第89章

PendingthereturnofArnoldandBlanche，SirPatricklookedatMr。Crum’sletterforthesecondtime。

HewasnotquitesatisfiedthatthepecuniarymotivewasreallythemotiveatthebottomofAnne’sjourneysouth。RememberingthatGeoffrey’strainershadremovedhimtotheneighborhoodofLondon，hewasinclinedtodoubtwhethersomeseriousquarrelhadnottakenplacebetweenAnneandMrs。Glenarm——andwhethersomedirectappealtoGeoffreyhimselfmightnotbeincontemplationastheresult。Inthatevent，SirPatrick’sadviceandassistancewouldbeplaced，withoutscruple，atMissSilvester’sdisposal。

Byassertingherclaim，inoppositiontotheclaimofMrs。

Glenarm，shewasalsoassertingherselftobeanunmarriedwoman，andwasthusservingBlanche’sinterestsaswellasherown。“I

oweittoBlanchetohelpher，“thoughtSirPatrick。“AndIoweittomyselftobringGeoffreyDelamayntoadayofreckoningifIcan。“

Thebarkingofthedogsintheyardannouncedthereturnofthecarriage。SirPatrickwentouttomeetArnoldandBlancheatthegate，andtellthemthenews。

Punctualtothetimeatwhichhewasexpected，thediscreetDuncanreappearedwithanotefromthemusicalagent。

MissSilvesterhadnotyetreachedLondon；butshewasexpectedtoarrivenotlaterthanTuesdayintheensuingweek。TheagenthadalreadybeenfavoredwithherinstructionstopaythestrictestattentiontoanycommandsreceivedfromSirPatrickLundie。HewouldtakecarethatSirPatrick’smessageshouldbegiventoMissSilvesterassoonasshearrived。

Atlast，then，therewasnewstobereliedon!Atlasttherewasaprospectofseeingher!Blanchewasradiantwithhappiness，ArnoldwasinhighspiritsforthefirsttimesincehisreturnfromBaden。

SirPatricktriedhardtocatchtheinfectionofgayetyfromhisyoungfriends；but，tohisownsurprise，notlessthantotheirs，theeffortprovedfruitless。Withthetideofeventsturningdecidedlyinhisfavor——relievedofthenecessityoftakingadoubtfuljourneytoScotland；assuredofobtaininghisinterviewwithAnneinafewdays’time——hewasoutofspiritsallthroughtheevening。

“Stilldownonourluck!“exclaimedArnold，asheandhishostfinishedtheirlastgameofbilliards，andpartedforthenight。

“Surely，wecouldn’twishforamorepromisingprospectthan_our_prospectnextweek？“

SirPatricklaidhishandonArnold’sshoulder。

“Letuslookindulgentlytogether，“hesaid，inhiswhimsicallygraveway，“atthehumiliatingspectacleofanoldman’sfolly。I

feel，atthismoment，Arnold，asifIwouldgiveeverythingthatIpossessintheworldtohavepassedovernextweek，andtobelandedsafelyinthetimebeyondit。“

“Butwhy？“

“Thereisthefolly!Ican’ttellwhy。Witheveryreasontobeinbetterspiritsthanusual，Iamunaccountably，irrationally，invinciblydepressed。Whatarewetoconcludefromthat？AmItheobjectofasupernaturalwarningofmisfortunetocome？OramI

theobjectofatemporaryderangementofthefunctionsoftheliver？Thereisthequestion。Whoistodecideit？Howcontemptibleishumanity，Arnold，rightlyunderstood!Givememycandle，andlet’shopeit’stheliver。“

EIGHTHSCENE——THEPANTRY。

CHAPTERTHETHIRTY-NINTH。

ANNEWINSAVICTORY。

ONacertaineveninginthemonthofSeptember(atthatperiodofthemonthwhenArnoldandBlancheweretravelingbackfromBadentoHamFarm)anancientman——withonee