Somethingmightcomeofit!LetitberememberedthatLadyLundiehadbeenleftentirelyinthedark——thatshehadwrittentoSirPatrickinatonewhichplainlyshowedthatherself-esteemwaswoundedandhersuspicionroused——andthatherfirstintimationoftheseriousdilemmainwhichArnoldBrinkworthstoodwasnowlikely，thankstoJuliusDelamayn，toreachherfromthelipsofamereacquaintance。Letthisberemembered；andthenlettheestimatebeformedofwhatmightcomeofit——notatWindygatesonly，butalsoatHamFarm!
“Whatdoyouthink？“askedJulius。
Mrs。Glenarmwasenchanted。“Theverypersontogoto!“shesaid。
“IfIamnotletinIcaneasilywrite——andexplainmyobjectasanapology。LadyLundieissoright-minded，sosympathetic。Ifsheseesnooneelse——Ihaveonlytoconfidemyanxietiestoher，andIamsureshewillseeme。Youwilllendmeacarriage，won’tyou？I’llgotoWindygatesto-morrow。“
Juliustookhisviolinoffthepiano。
“Don’tthinkmeverytroublesome，“hesaidcoaxingly。“Betweenthisandto-morrowwehavenothingtodo。Anditis_such_music，ifyouoncegetintotheswingofit!Wouldyoumindtryingagain？“
Mrs。Glenarmwaswillingtodoanythingtoprovehergratitude，aftertheinvaluablehintwhichshehadjustreceived。Atthesecondtrialthefairpianist’seyeandhandwereinperfectharmony。ThelovelymelodywhichtheAdagioofMozart’sFifteenthSonatahasgiventoviolinandpianoflowedsmoothlyatlast——andJuliusDelamaynsoaredtotheseventhheavenofmusicaldelight。
ThenextdayMrs。GlenarmandMrs。DelamaynwenttogethertoWindygatesHouse。
THEsceneopensonabedroom——anddiscloses，inbroaddaylight，aladyinbed。
Personswithanirritablesenseofpropriety，whoseself-appointeddutyitistobealwayscryingout，arewarnedtopausebeforetheycryoutonthisoccasion。TheladynowpresentedtoviewbeingnolessapersonthanLadyLundieherself，itfollows，asamatterofcourse，thattheutmostdemandsofproprietyare，bythemereassertionofthatfact，abundantlyandindisputablysatisfied。Tosaythatanythingshortofdirectmoraladvantagecould，byanypossibility，accruetoanylivingcreaturebythepresentationofherladyshipinahorizontal，insteadofaperpendicularposition，istoassertthatVirtueisaquestionofposture，andthatRespectabilityceasestoassertitselfwhenitceasestoappearinmorningoreveningdress。Willanybodybeboldenoughtosaythat？Letnobodycryout，then，onthepresentoccasion。
LadyLundiewasinbed。
HerladyshiphadreceivedBlanche’swrittenannouncementofthesuddenstoppageofthebridaltour；andhadpennedtheanswertoSirPatrick——thereceiptofwhichatHamFarmhasbeenalreadydescribed。Thisdone，LadyLundiefeltitduetoherselftotakeabecomingpositioninherownhouse，pendingthepossiblearrivalofSirPatrick’sreply。Whatdoesaright-mindedwomando，whenshehasreasontobelievethatsheiscruellydistrustedbythemembersofherownfamily？Aright-mindedwomanfeelsitsoacutelythatshefallsill。LadyLundiefellillaccordingly。
Thecasebeingaseriousone，amedicalpractitionerofthehighestgradeintheprofessionwasrequiredtotreatit。A
physicianfromtheneighboringtownofKirkandrewwascalledin。
Thephysiciancameinacarriageandpair，withthenecessarybaldhead，andtheindispensablewhitecravat。Hefeltherladyship’spulse，andputafewgentlequestions。Heturnedhisbacksolemnly，asonlyagreatdoctorcan，onhisownpositiveinternalconvictionthathispatienthadnothingwhateverthematterwithher。Hesaid，witheveryappearanceofbelievinginhimself，“Nerves，LadyLundie。Reposeinbedisessentiallynecessary。Iwillwriteaprescription。“Heprescribed，withperfectgravity：AromaticSpiritsofAmmonia——16drops。SpiritsofRedLavender——10drops。SyrupofOrangePeel——2drams。CamphorJulep——1ounce。Whenhehadwritten，MiscefiatHanstusinsteadofMixaDraught——whenhehadadded，TerdieSumendusinsteadofTobetakenThreetimesaday——andwhenhehadcertifiedtohisownLatin，byputtinghisinitialsattheend，hehadonlytomakehisbow；tosliptwoguineasintohispocket；andtogohisway，withanapprovingprofessionalconscience，inthecharacterofaphysicianwhohaddonehisduty。
LadyLundiewasinbed。Thevisiblepartofherladyshipwasperfectlyattired，withaviewtotheoccasion。Afilletofsuperbwhitelaceencircledherhead。Sheworeanadorableinvalidjacketofwhitecambric，trimmedwithlaceandpinkribbons。Therestwas——bed-clothes。OnatableathersidestoodtheRedLavenderDraught——incolorsoothingtotheeye；inflavornotunpleasanttothetaste。Abookofdevotionalcharacterwasnearit。Thedomesticledgers，andthekitchenreportfortheday，wererangedmodestlybehindthedevoutbook。Notevenherladyship’snerves，observe，werepermittedtointerferewithherladyship’sduty。Afan，asmelling-bottle，andahandkerchieflaywithinreachonthecounterpane。Thespaciousroomwaspartiallydarkened。Oneofthelowerwindowswasopen，affordingherladyshipthenecessarycubicsupplyofair。ThelateSirThomaslookedathiswidow，ineffigy，fromthewalloppositetheendofthebed。Notachairwasoutofitsplace；notavestigeofwearingappareldaredtoshowitselfoutsidethesacredlimitsofthewardrobeandthedrawers。Thesparklingtreasuresofthetoilet-tableglitteredinthedimdistance，Thejugsandbasinswereofarareandcreamywhite；spotlessandbeautifultosee。
Lookwhereyoumight，yousawaperfectroom。Thenlookatthebed——andyousawaperfectwoman，andcompletedthepicture。
ItwasthedayafterAnne’sappearanceatSwanhaven——towardtheendoftheafternoon。
LadyLundie’sownmaidopenedthedoornoiselessly，andstoleontip-toetothebedside。Herladyship’seyeswereclosed。Herladyshipsuddenlyopenedthem。
“Notasleep，Hopkins。Suffering。Whatisit？“
Hopkinslaidtwocardsonthecounterpane。“Mrs。Delamayn，mylady——andMrs。Glenarm。“
“TheyweretoldIwasill，ofcourse？“
“Yes，mylady。Mrs。Glenarmsentforme。Shewentintothelibrary，andwrotethisnote。“Hopkinsproducedthenote，neatlyfoldedinthree-corneredform。
“Havetheygone？“
“No，mylady。Mrs。GlenarmtoldmeYesorNowoulddoforanswer，ifyoucouldonlyhavethegoodnesstoreadthis。“
“ThoughtlessofMrs。Glenarm——atatimewhenthedoctorinsistsonperfectrepose，“saidLadyLundie。“Itdoesn’tmatter。Onesacrificemoreorlessisofverylittleconsequence。“
Shefortifiedherselfbyanapplicationofthesmelling-bottle，andopenedthenote。Itranthus：
“Sogrieved，dearLadyLundie，tohearthatyouareaprisonerinyourroom!IhadtakentheopportunityofcallingwithMrs。
Delamayn，inthehopethatImightbeabletoaskyouaquestion。
WillyourinexhaustiblekindnessforgivemeifIaskitinwriting？HaveyouhadanyunexpectednewsofMr。ArnoldBrinkworthlately？Imean，haveyouheardanythingabouthim，whichhastakenyouverymuchbysurprise？Ihaveaseriousreasonforaskingthis。Iwilltellyouwhatitis，themomentyouareabletoseeme。Untilthen，onewordofanswerisallI
expect。Sendworddown——Yes，orNo。Athousandapologies——andpraygetbettersoon!“
ThesingularquestioncontainedinthisnotesuggestedoneoftwoinferencestoLadyLundie’smind。EitherMrs。GlenarmhadheardareportoftheunexpectedreturnofthemarriedcoupletoEngland——orshewasinthefarmoreinterestingandimportantpositionofpossessingaclewtothesecretofwhatwasgoingonunderthesurfaceatHamFarm。Thephraseusedinthenote，“I
haveaseriousreasonforaskingthis，“appearedtofavorthelatterofthetwointerpretations。ImpossibleasitseemedtobethatMrs。GlenarmcouldknowsomethingaboutArnoldofwhichLadyLundiewasinabsoluteignorance，herladyship’scuriosityalreadypowerfullyexcitedbyBlanche’smysteriousletterwasonlytobequietedbyobtainingthenecessaryexplanationforthwith，atapersonalinterview。
“Hopkins，“shesaid，“ImustseeMrs。Glenarm。“
Hopkinsrespectfullyheldupherhandsinhorror。Companyinthebedroominthepresentstateofherladyship’shealth!
“Amatterofdutyisinvolvedinthis，Hopkins。Givemetheglass。“
Hopkinsproducedanelegantlittlehand-mirror。LadyLundiecarefullysurveyedherselfinitdowntothemarginofthebedclothes。Abovecriticismineveryrespect？Yes——evenwhenthecriticwasawoman。
“ShowMrs。Glenarmuphere。“
Inaminuteortwomoretheiron-master’swidowflutteredintotheroom——alittleover-dressedasusual；andalittleprofuseinexpressionsofgratitudeforherladyship’skindness，andofanxietyaboutherladyship’shealth。LadyLundieendureditaslongasshecould——thenstoppeditwithagestureofpoliteremonstrance，andcametothepoint。
“Now，mydear——aboutthisquestioninyournote？IsitpossibleyouhaveheardalreadythatArnoldBrinkworthandhiswifehavecomebackfromBaden？“Mrs。Glenarmopenedhereyesinastonishment。LadyLundieputitmoreplainly。“TheyweretohavegoneontoSwitzerland，youknow，fortheirweddingtour，andtheysuddenlyalteredtheirminds，andcamebacktoEnglandonSundaylast。“
“DearLadyLundie，it’snotthat!HaveyouheardnothingaboutMr。Brinkworthexceptwhatyouhavejusttoldme？“
“Nothing。“
Therewasapause。Mrs。Glenarmtoyedhesitatinglywithherparasol。LadyLundieleanedforwardinthebed，andlookedatherattentively。
“Whathave_you_heardabouthim？“sheasked。
Mrs。Glenarmwasembarrassed。“It’ssodifficulttosay，“shebegan。
“Icanbearanythingbutsuspense，“saidLadyLundie。“Tellmetheworst。“