第125章

Shemadeimmediateinquiryoftheservant。Thegirlcouldonlyspeakforherself。Nothinghadoccurredtodisturbheraftershehadgonetobed。Hermasterwasstill，shebelieved，inhisroom。

Mrs。Dethridgewasatherworkinthekitchen。

Annewenttothekitchen。HesterDethridgewasatherusualoccupationatthattime——preparingthebreakfast。TheslightsignsofanimationwhichAnnehadnoticedinherwhentheylastmetappearednomore。Thedulllookwasbackagaininherstonyeyes；thelifelesstorporpossessedallhermovements。Askedifanythinghadhappenedinthenight，sheslowlyshookherstolidhead，slowlymadethesignwithherhandwhichsignified，“Nothing。“

Leavingthekitchen，AnnesawJuliusinthefrontgarden。Shewentoutandjoinedhim。

“IbelieveIhavetothankyourconsiderationformeforsomehoursofrest，“hesaid。“ItwasfiveinthemorningwhenIwoke。

Ihopeyouhadnoreasontoregrethavingleftmetosleep？I

wentintoGeoffrey’sroom，andfoundhimstirring。Aseconddoseofthemixturecomposedhimagain。Thefeverhasgone。Helooksweakerandpaler，butinotherrespectslikehimself。Wewillreturndirectlytothequestionofhishealth。Ihavesomethingtosaytoyou，first，aboutachangewhichmaybecominginyourlifehere。“

“Hasheconsentedtotheseparation？“

“No。Heisasobstinateaboutitasever。Ihaveplacedthematterbeforehimineverypossiblelight。Hestillrefuses，positivelyrefuses，aprovisionwhichwouldmakehimanindependentmanforlife。“

“Isittheprovisionhemighthavehad，LordHolchester，if——？“

“IfhehadmarriedMrs。Glenarm？No。Itisimpossible，consistentlywithmydutytomymother，andwithwhatIowetothepositioninwhichmyfather’sdeathhasplacedme，thatIcanofferhimsuchafortuneasMrs。Glenarm’s。Still，itisahandsomeincomewhichheismadenoughtorefuse。Ishallpersistinpressingitonhim。Hemustandshalltakeit。“

Annefeltnorevivinghoperousedinherbyhislastwords。Sheturnedtoanothersubject。

“Youhadsomethingtotellme，“shesaid。“Youspokeofachange。“

“True。Thelandladyhereisaverystrangeperson；andshehasdoneaverystrangething。ShehasgivenGeoffreynoticetoquittheselodgings。“

“Noticetoquit？“Annerepeated，inamazement。

“Yes。Inaformalletter。Shehandedittomeopen，assoonasI

wasupthismorning。Itwasimpossibletogetanyexplanationfromher。Thepoordumbcreaturesimplywroteonherslate：’Hemayhavehismoneyback，ifhelikes：heshallgo!’Greatlytomysurprise(forthewomaninspireshimwiththestrongestaversion)

Geoffreyrefusestogountilhistermisup。Ihavemadethepeacebetweenthemforto-day。Mrs。Dethridge。veryreluctantly，consentstogivehimfour-and-twentyhours。Andtherethematterrestsatpresent。“

“Whatcanhermotivebe？“saidAnne。

“It’suselesstoinquire。Hermindisevidentlyoffitsbalance。

Onethingisclear，Geoffreyshallnotkeepyouheremuchlonger。

Thecomingchangewillremoveyoufromthisdismalplace——whichisonethinggained。Anditisquitepossiblethatnewscenesandnewsurroundingsmayhavetheirinfl