Sheansweredhiminoneword。
“Blanche!“
Heshookhisheadimpatiently。“NoteveninBlanche’sinterests!
NotevenforBlanche’ssake!Ifthereisanyrisk，itisariskI
amreadytorun。Iholdtomyownopinion。Ibelievemyownviewtoberight。Letitcometoanappealtothelaw!Iwillfightthecase，andwinit。“
“Areyou_sure_ofwinningit，SirPatrick？“
Insteadofreplying，hepressedtheletteronher。“Destroyit，“
hewhispered。“Andrelyonmysilence。“
Shetooktheletterfromhim。
“Destroyit，“herepeated。“Theymayopenthedoors。Theymaycomeinatanymoment，andseeitinyourhand。“
“Ihavesomethingtoaskyou，SirPatrick，beforeIdestroyit。
Blancherefusestogobacktoherhusband，unlessshereturnswiththecertainassuranceofbeingreallyhiswife。IfIproducethisletter，shemaygobacktohimto-day。IfIdeclaremyselfGeoffreyDelamayn’swife，IclearArnoldBrinkworth，atonceandforeverofallsuspicionofbeingmarriedtome。Canyouascertainlyandeffectuallyclearhiminanyotherway？Answermethat，asamanofhonorspeakingtoawomanwhoimplicitlytrustshim!“
Shelookedhimfullintheface。Hiseyesdroppedbeforehers——hemadenoreply。
“Iamanswered，“shesaid。
Withthosewords，shepassedhim，andlaidherhandonthedoor。
Hecheckedher。Thetearsroseinhiseyesashedrewhergentlybackintotheroom。
“Whyshouldwewait？“sheasked。
“Wait，“heanswered，“asafavorto_me。_“
Sheseatedherselfcalmlyinthenearestchair，andrestedherheadonherhand，thinking。
Hebentoverher，androusedher，impatiently，almostangrily。
Thesteadyresolutioninherfacewasterribletohim，whenhethoughtofthemaninthenextroom。
“Taketimetoconsider，“hepleaded。“Don’tbeledawaybyyourownimpulse。Don’tactunderafalseexcitement。Nothingbindsyoutothisdreadfulsacrificeofyourself。“
“Excitement!Sacrifice!“Shesmiledsadlyassherepeatedthewords。“Doyouknow，SirPatrick，whatIwasthinkingofamomentsince？Onlyofoldtimes，whenIwasalittlegirl。Isawthesadsideoflifesoonerthanmostchildrenseeit。Mymotherwascruellydeserted。Thehardmarriagelawsofthiscountrywereharderonherthanonme。Shediedbroken-hearted。Butonefriendcomfortedheratthelastmoment，andpromisedtobeamothertoherchild。Ican’trememberoneunhappydayinalltheafter-timewhenIlivedwiththatfaithfulwomanandherlittledaughter——tillthedaythatpartedus。Shewentawaywithherhusband；andIandthelittledaughterwereleftbehind。Shesaidherlastwordstome。Herheartwassinkingunderthedreadofcomingdeath。’Ipromisedyourmotherthatyoushouldbelikemyownchildtome，anditquietedhermind。Quiet_my_mind，Anne，beforeIgo。Whateverhappensinyearstocome——promisemetobealwayswhatyouarenow，asistertoBlanche。’Whereisthefalseexcitement，SirPatrick，inoldremembranceslikethese？AndhowcantherebeasacrificeinanythingthatIdoforBlanche？“
Sherose，andofferedhimherhand。SirPatrickliftedittohislipsinsilence。
“Come!“shesaid。“Forbothoursakes，letusnotprolongthis。“
Heturnedasidehishead。Itwasnomomenttoletherseethatshehadcompletelyunmannedhim。Shewaitedforhim，withherhandonthelock。Heralliedhiscourage——heforcedhimselftofacethehorrorofthesituationcalmly。Sheopenedthedoor，andledthewaybackintotheotherroom。
Notawordwasspokenbyanyofthepersonspresent，asthetworeturnedtotheirplaces。Thenoiseofacarriagepassinginthestreetwaspainfullyaudible。Thechancebangingofadoorinthelowerregionsofthehousemadeeveryonestart。
Anne’ssweetvoicebrokethedrearysilence。
“MustIspeakformyself，SirPatrick？OrwillyouIaskitasalastandgreatestfavorspeakforme？“
“Youinsistonappealingtotheletterinyourhand？“
“Iamresolvedtoappealtoit。“
“Willnothinginduceyoutodeferthecloseofthisinquiry——sofarasyouareconcerned——forfour-and-twentyhours？“
“EitheryouorI，SirPatrick，mustsaywhatistobesaid，anddowhatistobedone，beforeweleavethisroom。“
“Givemetheletter。“
Shegaveittohim。Mr。Moywhisperedtohisclient，“Doyouknowwhatthatis？“Geoffreyshookhishead。“Doyoureallyremembernothingaboutit？“Geoffreyansweredinonesurlyword，“Nothing!“
SirPatrickaddressedhimselftotheassembledcompany。
“Ihavetoaskyourpardon，“hesaid，“forabruptlyleavingtheroom，andforobligingMissSilvestertoleaveitwithme。Everybodypresent，exceptthatman“hepointedtoGeoffrey，“will，I
believe，understandandforgiveme，nowthatIamforcedtomakemyconductthesubjectoftheplainestandthefullestexplanation。Ishalladdressthatexplanation，forreasonswhichwillpresentlyappear，tomyniece。“
Blanchestarted。“Tome!“sheexclaimed。
“Toyou，“SirPatrickanswered。
BlancheturnedtowardArnold，dauntedbyavaguesenseofsomethingserioustocome。TheletterthatshehadreceivedfromherhusbandonherdeparturefromHamFarmhadnecessarilyalludedtorelationsbetweenGeoffreyandAnne，ofwhichBlanchehadbeenpreviouslyignorant。Wasanyreferencecomingtothoserelations？WastheresomethingyettobedisclosedwhichArnold’sletterhadnotpreparedhertohear？
SirPatrickresumed。
“Ashorttimesince，“hesaidtoBlanche，“Iproposedtoyoutoreturntoyourhusband’sprotection——andtoleavetheterminationofthismatterinmyhands。Youhaverefusedtogobacktohimuntilyouarefirstcertainlyassuredthatyouarehiswife。
Thankstoasacrificetoyourinterestsandyourhappiness，onMissSilvester’spart——whichItellyoufranklyIhavedonemyutmosttoprevent——IaminapositiontoprovepositivelythatArnoldBrinkworthwasasinglemanwhenhemarriedyoufrommyhouseinKent。“
Mr。Moy’sexperienceforewarnedhimofwhatwascoming。HepointedtotheletterinSirPatrick’shand。
“Doyouclaimonapromiseofmarriage？“heasked。
SirPatrickrejoinedbyputtingaquestiononhisside。
“DoyourememberthefamousdecisionatDoctors’Commons，whichestablishedthemarriageofCaptainDalrympleandMissGordon？“
Mr。Moywasanswered。“Iunderstandyou，SirPatrick，“hesaid。
Afteramoment’spause，headdressedhisnextwordstoAnne。“Andfromthebottomofmyheart，madam，Irespect_you。_“
Itwassaidwithaferventsincerityoftonewhichwroughttheinterestoftheotherpersons，whowerestillwaitingforenlightenment，tothehighestpitch。LadyLundieandCaptainNewendenwhisperedtoeachotheranxiously。Arnoldturnedpale。
Blancheburstintotears。
SirPatrickturnedoncemoretohisniece。
“Somelittletimesince，“hesaid，“IhadoccasiontospeaktoyouofthescandalousuncertaintyofthemarriagelawsofScotland。ButforthatuncertaintyentirelywithoutparallelinanyothercivilizedcountryinEurope，ArnoldBrinkworthwouldneverhaveoccupiedthepositioninwhichhestandshereto-day——andtheseproceedingswouldneverhavetakenplace。Bearthatfactinmind。Itisnotonlyanswerableforthemischiefthathasbeenalreadydone，butforthefarmoreseriousevilwhichisstilltocome。“
Mr。Moytookanote。SirPatrickwenton。
“LooseandrecklessastheScotchlawis，therehappens，however，tobeonecaseinwhichtheactionofithasbeenconfirmedandsettledbytheEnglishCourts。Awrittenpromiseofmarriageexchangedbetweenamanandwoman，inScotland，marriesthatmanandwomanbyScotchlaw。AnEnglishCourtofJusticesittinginjudgmentontheeaseIhavejustmentionedtoMr。Moyhaspronouncedthatlawtobegood——andthedecisionhassincebeenconfirmedbythesupremeauthorityoftheHouseofLords。Wherethepersonstherefore——livinginScotlandatthetime——havepromisedeachothermarriageinwriting，thereisnownolongeranydoubttheyarecertainly，andlawfully，ManandWife。“Heturnedfromhisniece，andappealedtoMr。Moy。“AmIright？“
“Quiteright，SirPatrick，astothefacts。Iown，however，thatyourcommentaryonthemsurprisesme。IhavethehighestopinionofourScottishmarriagelaw。Amanwhohasbetrayedawomanunderapromiseofmarriageisforcedbythatlawintheinterestsofpublicmoralitytoacknowledgeherashiswife。“