第42章

“Beautiful!“saidBlanche。“WhatashameitseemstohavehadMiltonallthistimeinthelibraryandnevertohavereadhimyet!WewillhaveMorningswithMilton，Arnold。Heseemslong；

butwearebothyoung，andwe_may_livetogettotheendofhim。Doyouknowdear，nowIlookatyouagain，youdon’tseemtohavecomebacktoWindygatesingoodspirits。“

“Don’tI？Ican’taccountforit。“

“Ican。It’ssympathywithMe。Iamoutofspiritstoo。“

“You!“

“Yes。AfterwhatIsawatCraigFernie，IgrowmoreandmoreuneasyaboutAnne。Youwillunderstandthat，Iamsure，afterwhatItoldyouthismorning？“

Arnoldlookedback，inaviolenthurry，fromBlanchetoMilton。

ThatrenewedreferencetoeventsatCraigFerniewasarenewedreproachtohimforhisconductattheinn。HeattemptedtosilenceherbypointingtoGeoffrey。

“Don’tforget，“hewhispered，“thatthereissomebodyintheroombesidesourselves。“

Blancheshruggedhershoulderscontemptuously。

“Whatdoes_he_matter？“sheasked。“Whatdoes_he_knoworcareaboutAnne？“

Therewasonlyoneotherchanceofdivertingherfromthedelicatesubject。Arnoldwentonreadingheadlong，twolinesinadvanceoftheplaceatwhichhehadleftoff，withmoresoundandlesssensethanever：

“Inthebeginninghowtheheavensandearth。

RoseoutofChaosorifSionhill——“

At“Sionhill，“Blancheinterruptedhimagain。

“Dowaitalittle，Arnold。Ican’thaveMiltoncrammeddownmythroatinthatway。BesidesIhadsomethingtosay。DidItellyouthatIconsultedmyuncleaboutAnne？Idon’tthinkIdid。I

caughthimaloneinthisveryroom。ItoldhimallIhavetoldyou。IshowedhimAnne’sletter。AndIsaid，’Whatdoyouthink？’

Hetookalittletime(andagreatdealofsnuff)beforehewouldsaywhathethought。Whenhedidspeak，hetoldmeImightquitepossiblyberightinsuspectingAnne’shusbandtobeaveryabominableperson。Hiskeepinghimselfoutofmywaywas(justasIthought)asuspiciouscircumstance，tobeginwith。Andthentherewasthesuddenextinguishingofthecandles，whenIfirstwentin。Ithought(andMrs。Inchbarethought)itwasdonebythewind。SirPatricksuspectsitwasdonebythehorridmanhimself，topreventmefromseeinghimwhenIenteredtheroom。IamfirmlypersuadedSirPatrickisright。Whatdo_you_think？“

“Ithinkwehadbettergoon，“saidArnold，withhisheaddownoverhisbook。“WeseemtobeforgettingMilton。“

“HowyoudoworryaboutMilton!Thatlastbitwasn’tasinterestingastheother。IsthereanyloveinParadiseLost？“

“Perhapswemayfindsomeifwegoon。“

“Verywell，then。Goon。Andbequickaboutit。“

Arnoldwas_so_quickaboutitthathelosthisplace。Insteadofgoingonhewentback。Hereadoncemore：

“Inthebeginninghowtheheavensandearth。

RoseoutofChaosorifSionhill——“

“Youreadthatbefore，“saidBlanche。

“Ithinknot。“

“I’msureyoudid。Whenyousaid’Sionhill’IrecollectI