Foramomentshehesitated。Asuddenshudderingshookherfromheadtofoot——theforewarning，itmightbe，oftheinfluencewhichthatletter，savedfromdestructionbyahair’s-breadth，wasdestinedtoexerciseonherlifetocome。Sherecoveredherself，andfoldedhercloakclosertoher，asifshehadfeltapassingchill。
　　“No，“shesaid；“Iwillkeeptheletter。“
　　Shefoldeditandputitinthepocketofherdress。Thenturnedtogo——andstoppedatthedoor。
　　“Onethingmore，“sheadded。“DoyouknowMrs。Glenarm’spresentaddress？“
　　“Ye’reno’reelygoingtoMistressGlenarm？“
　　“Thatisnoconcernofyours。Youcananswermyquestionornot，asyouplease。“
　　“Eh，myleddy!yertemper’sno’whatitusedtobeintheauldtimesatthehottle。Aweel!aweel!yeha’gi’enmeyermoney，andI’lleengi’yebackgudemeasureforit，onmyside。MistressGlenarm’sawa’inprivate——incog，astheysay——toJaffrayDelamayn’sbritheratSwanhavenLodge。Yemayrelyontheinformation，andit’sno’thateasytocomeateither。They’vekeepititasecretastheythinkfroma’thewarld。Hech!hech!
　　TammyPennyquick’syoungestbuttwaispage-boyatthehoosewheretheleddy’sbeenveesitin’，ontheoutskirtso’Pairth。
　　Keepasecretifyecanfraethepawkyearso’yerdomesticsintheservants’hall!——Eh!she’saff，withoutawordatparting!“
　　heexclaimed，asAnnelefthimwithoutceremonyinthemiddleofhisdissertationonsecretsandservants’halls。“ItrowIha’
　　gaenoutforwool，andcomebackshorn，“headded，reflectinggrimlyonthedisastrousoverthrowofthepromisingspeculationonwhichhehadembarked。“Mycertie!therewasnaethingleftfor’t，whenmadam’sfingershadgrippitme，buttoslipthroughthemascannilyasIcould。What’sJaffray’smarrying，orno’
　　marrying，todowi’_her？_“hewondered，revertingtothequestionwhichAnnehadputtohimatparting。“Andwhar’sthesenseo’hererrand，ifshe’sreelybentonfindingherwaytoMistressGlenarm？“
　　Whateverthesenseofhererrandmightbe，Anne’snextproceedingprovedthatshewasreallybentonit。Afterrestingtwodays，sheleftPerthbythefirsttraininthemorning，forSwanhavenLodge。
　　JULIUSDELAMAYNwasalone，idlysaunteringtoandfro，withhisviolininhishand，ontheterraceatSwanhavenLodge。
　　Thefirstmellowlightofeveningwasinthesky。ItwasthecloseofthedayonwhichAnneSilvesterhadleftPerth。
　　Somehoursearlier，Juliushadsacrificedhimselftothedutiesofhispoliticalposition——asmadeforhimbyhisfather。Hehadsubmittedtothedirenecessityofdeliveringanorationtotheelectors，atapublicmeetingintheneighboringtownofKirkandrew。Adetestableatmospheretobreathe；adisorderlyaudiencetoaddress；insolentoppositiontoconciliate；imbecileinquiriestoanswer；brutishinterruptionstoendure；greedypetitionerstopacify；anddirtyhandstoshake：thesearethestagesbywhichtheaspiringEnglishgentlemaniscompelledtotravelonthejourneywhichleadshimfromthemodestobscurityofprivatelifetothegloriouspublicityoftheHouseofCommons。Juliuspaidthepreliminarypenaltiesofapoliticalfirstappearance，asexactedbyfreeinstitutions，withthenecessarypatience；andreturnedtothewelcomeshelterofhome，moreindifferent，ifpossible，totheattractionsofParliamentarydistinctionthanwhenhesetout。Thediscordoftheroaring“people“stillechoinginhisearshadsharpenedhiscustomarysensibilitytothepoetryofsound，ascomposedbyMozart，andasinterpretedbypianoandviolin。Possessinghimselfofhisbelovedinstrument，hehadgoneoutontheterracetocoolhimselfintheeveningair，pendingthearrivaloftheservantwhomhehadsummonedbythemusic-roombell。Themanappearedattheglassdoorwhichledintotheroom；andreported，inanswertohismaster’sinquiry，thatMrs。JuliusDelamaynwasoutpayingvisits，andwasnotexpectedtoreturnforanotherhouratleast。
　　Juliusgroanedinspirit。ThefinestmusicwhichMozarthaswrittenfortheviolinassociatesthatinstrumentwiththepiano。
　　Withoutthewifetohelphim，thehusbandwasmute。Afteraninstant’sconsideration，Juliushitonanideawhichpromised，insomedegree，toremedythedisasterofMrs。Delamayn’sabsencefromhome。
　　“HasMrs。Glenarmgoneout，too？“heasked。
　　“No，Sir。“
　　“Mycompliments。IfMrs。Glenarmhasnothingelsetodo，willshebesokindastocometomeinthemusic-room？“
　　Theservantwentawaywithhismessage。Juliusseatedhimselfononeoftheterrace-benches，andbegantotunehisviolin。
　　Mrs。Glenarm——rightlyreportedbyBishopriggsashavingprivatelytakenrefugefromheranonymouscorrespondentatSwanhavenLodge——was，musicallyspeaking，farfrombeinganefficientsubstituteforMrs。Delamayn。Juliuspossessed，inhiswife，oneofthefewplayersonthepiano-forteunderwhosesubtletouchthatshallowandsoullessinstrumentbecomesinspiredwithexpressionnotitsown，andproducesmusicinsteadofnoise。ThefineorganizationwhichcanworkthismiraclehadnotbeenbestowedonMrs。Glenarm。Shehadbeencarefullytaught；andshewastobetrustedtoplaycorrectly——andthatwasall。Julius，hungryformusic，andreignedtocircumstances，askedfornomore。
　　Theservantreturnedwithhisanswer。Mrs。GlenarmwouldjoinMr。
　　Delamayninthemusic-roomintenminutes’time。
　　Juliusrose，relieved，andresumedhissaunteringwalk；nowplayinglittlesnatchesofmusic，nowstoppingtolookattheflowersontheterrace，withaneyethatenjoyedtheirbeauty，andahandthatfondledthemwithcaressingtouch。IfImperialParliamenthadseenhimatthatmoment，ImperialParliamentmusthavegivennoticeofaquestiontohisillustriousfather：Isitpossible，mylord，that_you_canhavebegottensuchaMemberasthis？
　　Afterstoppingforamomenttotightenoneofthestringsofhisviolin，Julius，raisinghisheadfromtheinstrument，wassurprisedtoseealadyapproachinghimontheterrace。Advancingtomeether，andperceivingthatshewasatotalstrangertohim，heassumedthatshewas，inallprobability，avisitortohiswife。
　　“HaveIthehonorofspeakingtoafriendofMrs。Delamayn’s？“heasked。“Mywifeisnotathome，Iamsorrytosay。“
　　“IamastrangertoMrs。Delamayn，“theladyanswered。“Theservantinformedmethatshehadgoneout；andthatIshouldfindMr。Delamaynhere。“
　　Juliusbowed——andwaitedtohearmore。
　　“Imustbegyoutoforgivemyintrusion，“thestrangerwenton。
　　“Myobjectistoaskpermissiontoseealadywhois，Ihavebeeninformed，aguestinyourhouse。“
　　TheextraordinaryformalityoftherequestratherpuzzledJulius。
　　“DoyoumeanMrs。Glenarm？“heasked。
　　“Yes。“
　　“Praydon’tthinkanypermissionnecessary。AfriendofMrs。
　　Glenarm’smaytakeherwelcomeforgrantedinthishouse。“
　　“IamnotafriendofMrs。Glenarm。Iamatotalstrangertoher。“
　　Thismadetheceremoniousrequestpreferredbytheladyalittlemoreintelligible——butitleftthelady’sobjectinwishingtospeaktoMrs。Glenarmstillinthedark。Juliuspolitelywaited，untilitpleasedhertoproceedfurther，andexplainherselfTheexplanationdidnotappeartobeaneasyonetogive。Hereyesdroppedtotheground。Shehesitatedpainfully。
　　“Myname——ifImentionit，“sheresumed，withoutlookingup，“maypossiblyinformyou——“Shepaused。Hercolorcameandwent。Shehesitatedagain；struggledwithheragitation，andcontrolledit。
　　“IamAnneSilvester，“shesaid，suddenlyraisingherpaleface，andsuddenlysteadyinghertremblingvoice。
　　Juliusstarted，andlookedatherinsilentsurprise。
　　Thenamewasdoublyknowntohim。Notlongsince，hehadhearditfromhisfather’slips，athisfather’sbedside。LordHolchesterhadchargedhim，hadearnestlychargedhim，tobearthatnameinmind，andtohelpthewomanwhoboreit，ifthewomaneverappliedtohimintimetocome。Again，hehadheardthename，morelately，associatedscandalouslywiththenameofhisbrother。Onthereceiptofthefirstoftheanonymousletterssenttoher，Mrs。GlenarmhadnotonlysummonedGeoffreyhimselftorefutetheaspersioncastuponhim，buthadforwardedaprivatecopyofthelettertohisrelativesatSwanhaven。
　　Geoffrey’sdefensehadnotentirelysatisfiedJuliusthathisbrotherwasfreefromblame。AshenowlookedatAnneSilvester，thedoubtreturneduponhimstrengthened——almostconfirmed。Wasthiswoman——somodest，sogentle，sosimplyandunaffectedlyrefined——theshamelessadventuressdenouncedbyGeoffrey，asclaiminghimonthestrengthofafoolishflirtation；knowingherself，atthetime，tobeprivatelymarriedtoanotherman？Wasthiswoman——withthevoiceofalady，thelookofalady，themannerofalady——inleagueasGeoffreyhaddeclaredwiththeilliteratevagabondwhowasattemptingtoextortmoneyanonymouslyfromMrs。Glenarm？Impossible!Makingeveryallowancefortheproverbialdeceitfulnessofappearances，impossible!
　　“Yournamehasbeenmentionedtome，“saidJulius，answeringherafteramomentarypause。Hisinstincts，asagentleman，madehimshrinkfromreferringtotheassociationofhernamewiththenameofhisbrother。“Myfathermentionedyou，“headded，consideratelyexplaininghisknowledgeofherin_that_way，“whenIlastsawhiminLondon。“
　　“Yourfather!“Shecameastepnearer，withalookofdistrustaswellasalookofastonishmentinherface。“YourfatherisLordHolchester——ishenot？“
　　“Yes。“
　　“Whatmadehimspeakof_me？_“