第113章

Sheansweredhiminoneword。

“Blanche!“

Heshookhisheadimpatiently。“NoteveninBlanche’sinterests!

NotevenforBlanche’ssake!Ifthereisanyrisk，itisariskI

amreadytorun。Iholdtomyownopinion。Ibelievemyownviewtoberight。Letitcometoanappealtothelaw!Iwillfightthecase，andwinit。“

“Areyou_sure_ofwinningit，SirPatrick？“

Insteadofreplying，hepressedtheletteronher。“Destroyit，“

hewhispered。“Andrelyonmysilence。“

Shetooktheletterfromhim。

“Destroyit，“herepeated。“Theymayopenthedoors。Theymaycomeinatanymoment，andseeitinyourhand。“

“Ihavesomethingtoaskyou，SirPatrick，beforeIdestroyit。

Blancherefusestogobacktoherhusband，unlessshereturnswiththecertainassuranceofbeingreallyhiswife。IfIproducethisletter，shemaygobacktohimto-day。IfIdeclaremyselfGeoffreyDelamayn’swife，IclearArnoldBrinkworth，atonceandforeverofallsuspicionofbeingmarriedtome。Canyouascertainlyandeffectuallyclearhiminanyotherway？Answermethat，asamanofhonorspeakingtoawomanwhoimplicitlytrustshim!“

Shelookedhimfullintheface。Hiseyesdroppedbeforehers——hemadenoreply。

“Iamanswered，“shesaid。

Withthosewords，shepassedhim，andlaidherhandonthedoor。

Hecheckedher。Thetearsroseinhiseyesashedrewhergentlybackintotheroom。

“Whyshouldwewait？“sheasked。

“Wait，“heanswered，“asafavorto_me。_“

Sheseatedherselfcalmlyinthenearestchair，andrestedherheadonherhand，thinking。

Hebentoverher，androusedher，impatiently，almostangrily。

Thesteadyresolutioninherfacewasterribletohim，whenhethoughtofthemaninthenextroom。

“Taketimetoconsider，“hepleaded。“Don’tbeledawaybyyourownimpulse。Don’tactunderafalseexcitement。Nothingbindsyoutothisdreadfulsacrificeofyourself。“

“Excitement!Sacrifice!“Shesmiledsadlyassherepeatedthewords。“Doyouknow，SirPatrick，whatIwasthinkingofamomentsince？Onlyofoldtimes，whenIwasalittlegirl。Isawthesadsideoflifesoonerthanmostchildrenseeit。Mymotherwascruellydeserted。Thehardmarriagelawsofthiscountrywereharderonherthanonme。Shediedbroken-hearted。Butonefriendcomfortedheratthelastmoment，andpromisedtobeamothertoherchild。Ican’trememberoneunhappydayinalltheafter-timewhenIlivedwiththatfaithfulwomanandherlittledaughter——tillthedaythatpartedus。Shewentawaywithherhusband；andIandthelittledaughterwereleftbehind。Shesaidherlastwordstome。Herheartwassinkingunderthedreadofcomingdeath。’Ipromisedyourmotherthatyoushouldbelikemyownchildtome，anditquietedhermind。Quiet_my_mind，Anne，beforeIgo。Whateverhappens