第134章
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  THEservant,appearingthenextmorninginAnne’sroomwiththebreakfasttray,closedthedoorwithanairofmystery,andannouncedthatstrangethingsweregoingoninthehouse。

  “Didyouhearnothinglastnight,ma’am,“sheasked,“downstairsinthepassage?“

  “IthoughtIheardsomevoiceswhisperingoutsidemyroom,“Annereplied。“Hasanythinghappened?“

  Extricatedfromtheconfusioninwhichsheinvolvedit,thegirl’snarrativeamountedinsubstancetothis。Shehadbeenstartledbythesuddenappearanceofhermistressinthepassage,staringaboutherwildly,likeawomanwhohadgoneoutofhersenses。Almostatthesamemoment“themaster“hadflungopenthedrawing-roomdoor。HehadcaughtMrs。Dethridgebythearm,haddraggedherintotheroom,andhadclosedthedooragain。Afterthetwohadremainedshutuptogetherformorethanhalfanhour,Mrs。Dethridgehadcomeout,aspaleasashes,andhadgoneupstairstremblinglikeapersoningreatterror。Sometimelater,whentheservantwasinbed,butnotasleep,shehadseenalightunderherdoor,inthenarrowwoodenpassagewhichseparatedAnne’sbedroomfromHester’sbedroom,andbywhichsheobtainedaccesstoherownlittlesleeping-chamberbeyond。Shehadgotoutofbed;hadlookedthroughthekeyhole;andhadseen“themaster“

  andMrs。Dethridgestandingtogetherexaminingthewallsofthepassage。“Themaster“hadlaidhishanduponthewall,onthesideofhiswife’sroom,andhadlookedatMrs。Dethridge。AndMrs。Dethridgehadlookedbackathim,andhadshakenherhead。

  Uponthathehadsaidinawhisperstillwithhishandonthewoodenwall,“Nottobedonehere?“AndMrs。Dethridgehadshakenherhead。Hehadconsideredamoment,andhadwhisperedagain,“Theotherroomwilldo!won’tit?“AndMrs。Dethridgehadnoddedherhead——andsotheyhadparted。Thatwasthestoryofthenight。Earlyinthemorning,morestrangethingshadhappened。Themasterhadgoneout,withalargesealedpacketinhishand,coveredwithmanystamps;takinghisownlettertothepost,insteadofsendingtheservantwithitasusual。Onhisreturn,Mrs。Dethridgehadgoneoutnext,andhadcomebackwithsomethinginajarwhichshehadlockedupinherownsitting-room。Shortlyafterward,aworking-manhadbroughtabundleoflaths,andsomemortarandplasterofParis,whichhadbeencarefullyplacedtogetherinacornerofthescullery。Last,andmostremarkableintheseriesofdomesticevents,thegirlhadreceivedpermissiontogohomeandseeherfriendsinthecountry,onthatveryday;havingbeenpreviouslyinformed,whensheenteredMrs。Dethridge’sservice,thatshewasnottoexpecttohaveaholidaygrantedtoheruntilafterChristmas。Suchwerethestrangethingswhichhadhappenedinthehousesincethepreviousnight。Whatwastheinterpretationtobeplacedonthem?

  Therightinterpretationwasnoteasytodiscover。

  Someoftheeventspointedapparentlytowardcomingrepairsoralterationsinthecottage。ButwhatGeoffreycouldhavetodowiththembeingatthetimeservedwithanoticetoquit,andwhyHesterDethridgeshouldhaveshowntheviolentagitationwhichhadbeendescribed,weremysterieswhichitwasimpossibletopenetrate。

  Annedismissedthegirlwithalittlepresentandafewkindwords。Underothercircumstances,theincomprehensibleproceedingsinthehousemighthavemadeherseriouslyuneasy。

  Buthermindwasnowoccupiedbymorepressinganxieties。

  Blanche’ssecondletterreceivedfromHesterDethridgeonthepreviouseveninginformedherthatSirPatrickpersistedinhisresolution,andthatheandhisniecemightbeexpected,comewhatmightofit,topresentthemselvesatthecottageonthatday。

  Anneopenedtheletter,andlookedatitforthesecondtime。ThepassagesrelatingtoSirPatrickwereexpressedintheseterms:

  “Idon’tthink,darling,youhaveanyideaoftheinterestthatyouhaverousedinmyuncle。Althoughhehasnottoreproachhimself,asIhave,withbeingthemiserablecauseofthesacrificethatyouhavemade,heisquiteaswretchedandquiteasanxiousaboutyouasIam。Wetalkofnobodyelse。Hesaidlastnightthathedidnotbelievetherewasyourequalintheworld。Thinkofthatfromamanwhohassuchterriblysharpeyesforthefaultsofwomeningeneral,andsuchaterriblysharptongueintalkingofthem!Iampledgedtosecrecy;butImusttellyouoneotherthing,betweenourselves。LordHolchester’sannouncementthathisbrotherrefusestoconsenttoaseparationputmyunclealmostbesidehimself。Ifthereisnotsomechangeforthebetterinyourlifeinafewdays’time,SirPatrickwillfindoutawayofhisown——lawfulornot,hedoesn’tcare——forrescuingyoufromthedreadfulpositioninwhichyouareplaced,andArnoldwithmyfullapprovalwillhelphim。Asweunderstandit,youare,underonepretenseoranother,keptacloseprisoner。SirPatrickhasalreadysecuredapostofobservationnearyou。HeandArnoldwentallroundthecottagelastnight,andexaminedadoorinyourbackgardenwall,withalocksmithtohelpthem。YouwillnodoubthearfurtheraboutthisfromSirPatrickhimself。Praydon’tappeartoknowanythingofitwhenyouseehim!Iamnotinhisconfidence——butArnoldis,whichcomestothesamethingexactly。YouwillseeusImeanyouwillseemyuncleandmeto-morrow,inspiteofthebrutewhokeepsyouunderlockandkey。Arnoldwillnotaccompanyus;

  heisnottobetrustedheownsithimselftocontrolhisindignation。Courage,dearest!Therearetwopeopleintheworldtowhomyouareinestimablyprecious,andwhoaredeterminednottoletyourhappinessbesacrificed。Iamoneofthem,andforHeaven’ssakekeepthisasecretalso!SirPatrickistheother。“

  Absorbedintheletter,andintheconflictofoppositefeelingswhichitroused——hercolorrisingwhenitturnedherthoughtsinwardonherself,andfadingagainwhenshewasremindedbyitofthecomingvisit——Annewascalledbacktoasenseofpresenteventsbythereappearanceoftheservant,chargedwithamessage。Mr。Speedwellhadbeenforsometimeinthecottage,andhewasnowwaitingtoseeherdownstairs。

  Annefoundthesurgeonaloneinthedrawing-room。Heapologizedfordisturbingheratthatearlyhour。

  “ItwasimpossibleformetogettoFulhamyesterday,“hesaid,“andIcouldonlymakesureofcomplyingwithLordHolchester’srequestbycomingherebeforethetimeatwhichIreceivepatientsathome。IhaveseenMr。Delamayn,andIhaverequestedpermissiontosayawordtoyouonthesubjectofhishealth。“

  Annelookedthroughthewindow,andsawGeoffreysmokinghispipe——notinthebackgarden,asusual,butinfrontofthecottage,wherehecouldkeephiseyeonthegate。

  “Isheill?“sheasked。

  “Heisseriouslyill,“answeredMr。Speedwell。“Ishouldnototherwisehavetroubledyouwiththisinterview。Itisamatterofprofessionaldutytowarnyou,ashiswife,thatheisindanger。Hemaybeseizedatanymomentbyaparalyticstroke。Theonlychanceforhim——averypoorone,Iamboundtosay——istomakehimalterhispresentmodeoflifewithoutlossoftime。“

  “Inonewayhewillbeobligedtoalterit,“saidAnne。“Hehasreceivednoticefromthelandladytoquitthiscottage。“

  Mr。Speedwelllookedsurprised。

  “Ithinkyouwillfindthatthenoticehasbeenwithdrawn,“hesaid。“IcanonlyassureyouthatMr。Delamayndistinctlyinformedme,whenIadvisedchangeofair,thathehaddecided,forreasonsofhisown,onremaininghere。“

  Anotherintheseriesofincomprehensibledomesticevents!

  HesterDethridge——onallotheroccasionsthemostimmovableofwomen——hadchangedhermind!

  “Settingthataside,“proceededthesurgeon,“therearetwopreventivemeasureswhichIfeelboundtosuggest。Mr。Delamaynisevidentlysufferingthoughhedeclinestoadmitithimself

  frommentalanxiety。Ifheistohaveachanceforhislife,thatanxietymustbesetatrest。Isitinyourpowertorelieveit?“

  “Itisnoteveninmypower,Mr。Speedwell,totellyouwhatitis。“

  Thesurgeonbowed,andwenton:

  “ThesecondcautionthatIhavetogiveyou,“hesaid,“istokeephimfromdrinkingspirits。Headmitshavingcommittedanexcessinthatwaythenightbeforelast。Inhisstateofhealth,drinkingmeansliterallydeath。Ifhegoesbacktothebrandy-bottle——forgivemeforsayingitplainly;thematteristooserioustobetrifledwith——ifhegoesbacktothebrandy-bottle,hislife,inmyopinion,isnotworthfiveminutes’purchase。Canyoukeephimfromdrinking?“

  Anneansweredsadlyandplainly:

  “Ihavenoinfluenceoverhim。Thetermswearelivingonhere——“

  Mr。Speedwellconsideratelystoppedher。

  “Iunderstand,“hesaid。“Iwillseehisbrotheronmywayhome。“

  HelookedforamomentatAnne。“Youarefarfromwellyourself,“

  heresumed。“CanIdoanythingforyou?“

  “WhileIamlivingmypresentlife,Mr。Speedwell,notevenyourskillcanhelpme。“

  Thesurgeontookhisleave。Annehurriedbackupstairs,beforeGeoffreycouldre-enterthecottage。Toseethemanwhohadlaidherlifewaste——tomeetthevindictivehatredthatlookedfurtivelyatheroutofhiseyes——atthemomentwhensentenceofdeathhadbeenpronouncedonhim,wasanordealfromwhicheveryfinerinstinctinhernatureshrankinhorror。

  Hourbyhour,themorningworeon,andhemadenoattempttocommunicatewithher,Strangerstill,HesterDethridgeneverappeared。Theservantcameupstairstosaygoodby;andwentawayforherholiday。Shortlyafterward,certainsoundsreachedAnne’searsfromtheoppositesideofthepassage。Sheheardthestrokesofahammer,andthenanoiseasofsomeheavypieceoffurniturebeingmoved。Themysteriousrepairswereapparentlybeingbeguninthespareroom。

  Shewenttothewindow。ThehourwasapproachingatwhichSirPatrickandBlanchemightbeexpectedtomaketheattempttoseeher。

  Forthethirdtime,shelookedattheletter。

  Itsuggested,onthisoccasion,anewconsiderationtoher。DidthestrongmeasureswhichSirPatrickhadtakeninsecretindicatealarmaswellassympathy?Didhebelieveshewasinapositioninwhichtheprotectionofthelawwaspowerlesstoreachher?Itseemedjustpossible。Supposeshewerefreetoconsultamagistrate,andtoowntohimifwordscouldexpressitthevaguepresentimentofdangerwhichwasthenpresentinhermind——whatproofcouldsheproducetosatisfythemindofastranger?Theproofswereallinherhusband’sfavor。Witnessescouldtestifytotheconciliatorywordswhichhehadspokentoherintheirpresence。Theevidenceofhismotherandbrotherwouldshowthathehadpreferredtosacrificehisownpecuniaryinterestsratherthanconsenttopartwithher。Shecouldfurnishnobodywiththesmallestexcuse,inhercase,forinterferingbetweenmanandwife。DidSirPatrickseethis?AnddidBlanche’sdescriptionofwhatheandArnoldBrinkworthweredoingpointtotheconclusionthattheyweretakingthelawintotheirownhandsindespair?Themoreshethoughtofit,themorelikelyitseemed。

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