THEletterstoLadyLundieandtoMr。CrumhavingbeendispatchedonMonday，thereturnofthepostmightbelookedforonWednesdayafternoonatHamFarm。
SirPatrickandArnoldheldmorethanoneprivateconsultation，duringtheinterval，onthedelicateanddifficultsubjectofadmittingBlanchetoaknowledgeofwhathadhappened。Thewiseelderadvisedandtheinexperiencedjuniorlistened。“Thinkofit，“saidSirPatrick；“anddoit。“AndArnoldthoughtofit——andleftitundone。
Letthosewhofeelinclinedtoblamehimrememberthathehadonlybeenmarriedafortnight。Itishard，surely，afterbuttwoweeks’possessionofyourwife，toappearbeforeherinthecharacterofanoffenderontrial——andtofindthatanangelofretributionhasbeenthrownintothebargainbytheliberaldestinywhichbestowedonyouthewomanwhomyouadore!
TheywereallthreeathomeontheWednesdayafternoon，lookingoutforthepostman。
ThecorrespondencedeliveredincludedexactlyasSirPatrickhadforeseenaletterfromLadyLundie。Furtherinvestigation，onthefarmoreinterestingsubjectoftheexpectednewsfromGlasgow，revealed——nothing。ThelawyerhadnotansweredSirPatrick’sinquirybyreturnofpost。
“Isthatabadsign？“askedBlanche。
“Itisasignthatsomethinghashappened，“answeredheruncle。
“Mr。Crumispossiblyexpectingtoreceivesomespecialinformation，andiswaitingonthechanceofbeingabletocommunicateit。Wemusthope，mydear，into-morrow’spost。“
“OpenLadyLundie’sletterinthemeantime，“saidBlanche。“Areyousureitisforyou——andnotforme？“
Therewasnodoubtaboutit。Herladyship’sreplywasominouslyaddressedtoherladyship’sbrother-in-law。“Iknowwhatthatmeans。“saidBlanche，eyingheruncleeagerlywhilehewasreadingtheletter。“IfyoumentionAnne’snameyouinsultmystep-mother。Ihavementioneditfreely。LadyLundieismortallyoffendedwithme。“
Rashjudgmentofyouth!Aladywhotakesadignifiedattitude，inafamilyemergency，isnevermortallyoffended——sheisonlydeeplygrieved。LadyLundietookadignifiedattitude。“Iwellknow，“wrotethisestimableandChristianwoman，“thatIhavebeenallalongregardedinthelightofanintruderbythefamilyconnectionsofmylatebelovedhusband。ButIwashardlypreparedtofindmyselfentirelyshutoutfromalldomesticconfidence，atatimewhensomeseriousdomesticcatastrophehasbuttooevidentlytakenplace。Ihavenodesire，dearSirPatrick，tointrude。Feelingit，however，tobequiteinconsistentwithadueregardformyownposition——afterwhathashappened——tocorrespondwithBlanche，Iaddressmyselftotheheadofthefamily，purelyintheinterestsofpropriety。Permitmetoaskwhether——undercircumstanceswhichappeartobeseriousenoughtorequiretherecallofmystep-daughterandherhusbandfromtheirweddingtour——youthinkitDECENTtokeepthewidowofthelateSirThomasLundieentirelyinthedark？Prayconsiderthis——notatalloutofregardforMe!——butoutofregardforyourownpositionwithSociety。Curiosityis，asyouknow，foreigntomynature。Butwhenthisdreadfulscandalwhateveritmaybecomesout——which，dearSirPatrick，itcannotfailtodo——whatwilltheworldthink，whenitasksforLadyLundie’s，opinion，andhearsthatLadyLundieknewnothingaboutit？WhicheverwayyoumaydecideIshalltakenooffense。Imaypossiblybewounded——butthatwon’tmatter。Mylittleroundofdutieswillfindmestillearnest，stillcheerful。Andevenifyoushutmeout，mybestwisheswillfindtheirway，nevertheless，toHamFarm。MayIadd——withoutencounteringasneer——thattheprayersofalonelywomanareofferedforthewelfareofall？“
“Well？“saidBlanche。
SirPatrickfoldeduptheletter，andputitinhispocket。
“Youhaveyourstep-mother’sbestwishes，mydear。“Havingansweredinthoseterms，hebowedtohisniecewithhisbestgrace，andwalkedoutoftheroom。
“DoIthinkitdecent，“herepeatedtohimself，asheclosedthedoor，“toleavethewidowofthelateSirThomasLundieinthedark？Whenalady’stemperisalittleruffled，Ithinkitmorethandecent，Ithinkitabsolutelydesirable，toletthatladyhavethelastword。“Hewentintothelibrary，anddroppedhissister-in-law’sremonstranceintoabox，labeled“UnansweredLetters。“Havinggotridofitinthatway，hehummedhisfavoritelittleScotchair——andputonhishat，andwentouttosunhimselfinthegarden。
Meanwhile，BlanchewasnotquitesatisfiedwithSirPatrick’sreply。Sheappealedtoherhusband。“Thereissomethingwrong，“
shesaid——“andmyuncleishidingitfromme。“
Arnoldcouldhavedesirednobetteropportunitythanshehadofferedtohim，inthosewords，formakingthelong-deferreddisclosuretoherofthetruth。HeliftedhiseyestoBlanche’sface。Byanunhappyfatalityshewaslookingcharminglythatmorning。Howwouldshelookifhetoldherthestoryofthehidingattheinn？Arnoldwasstillinlovewithher——andArnoldsaidnothing。
Thenextday’spostbroughtnotonlytheanticipatedletterfromMr。Crum，butanunexpectedGlasgownewspaperaswell。
ThistimeBlanchehadnoreasontocomplainthatherunclekepthiscorrespondenceasecretfromher。Afterreadingthelawyer’sletter，withaninterestandagitationwhichshowedthatthecontentshadtakenhimbysurprise，hehandedittoArnoldandhisniece。“Badnewsthere，“hesaid。“Wemustshareittogether。“
AfteracknowledgingthereceiptofSirPatrick’sletterofinquiry，Mr。CrumbeganbystatingallthatheknewofMissSilvester’smovements——datingfromthetimewhenshehadlefttheSheep’sHeadHotel。AboutafortnightsincehehadreceivedaletterfromherinforminghimthatshehadfoundasuitableplaceofresidenceinavillagenearGlasgow。FeelingastronginterestinMissSilvester，Mr。Crumhadvisitedhersomefewdaysafterward。Hehadsatisfiedhimselfthatshewaslodgingwithrespectablepeople，andwasascomfortablysituatedascircumstanceswouldpermit。Foraweekmorehehadheardnothingfromthelady。Attheexpirationofthattimehehadreceivedaletterfromher，tellinghimthatshehadreadsomethinginaGlasgownewspaper，ofthatday’sdate，whichseriouslyconcernedherself，andwhichwouldobligehertotravelnorthwardimmediatelyasfastasherstrengthwouldpermit。Atalaterperiod，whenshewouldbemorecertainofherownmovements，sheengagedtowriteagain，andletMr。Crumknowwherehemightcommunicatewithherifnecessary。Inthemeantime，shecouldonlythankhimforhiskindness，andbeghimtotakecareofanylettersormessageswhichmightbeleftforher。Sincethereceiptofthiscommunicationthelawyerhadheardnothingfurther。Hehadwaitedforthemorning’spostinthehopeofbeingabletoreportthathehadreceivedsomefurtherintelligence。Thehopehadnotbeenrealized。Hehadnowstatedallthatheknewhimselfthusfar——andhehadforwardedacopyofthenewspaperalludedtobyMissSilvester，onthechancethatanexaminationofitbySirPatrickmightpossiblyleadtofurtherdiscoveries。Inconclusion，hepledgedhimselftowriteagainthemomenthehadanyinformationtosend。
Blanchesnatchedupthenewspaper，andopenedit。“Letmelook!“
shesaid。“IcanfindwhatAnnesawhereifanybodycan!“
Sheranhereyeeagerlyovercolumnaftercolumnandpageafterpage——anddroppedthenewspaperonherlapwithagestureofdespair。
“Nothing!“sheexclaimed。“Nothinganywhere，thatIcansee，tointerestAnne。Nothingtointerestanybody——exceptLadyLundie，“
shewenton，brushingthenewspaperoffherlap。“Itturnsouttobealltrue，Arnold，atSwanhaven。GeoffreyDelamaynisgoingtomarryMrs。Glenarm。“
“What!“criedArnold；theideainstantlyflashingonhimthatthiswasthenewswhichAnnehadseen。
SirPatrickgavehimawarninglook，andpickedupthenewspaperfromthefloor。
“Imayaswellrunthroughit，Blanche，andmakequitesurethatyouhavemissednothing，“hesaid。
ThereporttowhichBlanchehadreferredwasamongtheparagraphsarrangedundertheheadingof“FashionableNews。““Amatrimonialalliance“theGlasgowjournalannounced“wasinprospectbetweentheHonorableGeoffreyDelamaynandthelovelyandaccomplishedrelictofthelateMathewGlenarm，Esq。，formerlyMissNewenden。“The，marriagewould，inallprobability，“besolemnizedinScotland，beforetheendofthepresentautumn；“
andtheweddingbreakfast，itwaswhispered，“wouldcollectalargeandfashionablepartyatSwanhavenLodge。“
SirPatrickhandedthenewspapersilentlytoArnold。ItwasplaintoanyonewhoknewAnneSilvester’sstorythatthosewerethewordswhichhadfoundtheirfatalwaytoherinherplaceofrest。Theinferencethatfollowedseemedtobehardlylessclear。
Butoneintelligibleobject，intheopinionofSirPatrick，couldbeattheendofherjourneytothenorth。Thedesertedwomanhadralliedthelastrelicsofheroldenergy——andhaddevotedherselftothedesperatepurposeofstoppingthemarriageofMrs。
Glenarm。
Blanchewasthefirsttobreakthesilence。
“Itseemslikeafatality，“shesaid。“Perpetualfailure!
Perpetualdisappointment!AreAnneandIdoomednevertomeetagain？“
Shelookedatheruncle。SirPatrickshowednoneofhiscustomarycheerfulnessinthefaceofdisaster。
“ShehaspromisedtowritetoMr。Crum，“hesaid。“AndMr。Crumhaspromisedtoletusknowwhenhehearsfromher。Thatistheonlyprospectbeforeus。Wemustacceptitasresignedlyaswecan。“
Blanchewanderedoutlistlesslyamongtheflowersintheconservatory。SirPatrickmadenosecretoftheimpressionproduceduponhimbyMr。Crum’sletter，whenheandArnoldwereleftalone。
“Thereisnodenying，“hesaid，“thatmattershavetakenaveryseriousturn。Myplansandcalculationsareallthrownout。Itisimpossibletoforeseewhatnewmischiefmaynotcomeofit，ifthosetwowomenmeet；orwhatdesperateactDelamaynmaynotcommit，ifhefindshimselfdriventothewall。Asthingsare，I
ownfranklyIdon’tknowwhattodonext。AgreatlightofthePresbyterianChurch，“headded，withamomentaryoutbreakofhiswhimsicalhumor，“oncedeclared，inmyhearing，thattheinventionofprintingwasnothingmoreorlessthanaproofoftheintellectualactivityoftheDevil。Uponmyhonor，Ifeelforthefirsttimeinmylifeinclinedtoagreewithhim。“
HemechanicallytookuptheGlasgowjournal，whichArnoldhadlaidaside，whilehespoke。
“What’sthis!“heexclaimed，asanamecaughthiseyeinthefirstlineofthenewspaperatwhichhehappenedtolook。“Mrs。
Glenarmagain!Aretheyturningtheiron-master’swidowintoapubliccharacter？“