haven’tevengotitinthehouse。“
Shestaggeredback；andlookedupforthefirsttime。
“Don’talarmyourself，“hewenton。“It’ssealedupwithmyseal；
andit’ssafeinmybankers’keeping。Ipostedittothemmyself。
Youdon’tstickatatrifle，Mrs。Dethridge。IfIhadkeptitlockedupinthehouse，youmighthaveforcedthelockwhenmybackwasturned。IfIhadkeptitaboutme——Imighthavehadthattowelovermyface，inthesmallhoursofthemorning!ThebankerswillgiveyoubackyourConfession——justastheyhavereceiveditfromme——onreceiptofanorderinmyhandwriting。DowhatIhavetoldyou；andyoushallhavetheorderto-night。“
Shepassedherapronoverherface，anddrewalongbreathofrelief。Geoffreyturnedtothedoor。
“Iwillbebackatsixthisevening，“hesaid。“ShallIfinditdone？“
Shebowedherhead。
Hisfirstconditionaccepted，heproceededtothesecond。
“Whentheopportunityoffers，“heresumed，“Ishallgouptomyroom。Ishallringthediningroombellfirst。Youwillgoupbeforemewhenyouhearthat——andyouwillshowmehowyoudiditintheemptyhouse？“
Shemadetheaffirmativesignoncemore。
Atthesamemomentthedoorinthepassagebelowwasopenedandclosedagain。Geoffreyinstantlywentdownstairs。ItwaspossiblethatAnnemighthaveforgottensomething；anditwasnecessarytopreventherfromreturningtoherownroom。
Theymetinthepassage。
“Tiredofwaitinginthegarden？“heasked，abruptly。
Shepointedtothedining-room。
“Thepostmanhasjustgivenmealetterforyou，throughthegratinginthegate，“sheanswered。“Ihaveputitonthetableinthere。“
Hewentin。ThehandwritingontheaddressoftheletterwasthehandwritingofMrs。Glenarm。Heputitunreadintohispocket，andwentbacktoAnne。
“Stepout!“hesaid。“Weshalllosethetrain。“
TheystartedfortheirvisittoHolchesterHouse。
ATafewminutesbeforesixo’clockthatevening，LordHolchester’scarriagebroughtGeoffreyandAnnebacktothecottage。
Geoffreypreventedtheservantfromringingatthegate。Hehadtakenthekeywithhim，whenhelefthomeearlierintheday。
HavingadmittedAnne，andhavingclosedthegateagain，hewentonbeforehertothekitchenwindow，andcalledtoHesterDethridge。
“Takesomecoldwaterintothedrawing-roomandfillthevaseonthechimney-piece，“hesaid。“Thesooneryouputthoseflowersintowater，“headded，turningtohiswife，“thelongertheywilllast。“
Hepointed，ashespoke，toanosegayinAnne’shand，whichJuliushadgatheredforherfromtheconservatoryatHolchesterHouse。Leavinghertoarrangetheflowersinthevase，hewentupstairs。Afterwaitingforamoment，hewasjoinedbyHesterDethridge。
“Done？“heasked，inawhisper。
Hestermadetheaffirmativesign。
Geoffreytookoffhisbootsandledthewayintothespareroom。
Theynoiselesslymovedthebedbacktoitsplaceagainstthepartitionwall——andlefttheroomagain。WhenAnneenteredit，someminutesafterward，nottheslightestchangeofanykindwasvisiblesinceshehadlastseenitinthemiddleoftheday。
Sheremovedherbonnetandmantle，andsatdowntorest。
Thewholecourseofevents，sincethepreviousnight，hadtendedoneway，andhadexertedthesamedelusiveinfluenceoverhermind。Itwasimpossibleforheranylongertoresisttheconvictionthatshehaddistrustedappearanceswithouttheslightestreason，andthatshehadpermittedpurelyvisionarysuspicionstofillherwithpurelycauselessalarm。Inthefirmbeliefthatshewasindanger，shehadwatchedthroughthenight——andnothinghadhappened。IntheconfidentanticipationthatGeoffreyhadpromisedwhathewasresolvednottoperform，shehadwaitedtoseewhatexcusehewouldfindforkeepingheratthecottage。And，whenthetimecameforthevisit，shefoundhimreadytofulfilltheengagementwhichhehadmade。AtHolchesterHouse，nottheslightestinterferencehadbeenattemptedwithherperfectlibertyofactionandspeech。ResolvedtoinformSirPatrickthatshehadchangedherroom，shehaddescribedthealarmoffireandtheeventswhichhadsucceededit，inthefullestdetail——andhadnotbeenoncecheckedbyGeoffreyfrombeginningtoend。ShehadspokeninconfidencetoBlanche，andhadneverbeeninterrupted。Walkingroundtheconservatory，shehaddroppedbehindtheotherswithperfectimpunity，tosayagratefulwordtoSirPatrick，andtoaskiftheinterpretationthatheplacedonGeoffrey’sconductwasreallytheinterpretationwhichhadbeenhintedatbyBlanche。
Theyhadtalkedtogetherfortenminutesormore。SirPatrickhadassuredherthatBlanchehadcorrectlyrepresentedhisopinion。
Hehaddeclaredhisconvictionthattherashwaywas，inhercase，therightway；andthatshewoulddowellwithhisassistancetotaketheinitiative，inthematteroftheseparation，onherself。“Aslongashecankeepyouunderthesameroofwithhim“——SirPatrickhadsaid——“solonghewillspeculateonouranxietytoreleaseyoufromtheoppressionoflivingwithhim；andsolonghewillholdoutwithhisbrotherinthecharacterofapenitenthusbandforhigherterms。Putthesignalinthewindow，andtrytheexperimentto-night。Oncefindyourwaytothegardendoor，andIanswerforkeepingyousafelyoutofhisreachuntilhehassubmittedtotheseparation，andhassignedthedeed。“InthosewordshehadurgedAnnetopromptaction。Hehadreceived，inreturn，herpromisetobeguidedbyhisadvice。Shehadgonebacktothedrawing-room；andGeoffreyhadmadenoremarkonherabsence。ShehadreturnedtoFulham，alonewithhiminhisbrother’scarriage；andhehadaskednoquestions。Whatwasitnatural，withhermeansofjudging，toinferfromallthis？CouldsheseeintoSirPatrick’smindanddetectthathewasdeliberatelyconcealinghisownconviction，inthefearthathemightparalyzeherenergiesifheacknowledgedthealarmforherthathereallyfelt？No。Shecouldonlyacceptthefalseappearancesthatsurroundedherinthedisguiseoftruth。Shecouldonlyadopt，ingoodfaith，SirPatrick’sassumedpointofview，andbelieve，ontheevidenceofherownobservation，thatSirPatrickwasright。
Towarddusk，Annebegantofeeltheexhaustionwhichwasthenecessaryresultofanightpassedwithoutsleep。Sherangherbell，andaskedforsometea。
HesterDethridgeansweredthebell。Insteadofmakingtheusualsign，shestoodconsidering——andthenwroteonherslate。Thesewerethewords：“Ihavealltheworktodo，nowthegirlhasgone。Ifyouwouldhaveyourteainthedrawing-room，youwouldsavemeanotherjourneyupstairs。“
Anneatonceengagedtocomplywiththerequest。
“Areyouill？“sheasked；noticing，faintasthelightnowwas，somethingstrangelyalteredinHester’smanner。
Withoutlookingup，Hestershookherhead。
“Hasanythinghappenedtovexyou？“
Thenegativesignwasrepeated。
“HaveIoffendedyou？“
Shesuddenlyadvancedastep，suddenlylookedatAnne；checkedherselfwithadullmoan，likeamoanofpain；andhurriedoutoftheroom。
Concludingthatshehadinadvertentlysaid，ordone，somethingtooffendHesterDethridge，Annedeterminedtoreturntothesubjectatthefirstfavorableopportunity。Inthemeantime，shedescendedtotheground-floor。Thedining-roomdoor，standingwideopen，showedherGeoffreysittingatthetable，writingaletter——withthefatalbrandy-bottleathisside。
AfterwhatMr。Speedwellhadtoldher，itwasherdutytointerfere。Sheperformedherduty，withoutaninstant’shesitation。
“Pardonmeforinterruptingyou，“shesaid。“IthinkyouhaveforgottenwhatMr。Speedwelltoldyouaboutthat。“
Shepointedtothebottle。Geoffreylookedatit；lookeddownagainathisletter；andimpatientlyshookhishead。Shemadeasecondattemptatremonstrance——againwithouteffect。Heonlysaid，“Allright!“inlowertonesthanwerecustomarywithhim，andcontinuedhisoccupation。Itwasuselesstocourtathirdrepulse。Annewentintothedrawing-room。
TheletteronwhichhewasengagedwasananswertoMrs。Glenarm，whohadwrittentotellhimthatshewasleavingtown。HehadreachedhistwoconcludingsentenceswhenAnnespoketohim。Theyranasfollows：“Imayhavenewstobringyou，beforelong，whichyoudon’tlookfor。Staywhereyouarethroughto-morrow，andwaittohearfromme。“
Aftersealingtheenvelope，heemptiedhisglassofbrandyandwater；andwaited，lookingthroughtheopendoor。WhenHesterDethridgecrossedthepassagewiththetea-tray，andenteredthedrawing-room，hegavethesignwhichhadbeenagreedon。Heranghisbell。Hestercameoutagain，closingthedrawing-roomdoorbehindher。
“Isshesafeathertea？“heasked，removinghisheavyboots，andputtingontheslipperswhichwereplacedreadyforhim。
Hesterbowedherhead。
Hepointedupthestairs。“Yougofirst，“hewhispered。“Nononsense!andnonoise!“
Sheascendedthestairs。Hefollowedslowly。Althoughhehadonlydrunkoneglassofbrandyandwater，hisstepwasuncertainalready。Withonehandonthewall，andonehandonthebanister，hemadehiswaytothetop；stopped，andlistenedforamoment；
thenjoinedHesterinhisownroom，andsoftlylockedthedoor。
“Well？“hesaid。