第65章

SIRPATRICKmadeabadbreakfast。Blanche’sabsencefrettedhim，andAnneSilvester’sletterpuzzledhim。

Hereadit，shortasitwas，asecondtime，andathird。Ifitmeantanything，itmeantthatthemotiveatthebottomofAnne’sflightwastoaccomplishthesacrificeofherselftothehappinessofBlanche。Shehadpartedforlifefromhisnieceforhisniece’ssake!Whatdidthismean？AndhowwasittobereconciledwithAnne’sposition——asdescribedtohimbyMrs。

InchbareduringhisvisittoCraigFernie？

AllSirPatrick’singenuity，andallSirPatrick’sexperience，failedtofindsomuchastheshadowofananswertothatquestion。

Whilehewasstillponderingovertheletter，Arnoldandthesurgeonenteredthebreakfast-roomtogether。

“HaveyouheardaboutBlanche？“askedArnold，excitedly。“Sheisinnodanger，SirPatrick——theworstofitisovernow。“

ThesurgeoninterposedbeforeSirPatrickcouldappealtohim。

“Mr。Brinkworth’sinterestintheyoungladyalittleexaggeratesthestateofthecase，“hesaid。“Ihaveseenher，atLadyLundie’srequest；andIcanassureyouthatthereisnottheslightestreasonforanypresentalarm。MissLundiehashadanervousattack，whichhasyieldedtothesimplestdomesticremedies。Theonlyanxietyyouneedfeelisconnectedwiththemanagementofherinthefuture。Sheissufferingfromsomementaldistress，whichitisnotforme，butforherfriends，toalleviateandremove。Ifyoucanturnherthoughtsfromthepainfulsubject——whateveritmaybe——onwhichtheyaredwellingnow，youwilldoallthatneedstobedone。“Hetookupanewspaperfromthetable，andstrolledoutintothegarden，leavingSirPatrickandArnoldtogether。

“Youheardthat？“saidSirPatrick。

“Isheright，doyouthink？“askedArnold。

“Right？Doyousupposeamangets_his_reputationbymakingmistakes？You’reoneofthenewgeneration，MasterArnold。Youcanallofyoustareatafamousman；butyouhaven’tanatomofrespectforhisfame。IfShakspearecametolifeagain，andtalkedofplaywriting，thefirstpretentiousnobodywhosatoppositeatdinnerwoulddifferwithhimascomposedlyashemightdifferwithyouandme。Venerationisdeadamongus；thepresentagehasburiedit，withoutastonetomarktheplace。Somuchforthat!Let’sgetbacktoBlanche。Isupposeyoucanguesswhatthepainfulsubjectisthat’sdwellingonhermind？MissSilvesterhasbaffledme，andbaffledtheEdinburghpolice。

BlanchediscoveredthatwehadfailedlastnightandBlanchereceivedthatletterthismorning。“

HepushedAnne’sletteracrossthebreakfast-table。

Arnoldreadit，andhandeditbackwithoutaword。ViewedbythenewlightinwhichhesawGeoffrey’scharacterafterthequarrelontheheath，theletterconveyedbutoneconclusiontohismind。

Geoffreyhaddesertedher。

“Well？“saidSirPatrick。“Doyouunderstandwhatitmeans？“

“IunderstandBlanche’swretchednesswhenshereadit。“

Hesaidnomorethanthat。Itwasplainthatnoinformationwhichhecouldafford——evenifhehadconsideredhimselfatlibertytogiveit——wouldbeoftheslig