第7章

SheaccompaniedthelastwordsbyafarewelllookwhicharousedMrs。Vanboroughtofrenzy。ShesprangforwardandpreventedLadyJanefromleavingtheroom。

“No!“shesaid。“Youdon’tgoyet!“

Mr。Vanboroughcameforwardtointerfere。Hiswifeeyedhimwithaterriblelook，andturnedfromhimwithaterriblecontempt。

“Thatmanhaslied!“shesaid。“Injusticetomyself，Iinsistonprovingit!“Shestruckabellonatablenearher。Theservantcamein。“Fetchmywriting-deskoutofthenextroom。“Shewaited——withherbackturnedonherhusband，withhereyesfixedonLadyJane。Defenselessandaloneshestoodonthewreckofhermarriedlife，superiortothehusband’streachery，thelawyer’sindifference，andherrival’scontempt。Atthatdreadfulmomentherbeautyshoneoutagainwithagleamofitsoldglory。Thegrandwoman，whointheoldstagedayshadheldthousandsbreathlessoverthemimicwoesofthescene，stoodtheregranderthanever，inherownwoe，andheldthethreepeoplewholookedatherbreathlesstillshespokeagain。

Theservantcameinwiththedesk。ShetookoutapaperandhandedittoLadyJane。

“Iwasasingeronthestage，“shesaid，“whenIwasasinglewoman。Theslandertowhichsuchwomenareexposeddoubtedmymarriage。Iprovidedmyselfwiththepaperinyourhand。Itspeaksforitself。Eventhehighestsociety，madam，respects_that!_“

LadyJaneexaminedthepaper。Itwasamarriage-certificate。Sheturneddeadlypale，andbeckonedtoMr。Vanborough。“Areyoudeceivingme？“sheasked。

Mr。Vanboroughlookedbackintothefarcorneroftheroom，inwhichthelawyersat，impenetrablywaitingforevents。“Obligemebycominghereforamoment，“hesaid。

Mr。Delamaynroseandcompliedwiththerequest。Mr。VanboroughaddressedhimselftoLadyJane。

“Ibegtoreferyoutomymanofbusiness。_He_isnotinterestedindeceivingyou。“

“AmIrequiredsimplytospeaktothefact？“askedMr。Delamayn。

“Ideclinetodomore。“

“Youarenotwantedtodomore。“

Listeningintentlytothatinterchangeofquestionandanswer，Mrs。Vanboroughadvancedastepinsilence。Thehighcouragethathadsustainedheragainstoutragewhichhadopenlydeclareditselfshrankunderthesenseofsomethingcomingwhichshehadnotforeseen。Anamelessdreadthrobbedatherheartandcreptamongtherootsofherhair。

LadyJanehandedthecertificatetothelawyer。

“Intwowords，Sir，“shesaid，impatiently，“whatisthis？“

“Intwowords，madam，“answeredMr。Delamayn；“wastepaper。“

“Heis_not_married？“

“Heis_not_married。“

Afteramoment’shesitationLadyJanelookedroundatMrs。

Vanborough，standingsilentatherside——looked，andstartedbackinterror。“Takemeaway!“shecried，shrinkingfromtheghastlyfacethatconfrontedherwiththefixedstareofagonyinthegreat，glitteringeyes。“Takemeaway!Thatwomanwillmurderme!“

Mr。Vanboroughgaveherhisarmandledhertothedoor。Therewasdeadsilenceintheroomashedidit。Stepbystepthewife’seyesfollowedthemwiththesamedreadfulstare，tillthedoorclosedandshutthemout。Thelawyer，leftalonewiththedisownedanddesertedwoman，puttheuselesscertificatesilentlyonthetable。Shelookedfromhimtothepaper，anddropped，withoutacrytowarnhim，withoutanefforttosaveherself，senselessathisfeet。

Heliftedherfromthefloorandplacedheronthesofa，andwaitedtoseeifMr。Vanboroughwouldcomeback。Lookingatthebeautifulface——stillbeautiful，evenintheswoon——heowneditwashardonher。Yes!inhisownimpenetrableway，therisinglawyerowneditwashardonher。

Butthelawjustifiedit。Therewasnodoubtinthiscase。Thelawjustifiedit。

Thetramplingofhorsesandthegratingofwheelssoundedoutside。LadyJane’scarriagewasdrivingaway。Wouldthehusbandcomeback？(Seewhatathinghabitis!EvenMr。Delamaynstillmechanicallythoughtofhimasthehusband——inthefaceofthelaw!inthefaceofthefacts!)

No。Thenminutespassed。Andnosignofthehusbandcomingback。

Itwasnotwisetomakeascandalinthehouse。Itwasnotdesirable(onhisownsoleresponsibility)tolettheservantsseewhathadhappened。Still，thereshelaysenseless。Thecooleveningaircameinthroughtheopenwindowandliftedthelightribbonsinherlacecap，liftedthelittlelockofhairthathadbrokenlooseanddroopedoverherneck。Still，thereshelay——thewifewhohadlovedhim，themotherofhischild——thereshelay。

Hestretchedouthishandtoringthebellandsummonhelp。

Atthesamemomentthequietofthesummereveningwasoncemoredisturbed。Heheldhishandsuspendedoverthebell。Thenoiseoutsidecamenearer。Itwasagainthetramplingofhorsesandthegratingofwheels。Advancing——rapidlyadvancing——stoppingatthehouse。

WasLadyJanecomingback？

Wasthehusbandcomingback？

Therewasaloudringatthebell——aquickopeningofthehouse-door——arustlingofawoman’sdressinthepassage。Thedooroftheroomopened，andthewomanappeared——alone。NotLadyJane。Astranger——older，yearsolder，thanLadyJane。Aplainwoman，perhaps，atothertimes。Awomanalmostbeautifulnow，withtheeagerhappinessthatbeamedinherface。

Shesawthefigureonthesofa。Sherantoitwithacry——acryofrecognitionandacryofterrorinone。Shedroppedonherknees——andlaidthathelplessheadonherbosom，andkissed，withasister’skisses，thatcold，whitecheek。

“Oh，mydarling!“shesaid。“Isitthuswemeetagain？“

Yes!Afteralltheyearsthathadpassedsincethepartinginthecabinoftheship，itwasthusthetwoschool-friendsmetagain。

ParttheSecond。

ADVANCINGfromtimepasttotimepresent，thePrologueleavesthedatelastattained(thesummerofeighteenhundredandfifty-five)，andtravelsonthroughanintervaloftwelveyears——tellswholived，whodied，whoprospered，andwhofailedamongthepersonsconcernedinthetragedyattheHampsteadvilla——and，thisdone，leavesthereaderattheopeningofTHE

STORYinthespringofeighteenhundredandsixty-eight。

Therecordbeginswithamarriage——themarriageofMr。VanboroughandLadyJaneParnell。