第27章

Sheslowlyturnedherhead，andlookedathimwithadullsurprise。

“Didn’tyousayhehadtoldyoueverything？“sheasked。

“Yes。“

“Don’tyoudespiseawomanlikeme？“

Arnold’sheartwentback，atthatdreadfulquestion，totheonewomanwhowaseternallysacredtohim——tothewomanfromwhosebosomhehaddrawnthebreathoflife。

“Doesthemanlive，“hesaid，“whocanthinkofhismother——anddespisewomen？“

Thatanswersettheprisonedmiseryinherfree。Shegavehimherhand——shefaintlythankedhim。Themercifultearscametoheratlast。

Arnoldrose，andturnedawaytothewindowindespair。“Imeanwell，“hesaid。“AndyetIonlydistressher!“

Sheheardhim，andstraggledtocomposeherself“No，“sheanswered，“youcomfortme。Don’tmindmycrying——I’mthebetterforit。“Shelookedroundathimgratefully。“Iwon’tdistressyou，Mr。Brinkworth。Ioughttothankyou——andIdo。ComebackorIshallthinkyouareangrywithme。“Arnoldwentbacktoher。

Shegavehimherhandoncemore。“Onedoesn’tunderstandpeopleallatonce，“shesaid，simply。“Ithoughtyouwerelikeothermen——Ididn’tknowtillto-dayhowkindyoucouldbe。Didyouwalkhere？“sheadded，suddenly，withanefforttochangethesubject。“Areyoutired？Ihavenotbeenkindlyreceivedatthisplace——butI’msureImayofferyouwhatevertheinnaffords。“

Itwasimpossiblenottofeelforher——itwasimpossiblenottobeinterestedinher。Arnold’shonestlongingtohelpherexpresseditselfalittletooopenlywhenhespokenext。“AllI

want，MissSilvester，istobeofsomeservicetoyou，ifIcan，“

hesaid。“IsthereanythingIcandotomakeyourpositionheremorecomfortable？Youwillstayatthisplace，won’tyou？Geoffreywishesit。“

Sheshuddered，andlookedaway。“Yes!yes!“sheanswered，hurriedly。

“YouwillhearfromGeoffrey，“Arnoldwenton，“to-morrowornextday。Iknowhemeanstowrite。“

“ForHeaven’ssake，don’tspeakofhimanymore!“shecriedout。

“HowdoyouthinkIcanlookyouintheface——“Hercheeksflusheddeep，andhereyesrestedonhimwithamomentaryfirmness。“Mindthis!Iamhiswife，ifpromisescanmakemehiswife!Hehaspledgedhiswordtomebyallthatissacred!“Shecheckedherselfimpatiently。“WhatamIsaying？Whatinterestcan_you_haveinthismiserablestateofthings？Don’tletustalkofit!Ihavesomethingelsetosaytoyou。Letusgobacktomytroubleshere。Didyouseethelandladywhenyoucamein？“

“No。Ionlysawthewaiter。“

“ThelandladyhasmadesomeabsurddifficultyaboutlettingmehavetheseroomsbecauseIcameherealone。“

“Shewon’tmakeanydifficultynow，“saidArnold。“Ihavesettledthat。“

“_You!_“

Arnoldsmiled。Afterwhathadpassed，itwasaninde