“Praydon’tapologize，“shesaid。“IthinkIunderstandthatyouaresogoodastohavecometosee_me。_Youlooktired。Won’tyoutakeachair？“
Annecouldstandnolonger。Shetooktheofferedchair。Mrs。
Glenarmresumedherplaceonthemusic-stool，andranherfingersidlyoverthekeysofthepiano。“WheredidyouseeMr。
Delamayn？“shewenton。“Themostirresponsibleofmen，exceptwhenhehasgothisfiddleinhishand!Ishecominginsoon？Arewegoingtohaveanymusic？Haveyoucometoplaywithus？Mr。
Delamaynisaperfectfanaticinmusic，isn’the？Whyisn’theheretointroduceus？Isupposeyouliketheclassicalstyle，too？DidyouknowthatIwasinthemusic-room？MightIaskyourname？“
Frivolousastheywere，Mrs。Glenarm’squestionswerenotwithouttheiruse。TheygaveAnnetimetosummonherresolution，andtofeelthenecessityofexplainingherself。
“Iamspeaking，Ibelieve，toMrs。Glenarm？“shebegan。
Thegood-humoredwidowsmiledandbowedgraciously。
“Ihavecomehere，Mrs。Glenarm——byMr。Delamayn’spermission——toaskleavetospeaktoyouonamatterinwhichyouareinterested。“
Mrs。Glenarm’smany-ringedfingerspausedoverthekeysofthepiano。Mrs。Glenarm’splumpfaceturnedonthestrangerwithadawningexpressionofsurprise。
“Indeed？Iaminterestedinsomanymatters。MayIaskwhat_this_matteris？“
TheflippanttoneofthespeakerjarredonAnne。IfMrs。
Glenarm’snaturewasasshallowasitappearedtobeonthesurface，therewaslittlehopeofanysympathyestablishingitselfbetweenthem。
“Iwishedtospeaktoyou，“sheanswered，“aboutsomethingthathappenedwhileyouwerepayingavisitintheneighborhoodofPerth。“
ThedawningsurpriseinMrs。Glenarm’sfacebecameintensifiedintoanexpressionofdistrust。Herheartymannervanishedunderaveilofconventionalcivility，drawnoveritsuddenly。ShelookedatAnne。“Neveratthebestoftimesabeauty，“shethought。“Wretchedlyoutofhealthnow。Dressedlikeaservant，andlookinglikealady。What_does_itmean？“
ThelastdoubtwasnottobeborneinsilencebyapersonofMrs。
Glenarm’stemperament。Sheaddressedherselftothesolutionofitwiththemostunblushingdirectness——dextrouslyexcusedbythemostwinningfranknessofmanner。
“Pardonme，“shesaid。“Mymemoryforfacesisabadone；andI
don’tthinkyouheardmejustnow，whenIaskedforyourname。
Haveweevermetbefore？“
“Never。“
“Andyet——ifIunderstandwhatyouarereferringto——youwishtospeaktomeaboutsomethingwhichisonlyinterestingtomyselfandmymostintimatefriends。“
“Youunderstandmequitecorrectly，“saidAnne。“Iwishtospeaktoyouaboutsomeanonymousletters——“
“Forthethirdtime，willyoupermitmetoaskforyourname？“
“Youshallhearitdirectly——ifyouwillfirstallowmetofinishwhatIwantedtosay。Iwish——ifIcan——topersuadeyouthatI
comehereasafriend，beforeImentionmyname。Youwill，Iamsure，notbeverysorrytohearthatyouneeddreadnofurtherannoyance——“
“Pardonmeoncemore，“saidMrs。Glenarm，interposingforthesecondtime。“IamatalosstoknowtowhatIamtoattributethiskindinterestinmyaffairsonthepartofatotalstranger。“
Thistime，hertonewasmorethanpolitelycold——itwaspolitelyimpertinent。Mrs。Glenarmhadlivedallherlifeingoodsociety，andwasaperfectmistressofthesubtletiesofrefinedinsolenceinherintercoursewiththosewhoincurredherdispleasure。
Anne’ssensitivenaturefeltthewound——butAnne’spatientcouragesubmitted。Sheputawayfromhertheinsolencewhichhadtriedtosting，andwenton，gentlyandfirmly，asifnothinghadhappened。
“Thepersonwhowrotetoyouanonymously，“shesaid，“alludedtoacorrespondence。Heisnolongerinpossessionofit。Thecorrespondencehaspassedintohandswhichmaybetrustedtorespectit。Itwillbeputtonobaseuseinthefuture——Ianswerforthat。“
“Youanswerforthat？“repeatedMrs。Glenarm。Shesuddenlyleanedforwardoverthepiano，andfixedhereyesinunconcealedscrutinyonAnne’sface。Theviolenttemper，sooftenfoundincombinationwiththeweaknature，begantoshowitselfinherrisingcolor，andherloweringbrow。“Howdo_you_knowwhatthepersonwrote？“sheasked。“Howdo_you_knowthatthecorrespondencehaspassedintootherhands？Whoareyou？“BeforeAnnecouldanswerher，shesprangtoherfeet，electrifiedbyanewidea。“Themanwhowrotetomespokeofsomethingelsebesidesacorrespondence。Hespokeofawoman。Ihavefoundyouout!“sheexclaimed，withaburstofjealousfury。“_You_arethewoman!“
Anneroseonherside，stillinfirmpossessionofherself-control。
“Mrs。Glenarm，“shesaid，calmly，“Iwarn——no，Ientreatyou——nottotakethattonewithme。Composeyourself；andIpromisetosatisfyyouthatyouaremoreinterestedthanyouarewillingtobelieveinwhatIhavestilltosay。Praybearwithmeforalittlelonger。Iadmitthatyouhaveguessedright。IownthatI
amthemiserablewomanwhohasbeenruinedanddesertedbyGeoffreyDelamayn。“
“It’sfalse!“criedMrs。Glenarm。“Youwretch!Doyoucometo_me_withyourtrumped-upstory？WhatdoesJuliusDelamaynmeanbyexposingmetothis？“HerindignationatfindingherselfinthesameroomwithAnnebrokeitswaythrough，nottherestraintsonly，butthecommondecenciesofpoliteness。“I’llringfortheservants!“shesaid。“I’llhaveyouturnedoutofthehouse。“
Shetriedtocrossthefire-placetoringthebell。Anne，whowasstandingnearesttoit，steppedforwardatthesamemoment。
Withoutsayingaword，shemotionedwithherhandtotheotherwomantostandback。Therewasapause。Thetwowaited，withtheireyessteadilyfixedononeanother——eachwithherresolutionlaidbaretotheother’sview。Inamomentmore，thefinernatureprevailed。Mrs。Glenarmdrewbackastepinsilence。
“Listentome，“saidAnne。
“Listentoyou？“repeatedMrs。Glenarm。“Youhavenorighttobeinthishouse。Youhavenorighttoforceyourselfinhere。Leavetheroom!“
Anne’spatience——sofirmlyandadmirablypreservedthusfar——begantofailheratlast。
“Takecare，Mrs。Glenarm!“shesaid，stillstrugglingwithherself。“Iamnotnaturallyapatientwoman。Troublehasdonemuchtotamemytemper——butendurancehasitslimits。Youhavereachedthelimitsofmine。Ihaveaclaimtobeheard——andafterwhatyouhavesaidtome，I_will_beheard!“
“Youhavenoclaim!Youshamelesswoman，youaremarriedalready。
Iknowtheman’sname。ArnoldBrinkworth。“
“DidGeoffreyDelamayntellyouthat？“
“IdeclinetoanswerawomanwhospeaksofMr。GeoffreyDelamayninthatfamiliarway。“
Anneadvancedastepnearer。
“DidGeoffreyDelamayntellyouthat？“sherepeated。
Therewasalightinhereyes，therewasaringinhervoice，whichshowedthatshewasrousedatlast。Mrs。Glenarmansweredher，thistime。
“Hedidtellme。“
“Helied!“
“Hedid_not!_Heknew。Ibelieve_him。_Idon’tbelieve_you。_“
“IfhetoldyouthatIwasanythingbutasinglewoman——ifhetoldyouthatArnoldBrinkworthwasmarriedtoanybodybutMissLundieofWindygates——Isayagainhelied!“
“Isayagain——Ibelieve_him，_andnotyou。“
“YoubelieveIamArnoldBrinkworth’swife？“
“Iamcertainofit。“
“Youtellmethattomyface？“
“Itellyoutoyourface——youmayhavebeenGeoffreyDelamayn’smistress；youareArnoldBrinkworth’swife。“
AtthosewordsthelongrestrainedangerleapedupinAnne——allthemorehotlyforhavingbeenhithertososteadilycontrolled。
Inonebreathlessmomentthewhirlwindofherindignationsweptaway，notonlyallremembranceofthepurposewhichhadbroughthertoSwanhaven，butallsenseevenoftheunpardonablewrongwhichshehadsufferedatGeoffrey’shands。Ifhehadbeenthere，atthatmoment，andhadofferedtoredeemhispledge，shewouldhaveconsentedtomarryhim，whileMrs。Glenarmseyewasonher——nomatterwhethershedestroyedherselfinherfirstcoolmomentafterwardornot。Thesmallstinghadplanteditselfatlastinthegreatnature。Thenoblestwomanisonlyawoman，afterall!