第87章

THEletterstoLadyLundieandtoMr。CrumhavingbeendispatchedonMonday，thereturnofthepostmightbelookedforonWednesdayafternoonatHamFarm。

SirPatrickandArnoldheldmorethanoneprivateconsultation，duringtheinterval，onthedelicateanddifficultsubjectofadmittingBlanchetoaknowledgeofwhathadhappened。Thewiseelderadvisedandtheinexperiencedjuniorlistened。“Thinkofit，“saidSirPatrick；“anddoit。“AndArnoldthoughtofit——andleftitundone。

Letthosewhofeelinclinedtoblamehimrememberthathehadonlybeenmarriedafortnight。Itishard，surely，afterbuttwoweeks’possessionofyourwife，toappearbeforeherinthecharacterofanoffenderontrial——andtofindthatanangelofretributionhasbeenthrownintothebargainbytheliberaldestinywhichbestowedonyouthewomanwhomyouadore!

TheywereallthreeathomeontheWednesdayafternoon，lookingoutforthepostman。

Thecorrespondencedeliveredincluded(exactlyasSirPatrickhadforeseen)aletterfromLadyLundie。Furtherinvestigation，onthefarmoreinterestingsubjectoftheexpectednewsfromGlasgow，revealed——nothing。ThelawyerhadnotansweredSirPatrick’sinquirybyreturnofpost。

“Isthatabadsign？“askedBlanche。

“Itisasignthatsomethinghashappened，“answeredheruncle。

“Mr。Crumispossiblyexpectingtoreceivesomespecialinformation，andiswaitingonthechanceofbeingabletocommunicateit。Wemusthope，mydear，into-morrow’spost。“

“OpenLadyLundie’sletterinthemeantime，“saidBlanche。“Areyousureitisforyou——andnotforme？“

Therewasnodoubtaboutit。Herladyship’sreplywasominouslyaddressedtoherladyship’sbrother-in-law。“Iknowwhatthatmeans。“saidBlanche，eyingheruncleeagerlywhilehewasreadingtheletter。“IfyoumentionAnne’snameyouinsultmystep-mother。Ihavementioneditfreely。LadyLundieismortallyoffendedwithme。“

Rashjudgmentofyouth!Aladywhotakesadignifiedattitude，inafamilyemergency，isnevermortallyoffended——sheisonlydeeplygrieved。LadyLundietookadignifiedattitude。“Iwellknow，“wrotethisestimableandChristianwoman，“thatIhavebeenallalongregardedinthelightofanintruderbythefamilyconnectionsofmylatebelovedhusband。ButIwashardlypreparedtofindmyselfentirelyshutoutfromalldomesticconfidence，atatimewhensomeseriousdomesticcatastrophehasbuttooevidentlytakenplace。Ihavenodesire，dearSirPatrick，tointrude。Feelingit，however，tobequiteinconsistentwithadueregardformyownposition——afterwhathashappened——tocorrespondwithBlanche，Iaddressmyselftotheheadofthefamily，purelyintheinterestsofpropriety。Permitmetoaskwhether——undercircumstanceswhichappeartobeseriousenoughtorequiretherecallofmystep-daughterandherhusbandfromtheirweddingtour——youthinkitDECENTtokeepthewidowofthelateSirThomasLundieentirelyinthedark？Prayconsiderthis——notatalloutofregardforMe!——butoutofregardforyourownpositionwithSociety。Curiosityis，asyouknow，foreigntomynature。Butwhenthisdreadfulscandal(whateveritmaybe)comesout——which，dearSirPatrick，itcannotfailtodo——whatwilltheworldthink，whenitasksforLadyLundie’s，opinion，andhearsthatLadyLundieknewnothingaboutit？WhicheverwayyoumaydecideIshalltakenooffense。Imaypossiblybewounded——butthatwon’tmatter。Mylittleroundofdutieswillfindmestillearnest，stillcheerful。Andevenifyoushutmeout，mybestwisheswillfindthei