LadyLundielookedfromonetotheotherwithunconcealedimpatienceastheseformalcourtesieswereexchangedbetweenthelawyers。“Allowmetoremindyou，gentlemen，ofthesuspensethatwearesufferingatthisendoftheroom，“shesaid。“Andpermitmetoaskwhenyouproposetobegin？“
SirPatricklookedinvitinglyatMr。Moy。Mr。MoylookedinvitinglyatSirPatrick。Moreformalcourtesies!apolitecontestthistimeastowhichofthetwolearnedgentlemenshouldpermittheothertospeakfirst!Mr。Moy’smodestyprovingtobequiteimmovable，SirPatrickendeditbyopeningtheproceedings。
“Iamhere，“hesaid，“toactonbehalfofmyfriend，Mr。ArnoldBrinkworth。Ibegtopresenthimtoyou，Mr。Moyasthehusbandofmyniece——towhomhewaslawfullymarriedontheseventhofSeptemberlast，attheChurchofSaintMargaret，intheparishofHawley，Kent。Ihaveacopyofthemarriagecertificatehere——ifyouwishtolookatit。“
Mr。Moy’smodestydeclinedtolookatit。
“Quiteneedless，SirPatrick!Iadmitthatamarriageceremonytookplaceonthedatenamed，betweenthepersonsnamed；butI
contendthatitwasnotavalidmarriage。Isay，onbehalfofmyclientherepresentMr。GeoffreyDelamayn，thatArnoldBrinkworthwasmarriedatadatepriortotheseventhofSeptemberlast——namely，onthefourteenthofAugustinthisyear，andataplacecalledCraigFernie，inScotland——toaladynamedAnneSilvester，nowliving，andpresentamongusasI
understandatthismoment。“
SirPatrickpresentedAnne。“Thisisthelady，Mr。Moy。“
Mr。Moybowed，andmadeasuggestion。“Tosaveneedlessformalities，SirPatrick，shallwetakethequestionofidentityasestablishedonbothsides？“
SirPatrickagreedwithhislearnedfriend。LadyLundieopenedandshutherfaninundisguisedimpatience。TheLondonsolicitorwasdeeplyinterested。CaptainNewenden，takingouthishandkerchief，andusingitasascreen，yawnedbehindittohisheart’scontent。SirPatrickresumed。
“Youassertthepriormarriage，“hesaidtohiscolleague。“Itrestswithyoutobegin。“
Mr。Moycastapreliminarylookroundhimatthepersonsassembled。
“Theobjectofourmeetinghere，“hesaid，“is，ifIamnotmistaken，ofatwofoldnature。Inthefirstplace，itisthoughtdesirable，byapersonwhohasaspecialinterestintheissueofthisinquiry“heglancedatthecaptain——thecaptainsuddenlybecameattentive，“toputmyclient’sassertion，relatingtoMr。
Brinkworth’smarriage，totheproof。Inthesecondplace，weareallequallydesirous——whateverdifferenceofopinionmayotherwiseexist——tomakethisinformalinquiryameans，ifpossible，ofavoidingthepainfulpublicitywhichwouldresultfromanappealtoaCourtofLaw。“
AtthosewordsthegatheredvenominLadyLundieplanteditssecondsting——undercoverofaprotestaddressedtoMr。Moy。
“Ibegtoinformyou，Sir，onbehalfofmystep-daughter，“shesaid，“thatwehavenothingtodreadfromthewidestpublicity。
Weconsenttobepresentat，whatyoucall，’thisinformalinquiry，’reservingourrighttocarrythematterbeyondthefourwallsofthisroom。IamnotreferringnowtoMr。Brinkworth’schanceofclearinghimselffromanodioussuspicionwhichrestsuponhim，anduponanotherPersonpresent。Thatisanafter-matter。Theobjectimmediatelybeforeus——sofarasawomancanpretendtounderstandit——istoestablishmystep-daughter’srighttocallMr。Brinkworthtoaccountinthecharacterofhiswife。Iftheresult，sofar，failstosatisfyusinthatparticular，weshallnothesitatetoappealtoaCourtofLaw。“
Sheleanedbackinherchair，andopenedherfan，andlookedroundherwiththeairofawomanwhocalledsocietytowitnessthatshehaddoneherduty。
AnexpressionofpaincrossedBlanche’sfacewhileherstep-motherwasspeaking。LadyLundietookherhandforthesecondtime。Blancheresolutelyandpointedlywithdrewit——SirPatricknoticingtheactionwithspecialinterest。BeforeMr。Moycouldsayawordinanswer，Arnoldcentredthegeneralattentiononhimselfbysuddenlyinterferingintheproceedings。Blanchelookedathim。Abrightflashofcolorappearedonherface——andleftitagain。SirPatricknotedthechangeofcolor——andobservedhermoreattentivelythanever。Arnold’slettertohiswife，withtimetohelpit，hadplainlyshakenherladyship’sinfluenceoverBlanche。
“AfterwhatLadyLundiehassaid，inmywife’spresence，“Arnoldburstout，inhisstraightforward，boyishway，“IthinkIoughttobeallowedtosayawordonmyside。IonlywanttoexplainhowitwasIcametogotoCraigFernieatall——andIchallengeMr。GeoffreyDelamayntodenyit，ifhecan。“
Hisvoiceroseatthelastwords，andhiseyesbrightenedwithindignationashelookedatGeoffrey。
Mr。Moyappealedtohislearnedfriend。
“Withsubmission，SirPatrick，toyourbetterjudgment，“hesaid，“thisyounggentleman’sproposalseemstobealittleoutofplaceatthepresentstageoftheproceedings。“
“Pardonme，“answeredSirPatrick。“Youhaveyourselfdescribedtheproceedingsasrepresentinganinformalinquiry。Aninformalproposal——withsubmissionto_your_betterjudgment，Mr。Moy——ishardlyoutofplace，underthosecircumstances，isit？“
Mr。Moy’sinexhaustiblemodestygaveway，withoutastruggle。Theanswerwhichhereceivedhadtheeffectofpuzzlinghimattheoutsetoftheinvestigation。AmanofSirPatrick’sexperiencemusthaveknownthatArnold’smereassertionofhisowninnocencecouldbeproductiveofnothingbutuselessdelayintheproceedings。Andyethesanctionedthatdelay。Washeprivatelyonthewatchforanyaccidentalcircumstancewhichmighthelphimtobetteracasethatheknewtobeabadone？
Permittedtospeak，Arnoldspoke。Theunmistakableaccentoftruthwasineverywordthatheuttered。Hegaveafairlycoherentaccountofevents，fromthetimewhenGeoffreyhadclaimedhisassistanceatthelawn-partytothetimewhenhefoundhimselfatthedooroftheinnatCraigFernie。ThereSirPatrickinterfered，andclosedhislips。HeaskedleavetoappealtoGeoffreytoconfirmhim。SirPatrickamazedMr。Moybysanctioningthisirregularityalso。ArnoldsternlyaddressedhimselftoGeoffrey。
“DoyoudenythatwhatIhavesaidistrue？“heasked。
Mr。Moydidhisdutybyhisclient。“Youarenotboundtoanswer，“hesaid，“unlessyouwishityourself。“
Geoffreyslowlyliftedhisheavyhead，andconfrontedthemanwhomhehadbetrayed。
“Idenyeverywordofit，“heanswered——withastoliddefianceoftoneandmanner“Havewehadenoughofassertionandcounter-assertion，SirPatrick，bythistime？“askedMr。Moy，withundiminishedpoliteness。
AfterfirstforcingArnold——withsomelittledifficulty——tocontrolhimself，SirPatrickraisedMr。Moy’sastonishmenttotheculminatingpoint。Forreasonsofhisown，hedeterminedtostrengthenthefavorableimpressionwhichArnold’sstatementhadplainlyproducedonhiswifebeforetheinquiryproceededastepfarther。
“Imustthrowmyselfonyourindulgence，Mr。Moy，“hesaid。“I
havenothadenoughofassertionandcounter-assertion，evenyet。“
Mr。Moyleanedbackinhischair，withamixedexpressionofbewildermentandresignation。Eitherhiscolleague’sintellectwasinafailingstate——orhiscolleaguehadsomepurposeinviewwhichhadnotopenlyasserteditselfyet。Hebegantosuspectthattherightreadingoftheriddlewasinvolvedinthelatterofthosetwoalternatives。Insteadofenteringanyfreshprotest，hewiselywaitedandwatched。
SirPatrickwentonunblushinglyfromoneirregularitytoanother。
“IrequestMr。Moy’spermissiontoreverttotheallegedmarriage，onthefourteenthofAugust，atCraigFernie，“hesaid。
“ArnoldBrinkworth!answerforyourself，inthepresenceofthepersonshereassembled。Inallthatyousaid，andallthatyoudid，whileyouwereattheinn，wereyounotsolelyinfluencedbythewishtomakeMissSilvester’spositionaslittlepainfultoheraspossible，andbyanxietytocarryouttheinstructionsgiventoyoubyMr。GeoffreyDelamayn？Isthatthewholetruth？“
“Thatisthewholetruth，SirPatrick。“
“OnthedaywhenyouwenttoCraigFernie，hadyounot，afewhourspreviously，appliedformypermissiontomarrymyniece？“
“Iappliedforyourpermission，SirPatrick；andyougaveitme。“
“Fromthemomentwhenyouenteredtheinntothemomentwhenyouleftit，wereyouabsolutelyinnocentoftheslightestintentiontomarryMissSilvester？“
“NosuchthingasthethoughtofmarryingMissSilvestereverenteredmyhead。“
“Andthisyousay，onyourwordofhonorasagentleman？“
“Onmywordofhonorasagentleman。“
SirPatrickturnedtoAnne。
“Wasitamatterofnecessity，MissSilvester，thatyoushouldappearintheassumedcharacterofamarriedwoman——onthefourteenthofAugustlast，attheCraigFernieinn？“
AnnelookedawayfromBlancheforthefirsttime。SherepliedtoSirPatrickquietly，readily，firmly——Blanchelookingather，andlisteningtoherwitheagerinterest。
“Iwenttotheinnalone，SirPatrick。Thelandladyrefused，intheplainestterms，toletmestaythere，unlessshewasfirstsatisfiedthatIwasamarriedwoman。“
“Whichofthetwogentlemendidyouexpecttojoinyouattheinn——Mr。ArnoldBrinkworth，orMr。GeoffreyDelamayn？“