第16章

Shecamenearer，andlaidherhandpersuasivelyonhisarm。

“Haven’tyouawordtosaytome？Noanswer？Notevenalook？“

Shewaitedamomentmore。Amarkedchangecameoverher。Sheturnedslowlytoleavethesummer-house。“Iamsorrytohavetroubledyou，Mr。Delamayn。Iwon’tdetainyouanylonger。“

Helookedather。Therewasatoneinhervoicethathehadneverheardbefore。Therewasalightinhereyesthathehadneverseeninthembefore。Suddenlyandfiercelyhereachedouthishand，andstoppedher。

“Whereareyougoing？“heasked。

Sheanswered，lookinghimstraightintheface，“Wheremanyamiserablewomanhasgonebeforeme。Outoftheworld。“

Hedrewhernearertohim，andeyedherclosely。Even_his_

intelligencediscoveredthathehadbroughthertobay，andthatshereallymeantit!

“Doyoumeanyouwilldestroyyourself？“hesaid。

“Yes。ImeanIwilldestroymyself。“

Hedroppedherarm。“ByJupiter，she_does_meanit!“

Withthatconvictioninhim，hepushedoneofthechairsinthesummer-housetoherwithhisfoot，andsignedtohertotakeit。

“Sitdown!“hesaid，roughly。Shehadfrightenedhim——andfearcomesseldomtomenofhistype。Theyfeelit，whenitdoescome，withanangrydistrust；theygrowloudandbrutal，ininstinctiveprotestagainstit。“Sitdown!“herepeated。Sheobeyedhim。

“Haven’tyougotawordtosaytome？“heasked，withanoath。

No!thereshesat，immovable，recklesshowitended——asonlywomencanbe，whenwomen’smindsaremadeup。Hetookaturninthesummer-houseandcameback，andstruckhishandangrilyontherailofherchair。“Whatdoyouwant？“

“YouknowwhatIwant。“

Hetookanotherturn。Therewasnothingforitbuttogivewayonhisside，orruntheriskofsomethinghappeningwhichmightcauseanawkwardscandal，andcometohisfather’sears。

“Lookhere，Anne，“hebegan，abruptly。“Ihavegotsomethingtopropose。“

Shelookedupathim。

“Whatdoyousaytoaprivatemarriage？“

Withoutaskingasinglequestion，withoutmakingobjections，sheansweredhim，speakingasbluntlyashehadspokenhimself：

“Iconsenttoaprivatemarriage。“

Hebegantotemporizedirectly。

“IownIdon’tseehowit’stobemanaged——“

Shestoppedhimthere。

“Ido!“

“What!“hecriedout，suspiciously。“Youhavethoughtofityourself，haveyou？“

“Yes。“

“Andplannedforit？“

“Andplannedforit!“

“Whydidn’tyoutellmesobefore？“

Sheansweredhaughtily；insistingontherespectwhichisduetowomen——therespectwhichwasdoublyduefrom_him，_inherposition。

“Because_you_oweditto_me，_Sir，tospeakfirst。“

“Verywell。I’vespokenfirst。Willyouwaitalittle？“

“Notaday!“

Thetonewaspositive。Therewasnomistakingit。Hermindwasmadeup。

“Where’sthehurry？“

“Haveyoueyes？“sheasked，vehemently。“Haveyouears？DoyouseehowLadyLundielooksatme？DoyouhearhowLadyLundiespeakstome？Iamsuspectedbythatwoman。Myshamefuldismissalfromthishousemaybeaquestionofafewhours。“Herheadsunkonherbosom；shewrungherclaspedhandsastheyrestedonherlap。“And，oh，Blanche!“shemoanedtoherself，thetearsgatheringagain，andfalling，thistime，unchecked。“Blanche，wholooksuptome!Blanche，wholovesme!Blanche，whotoldme，inthisveryplace，thatIwastolivewithherwhenshewasmarried!“Shestartedupfromthechair；thetearsdriedsuddenly；theharddespairsettledagain，wanandwhite，onherface。“Letmego!Whatisdeath，comparedtosuchalifeasiswaitingfor_me？_“Shelookedhimover，inonedisdainfulglancefromheadtofoot；hervoicerosetoitsloudestandfirmesttones。“Why，even_you_；wouldhavethecouragetodieifyouwereinmyplace!“

Geoffreyglancedroundtowardthelawn。

“Hush!“hesaid。“Theywillhearyou!“

“Letthemhearme!When_I_ampasthearing_them_，whatdoesitmatter？“

Heputherbackbymainforceonthechair。Inanothermomenttheymusthaveheardher，throughallthenoiseandlaughterofthegame。

“Saywhatyouwant，“heresumed，“andI’lldoit。Onlybereasonable。Ican’tmarryyouto-day。“

“Youcan!“

“Whatnonsenseyoutalk!Thehouseandgroundsareswarmingwithcompany。Itcan’tbe!“

“Itcan!Ihavebeenthinkingaboutiteversincewecametothishouse。Ihavegotsomethingtoproposetoyou。Willyouhearit，ornot？“

“Speaklower!“

“Willyouhearit，ornot？“

“There’ssomebodycoming!“

“Willyouhearit，ornot？“

“Thedeviltakeyourobstinacy!Yes!“

Theanswerhadbeenwrungfromhim。Still，itwastheanswershewanted——itopenedthedoortohope。Theinstanthehadconsentedtohearherhermindawakenedtotheseriousnecessityofavertingdiscoverybyanythirdpersonwhomightstrayidlyintothesummer-house。Sheheldupherhandforsilence，andlistenedtowhatwasgoingforwardonthelawn。

Thedullthumpofthecroquet-malletagainsttheballwasnolongertobeheard。Thegamehadstopped。

Inamomentmoresheheardherownnamecalled。Anintervalofanotherinstantpassed，andafamiliarvoicesaid，“Iknowwheresheis。I’llfetchher。“

SheturnedtoGeoffrey，andpointedtothebackofthesummer-house。

“It’smyturntoplay，“shesaid。“AndBlancheiscomingheretolookforme。Waitthere，andI’llstopheronthesteps。“

Shewentoutatonce。Itwasacriticalmoment。Discovery，whichmeantmoral-ruintothewoman，meantmoney-ruintotheman。

Geoffreyhadnotexaggeratedhispositionwithhisfather。LordHolchesterhadtwicepaidhisdebts，andhaddeclinedtoseehimsince。Onemoreoutrageonhisfather’srigidsenseofpropriety，andhewouldbeleftoutofthewillaswellaskeptoutofthehouse。Helookedforameansofretreat，incasetherewasnoescapingunperceivedbythefrontentrance。Adoor——intendedfortheuseofservants，whenpicnicsandgipsytea-partiesweregiveninthesummer-house——hadbeenmadeinthebackwall。Itopenedoutward，anditwaslocked。Withhisstrengthitwaseasytoremovethatobstacle。Heputhisshouldertothedoor。Atthemomentwhenheburstitopenhefeltahandonhisarm。Annewasbehindhim，alone。

“Youmaywantitbeforelong，“shesaid，observingtheopendoor，withoutexpressinganysurprise，“Youdon’twantitnow。Anotherpersonwillplayforme——IhavetoldBlancheIamnotwell。Sitdown。Ihavesecuredarespiteoffiveminutes，andImustmakethemostofit。Inthattime，orless，LadyLundie’ssuspicionswillbringherhere——toseehowIam。Forthepresent，shutthedoor。“

Sheseatedherself，andpointedtoasecondchair。Hetookit——withhiseyeonthecloseddoor。

“Cometothepoint!“hesaid，impatiently。“Whatisit？“

“Youcanmarrymeprivatelyto-day，“sheanswered。“Listen——andIwilltellyouhow!“