'Is it the provision he might have had, Lord Holchester, if—?'
'If he had married Mrs. Glenarm? No. It is impossible, consistently with my duty to my mother, and with what I owe to the position in which my father's death has placed me, that I can offer him such a fortune as Mrs. Glenarm's. Still, it is a handsome income which he is mad enough to refuse. I shall persist in pressing it on him. He must and shall take it.'
Anne felt no reviving hope roused in her by his last words. She turned to another subject.
'You had something to tell me,' she said. 'You spoke of a change.'
'True. The landlady here is a very strange person; and she has done a very strange thing. She has given Geoffrey notice to quit these lodgings.'
'Notice to quit?' Anne repeated, in amazement.
'Yes. In a formal letter. She handed it to me open, as soon as I was up this morning. It was impossible to get any explanation from her. The poor dumb creature simply wrote on her slate: 'He may have his money back, if he likes: he shall go!' Greatly to my surprise (for the woman inspires him with the strongest aversion) Geoffrey refuses to go until his term is up. I have made the peace between them for to-day. Mrs. Dethridge very reluctantly, consents to give him four-and-twenty hours. And there the matter rests at present.'
'What can her motive be?' said Anne.
'It's useless to inquire. Her mind is evidently off its balance. One thing is clear, Geoffrey shall not keep you here much longer. The coming change will remove you from this dismal place—which is one thing gained. And it is quite possible that new scenes and new surroundings may have their influence on Geoffrey for good. His conduct— otherwise quite incomprehensible—may be the result of some latent nervous irritation which medical help might reach. I don't attempt to disguise from myself or from you, that your position here is a most deplorable one. But before we despair of the future, let us at least inquire whether there is any explanation of my brother's present behavior to be found in the present state of my brother's health. I have been considering what the doctor said to me last night. The first thing to do is to get the best medical advice on Geoffrey's case which is to be had. What do you think?'
'I daren't tell you what I think, Lord Holchester. I will try—it is a very small return to make for your kindness—I will try to see my position with your eyes, not with mine. The best medical advice that you can obtain is the advice of Mr. Speedwell. It was he who first made the discovery that your brother was in broken health.'
'The very man for our purpose! I will send him here to-day or to-morrow. Is there any thing else I can do for you? I shall see Sir Patrick as soon as I get to town. Have you any message for him?'
Anne hesitated. Looking attentively at her, Julius noticed that she changed color when he mentioned Sir Patrick's name.
'Will you say that I gratefully thank him for the letter which Lady Holchester was so good us to give me last night,' she replied. 'And will you entreat him, from me, not to expose himself, on my account, to—' she hesitated, and finished the sentence with her eyes on the ground—'to what might happen, if he came here and insisted on seeing me.'
'Does he propose to do that?'
She hesitated again. The little nervous contraction of her lips at one side of the mouth became more marked than usual. 'He writes that his anxiety is unendurable, and that he is resolved to see me,' she answered softly.
'He is likely to hold to his resolution, I think,' said Julius. 'When I saw him yesterday, Sir Patrick spoke of you in terms of admiration—'
He stopped. The bright tears were glittering on Anne's eyelashes; one of her hands was toying nervously with something hidden (possibly Sir Patrick's letter) in the bosom of her dress. 'I thank him with my whole heart,' she said, in low, faltering tones. 'But it is best that he should not come here.'
'Would you like to write to him?'
'I think I should prefer your giving him my message.'
Julius understood that the subject was to proceed no further. Sir Patrick's letter had produced some impression on her, which the sensitive nature of the woman seemed to shrink from acknowledging, even to herself. They turned back to enter the cottage. At the door they were met by a surprise. Hester Dethridge, with her bonnet on— dressed, at that hour of the morning, to go out!
'Are you going to market already?' Anne asked.
Hester shook her head.
'When are you coming back?'
Hester wrote on her slate: 'Not till the night-time.'
Without another word of explanation she pulled her veil down over her face, and made for the gate. The key had been left in the dining-room by Julius, after he had let the doctor out. Hester had it in her hand. She opened he gate and closed the door after her, leaving the key in the lock. At the moment when the door banged to Geoffrey appeared in the passage.
'Where's the key?' he asked. 'Who's gone out?'
His brother answered the question. He looked backward and forward suspiciously between Julius and Anne. 'What does she go out for at his time?' he said. 'Has she left the house to avoid Me?'
Julius thought this the likely explanation. Geoffrey went down sulkily to the gate to lock it, and returned to them, with the key in his pocket.
'I'm obliged to be careful of the gate,' he said. 'The neighborhood swarms with beggars and tramps. If you want to go out,' he added, turning pointedly to Anne, 'I'm at your service, as a good husband ought to be.'
After a hurried breakfast Julius took his departure. 'I don't accept your refusal,' he said to his brother, before Anne. 'You will see me here again.' Geoffrey obstinately repeated the refusal. 'If you come here every day of your life,' he said, 'it will be just the same.'
The gate closed on Julius. Anne returned again to the solitude of her own chamber. Geoffrey entered the
