第24章

saidtoher："Elizabeth，youappeartohavechangedyouropinionofthetwogirls，sinceIsawyou。"Sheanswered，withadelightfulcandorwhichremindedmeofoldtimes："Completely！"I

said："Awomanofyourintellectualcaliber，dear，doesn’tchangehermindwithoutagoodreasonforit。"Elizabethcordiallyagreedwithme。I

venturedtobealittlemoreexplicit："Youhavenodoubtmadesomeinterestingdiscovery。"Elizabethagreedagain；andI

venturedagain："IsupposeImaynotaskwhatthediscoveryis？"

"No，Selina，youmaynotask。"

Thisiscurious；butitisnothingtowhatIhavegottotellyounext。JustasIwaslongingtotakehertomybosomagainasmyfriendandconfidante，Elizabethhasdisappeared。And，alas！

alas！thereisareasonforitwhichnosympatheticpersoncandispute。

Ihavejustreceivedsomeoverwhelmingnews，intheformofaneatparcel，addressedtomyself。

Therehasbeenascandalatthehotel。Thatmonsterinhumanform，Elizabeth’shusband，isawareofhiswife’sprofessionalfame，hasheardofthelargesumsofmoneywhichsheearnsasthegreatestlivingprofessorofmassage，hasbeenlongonthelookoutforher，andhasdiscoveredheratlast。Hehasnotonlyforcedhiswayintohersitting—roomatthehotel；heinsistsonherlivingwithhimagain；hermoneybeingtheattraction，itisneedlesstosay。Ifsherefuses，hethreatensherwiththelaw，thebarbarouslaw，which，tousehisowncoarseexpression，will"restorehisconjugalrights。"

AllthisIgatherfromthenarrativeofmyunhappyfriend，whichformsoneofthetwoinclosuresinherparcel。Shehasalreadymadeherescape。Ha！themandoesn’tlivewhocancircumventElizabeth。TheEnglishCourtofLawisn’tbuiltwhichcancatchherwhensheroamsthefreeandgloriousContinent。

Thevastnessofthisamazingwoman’smindiswhatImustpausetoadmire。Inthefrightfulcatastrophethathasbefallenher，shecanstillthinkofPhilipandEuneece。Sheiseagertohearoftheirmarriage，andrenouncesHelenawithherwholeheart。"ItoowasdeceivedbythatcunningyoungWoman，"shewrites。"Bewareofher，Selina。UnlessIammuchmistaken，sheisgoingtoendbadly。TakecareofPhilip，takecareofEuneece。Ifyouwanthelp，applyatoncetomyfavoriteheroinreallife，TheGovernor。"Idon’tpresumetocorrectElizabeth’slanguage。I

shouldhavecalledyouTheidoloftheWomen。

Thesecondinclosurecontains，asIsuppose，aweddingpresent。

Itiscarefullysealed——itfeelsnobiggerthananordinaryletter——anditcontainsaninscriptionwhichyourhighly—cultivatedintelligencemaybeabletoexplain。Icopyitasfollows：

"Tobeinclosedinanotherenvelope，addressedtoMr。Dunboynetheelder，atPercy’sPrivateHotel，London，anddeliveredbyatrustworthymessenger，onthedaywhenMr。PhilipDunboyneismarriedtoMissEuniceGracedieu。PlacedmeanwhileunderthecareofMissSelinaJillgall。"

WhyisthismysteriouslettertobesenttoPhilip’sfather？I

wonderwhetherthatcircumstancewillpuzzleyouasithaspuzzledme。

Ihavekeptmyreportback，soastosendyouthelastnewsrelatingtoPhilip’sstateofhealth。Tomygreatregret，hisillnessseemstohavemadeaseriousadvancesinceyesterday。

WhenIaskifheisinpain，hesays："Itisn’texactlypain；I

feelasifIwassinking。SometimesIamgiddy；andsometimesI

findmyselffeelingthirstyandsick。"IhavenoopportunityoflookingafterhimasIcouldwish；forHelenainsistsonnursinghim，assistedbythehousemaid。Mariaisaverygoodgirlinherway，buttoostupidtobeofmuchuse。Ifheisnotbetterto—morrow，Ishallinsistonsendingforthedoctor。

Heisnobetter；andhewishestohavemedicalhelp。Helenadoesn’tseemtounderstandhisillness。ItwasnotuntilPhiliphadinsistedonseeinghimthatsheconsentedtosendforthedoctor。

Youhadsometalkwiththisexperiencedphysicianwhenyouwerehere，andyouknowwhataclevermanheis。WhenItellyouthathehesitatestosaywhatisthematterwithPhilip，youwillfeelasmuchalarmedasIdo。IwillwaittosendthistothepostuntilIcanwriteinamoredefiniteway。

Twodaysmorehavepassed。Thedoctorhasputtwoverystrangequestionstome。

Heasked，first，iftherewasanybodystayingwithusbesidestheregularmembersofthehousehold。Isaidwehadnovisitor。Hewantedtoknow，next，ifMr。PhilipDunboynehadmadeanyenemiessincehehasbeenlivinginourtown。IsaidnonethatIknewof——andItookthelibertyofaskingwhathemeant。Heansweredtothis，thathehasafewmoreinquiriestomake，andthathewilltellmewhathemeansto—morrow。

ForGod’ssakecomehereassoonasyoupossiblycan。Thewholeburdenisthrownonme——andIamquiteunequaltoit。

Ireceivedthedoctorto—dayinthedrawing—room。Tomyamazement，hebeggedleavetospeakwithmeinthegarden。WhenI

askedwhy，heanswered："Idon’twanttohavealisteneratthedoor。Comeoutonthelawn，wherewecanbesurethatwearealone。"

Whenwewereinthegarden，henoticedthatIwastrembling。

"Rouseyourcourage，MissJillgall，"hesaid。"IntheMinister’shelplessstatethereisnobodywhomIcanspeaktobutyourself。"

IventuredtoremindhimthathemightspeaktoHelenaaswellastomyself。

HelookedasblackasthunderwhenImentionedhername。Allhesaidwas，"No！"But，oh，ifyouhadheardhisvoice——andhesogentleandsweet—temperedatothertimes——youwouldhavefelt，asIdid，thathehadHelenainhismind！

"Now，listentothis，"hewenton。"EverythingthatmyartcandoforMr。PhilipDunboyne，whileIamathisbedside，isundonewhileIamawaybysomeotherperson。Heisworseto—daythanI

haveseenhimyet。"

"Oh，sir，doyouthinkhewilldie？"

"Hewillcertainlydieunlesstherightmeansaretakentosavehim，andtakenatonce。Itismydutynottoflinchfromtellingyouthetruth。IhavemadeadiscoverysinceyesterdaywhichsatisfiesmethatIamright。SomebodyistryingtopoisonMr。

Dunboyne；andsomebodywillsucceedunlessheisremovedfromthishouse。"

Iamapoorfeeblecreature。Thedoctorcaughtme，orIshouldhavedroppedonthegrass。Itwasnotafainting—fit。IonlyshookandshiveredsothatIwastooweaktostandup。Encouragedbythedoctor，IrecoveredsufficientlytobeabletoaskhimwherePhilipwastobetakento。Hesaid："Tothehospital。Nopoisonercanfollowmypatientthere。Persuadehimtoletmetakehimaway，whenIcallagaininanhour’stime。"

AssoonasIcouldholdapen，Isentatelegramtoyou。Pray，praycomebytheearliesttrain。IalsotelegraphedtooldMr。

Dunboyne，atthehotelinLondon。

ItwasimpossibleformetofaceHelena；IownIwasafraid。ThecookkindlywentupstairstoseewhowasinPhilip’sroom。Itwasthehousemaid’sturntolookafterhimforawhile。Iwentinstantlytohisbedside。

Therewasnopersuadinghimtoallowhimselftobetakentothehospital。"Iamdying，"hesaid。"Ifyouhaveanypityforme，sendforEuneece。Letmeseeheroncemore，letmehearhersaythatsheforgivesme，beforeIdie。"

Ihesitated。ItwastooterribletothinkofEuneeceinthesamehousewithhersister。Herlifemightbeindanger！Philipgavemealook，adreadfulghastlylook。"Ifyourefuse，"hesaidwildly，"thegravewon’tholdme。I’llhauntyoufortherestofyourlife。"

"Sheshallhearthatyouareill，"Ianswered——andranoutoftheroombeforehecouldspeakagain。

WhatIhadpromisedtowrite，Ididwrite。But，placedbetweenEuneece’sdangerandPhilip’sdanger，myheartwasallforEuneece。WouldHelenaspareher，ifshecametoPhilip’sbedside？

InsuchterrorasIneverfeltbeforeinmylife，Iaddedawordmore，entreatinghernottoleavethefarm。IpromisedtokeepherregularlyinformedonthesubjectofPhilip’sillness；andI

mentionedthatIexpectedtheGovernortoreturntousimmediately。"Donothing，"Iwrote，"withouthisadvice。"Myletterhavingbeencompleted，Isentthecookawaywithit，inachaise。Shebelongedtotheneighborhood，andsheknewthefarmhousewell。

Nearlytwohoursafterward，Iheardthechaisestopatthedoor，andranout，impatienttohearhowmysweetgirlhadreceivedmyletter。Godhelpusall！WhenIopenedthedoor，thefirstpersonwhomIsawwasEuneeceherself。

CHAPTERLIX。

DEFENSE。

ONEsurprisefollowedanother，afterIhadencounteredEuneeceatthedoor。

Whenmyfondnesshadexcusedherforsettingthewell—meantadviceinmyletteratdefian