way。Andit’sthelaw。“
Helookedimpatientlyathiswatch。Asheputitbackagaininhispockettherewasaringatthebell。Wasittheladbringingtheluggage？Yes。And，withit，thelawyer’sreport？No。Betterthanthat——thelawyerhimself。
“Comein!“criedGeoffrey，meetinghisvisitoratthedoor。
Thelawyerenteredthedining-room。Thecandle-lightrevealedtoviewacorpulent，full-lipped，bright-eyedman——withastrainofnegrobloodinhisyellowface，andwithunmistakabletracesinhislookandmannerofwalkinghabituallyinthedirtiestprofessionalby-waysofthelaw。
“I’vegotalittleplaceofmyowninyourneighborhood，“hesaid。“AndIthoughtIwouldlookinmyself，Mr。Delamayn，onmywayhome。“
“Haveyouseenthewitnesses？“
“Ihaveexaminedthemboth，Sir。First，Mrs。InchbareandMr。
Bishopriggstogether。Next，Mrs。InchbareandMr。Bishopriggsseparately。“
“Well？“
“Well，Sir，theresultisunfavorable，Iamsorrytosay。“
“Whatdoyoumean？“
“Neithertheonenortheotherofthem，Mr。Delamayn，cangivetheevidencewewant。Ihavemadesureofthat。“
“Madesureofthat？Youhavemadeaninfernalmessofit!Youdon’tunderstandthecase!“
Themulattolawyersmiled。Therudenessofhisclientappearedonlytoamusehim。
“Don’tI？“hesaid。“SupposeyoutellmewhereIamwrongaboutit？Hereitisinoutlineonly。OnthefourteenthofAugustlastyourwifewasataninninScotland。AgentlemannamedArnoldBrinkworthjoinedherthere。Herepresentedhimselftobeherhusband，andhestaidwithhertillthenextmorning。Startingfromthosefacts，theobjectyouhaveinviewistosueforaDivorcefromyourwife。YoumakeMr。ArnoldBrinkworththeco-respondent。Andyouproduceinevidencethewaiterandthelandladyoftheinn。Anythingwrong，Sir，sofar？“
Nothingwrong。AtonecowardlystroketocastAnnedisgracedontheworld，andtosethimselffree——there，plainlyandtrulystated，wastheschemewhichhehaddevised，whenhehadturnedbackonthewaytoFulhamtoconsultMr。Moy。
“Somuchforthecase，“resumedthelawyer。“NowforwhatIhavedoneonreceivingyourinstructions。Ihaveexaminedthewitnesses；andIhavehadaninterviewnotaverypleasantone
withMr。Moy。Theresultofthosetwoproceedingsisbrieflythis。Firstdiscovery：Inassumingthecharacterofthelady’shusbandMr。Brinkworthwasactingunderyourdirections——whichtellsdeadagainst_you。_Seconddiscovery：Nottheslightestimproprietyofconduct，notanapproacheventoharmlessfamiliarity，wasdetectedbyeitherofthewitnesses，whiletheladyandgentlemanweretogetherattheinn。Thereisliterallynoevidencetoproduceagainstthem，exceptthatthey_were_
together——intworooms。Howareyoutoassumeaguiltypurpose，whenyoucan’tproveanapproachtoaguiltyact？YoucannomoretakesuchacaseasthatintoCourtthanyoucanjumpovertheroofofthiscottage。“
Helookedhardathisclient，expectingtoreceiveaviolentreply。Hisclientagreeablydisappointedhim。Averystrangeimpressionappearedtohavebeenproducedonthisrecklessandheadstrongman。Hegotupquietly；hespokewithperfectoutwardcomposureoffaceandmannerwhenhesaidhisnextwords。
“Haveyougivenupthecase？“
“Asthingsareatpresent，Mr。Delamayn，thereisnocase。“
“Andnohopeofmygettingdivorcedfromher？“
“Waitamoment。HaveyourwifeandMr。BrinkworthmetnowheresincetheyweretogetherattheScotchinn？“
“Nowhere。“
“Astothefuture，ofcourseIcan’tsay。Astothepast，thereisnohopeofyourgettingdivorcedfromher。“
“Thankyou。Good-night。“
“Good-night，Mr。Delamayn。“
Fastenedtoherforlife——andthelawpowerlesstocuttheknot。
Heponderedoverthatresultuntilhehadthoroughlyrealizeditandfixeditinhismind。ThenhetookoutMrs。Glenarm’sletter，andreaditthroughagain，attentively，frombeginningtoend。
Nothingcouldshakeherdevotiontohim。Nothingwouldinducehertomarryanotherman。Thereshewas——inherownwords——dedicatedtohim：waiting，withherfortuneatherowndisposal，tobehiswife。Therealsowashisfather，waitingsofaras_he_knew，intheabsenceofanytidingsfromHolchesterHousetowelcomeMrs。
Glenarmasadaughter-in-law，andtogiveMrs。Glenarm’shusbandanincomeofhisown。Asfairaprospect，onallsides，asmancoulddesire。Andnothinginthewayofitbutthewomanwhohadcaughthiminhertrap——thewomanupstairswhohadfastenedherselfonhimforlife。
Hewentoutinthegardeninthedarknessofthenight。
Therewasopencommunication，onallsides，betweenthebackgardenandthefront。Hewalkedroundandroundthecottage——nowappearinginastreamoflightfromawindow；nowdisappearingagaininthedarkness。Thewindblewrefreshinglyoverhisbarehead。Forsomeminuteshewentroundandround，fasterandfaster，withoutapause。Whenhestoppedatlast，itwasinfrontofthecottage。Heliftedhisheadslowly，andlookedupatthedimlightinthewindowofAnne’sroom。
“How？“hesaidtohimself。“That’sthequestion。How？“
Hewentindoorsagain，andrangthebell。Theservant-girlwhoanswereditstartedbackatthesightofhim。Hisfloridcolorwasallgone。Hiseyeslookedatherwithoutappearingtoseeher。Theperspirationwasstandingonhisforeheadingreatheavydrops。
“Areyouill，Sir？“saidthegirl。
Hetoldher，withanoath，toholdhertongueandbringthebrandy。Whensheenteredtheroomforthesecondtime，hewasstandingwithhisbacktoher，lookingoutatthenight。Henevermovedwhensheputthebottleonthetable。Sheheardhimmutteringasifhewastalkingtohimself。
ThesamedifficultywhichhadbeenpresenttohismindinsecretunderAnne’swindowwaspresenttohismindstill。
How？Thatwastheproblemtosolve。How？
Heturnedtothebrandy，andtookcounselofthat。
CHAPTERTHEFIFTIETH。
THEMORNING。
WHENdoesthevainregretfinditskeeneststing？Whenisthedoubtfulfutureblackenedbyitsdarkestcloud？Whenislifeleastworthhaving。anddeathoftenestatthebedside？Intheterriblemorninghours，whenthesunisrisinginitsglory，andthebirdsaresinginginthestillnessofthenew-bornday。
Annewokeinthestrangebed，andlookedroundher，bythelightofthenewmorning，atthestrangeroom。
Therainhadallfalleninthenight。Thesunwasmasterintheclearautumnsky。Sherose，andopenedthewindow。Thefreshmorningair，keenandfragrant，filledtheroom。Farandnear，thesamebrightstillnesspossessedtheview。Shestoodatthewindowlookingout。Hermindwasclearagain——shecouldthink，shecouldfeel；shecouldfacetheonelastquestionwhichthemercilessmorningnowforcedonher——Howwillitend？
Wasthereanyhope？——hopeforinstance，inwhatshemightdoforherself。Whatcanamarriedwomandoforherself？Shecanmakehermiserypublic——provideditbemiseryofacertainkind——andcanreckonsingle-handedwithSocietywhenshehasdoneit。
Nothingmore。
Wastherehopeinwhatothersmightdoforher？Blanchemightwritetoher——mightevencomeandseeher——ifherhusbandallowedit；andthatwasall。SirPatrickhadpressedherhandatparting，andhadtoldhertorelyonhim。Hewasthefirmest，thetruestoffriends。Butwhatcouldhedo？Therewereoutrageswhichherhusbandwasprivilegedtocommit，underthesanctionofmarriage，atthebarethoughtofwhichherbloodrancold。CouldSirPatrickprotecther？Absurd!LawandSocietyarmedherhusbandwithhisconjugalrights。LawandSocietyhadbutoneanswertogive，ifsheappealedtothem——Youarehiswife。
Nohopeinherself；nohopeinherfriends；nohopeanywhereonearth。Nothingtobedonebuttowaitfortheend——withfaithintheDivineMercy；withfaithinthebetterworld。
ShetookoutofhertrunkalittlebookofPrayersandMeditations——wornwithmuchuse——whichhadoncebelongedtohermother。Shesatbythewindowreadingit。Nowandthenshelookedupfromit——thinking。Theparallelbetweenhermother’spositionandherownpositionwasnowcomplete。Bothmarriedtohusbandswhohatedthem；tohusbandswhoseinterestspointedtomercenaryallianceswithotherwomen；tohusbandswhoseonewantandonepurposewastobefreefromtheirwives。Strange，whatdifferentwayshadledmotheranddaughterbothtothesamefate!Wouldtheparallelholdtotheend？“ShallIdie，“shewondered，thinkingofhermother’slastmoments，“inBlanche’sarms？“
Thetimehadpassedunheeded。Themorningmovementinthehousehadfailedtocatchherear。Shewasfirstcalledoutofherselftothesenseofthepresentandpassingeventsbythevoiceoftheservant-girloutsidethedoor。