第69章

Thebusinessofthetoiletwasfaradvanced。Duncanhadjustplacedtheglassinagoodlight；andDuncan’smasterwasatthatturningpointinhisdailylifewhichconsistedinattaining，ornotattaining，absoluteperfectioninthetyingofhiswhitecravat——whensomeouterbarbarian，ignorantofthefirstprinciplesofdressingagentleman’sthroat，presumedtoknockatthebedroomdoor。Neithermasternorservantmovedorbreatheduntiltheintegrityofthecravatwasplacedbeyondthereachofaccident。ThenSirPatrickcastthelookoffinalcriticismintheglass，andbreathedagainwhenhesawthatitwasdone。

“Alittlelaboredinstyle，Duncan。Butnotbad，consideringtheinterruption？“

“Bynomeans，SirPatrick。“

“Seewhoitis。“

Duncanwenttothedoor；andreturned，tohismaster，withanexcusefortheinterruption，intheshapeofatelegram!

SirPatrickstartedatthesightofthatunwelcomemessage。“Signthereceipt，Duncan，“hesaid——andopenedtheenvelope。Yes!

Exactlyashehadanticipated!NewsofMissSilvester，ontheverydaywhenhehaddecidedtoabandonallfurtherattemptatdiscoveringher。Thetelegramranthus：

“MessagereceivedfromFalkirkthismorning。Lady，asdescribed，leftthetrainatFalkirklastnight。Wenton，bythefirsttrainthismorning，toGlasgow。Waitfurtherinstructions。“

“Isthemessengertotakeanythingback，SirPatrick？“

“No。ImustconsiderwhatIamtodo。IfIfinditnecessaryI

willsendtothestation。HereisnewsofMissSilvester，Duncan，“continuedSirPatrick，whenthemessengerhadgone。“ShehasbeentracedtoGlasgow。“

“Glasgowisalargeplace，SirPatrick。“

“Yes。Eveniftheyhavetelegraphedonandhadherwatched(whichdoesn’tappear)，shemayescapeusagainatGlasgow。Iamthelastmanintheworld，Ihope，toshrinkfromacceptingmyfairshareofanyresponsibility。ButIownIwouldhavegivensomethingtohavekeptthistelegramoutofthehouse。ItraisesthemostawkwardquestionIhavehadtodecideonformanyalongdaypast。Helpmeonwithmycoat。Imustthinkofit!Imustthinkofit!“

SirPatrickwentdowntodinnerinnoagreeableframeofmind。

TheunexpectedrecoveryofthelosttraceofMissSilvester——thereisnodisguisingit——seriouslyannoyedhim。

Thedinner-partythatday，assemblingpunctuallyatthestrokeofthebell，hadtowaitaquarterofanhourbeforethehostesscamedownstairs。

LadyLundie’sapology，whensheenteredthelibrary，informedhergueststhatshehadbeendetainedbysomeneighborswhohadcalledatanunusuallylatehour。Mr。andMrs。JuliusDelamayn，findingthemselvesnearWindygates，hadfavoredherwithavisit，ontheirwayhome，andhadleftcardsofinvitationforagarden-partyattheirhouse。

LadyLundiewascharmedwithhernewacquaintances。TheyhadincludedeverybodywhowasstayingatWindygatesintheirinvitation。Theyhadbeenaspleasantandeasyasoldfriends。

Mrs。Delamaynhadbroughtthekindestmessagefromoneofherguests——Mrs。Glenarm——tosaythatsherememberedmeetingLadyLundieinLondon，inthetimeofthelateSirThomas，andwasanxioustoimprovetheacquaintance。Mr。JuliusDelamaynhadgivenamostamusingaccountofhisbrother。GeoffreyhadsenttoLondonforatrainer；andthewholehouseholdwasonthetip-toeofexpectationtowitnessthemagnificentspectacleofanathletepreparinghimselfforafoot-race。Theladies，withMrs。Glenarmattheirhead，werehardatwork，studyingtheprofoundandcomplicatedquestionofhumanrunni