessarythatweshouldmeetagain。
“OnewordbeforeItellyouthis。
“Itisimpossibleformetoguesswhatyouwilldo，orwhatyouwillbeadvisedtodobyothers，whenyougetmyletter。Idon’tevenknowthatyoumaynotalreadyhaveheardofwhatyourpositionisfromGeoffreyDelamaynhimself。Inthisevent，orintheeventofyourthinkingitdesirabletotakeBlancheintoyourconfidence，Iventuretosuggestthatyoushouldappointsomepersonwhomyoucantrusttoseemeonyourbehalf——or，ifyoucannotdothisthatyoushouldseemeinthepresenceofathirdperson。Themanwhohasnothesitatedtobetrayusboth，willnothesitatetomisrepresentusinthevilestway，ifhecandoitinthefuture。Foryourownsake，letusbecarefultogivelyingtonguesnoopportunityofassailingyourplaceinBlanche’sestimation。Don’tactsoastoriskputtingyourselfinafalseposition_again!_Don’tletitbepossiblethatafeelingunworthyofhershouldberousedinthelovingandgenerousnatureofyourfuturewife!
“Thiswritten，ImaynowtellyouhowtocommunicatewithmeafterIhaveleftthisplace。
“YouwillfindontheslipofpaperinclosedthenameandaddressofthesecondofthetwolawyerswhomIconsultedinGlasgow。ItisarrangedbetweenusthatIamtoinformhim，byletter，ofthenextplacetowhichIremove，andthatheistocommunicatetheinformationeithertoyouortoSirPatrickLundie，onyourapplyingforitpersonallyorbywriting。Idon’tyetknowmyselfwhereImayfindrefuge。NothingiscertainbutthatIcannot，inmypresentstateofweakness，travelfar。
“IfyouwonderwhyImoveatalluntilIamstronger，Icanonlygiveareasonwhichmayappearfancifulandoverstrained。
“IhavebeeninformedthatIwasadvertisedintheGlasgownewspapersduringthetimewhenIlayatthishotel，astrangeratthepointofdeath。Troublehasperhapsmadememorbidlysuspicious。IamafraidofwhatmayhappenifIstayhere，aftermyplaceofresidencehasbeenmadepubliclyknown。So，assoonasIcanmove，Igoawayinsecret。Itwillbeenoughforme，ifIcanfindrestandpeaceinsomequietplace，inthecountryroundGlasgow。Youneedfeelnoanxietyaboutmymeansofliving。
IhavemoneyenoughforallthatIneed——and，ifIgetwellagain，Iknowhowtoearnmybread。
“IsendnomessagetoBlanche——Idarenottillthisisover。Waittillsheisyourhappywife；andthengiveherakiss，andsayitcomesfromAnne。
“Tryandforgiveme，dearMr。Brinkworth。Ihavesaidall。Yoursgratefully，“ANNESILVESTER。“
SirPatrickputtheletterdownwithunfeignedrespectforthewomanwhohadwrittenit。
SomethingofthepersonalinfluencewhichAnneexercisedmoreorlessoverallthemenwithwhomshecameincontactseemedtocommunicateitselftotheoldlawyerthroughthemediumofherletter。Histhoughtsperverselywanderedawayfromtheseriousandpressingquestionofhisniece’spositionintoaregionofpurelyspeculativeinquiryrelatingtoAnne。WhatinfatuationheaskedhimselfhadplacedthatnoblecreatureatthemercyofsuchamanasGeoffreyDelamayn？