第93章

“Praydon’tapologize，“shesaid。“IthinkIunderstandthatyouaresogoodastohavecometosee_me。_Youlooktired。Won’tyoutakeachair？“

Annecouldstandnolonger。Shetooktheofferedchair。Mrs。

Glenarmresumedherplaceonthemusic-stool，andranherfingersidlyoverthekeysofthepiano。“WheredidyouseeMr。

Delamayn？“shewenton。“Themostirresponsibleofmen，exceptwhenhehasgothisfiddleinhishand!Ishecominginsoon？Arewegoingtohaveanymusic？Haveyoucometoplaywithus？Mr。

Delamaynisaperfectfanaticinmusic，isn’the？Whyisn’theheretointroduceus？Isupposeyouliketheclassicalstyle，too？DidyouknowthatIwasinthemusic-room？MightIaskyourname？“

Frivolousastheywere，Mrs。Glenarm’squestionswerenotwithouttheiruse。TheygaveAnnetimetosummonherresolution，andtofeelthenecessityofexplainingherself。

“Iamspeaking，Ibelieve，toMrs。Glenarm？“shebegan。

Thegood-humoredwidowsmiledandbowedgraciously。

“Ihavecomehere，Mrs。Glenarm——byMr。Delamayn’spermission——toaskleavetospeaktoyouonamatterinwhichyouareinterested。“

Mrs。Glenarm’smany-ringedfingerspausedoverthekeysofthepiano。Mrs。Glenarm’splumpfaceturnedonthestrangerwithadawningexpressionofsurprise。

“Indeed？Iaminterestedinsomanymatters。MayIaskwhat_this_matteris？“

TheflippanttoneofthespeakerjarredonAnne。IfMrs。

Glenarm’snaturewasasshallowasitappearedtobeonthesurface，therewaslittlehopeofanysympathyestablishingitselfbetweenthem。

“Iwishedtospeaktoyou，“sheanswered，“aboutsomethingthathappenedwhileyouwerepayingavisitintheneighborhoodofPerth。“

ThedawningsurpriseinMrs。Glenarm’sfacebecameintensifiedintoanexpressionofdistrust。Herheartymannervanishedunderaveilofconventionalcivility，drawnoveritsuddenly。ShelookedatAnne。“Neveratthebestoftimesabeauty，“shethought。“Wretchedlyoutofhealthnow。Dressedlikeaservant，andlookinglikealady。What_does_itmean？“

ThelastdoubtwasnottobeborneinsilencebyapersonofMrs。

Glenarm’stemperament。Sheaddressedherselftothesolutionofitwiththemostunblushingdirectness——dextrouslyexcusedbythemostwinningfranknessofmanner。

“Pardonme，“shesaid。“Mymemoryforfacesisabadone；andI

don’tthinkyouheardmejustnow，whenIaskedforyourname。

Haveweevermetbefore？“

“Never。“

“Andyet——ifIunderstandwhatyouarereferringto——youwishtospeaktomeaboutsomethingwhichisonlyinterestingtomyselfandmymostintimatefriends。“

“Youunderstandmequitecorrectly，“saidAnne。“Iwishtospeaktoyouaboutsomeanonymousletters—