第95章

Somethingmightcomeofit!LetitberememberedthatLadyLundiehadbeenleftentirelyinthedark——thatshehadwrittentoSirPatrickinatonewhichplainlyshowedthatherself-esteemwaswoundedandhersuspicionroused——andthatherfirstintimationoftheseriousdilemmainwhichArnoldBrinkworthstoodwasnowlikely，thankstoJuliusDelamayn，toreachherfromthelipsofamereacquaintance。Letthisberemembered；andthenlettheestimatebeformedofwhatmightcomeofit——notatWindygatesonly，butalsoatHamFarm!

“Whatdoyouthink？“askedJulius。

Mrs。Glenarmwasenchanted。“Theverypersontogoto!“shesaid。

“IfIamnotletinIcaneasilywrite——andexplainmyobjectasanapology。LadyLundieissoright-minded，sosympathetic。Ifsheseesnooneelse——Ihaveonlytoconfidemyanxietiestoher，andIamsureshewillseeme。Youwilllendmeacarriage，won’tyou？I’llgotoWindygatesto-morrow。“

Juliustookhisviolinoffthepiano。

“Don’tthinkmeverytroublesome，“hesaidcoaxingly。“Betweenthisandto-morrowwehavenothingtodo。Anditis_such_music，ifyouoncegetintotheswingofit!Wouldyoumindtryingagain？“

Mrs。Glenarmwaswillingtodoanythingtoprovehergratitude，aftertheinvaluablehintwhichshehadjustreceived。Atthesecondtrialthefairpianist’seyeandhandwereinperfectharmony。ThelovelymelodywhichtheAdagioofMozart’sFifteenthSonatahasgiventoviolinandpianoflowedsmoothlyatlast——andJuliusDelamaynsoaredtotheseventhheavenofmusicaldelight。

ThenextdayMrs。GlenarmandMrs。DelamaynwenttogethertoWindygatesHouse。

THEsceneopensonabedroom——anddiscloses，inbroaddaylight，aladyinbed。

Personswithanirritablesenseofpropriety，whoseself-appointeddutyitistobealwayscryingout，arewarnedtopausebeforetheycryoutonthisoccasion。TheladynowpresentedtoviewbeingnolessapersonthanLadyLundieherself，itfollows，asamatterofcourse，thattheutmostdemandsofproprietyare，bythemereassertionofthatfact，abundantlyandindisputablysatisfied。Tosaythatanythingshortofdirectmoraladvantagecould，byanypossibility，accruetoanylivingcreaturebythepresentationofherladyshipinahorizontal，insteadofaperpendicularposition，istoassertthatVirtueisaquestionofposture，andthatRespectabilityceasestoassertitselfwhenitceasestoappearinmorningoreveningdress。Willanybodybeboldenoughtosaythat？Letnobodycryout，then，onthepresentoccasion。

LadyLundiewasinbed。

HerladyshiphadreceivedBlanche’swrittenannouncementofthesuddenstoppageofthebridaltour；andhadpennedtheanswertoSirPatrick——thereceiptofwhichatHamFarmhasbeenalreadydescribed。Thisdone，LadyLundiefeltitduetoherselftotakeabecomingpositioninherownhouse，pendingthepossiblearrivalofSirPatrick’sreply。Whatdoesaright-mindedwomando，whenshehasreasontobelievethatsheiscruellydistrustedbythemembersofherownfamily？Aright-mindedwomanfeelsitsoacutelythatshefallsill。LadyLundiefellillaccordingly。

Thecasebeingaseriousone，amedicalpractitionerofthehighestgradeintheprofessionwasrequiredtotreatit。A

physicianfromtheneighb