SirPatrickwaitedinthehall。Eventhemomentarydelayofenteringoneofthereception-roomswasmorethanhecouldendureatthatmoment。Anne’shappinesswashopelesslysacrificedalready。Thepreservationofherpersonalsafety——whichSirPatrickfirmlybelievedtobeindanger——wastheoneservicewhichitwaspossibletorendertohernow。Theperilouspositioninwhichshestoodtowardherhusband——asanimmovableobstacle，whileshelived，betweenGeoffreyandMrs。Glenarm——wasbeyondthereachofremedy。ButitwasstillpossibletopreventherfrombecomingtheinnocentcauseofGeoffrey’specuniaryruin，bystandinginthewayofareconciliationbetweenfatherandson。
ResolutetoleavenomeansuntriedofservingAnne’sinterests，SirPatrickhadallowedArnoldandBlanchetogotohisownresidenceinLondon，alone，andhadnotevenwaitedtosayafarewellwordtoanyofthepersonswhohadtakenpartintheinquiry。“HerlifemaydependonwhatIcandoforheratHolchesterHouse!“Withthatconvictioninhim，hehadleftPortlandPlace。Withthatconvictioninhim，hehadsenthismessagetoLadyHolchester，andwasnowwaitingforthereply。
Theservantappearedagainonthestairs。SirPatrickwentuptomeethim。
“Herladyshipwillseeyou，Sir，forafewminutes。“
Thedoorofanupperroomwasopened；andSirPatrickfoundhimselfinthepresenceofGeoffrey’smother。Therewasonlytimetoobservethatshepossessedtheremainsofrarepersonalbeauty，andthatshereceivedhervisitorwithagraceandcourtesywhichimpliedunderthecircumstancesaconsiderateregardfor_his_positionattheexpenseofherown。
“Youhavesomethingtosaytome，SirPatrick，onthesubjectofmysecondson。Iamingreataffliction。Ifyoubringmebadnews，Iwilldomybesttobearit。MayItrusttoyourkindnessnottokeepmeinsuspense？“
“Itwillhelpmetomakemyintrusionaslittlepainfulaspossibletoyourladyship，“repliedSirPatrick，“ifIampermittedtoaskaquestion。HaveyouheardofanyobstacletothecontemplatedmarriageofMr。GeoffreyDelamaynandMrs。
Glenarm？“
EventhatdistantreferencetoAnneproducedanominouschangefortheworseinLadyHolchester’smanner。
“Ihaveheardoftheobstacletowhichyouallude，“shesaid。
“Mrs。Glenarmisanintimatefriendofmine。ShehasinformedmethatapersonnamedSilvester，animpudentadventuress——“
“Ibegyourladyship’spardon。YouaredoingacruelwrongtothenoblestwomanIhaveevermetwith。“
“Icannotundertake，SirPatrick，toenterintoyourreasonsforadmiringher。Herconducttowardmysonhas，Irepeat，beentheconductofanimpudentadventuress。“
ThosewordsshowedSirPatricktheutterhopelessnessofshakingherprejudiceagainstAnne。Hedecidedonproceedingatoncetothedisclosureofthetruth。
“Ientreatyousosaynomore，“heanswered。“Yourladyshipisspeakingofyourson’swife。“
“MysonhasmarriedMissSilvester？“
“Yes。“
Sheturneddeadlypale。Itappeared，foraninstant，asiftheshockhadcompletelyoverwhelmedher。Butthemother’sweaknesswasonlymomentaryThevirtuousindignationofthegreatladyhadtakenitsplacebeforeSirPatrickcouldspeakagain。Sherosetoterminatetheinterview。
“Ipresume，“shesaid，“thatyourerrandhereisasanend。“
SirPatrickrose，onhisside，resolutetodothedutywhichhadbroughthimtothehouse。
“Iamcompelledtotrespassonyourladyship’sattentionforafewminutesmore，“heanswered。“ThecircumstancesattendingthemarriageofMr。GeoffreyDelamaynareofnocommonimportance。I
begpermissionintheinterestsofhisfamilytostate，verybriefly，whattheyare。“
Inafewclearsentenceshenarratedwhathadhappened，thatafternoon，inPortlandPlace。LadyHolchesterlistenedwiththesteadiestandcoldestattention。Sofarasoutwardappearanceswereconcerned，noimpressionwasproduceduponher。
“Doyouexpectme，“sheasked，“toespousetheinterestsofapersonwhohaspreventedmysonfrommarryingtheladyofhischoice，andofmine？“
“Mr。GeoffreyDelamayn，unhappily，hasthatreasonforresentinghiswife’sinnocentinterferencewithinterestsofconsiderable，importancetohim，“returnedSirPatrick。“Irequestyourladyshiptoconsiderwhetheritisdesirable——inviewofyourson’sconductinthefuture——toallowhiswifetostandinthedoublyperilousrelationtowardhimofbeingalsoacauseofestrangementbetweenhisfatherandhimself。“
Hehadputitwithscrupulouscaution。ButLadyHolchesterunderstoodwhathehadrefrainedfromsavingaswellaswhathehadactuallysaid。Shehadhithertoremainedstanding——shenowsatdownagain。Therewasavisibleimpressionproducedonheratlast。
“InLordHolchester’scriticalstateofhealth，“sheanswered，“I
declinetotaketheresponsibilityoftellinghimwhatyouhavejusttoldme。Myowninfluencehasbeenuniformlyexertedinmyson’sfavor——aslongasmyinterferencecouldbeproductiveofanygoodresult。Thetimeformyinterferencehaspassed。LordHolchesterhasalteredhiswillthismorning。Iwasnotpresent；
andIhavenotyetbeeninformedofwhathasbeendone。EvenifI
knew——“
“Yourladyshipwouldnaturallydecline，“saidSirPatrick，“tocommunicatetheinformationtoastranger。“
“Certainly。Atthesametime，afterwhatyouhavesaid，Idonotfeeljustifiedindecidingonthismatterentirelybymyself。OneofLordHolchester’sexecutorsisnowinthehouse。Therecanbenoimproprietyinyourseeinghim——ifyouwishit。Youareatlibertytosay，fromme，thatIleaveitentirelytohisdiscretiontodecidewhatoughttobedone。“
“Igladlyacceptyourladyship’sproposal。“
LadyHolchesterrangthebellatherside。
“TakeSirPatrickLundietoMr。Marchwood，“shesaidtotheservant。
SirPatrickstarted。Thenamewasfamiliartohim，asthenameofafriend。
“Mr。MarchwoodofHurlbeck？“heasked。
“Thesame。“
Withthatbriefanswer，LadyHolchesterdismissedhervisitor。
Followingtheservanttotheotherendofthecorridor，SirPatrickwasconductedintoasmallroom——theante-chambertothebedroominwhichLordHolchesterlay。Thedoorofcommunicationwasclosed。Agentlemansatwritingatatablenearthewindow。
Herose，andheldouthishand，withalookofsurprise，whentheservantannouncedSirPatrick’sname。ThiswasMr。Marchwood。
Afterthefirstexplanationshadbeengiven，SirPatrickpatientlyrevertedtotheobjectofhisvisittoHolchesterHouse。OnthefirstoccasionwhenhementionedAnne’snameheobservedthatMr。Marchwoodbecame，fromthatmoment，speciallyinterestedinwhathewassaying。
“Doyouhappentobeacquaintedwiththelady？“heasked“Ionlyknowherasthecauseofaverystrangeproceeding，thismorning，inthatroom。“HepointedtoLordHolchester’sbedroomashespoke。
“Areyouatlibertytomentionwhattheproceedingwas？“
“Hardly——eventoanoldfriendlikeyou——unlessIfeltitamatterofduty，onmypart，tostatethecircumstances。Praygoonwithwhatyouweresayingtome。Youwereonthepointoftellingmewhatbroughtyoutothishouse。“
Withoutawordmoreofpreface，SirPatricktoldhimthenewsofGeoffrey’smarriagetoAnne。
“Married!“criedMr。Marchwood。“Areyousureofwhatyousay？“
“Iamoneofthewitnessesofthemarriage。“
“GoodHeavens!AndLordHolchester’slawyerhasleftthehouse!“
“CanIreplacehim？HaveI，byanychancejustifiedyouintellingmewhathappenedthismorninginthenextroom？“
“Justifiedme？Youhaveleftmenootheralternative。Thedoctorsareallagreedindreadingapoplexy——hislordshipmaydieatanymoment。Inthelawyer’sabsence，Imusttakeitonmyself。Herearethefacts。ThereisthecodiciltoLordHolchester’sWillwhichisstillunsigned。“
“Relatingtohissecondson？“
“RelatingtoGeoffreyDelamayn，andgivinghimwhenitisonceexecutedaliberalprovisionforlife。“
“Whatistheobjectinthewayofhisexecutingit？“
“Theladywhomyouhavejustmentionedtome。“
“AnneSilvester!“
“AnneSilvester——nowasyoutellmeMrs。GeoffreyDelamayn。I