第101章

“Youwillletmegowithyou？“

“Notto-day。Ishallbebackthiseveningtodinner。Youshallhearallthathashappened；andyoushallaccompanymetoLondonto-morrow——ifIfinditnecessarytomakeanylengthenedstaythere。Betweenthisandthen，aftertheshockthatyouhavesuffered，youwilldowelltobequiethere。BesatisfiedwithmyassurancethatBlancheshallhaveyourletter。Iwillforcemyauthorityonherstep-mothertothatextent(ifherstep-motherresists)withoutscruple。TherespectinwhichIholdthesexonlylastsaslongasthesexdeservesit——anddoes_not_extendtoLadyLundie。ThereisnoadvantagethatamancantakeofawomanwhichIamnotfullypreparedtotakeofmysister-in-law。“

Withthatcharacteristicfarewell，heshookhandswithArnold，anddepartedforthestation。

Atseveno’clockthedinnerwasonthetable。Atseveno’clockSirPatrickcamedownstairstoeatit，asperfectlydressedasusual，andascomposedasifnothinghadhappened。

“Shehasgotyourletter，“hewhispered，ashetookArnold’sarm，andledhimintothedining-room。

“Didshesayanything？“

“Notaword。“

“Howdidshelook？“

“Assheoughttolook——sorryforwhatshehasdone。“

Thedinnerbegan。Asamatterofnecessity，thesubjectofSirPatrick’sexpeditionwasdroppedwhiletheservantswereintheroom——toberegularlytakenupagainbyArnoldintheintervalsbetweenthecourses。Hebeganwhenthesoupwastakenaway。

“IconfessIhadhopedtoseeBlanchecomebackwithyou!“hesaid，sadlyenough。

“Inotherwords，“returnedSirPatrick，“youforgotthenativeobstinacyofthesex。Blancheisbeginningtofeelthatshehasbeenwrong。Whatisthenecessaryconsequence？Shenaturallypersistsinbeingwrong。Letheralone，andleaveyourlettertohaveitseffect。Theseriousdifficultiesinourwaydon’trestwithBlanche。Contentyourselfwithknowingthat。“

Thefishcamein，andArnoldwassilenced——untilhisnextopportunitycamewiththenextintervalinthecourseofthedinner。

“Whatarethedifficulties？“heasked“Thedifficultiesaremydifficultiesandyours，“answeredSirPatrick。“Mydifficultyis，thatIcan’tassertmyauthority，asguardian，ifIassumemyniece(asIdo)tobeamarriedwoman。

Yourdifficultyis，thatyoucan’tassertyourauthorityasherhusband，untilitisdistinctlyprovedthatyouandMissSilvesterarenotmanandwife。LadyLundiewasperfectlyawarethatshewouldplaceusinthatposition，whensheremovedBlanchefromthishouse。Shehascross-examinedMrs。Inchbare；

shehaswrittentoyourstewardforthedateofyourarrivalatyourestate；shehasdoneeverything，calculatedeverything，andforeseeneverything——exceptmyexcellenttemper。Theonemistakeshehasmade，isinthinkingshecouldgetthebetterof_that。_No，myde