第37章

butinvain，fortotteringtowardsachair，shesankintoit，lookingsodeadlypaleandhorror-struckthatIthoughteverymomentshewouldfaint。

’MercifulGod，keepusfromharmanddanger!’mutteredsheatlength。

’Whatcanhaveterrifiedyouso？’saidI，beginningtofearthatshehadseensomethingmorethanhadmetmyeye。’Youappearill，mypoorwoman!’

’Nothing，nothing，mylady，’saidshe，rising。’Ibegyourladyship’spardonformakingsobold。MaythegreatGoddefendusfrommisfortune!’

’Martha，’saidI，’somethingHASfrightenedyouverymuch，andIinsistonknowingwhatitis；yourkeepingmeinthedarkuponthesubjectwillmakememuchmoreuneasythananythingyoucouldtellme。I

desireyou，therefore，toletmeknowwhatagitatesyou；Icommandyoutotellme。’

’Yourladyshipsaidyousawablackcurtainfallingacrossthedoorwhenyouwerecomingintotheroom，’saidtheoldwoman。

’Idid，’saidI；’butthoughthewholethingappearssomewhatstrange，Icannotseeanythinginthemattertoagitateyousoexcessively。’

’It’sfornogoodyousawthat，mylady，’saidthecrone；’somethingterribleiscoming。It’sasign，mylady——asignthatneverfails。’

’Explain，explainwhatyoumean，mygoodwoman，’saidI，inspiteofmyself，catchingmorethanIcouldaccountfor，ofhersuperstitiousterror。

’Wheneversomething——somethingBADisgoingtohappentotheGlenfallenfamily，someonethatbelongstothemseesablackhandkerchieforcurtainjustwavedorfallingbeforetheirfaces。Isawitmyself，’

continuedshe，loweringhervoice，’whenI

wasonlyalittlegirl，andI’llneverforgetit。Ioftenheardofitbefore，thoughI

neversawittillthen，norsince，praisedbeGod。ButIwasgoingintoLadyJane’sroomtowakenherinthemorning；andsureenoughwhenIgotfirsttothebedandbegantodrawthecurtain，somethingdarkwaswavedacrossthedivision，butonlyforamoment；andwhenIsawrightlyintothebed，therewasshelyingcoldanddead，Godbemercifultome!So，mylady，thereissmallblametometobedauntedwhenanyoneofthefamilyseesit；forit’smany’sthestoryIheardofit，thoughIsawitbutonce。’

Iwasnotofasuperstitiousturnofmind，yetIcouldnotresistafeelingofaweverynearlyalliedtothefearwhichmycompanionhadsounreservedlyexpressed；andwhenyouconsidermysituation，theloneliness，antiquity，andgloomoftheplace，youwillallowthattheweaknesswasnotwithoutexcuse。

InspiteofoldMartha’sbodingpredictions，however，timeflowedoninanunruffledcourse。Onelittleincidenthowever，thoughtriflinginitself，Imustrelate，asitservestomakewhatfollowsmoreintelligible。

Uponthedayaftermyarrival，LordGlenfallenofcoursedesiredtomakemeacquaintedwiththehouseanddomain；andaccordinglywesetforthuponourramble。

Whenreturning，hebecameforsometimesilentandmoody，astatesounusualwithhimasconsiderablytoexcitemysurprise。

Iendeavouredbyobservationsandquestionstoarousehim——butinvain。Atlength，asweapproachedthehouse，hesaid，asifspeakingtohimself：

’’Tweremadness——madness——madness，’

repeatingthewordsbitterly——’sureandspeedyruin。’

Therewasherealongpause；andatlength，turningsharplytowardsme，inatoneveryunlikethatinwhichhehadhithertoaddressedme，hesaid：

’Doyouthinkitpossiblethatawomancankeepasecret？’

’Iamsure，’saidI，’thatwomenareverymuchbelieduponthescoreoftalkativeness，andthatImayansweryourquestionwiththesamedirectnesswithwhichyouputit——IreplythatIDOthinkawomancankeepasecret。’

’ButIdonot，’saidhe，drily。

Wewalkedoninsilenceforatime。I

wasmuchastonishedathisunwontedabruptness——Ihadalmostsaidrudeness。

Afteraconsiderablepauseheseemedtorecollecthimself，andwithaneffortresuminghissprightlymanner，hesaid：

’Well，well，thenextthingtokeepingasecretwellis，nottodesiretopossessone——talkativenessandcuriositygenerallygotogether。NowIshallmaketestofyou，inthefirstplace，respectingthelatterofthesequalities。IshallbeyourBLUEBEARD——

tush，whydoItriflethus？Listentome，mydearFanny；Ispeaknowinsolemnearnest。WhatIdesireisintimately，inseparably，connectedwithyourhappinessandhonouraswellasmyown；andyourcompliancewithmyrequestwillnotbedifficult。Itwillimposeuponyouaverytriflingrestraintduringyoursojournhere，whichcertaineventswhichhaveoccurredsinceourarrivalhavedeterminedmeshallnotbealongone。Youmustpromiseme，uponyoursacredhonour，thatyouwillvisitONLYthatpartofthecastlewhichcanbereachedfromthefrontentrance，leavingthebackentranceandthepartofthebuildingcommandedimmediatelybyittothemenials，