第68章

“Youaretotakeit，“shesaid，“asexpressingmyconvictionthatIsaddledmyselfwiththechargeofanincorrigiblyheartless，obstinateandperversegirl，whenIundertookthecareofBlanche。“

“Didyousay’incorrigibly？’“

“Isaid’incorrigibly。’“

“Ifthecaseisashopelessasthat，mydearMadam——asBlanche’sguardian，IoughttofindmeanstorelieveyouofthechargeofBlanche。“

“Nobodyshallrelieve_me_ofadutythatIhaveonceundertaken!“retortedLadyLundie。“NotifIdieatmypost!“

“Supposeitwasconsistentwithyourduty，“pleadedSirPatrick，“toberelievedatyourpost？Supposeitwasinharmonywiththat’self-sacrifice’whichis’themottoofwomen？’“

“Idon’tunderstandyou，SirPatrick。Besogoodastoexplainyourself。“

SirPatrickassumedanewcharacter——thecharacterofahesitatingman。Hecastalookofrespectfulinquiryathissister-in-law，sighed，andshookhishead。

“No!“hesaid。“Itwouldbeaskingtoomuch。Evenwithyourhighstandardofduty，itwouldbeaskingtoomuch。“

“Nothingwhichyoucanaskmeinthenameofdutyistoomuch。“

“No!no!Letmeremindyou。Humannaturehasitslimits。“

“AChristiangentlewoman’ssenseofdutyknowsnolimits。“

“Oh，surelyyes!“

“SirPatrick!afterwhatIhavejustsaidyourperseveranceindoubtingmeamountstosomethinglikeaninsult!“

“Don’tsaythat!Letmeputacase。Let’ssupposethefutureinterestsofanotherpersondependonyoursaying，Yes——whenallyourownmostcherishedideasandopinionsurgeyoutosay，No。

Doyoureallymeantotellmethatyoucouldtrampleyourownconvictionsunderfoot，ifitcouldbeshownthatthepurelyabstractconsiderationofdutywasinvolvedinthesacrifice？“

“Yes!“criedLadyLundie，mountingthepedestalofhervirtueonthespot。“Yes——withoutamoment’shesitation!“

“Isitcorrected，LadyLundie。Youemboldenmetoproceed。Allowmetoask(afterwhatIjustheard)——whetheritisnotyourdutytoactonadvicegivenforBlanche’sbenefit，byonethehighestmedicalauthoritiesinEngland？“Herladyshipadmittedthatitwasherduty；pendingamorefavorableopportunityforcontradictingherbrother-in-law。

“Verygood，“pursuedSirPatrick。“AssumingthatBlancheislikemostotherhumanbeings，andhassomeprospectofhappinesstocontemplate，ifshecouldonlybemadetoseeit——arewenotboundtomakeherseeit，byourmoralobligationtoactonthemedicaladvice？“Hecastacourteously-persuasivelookatherladyship，andpausedinthemostinnocentmannerforareply。

IfLadyLundiehadnotbeenbent——thankstotheirritationfomentedbyherbrother-in-law——ondisputingthegroundwithhim，inchbyinch，shemusthaveseensigns，bythistime，ofthesnarethatwasbeingsetforher。Asitwas，shesawnothingbuttheopportunityofdisparagingBlancheandcontradictingSirPatrick。

“Ifmystep-daughterhadanysuchprospectasyoudescribe，“sheanswered，“Ishouldofcoursesay，Yes。ButBlanche’sisanill-regulatedmind。Anill-regulatedmindhasnoprospectofhappiness。“

“Pardonme，“saidSirPatrick。“Blanche_has_aprospectofhappiness。Inotherwords，Blanchehasaprospectofbeingmarried。Andwhatismore，ArnoldBrinkworthisreadytomarryherassoonasthesettlementscanbeprepared。“

LadyLundiestartedinherchair——turnedcrimsonwithrage——a