第26章

Buttheresultofputtingthedeceptioninpracticewas，tosaytheleastofit，alittleembarrassingatfirst。HerewasthewaiterdescribingMissSilvesterashis“goodlady；“andleavingit(mostnaturallyandproperly)tothe“goodlady’s“husbandtoknockatherbedroomdoor，andtellherthathewasthere。Indespairofknowingwhatelsetodoatthemoment，Arnoldaskedforthelandlady，whomhehadnotseenonarrivingattheinn。

“Thelandleddy’sjusttottin’uptheledgerso’thehottleinherainroom，“answeredMr。Bishopriggs。“She’llbehereanon——thewearyfulwoman!——speerin’whoyeareandwhatyeare，andtakin’

a’thebusinesso’thehooseonherainpairo’shouthers。“Hedroppedthesubjectofthelandlady，andputinapleaforhimself。“Iha’lookitaftera’theleddy’slittlecomforts，Sir，“hewhispered。“Trustinme!trustinme!“

Arnold’sattentionwasabsorbedintheveryseriousdifficultyofannouncinghisarrivaltoAnne。“HowamItogetherout？“hesaidtohimself，withalookofperplexitydirectedatthebedroomdoor。

Hehadspokenloudenoughforthewaitertohearhim。Arnold’slookofperplexitywasinstantlyreflectedonthefaceofMr。

Bishopriggs。Thehead-waiteratCraigFerniepossessedanimmenseexperienceofthemannersandcustomsofnewly-marriedpeopleontheirhoneymoontrip。Hehadbeenasecondfather(withexcellentpecuniaryresults)toinnumerablebridesandbridegrooms。Heknewyoungmarriedcouplesinalltheirvarieties：——Thecoupleswhotrytobehaveasiftheyhadbeenmarriedformanyyears；thecoupleswhoattemptnoconcealment，andtakeadvicefromcompetentauthoritiesaboutthem。Thecoupleswhoarebashfullytalkativebeforethirdpersons；thecoupleswhoarebashfullysilentundersimilarcircumstances。Thecoupleswhodon’tknowwhattodo，thecoupleswhowishitwasover；thecoupleswhomustneverbeintrudeduponwithoutcarefulpreliminaryknockingatthedoor；thecoupleswho_can_eatanddrinkintheintervalsof“bliss，“andtheothercoupleswho_can’t。_Butthebridegroomwhostoodhelplessononesideofthedoor，andthebridewhoremainedlockedinontheother，werenewvarietiesofthenuptialspecies，eveninthevastexperienceofMr。Bishopriggshimself。

“Hooareyetogetheroot？“herepeated。“I’llshowyehoo!“Headvancedasrapidlyashisgoutyfeetwouldlethim，andknockedatthebedroomdoor。“Eh，myleddy!hereheisinfleshandbluid。Mercypreserveus!doyelockthedoorofthenuptialchamberinyourhusband’sface？“

Atthatunanswerableappealthelockwasheardturninginthedoor。Mr。BishopriggswinkedatArnoldwithhisoneavailableeye，andlaidhisforefingerknowinglyalonghisenormousnose。

“I’mawaybeforeshefallsintoyourarms!RelyonitI’llnocomeinagainwithoutknockingfirst!“