''
Yes
,
'
he
answered
simply
.
'
Would
you
believe
it
,
darling
,
that
I
forgot
even
your
name
when
I
was
ill
?
'
He
went
on
,
pausing
at
every
two
or
three
words
,
and
shaking
with
passion
,
'
I
did
n't
remember
that
I
had
seen
you
till
one
day
,
one
winter
's
afternoon
,
when
I
found
your
letters
,
and
it
all
came
back
.
Why
did
you
leave
me
?
Was
I
unkind
to
you
?
I
never
meant
to
be
.
It
made
me
ill
for
a
long
while
;
it
made
me
forget
everything
.
I
married
—
you
know
who
it
is
,
you
were
friends
once
—
May
Davenant
.
'
It
was
pitiful
to
hear
him
—
reason
seemed
to
be
tottering
on
its
throne
;
and
the
accents
were
those
of
a
trembling
,
penitent
child
,
asking
pardon
for
a
fault
it
has
committed
unwittingly
.
Hippolyta
's
distress
grew
with
every
word
.
She
implored
him
to
rise
.
He
did
so
,
and
stood
a
little
way
off
,
facing
her
.
'
Why
did
you
go
?
'
he
repeated
,
beseeching
her
with
a
mute
gesture
not
to
be
angry
.
She
wrung
her
hands
.
'
Because
it
was
wrong
from
the
beginning
,
'
she
exclaimed
;
'
because
I
sinned
and
made
you
to
sin
;
because
He
spoke
to
me
from
the
Cross
and
chided
me
,
and
my
heart
broke
.
I
could
not
,
I
could
not
,
Rupert
,
stay
with
you
when
I
was
so
guilty
.
I
went
because
the
sound
was
in
my
ears
of
lost
souls
,
and
polluted
children
,
and
murdered
maidens
.
I
was
worse
than
all
;
I
had
believed
in
sin
,
dedicated
myself
to
sin
;
how
could
I
face
you
when
the
light
broke
on
me
and
I
saw
myself
—
stained
,
stained
?
Oh
,
I
went
.
I
would
have
thrown
myself
into
the
fire
if
it
might
cleanse
me
.
'
'
You
were
never
stained
,
'
he
said
,
his
eyes
flaming
with
wrath
and
love
;
'
you
were
my
own
Hippolyta
.
I
loved
you
.
Did
you
love
me
?
'
'
Ah
,
Rupert
,
'
she
said
,
weeping
.
He
was
subdued
at
the
sound
of
her
voice
.
'
Never
mind
,
never
mind
,
'
he
went
on
more
composedly
,
and
as
beginning
to
control
himself
.
'
But
I
would
have
married
you
—
I
told
you
so
at
the
beginning
—
when
you
pleased
.
It
was
only
to
say
the
word
.
'
'
There
was
no
marriage
for
me
,
'
she
answered
;
'
the
past
could
never
be
undone
.
I
sinned
with
Magdalene
.
I
must
do
penance
with
Magdalene
.
'
'
And
you
would
not
marry
me
?
'
said
Rupert
,
trying
to
understand
,
but
his
mind
all
abroad
,
unhinged
by
the
shock
,
and
not
yet
comprehending
how
the
woman
he
loved
could
be
standing
there
in
the
nun
's
dark
raiment
.
Hippolyta
answered
,
'
I
had
fallen
below
marriage
.
My
sin
spoilt
our
affection
;
it
took
away
its
sacredness
.
It
made
me
unfit
to
be
any
man
's
wife
.
'
'
Who
taught
you
it
was
a
sin
?
'
he
inquired
.
But
his
looks
were
fastened
on
her
face
,
and
he
was
thinking
how
the
soft
brown
eyes
glowed
above
the
paleness
of
the
cheeks
and
the
crimson
lips
.
Hippolyta
had
always
been
pale
.
The
white
linen
deadened
her
countenance
.
Why
did
she
wear
it
?
She
had
begun
to
answer
the
other
question
which
he
had
forgotten
while
he
was
thinking
over
this
.
'
Look
who
taught
me
,
'
she
said
,
putting
a
hand
on
the
crucifix
she
wore
at
her
girdle
.
Rupert
glanced
towards
it
,
and
shuddered
.
'
I
do
not
like
that
symbol
to
be
everywhere
,
'
he
said
pettishly
;
'
Spain
is
covered
with
it
.
You
ought
to
have
stayed
in
England
.
'
'
I
made
it
my
book
before
I
left
England
,
'
she
replied
.
'
Will
you
hear
my
story
,
Rupert
?
It
will
reconcile
you
to
our
separation
—
if
you
ever
loved
me
,
'
she
went
on
hastily
,
for
the
dangerous
light
was
in
his
eyes
again
.
'
Must
we
separate
because
I
love
you
?
'
he
cried
.
'
Hippolyta
,
be
merciful
.
I
have
suffered
—
so
much
,
'
his
voice
sinking
;
'
not
pain
only
and
fever
,
but
madness
,
despair
,
a
gnawing
at
the
heart
that
will
not
,
will
not
leave
me
.
'
She
broke
down
at
the
sight
of
his
grief
.
Pressing
the
crucifix
to
her
bosom
,
as
though
to
gain
strength
from
it
,
after
a
while
she
had
so
far
recovered
that
she
made
him
listen
.
Briefly
,
pathetically
,
she
tole
her
experience
in
the
depths
of
London
,
her
consternation
at
the
flight
of
Annie
Dauris
,
her
chance
hearing
of
the
sermon
in
St.
Cyprian
's
,
and
the
night
that
followed
.
'
How
could
I
be
the
same
to
you
?
'
she
went
on
,
while
he
stood
in
amaze
,
not
taking
in
her
thought
,
but
afraid
that
she
might
be
obstinate
after
all
.
'
How
to
meet
you
next
morning
?
I
cast
myself
on
the
mercy
of
God
,
whom
I
did
not
know
,
who
was
hidden
,
yet
had
sent
this
message
to
me
.
I
had
but
an
hour
to
decide
.
When
the
light
came
,
in
the
gray
cheerless
dusk
,
I
wrote
—
oh
,
they
were
hard
words
;
I
made
them
so
.
I
wanted
you
to
despise
,
not
to
search
for
me
.
I
made
them
hard
.
'
'
They
almost
killed
me
,
'
said
Rupert
;
'
do
not
be
afraid
,
they
were
cruel
enough
.
Look
at
them
.
'
And
from
his
breast
he
drew
the
wedding-ring
with
the
scrap
of
writing
twisted
round
it
.
'
I
have
always
carried
them
since
the
day
at
Nice
,
'
he
continued
.
'
They
are
poison
,
the
antidote
to
lesser
grief
.
'
Hippolyta
took
the
ring
out
of
his
hand
.
'
How
can
you
be
so
harsh
to
yourself
,
Rupert
?
'
she
said
gently
.
'
Let
this
be
the
end
.
'
'
It
shall
be
,
'
he
replied
.
There
was
silence
between
them
.
Hippolyta
was
about
to
continue
when
a
knock
was
heard
at
the
half-open
door
.
A
lay-sister
entered
.
She
did
not
look
at
the
strange
visitor
,
but
said
in
Spanish
:
'
There
are
two
gentlemen
,
foreigners
,
inquiring
for
you
,
sister
.
They
say
they
are
from
England
.
'
'
Two
strangers
,
did
you
say
?
'
inquired
Hippolyta
,
in
surprise
and
with
quivering
lips
.
'
Who
can
they
be
?
One
I
might
have
expected
.
'
Then
,
after
a
pause
,
she
said
to
the
lay-sister
,
'
Take
them
to
the
other
guest-room
and
say
I
will
come
.
Ask
them
to
wait
a
little
.
'
The
other
departed
,
leaving
the
door
,
according
to
conventual
rule
,
half-open
,
as
she
found
it
.
'
I
thought
I
heard
some
one
,
'
continued
Hippolyta
to
herself
;
'
it
must
have
been
the
lay-sister
moving
about
.
Why
did
she
not
come
in
immediately
?
'
But
she
was
mistaken
.
It
was
not
the
lay-sister
.
In
this
terrible
drama
there
was
a
third
,
unseen
,
but
no
less
affected
and
overcome
than
the
two
that
stood
fronting
one
another
with
the
narrow
convent
cell
for
their
stage
,
and
the
lovely
prospect
shining
unregarded
before
them
through
the
window
.
When
Rupert
left
the
church
in
pursuit
of
the
flying
figure
,
Lady
May
,
unable
to
account
for
his
hasty
movement
,
waited
,
thinking
he
would
return
.
But
on
hearing
the
door
shut
behind
him
she
became
vaguely
alarmed
,
always
dreading
,
as
she
did
,
some
access
of
the
delirium
which
he
seemed
incapable
of
shaking
off
.
She
followed
,
therefore
,
but
the
door
at
which
she
arrived
resisted
her
efforts
.
It
had
caught
and
she
spent
some
time
in
getting
it
open
,
and
in
entering
the
long
passage
leading
into
the
public
portion
of
the
convent
where
strangers
might
pass
through
.
But
she
saw
no
one
.
Whither
had
Rupert
gone
?
While
she
was
wondering
she
heard
the
sound
of
voices
,
mingled
,
as
she
fancied
,
with
sobbing
,
in
a
room
on
the
right
.
She
hearkened
,
holding
her
breath
.
Yes
,
Rupert
was
there
;
he
was
speaking
.
She
crept
along
,
paused
on
this
side
of
the
door
;
looked
through
the
long
slit
between
its
hinges
,
and
saw
her
husband
at
Hippolyta
's
feet
.
Neither
veil
nor
habit
deluded
her
for
an
instant
.
She
saw
the
countenance
,
she
knew
the
voice
;
but
she
remained
perfectly
still
.
Her
blood
was
boiling
in
her
veins
,
her
brain
was
on
fire
.
'
This
,
this
,
'
she
said
to
herself
,
'
is
the
secret
;
this
explains
all
.
'
She
listened
as
for
very
life
.
She
heard
everything
.
She
saw
Rupert
's
changing
expression
and
Hippolyta
's
distress
.
She
watched
while
the
ring
was
taken
back
.
At
the
same
moment
she
heard
a
step
coming
down
the
cloister
.
What
was
to
be
done
?
Fortunately
,
the
great
door
leading
out
on
the
terrace
had
been
flung
back
against
the
wall
,
making
a
large
angle
with
it
,
on
the
other
side
of
which
,
in
the
darkness
,
a
person
might
be
hidden
.
Quick
and
noiseless
she
darted
past
the
door
of
the
cell
,
and
was
crouching
behind
the
portal
when
the
lay-sister
arrived
.
It
was
the
rustle
of
her
dress
in
passing
which
had
caught
Hippolyta
's
ear
.
In
her
new
position
she
was
quite
safe
;
and
though
unable
to
look
into
the
cell
,
she
could
hear
what
was
spoken
.
Hippolyta
continued
her
narrative
,
to
which
Rupert
lent
a
more
attentive
ear
,
while
Lady
May
caught
and
dwelt
upon
every
word
of
it
.
There
had
been
much
said
that
to
her
was
incomprehensible
.
She
did
not
know
when
or
where
Hippolyta
and
Rupert
could
have
been
together
.
Was
it
for
months
or
weeks
?
At
Falside
or
in
London
?
Impossible
to
guess
from
the
story
.
But
that
signified
nothing
.
Colonel
Valence
's
daughter
had
fallen
;
she
confessed
it
;
and
Rupert
was
the
man
to
whom
she
had
sacrificed
reputation
and
virtue
.
What
was
this
incredible
story
of
leaving
him
?
She
strained
her
ears
to
listen
.
'
I
wrote
those
words
as
an
everlasting
farewell
,
'
said
her
poor
rival
,
not
aware
to
whom
she
was
confessing
;
'
and
I
put
them
in
the
blotting-book
,
and
crept
downstairs
and
out
by
the
front
door
.
No
one
saw
me
.
The
street
was
empty
.
There
was
only
one
place
in
which
I
could
take
shelter
.
I
thought
they
would
receive
me
at
the
convent
,
if
I
told
them
—
if
I
might
speak
again
to
the
priest
whose
sermon
I
had
heard
.
It
was
but
a
little
way
,
and
I
kept
in
the
shadow
of
the
houses
;
and
then
the
morning
was
dark
,
and
I
came
to
the
convent
door
without
being
noticed
,
and
I
stood
there
awhile
,
not
daring
to
ring
.
But
there
was
no
time
to
consider
.
I
rang
twice
and
thrice
;
nobody
came
.
Oh
,
it
was
a
terrible
moment
;
yet
I
could
think
of
nothing
except
that
perhaps
they
would
not
open
.
Rupert
,
if
the
grave
had
been
my
only
refuge
,
I
had
no
power
to
go
back
.
'
'
Do
n't
torture
me
,
'
he
said
abruptly
;
'
do
you
think
I
am
adamant
?
'
'
Do
n't
be
angry
,
'
she
besought
him
,
her
tears
falling
afresh
;
'
oh
,
how
happy
we
might
have
been
but
for
my
wickedness
!
'
'
We
shall
be
happy
yet
,
'
he
muttered
,
more
to
himself
than
to
her
.
She
gazed
at
him
doubtfully
.
But
he
must
hear
the
rest
;
it
would
bring
him
to
the
right
conclusion
.
She
took
up
the
story
again
:
'
At
last
,
'
she
said
,
'
I
could
hear
footsteps
as
of
several
passing
along
,
and
I
rang
loudly
.
This
time
the
door
opened
.
The
sisters
were
coming
from
an
early
mass
in
their
own
chapel
.
I
stood
inside
near
the
door
waiting
till
they
had
passed
.
The
portress
,
I
could
see
,
was
startled
at
my
appearance
.
I
did
not
know
what
to
say
.
But
I
told
her
that
I
wanted
to
see
the
Mother
;
that
I
was
in
great
trouble
;
I
persuaded
her
to
take
my
message
.
Oh
,
what
a
morning
it
was
!
The
Mother
came
;
I
went
into
a
private
room
with
her
,
and
she
was
good
and
compassionate
,
and
I
confessed
everything
.
She
pitied
,
she
did
not
despise
me
,
as
I
thought
she
would
.
'
Glanville
seemed
to
be
listening
while
Hippolyta
went
on
.
He
let
her
finish
without
interrupting
.
He
had
something
in
his
mind
.
Her
own
agitation
was
outwardly
much
greater
than
his
.
She
spoke
of
seeing
the
preacher
,
and
of
finding
him
to
be
like
herself
,
Spanish
,
though
long
resident
in
London
;
she
told
how
she
had
repeated
her
confession
to
him
,
and
asked
whether
she
might
remain
in
the
convent
,
and
how
consent
was
given
,
though
not
easily
,
for
it
was
against
the
rule
;
and
how
she
stayed
there
several
months
and
came
afterwards
to
San
Lucar
.
But
there
were
many
things
about
herself
which
Hippolyta
could
not
have
told
,
for
she
did
not
suspect
them
.
The
story
of
her
repentance
was
better
known
to
others
.
And
it
was
exceedingly
strange
.
At
one
stroke
Hippolyta
Valence
,
from
the
high-spirited
woman
she
had
been
,
attached
with
the
most
passionate
intensity
to
Rupert
,
whom
she
regarded
as
more
than
a
husband
,
was
changed
to
a
humble
,
conscience-stricken
penitent
,
whose
sole
thought
was
expiation
of
the
past
.
She
left
Forrest
House
,
as
the
medieval
saints
had
fled
out
of
the
world
,
her
sin
burning
the
road
under
her
feet
,
darkening
the
sky
,
overwhelming
her
with
fear
and
loathing
.
She
said
truly
that
rather
than
return
and
face
her
lover
she
would
have
leapt
into
the
grave
.
From
that
moment
Rupert
Glanville
was
to
her
simply
a
dreadful
memory
,
and
a
name
which
did
not
pass
her
lips
.
With
the
new
faith
,
to
which
she
had
turned
as
her
sole
refuge
,
she
had
only
an
abstract
and
vague
acquaintance
which
counted
for
nothing
in
the
life
on
which
she
had
now
determined
to
enter
.
She
came
to
it
like
a
little
child
.
The
word
expiation
,
which
had
been
so
frequently
on
Ivor
Mardol
's
lips
,
rang
in
her
ears
as
the
only
gospel
.
How
was
she
to
realise
it
?
They
put
Christian
books
into
her
hands
,
and
she
found
therein
a
language
that
expressed
the
abasement
,
the
contrition
,
the
hope
which
now
made
the
very
essence
of
her
being
.
But
it
was
not
enough
.
To
pray
was
not
to
work
.
She
went
after
a
few
days
to
the
Spanish
preacher
again
,
and
said
timidly
that
there
must
be
some
place
—
she
had
heard
of
such
—
where
women
like
herself
were
admitted
.
Might
she
go
there
,
and
labour
with
and
for
them
?
He
was
astonished
and
greatly
moved
.
Could
he
explain
to
her
that
the
fallen
sisterhood
was
made
up
chiefly
of
the
ignorant
,
untaught
,
rough-mannered
women
,
the
outcasts
of
society
,
on
whom
she
had
been
expending
pity
in
the
dens
of
the
Ratcliffe
Highway
?
She
would
be
like
a
rare
exotic
among
weeds
.
But
she
entreated
so
earnestly
,
it
was
hard
to
say
no.
The
head
of
the
convent
,
Mother
Juliana
,
was
consulted
.
She
answered
like
Father
Laurence
,
that
it
was
not
to
be
thought
of
;
and
Hippolyta
,
meekly
submitting
,
wasted
and
fell
into
a
dangerous
illness
,
which
lasted
several
months
.
She
could
not
leave
her
room
even
to
walk
in
the
convent
garden
;
and
while
the
search
for
her
continued
all
over
London
,
she
remained
in
a
dying
condition
not
a
quarter
of
a
mile
from
Forrest
House
.
She
never
lost
consciousness
during
that
long
prostration
.
When
Mother
Juliana
inquired
whether
she
would
allow
Rupert
to
be
informed
that
she
was
living
,
her
answer
was
at
once
in
the
negative
.
Did
he
know
where
she
was
he
would
not
rest
until
he
had
brought
her
back
.
And
for
the
like
reason
she
would
not
write
to
her
father
.
What
more
appalling
shock
for
him
than
to
learn
that
his
child
,
brought
up
far
from
Christianity
and
the
creed
of
repentance
,
was
now
of
her
own
free
will
imprisoned
within
convent
walls
?
He
had
pulled
down
so
many
shrines
,
thrown
open
cloister
after
cloister
in
Southern
Spain
,
apparently
that
Nemesis
might
overtake
him
in
its
least
endurable
form
.
The
daughter
of
an
iconoclast
become
a
nun
!
Strongly
as
he
believed
in
the
freedom
of
the
individual
to
choose
his
way
of
life
,
it
was
not
to
be
thought
of
that
he
would
acquiesce
in
Hippolyta
's
voluntary
dedication
of
herself
to
asceticism
.
But
she
had
the
tremendous
courage
of
her
creed
.
She
would
go
to
the
full
extent
of
that
text
which
speaks
of
renouncing
father
and
mother
,
house
and
home
,
to
follow
the
steps
of
Christ
.
She
gave
up
once
and
for
all
those
whom
she
loved
best
;
it
was
a
part
of
the
expiation
she
had
resolved
on
after
sinning
so
deeply
.
To
fast
and
do
rough
work
with
delicate
hands
,
to
give
the
hours
of
sleep
to
prayer
and
weeping
,
to
entreat
as
a
favour
that
the
most
abject
offices
of
the
community
might
be
assigned
to
her
,
to
keep
silence
,
and
be
alone
,
and
think
no
more
of
the
interests
which
had
filled
her
life
—
all
this
was
nothing
compared
with
the
nailing
of
her
love
to
the
Cross
,
and
surrendering
her
father
and
Rupert
.
She
drove
the
nails
in
with
unfaltering
stroke
,
while
her
heart
seemed
to
bleed
its
last
drops
.
That
she
could
not
kneel
in
humble
service
at
the
feet
of
her
outcast
sisters
,
fretted
her
only
because
it
seemed
a
denial
of
the
bitter
cup
which
she
had
been
commanded
from
the
Cross
to
drain
.
She
sickened
under
it
.
In
that
bitterness
she
hoped
to
find
strength
and
courage
.
'
No
,
'
said
Hippolyta
;
'
I
asked
them
to
let
me
work
in
London
,
but
they
refused
.
I
wanted
to
be
a
lay-sister
at
the
convent
,
and
that
,
too
,
they
said
was
unfit
for
me
.
I
had
been
with
them
nearly
a
year
when
Father
Laurence
came
to
me
,
and
proposed
I
should
join
the
new
order
of
which
this
is
the
noviciate
.
It
has
been
founded
to
help
towards
the
elevation
and
conversion
of
women
in
the
East
—
a
work
that
can
be
attempted
only
by
women
.
It
is
an
active
order
,
not
cloistered
.
I
was
glad
to
come
,
though
it
has
made
my
penance
more
dreadful
to
be
at
San
Lucar
,
reminded
always
of
the
past
.
But
in
a
few
months
I
shall
sail
for
India
.
I
am
professed
and
acquainted
with
my
new
duties
.
'
'
Does
Colonel
Valence
know
?
'
asked
Rupert
,
always
in
the
same
abstracted
voice
.
'
He
will
soon
,
I
think
,
'
she
answered
cheerfully
.
It
was
a
good
sign
that
he
asked
questions
,
and
did
not
return
to
what
she
feared
.
'
When
I
knew
that
I
was
to
leave
Europe
I
sent
him
a
message
through
his
old
friend
,
the
Duke
of
Adullam
,
telling
him
where
I
was
and
what
I
thought
of
doing
.
There
was
no
danger
in
that
,
now
you
are
married
,
'
she
concluded
,
faltering
.
'
None
,
'
said
Glanville
briefly
.
His
eyes
sought
the
ground
;
he
was
still
intent
on
something
which
he
did
not
express
.
After
a
pause
he
lifted
his
head
,
drew
a
step
nearer
,
and
said
in
a
low
tone
,
'
You
have
explained
all
,
darling
,
and
there
is
nothing
to
forgive
.
When
shall
we
return
to
England
?
'
She
misunderstood
him
.
'
If
Lady
May
is
with
you
,
'
she
replied
,
'
it
might
be
well
for
you
to
go
immediately
.
She
ought
not
to
guess
at
what
has
passed
;
and
to
meet
would
be
too
painful
.
I
do
not
think
I
could
bear
it
.
'
'
Who
was
talking
of
Lady
May
?
'
he
returned
;
'
I
meant
you
and
me
,
Hippolyta
.
We
have
met
;
I
know
what
you
have
been
doing
away
from
me
;
and
it
is
all
as
it
should
be
.
We
shall
never
part
again
.
The
listener
,
so
many
times
torn
with
anguish
during
Hippolyta
's
narrative
,
was
sick
unto
death
.
But
she
must
endure
a
little
longer
.
The
nun
,
the
fallen
woman
,
was
speaking
—
oh
,
how
tender
she
could
be
!
Yes
,
she
called
him
Rupert
,
in
spite
of
her
self-chosen
penances
.
'
Dear
Rupert
,
'
Hippolyta
was
saying
,
'
do
not
be
unmanly
.
Your
duty
is
clear
.
Mine
is
not
less
so
.
Do
n't
you
understand
that
I
have
taken
a
vow
?
'
'
Yes
,
'
he
exclaimed
;
'
you
took
one
to
me
in
the
studio
.
That
goes
before
any
other
;
it
annuls
the
rest
,
if
there
were
a
thousand
.
You
have
broken
it
;
but
I
forgive
you
,
darling
,
I
forgive
you
.
'
His
voice
sank
.
Had
he
taken
her
hand
or
knelt
to
her
?
The
listening
woman
dared
not
move
,
though
she
would
have
given
worlds
to
see
with
her
own
eyes
the
degradation
into
which
both
of
them
were
falling
.
'
The
vow
you
talk
of
was
a
sin
;
it
left
us
free
to
part
when
we
chose
,
'
Hippolyta
replied
;
'
it
did
not
make
us
man
and
wife
.
You
are
married
to
another
.
'
'
What
marriage
?
'
he
said
with
a
ring
of
desperation
in
his
voice
;
'
it
is
no
marriage
.
Did
I
not
tell
you
that
the
fever
destroyed
my
memory
,
that
I
could
not
recall
your
name
,
or
your
features
,
or
any
scene
in
which
you
had
taken
part
?
For
nearly
two
years
Hippolyta
was
to
me
as
though
she
had
never
existed
.
It
was
during
that
time
I
married
Lady
May
.
How
could
I
have
done
so
had
I
remembered
you
?
'
The
accents
of
the
speaker
were
high
and
piercing
.
They
filled
the
room
with
their
echo
.
'
He
never
loved
me
,
'
said
Lady
May
in
a
dull
whisper
.
She
left
her
hiding-place
and
went
slowly
and
noiselessly
out
on
the
terrace
,
then
moved
with
unequal
but
hasty
steps
along
the
narrow
track
by
which
Rupert
and
herself
had
come
up
.
It
lay
out
of
sight
of
the
cell-window
a
high
,
narrow
grating
,
through
which
the
lake
was
visible
,
as
I
have
said
,
only
in
the
farther
distance
.
Glanville
,
utterly
oblivious
that
he
had
left
Lady
May
in
the
church
,
continued
to
plead
his
cause
with
passionate
vehemence
,
while
Hippolyta
,
though
not
to
be
moved
,
became
every
moment
more
wretched
.
'
Ah
,
'
she
said
at
last
,
as
her
tears
fell
,
'
if
I
sinned
,
if
I
was
self-willed
and
cruel
when
I
came
to
you
in
the
studio
,
I
am
suffering
for
it
now
.
Think
,
Rupert
,
think
what
you
are
asking
.
Am
I
to
break
the
vow
I
have
made
?
Are
you
to
forsake
your
wife
?
'
'
I
have
no
wife
but
you
,
'
he
cried
wildly
.
He
had
no
sooner
uttered
the
words
than
they
heard
a
woman
's
scream
from
the
water
,
echoed
by
confused
exclamations
and
the
rush
of
feet
on
the
terrace
.
'
What
is
it
?
'
said
Hippolyta
,
running
out
,
followed
by
Glanville
.
A
dreadful
sight
met
their
gaze
.
The
boat
in
which
Rupert
had
come
was
floating
in
the
middle
of
the
lake
,
apparently
adrift
;
and
in
the
water
they
saw
a
form
rising
to
the
surface
,
which
,
with
cries
of
horror
,
they
both
recognised
as
Lady
May
.
Her
face
,
turned
towards
them
,
was
distinctly
visible
.
Then
it
disappeared
in
the
depths
.
As
it
did
so
,
a
second
figure
which
they
had
seen
running
to
the
lake-side
leaped
in
,
and
swam
rapidly
to
the
place
where
the
body
had
gone
down
.
Hippolyta
and
Rupert
,
out
of
themselves
with
anguish
,
ran
headlong
through
the
low
underwood
and
arrived
on
the
bank
just
as
the
stranger
who
had
plunged
in
turned
round
towards
the
shore
,
keeping
himself
afloat
as
well
as
he
could
while
holding
the
inanimate
form
of
May
Glanville
.
Others
came
running
at
the
same
time
,
fishermen
from
the
upper
stream
,
men
and
women
from
the
church
and
the
convent
.
The
disaster
had
been
viewed
from
all
sides
;
it
could
not
have
been
in
a
more
conspicuous
part
of
the
river
or
the
valley
.
But
assistance
had
come
apparently
too
late
.
The
young
man
who
had
rescued
Lady
May
was
seen
to
pause
ere
he
reached
the
bank
,
exhausted
;
he
gave
a
faint
cry
;
and
rescued
and
rescuer
sank
into
the
waters
again
.
Several
of
the
fishermen
leaped
in
bravely
,
and
between
them
brought
the
bodies
to
land
,
clinging
in
a
close
embrace
.
But
there
seemed
no
life
in
either
.
It
was
a
moment
of
awful
confusion
.
For
hardly
were
they
laid
on
the
sand
than
an
old
man
who
had
been
standing
by
motionless
,
watching
all
,
but
unable
to
stir
from
his
place
,
rushed
suddenly
forward
,
and
flinging
his
arms
round
the
young
man
's
body
,
fainted
.
Rupert
drew
near
,
gave
one
startled
glance
,
uttered
an
exclamation
,
and
would
have
led
Hippolyta
away
.
'
No
,
no
,
'
she
said
;
'
this
is
my
place
.
Who
are
they
?
'
—
'
Look
,
'
he
said
in
a
terrified
whisper
.
She
bent
over
the
old
man
.
It
was
Colonel
Valence
.
He
held
Ivor
Mardol
in
his
arms
.
Then
it
was
that
Hippolyta
's
heroic
nature
showed
itself
.
She
did
not
fall
or
faint
;
but
while
those
around
stood
frightened
and
bewildered
,
she
took
Rupert
by
the
arm
,
and
said
to
him
,
'
Now
be
a
man
and
help
me
.
The
thunderbolt
has
fallen
.
'
Unlocking
Lady
May
's
arms
from
the
neck
of
the
unhappy
Ivor
,
whom
she
had
dragged
down
with
her
into
the
depths
,
she
and
Rupert
between
them
lifted
her
from
the
ground
and
put
her
gently
into
the
arms
of
the
rough
fishermen
,
who
carried
their
sad
burden
,
lifeless
as
it
still
appeared
,
through
the
door
from
which
a
short
while
ago
she
had
issued
in
her
madness
,
to
the
cell
where
the
fatal
conversation
had
taken
place
.
The
nuns
came
about
her
.
A
bed
was
hastily
strewn
on
the
floor
,
and
all
possible
efforts
were
made
to
restore
the
spirit
which
had
seemingly
fled
.
Ivor
lay
on
the
sand
,
his
eyes
closed
and
his
limbs
motionless
,
but
a
faint
pulsation
could
be
detected
when
Rupert
put
his
hand
to
his
heart
.
'
He
is
not
dead
,
'
said
he
,
bursting
into
tears
.
Colonel
Valence
was
some
time
in
coming
to
himself
;
nor
was
it
without
difficulty
that
his
arms
could
be
disentangled
from
the
embrace
in
which
he
clasped
Ivor
Mardol
.
Till
that
was
done
there
was
no
moving
them
.
Hippolyta
knelt
by
her
father
and
put
a
cordial
to
his
lips
.
He
drew
a
deep
breath
,
as
if
awaking
from
a
sleep
,
opened
his
eyes
,
looked
round
,
and
did
not
seem
to
know
any
one
.
'
Is
my
son
drowned
?
'
he
said
in
a
stifled
,
unnatural
tone
.
'
Ivor
is
by
your
side
,
'
whispered
Hippolyta
.
She
was
too
much
intent
on
recovering
him
from
his
swoon
to
notice
what
he
had
said
.
Colonel
Valence
rose
,
took
Ivor
once
more
into
his
arms
,
and
turned
towards
the
house
.
No
one
could
hinder
him
.
Walking
steadily
under
the
corpse-like
weight
,
he
went
up
through
the
brushwood
and
did
not
pause
till
he
reached
the
terrace
,
Hippolyta
and
the
rest
following
.
'
Where
can
I
lay
him
down
?
'
he
said
,
always
in
the
same
unnatural
voice
.
Don
Ramiro
,
the
nuns
'
chaplain
,
who
had
been
a
witness
of
the
disaster
and
was
standing
by
,
answered
,
'
In
my
room
;
let
me
help
you
to
carry
him
.
'
Colonel
Valence
would
have
put
him
aside
;
but
in
trying
to
do
so
,
he
staggered
and
almost
fell
.
The
priest
silently
insisted
;
and
they
moved
to
one
of
the
farther
doors
,
then
along
a
broad
passage
and
up
a
flight
of
stone-steps
,
bearing
Ivor
as
best
they
could
,
and
still
followed
by
the
others
.
When
he
was
stretched
with
face
downwards
on
the
large
writing-table
which
was
standing
near
the
window
,
a
shudder
ran
through
him
;
the
water
poured
out
of
his
mouth
and
nostrils
,
and
he
put
a
hand
to
his
side
as
if
in
pain
.
His
clothes
were
torn
and
muddy
;
there
was
blood
on
them
.
But
when
Rupert
and
the
priest
stripped
him
,
they
could
find
no
external
injury
.
His
hands
had
come
in
contact
with
some
jagged
stones
at
the
bottom
of
the
lake
and
were
bleeding
.
He
seemed
in
great
agony
.
The
chaplain
expressed
his
fears
that
the
hurt
was
internal
.
They
must
send
immediately
to
Sepúlveda
for
the
only
doctor
at
hand
.
Rupert
prayed
him
to
do
so
,
and
one
of
the
men
set
off
on
horseback
.
Colonel
Valence
had
never
quitted
the
room
;
he
did
not
speak
,
or
offer
to
help
Don
Ramiro
.
He
could
have
done
nothing
to
the
purpose
.
Silent
and
motionless
,
he
sat
holding
Ivor
's
hand
.
Hippolyta
,
as
soon
as
she
had
seen
the
young
man
taken
to
the
chaplain
's
room
,
had
returned
to
Lady
May
,
without
speaking
a
word
to
her
father
.
It
would
almost
seem
that
they
had
not
recognised
one
another
.
While
they
were
running
to
and
fro
in
the
convent
,
distracted
by
the
suddenness
of
the
accident
,
not
knowing
which
needed
the
more
instant
attention
,
Ivor
or
Lady
May
,
and
vainly
conjecturing
the
cause
of
the
disaster
,
a
second
boat
was
perceived
crossing
the
lake
.
All
the
horror
of
that
morning
was
not
yet
known
to
Hippolyta
.
As
she
moved
about
the
inanimate
form
of
Lady
May
,
suggesting
one
appliance
after
another
,
and
dreading
that
all
might
fail
,
she
was
accosted
by
a
sister
who
begged
her
in
God
's
name
to
go
out
and
comfort
the
father
of
the
dying
woman
,
now
standing
at
the
door
.
Hippolyta
was
overwhelmed
.
She
went
out
hastily
,
and
found
Lord
Trelingham
and
Tom
Davenant
,
the
former
endeavouring
to
force
his
way
in
,
while
the
latter
,
with
distress
painted
on
his
countenance
,
strove
to
keep
him
back
.
'
She
is
dead
—
she
is
dead
,
I
know
,
'
said
the
Earl
piteously
;
'
but
let
me
see
her
.
I
implore
you
to
let
me
see
her
.
'
Hippolyta
spoke
to
him
.
'
She
is
not
dead
,
and
she
shall
not
die
,
'
said
Colonel
Valence
's
daughter
.
Lord
Trelingham
seemed
to
know
the
voice
,
but
he
did
not
remember
to
whom
it
belonged
.
'
If
she
is
living
,
I
can
wait
,
'
he
answered
simply
,
and
leaned
against
the
door
as
if
meaning
to
stay
there
till
they
suffered
him
to
enter
.
Tom
Davenant
explored
with
his
eyes
the
countenance
of
the
sister
.
'
Are
you
Miss
Valence
?
'
he
said
under
his
breath
.
'
Yes
,
yes
,
'
she
replied
impatiently
.
'
But
take
Lord
Trelingham
away
,
see
,
into
that
other
room
.
Make
him
sit
down
till
I
come
again
.
'
The
Earl
moaned
.
'
I
saw
it
from
the
hotel
,
'
he
said
feebly
;
'
she
slipped
from
the
prow
of
the
boat
into
the
water
.
It
was
an
accident
,
was
it
not
?
Tell
me
it
was
an
accident
.
Tell
me
she
is
not
dead
.
But
oh
,
it
was
so
strange
to
see
her
fall
over
the
edge
of
the
boat
and
no
one
near
.
Where
was
Rupert
?
'
'
Do
take
him
away
,
dear
Mr.
Davenant
,
'
said
Hippolyta
in
great
anxiety
;
'
if
his
daughter
should
hear
the
voice
,
it
may
kill
her
.
I
will
come
again
the
moment
she
is
restored
.
'
And
Tom
,
with
much
gentle
persuasion
,
induced
him
to
pass
into
the
vacant
room
opposite
and
to
rest
there
.
What
the
Earl
had
witnessed
was
,
to
a
man
of
his
devout
religious
temperament
,
more
shocking
than
death
.
He
had
seen
Lady
May
throw
up
her
arms
wildly
,
and
deliberately
put
her
foot
over
the
side
,
slipping
into
the
waters
while
the
boat
drifted
away
from
her
.
It
was
not
an
accident
he
saw
;
he
could
not
hide
from
himself
the
horrible
truth
.
His
daughter
had
attempted
suicide
.
At
once
he
sought
for
a
boat
,
he
called
Tom
Davenant
;
the
delay
was
heartrending
,
but
he
controlled
his
nerves
till
they
had
traversed
the
lake
and
reached
the
convent
door
.
Hippolyta
's
words
gave
him
a
faint
hope
.
But
he
wept
agonising
tears
while
waiting
for
the
moment
when
he
should
look
on
his
child
again
.
He
listened
intently
;
the
long
minutes
grew
to
an
hour
,
and
no
sound
of
her
voice
had
broken
the
silence
.
Hippolyta
had
said
,
'
She
shall
live
;
'
and
if
a
miracle
of
devotion
,
prayer
,
and
loving
attention
were
required
to
save
Lady
May
,
it
was
not
wanting
.
When
Colonel
Valence
could
be
safely
left
with
Ivor
,
and
in
the
care
of
the
chaplain
,
Rupert
,
whose
fever
of
the
morning
was
upon
him
yet
,
came
down
to
the
cell
where
his
wife
was
lying
.
Hippolyta
noticed
his
look
was
alarmed
at
the
effect
it
might
produce
on
Lady
May
,
and
persuaded
him
to
join
Lord
Trelingham
.
The
two
men
met
in
silence
.
Of
the
events
which
had
preceded
his
daughter
's
attempt
at
self-murder
the
Earl
knew
nothing
,
and
Rupert
had
nothing
to
say
.
In
his
brain
the
scenes
which
had
followed
one
another
with
bewildering
rapidity
were
a
phantasmagoria
,
in
which
he
could
distinguish
neither
persons
nor
motives
.
He
knew
that
he
had
found
Hippolyta
,
that
Ivor
Mardol
was
not
dead
.
He
felt
towards
Lady
May
like
a
stranger
,
but
was
dimly
aware
that
she
had
been
his
wife
,
and
that
he
must
not
leave
the
place
where
she
lay
unconscious
.
Only
that
thought
prevented
him
from
returning
to
Ivor
.
He
did
not
feel
grief
or
remorse
at
what
had
happened
.
His
brain
was
incapable
of
reflection
;
his
heart
was
sated
with
emotion
and
could
take
in
no
more
.
They
were
sitting
thus
,
without
a
word
,
when
Lord
Trelingham
started
up
.
He
seemed
to
hear
the
sound
of
his
daughter
's
voice
in
the
next
room
,
and
ran
to
the
door
.
Tom
Davenant
drew
him
back
,
saying
,
'
Wait
for
Miss
Valence
;
she
said
she
would
come
.
'
'
Where
is
Miss
Valence
?
'
inquired
the
Earl
absently
;
'
I
have
not
seen
her
.
'
'
It
was
she
that
spoke
to
us
,
'
answered
Tom
,
'
the
sister
.
She
will
come
.
Be
patient
.
'
After
some
time
he
heard
the
door
of
the
guest-room
opening
.
Hippolyta
was
coming
out
.
Lord
Trelingham
's
ear
had
not
deceived
him
.
Thanks
to
the
repeated
efforts
of
Hippolyta
and
the
nuns
,
Lady
May
had
given
signs
of
returning
life
.
She
was
of
a
death-like
paleness
,
and
her
limbs
were
at
first
rigid
as
those
of
a
corpse
.
But
there
still
was
life
in
her
wounded
heart
;
and
little
by
little
it
came
back
with
the
colour
on
her
lips
and
with
the
trembling
in
hands
and
feet
.
Her
eyelids
unclosed
,
and
the
first
object
on
which
her
glance
fell
was
the
last
she
had
distinctly
beheld
,
Hippolyta
Valence
,
in
the
dark
weeds
of
a
nun
,
her
face
framed
about
with
white
linen
,
and
her
eyes
full
of
light
.
Lady
May
turned
from
her
.
'
Oh
,
the
horrible
vision
!
'
she
said
.
Hippolyta
moved
on
one
side
,
and
the
eyes
of
the
drowned
woman
opened
again
.
'
Is
it
gone
?
'
she
asked
in
fearful
accents
;
'
I
thought
it
might
be
there
still
and
haunt
me
for
ever
.
They
say
hell
is
made
of
such
visions
;
they
come
in
fire
,
and
will
not
depart
.
Merciful
God
,
grant
me
another
hell
than
that
.
The
fire
I
will
endure
,
I
will
not
complain
.
I
have
deserved
it
.
Only
do
not
let
the
vision
come
back
.
'
It
was
the
sharpest
stroke
Hippolyta
had
suffered
,
even
on
that
day
of
suffering
.
May
looked
straight
before
her
,
quite
still
,
as
though
she
feared
to
bring
the
vision
again
by
turning
to
the
right
or
the
left
.
And
the
penitent
,
heart-broken
Hippolyta
knelt
in
the
shadow
of
the
wall
,
and
murmured
with
broken
voice
,
'
Lady
May
,
forgive
me
.
As
you
hope
to
be
forgiven
,
do
not
speak
those
frightful
words
again
.
'
'
Are
you
still
there
?
'
replied
the
other
,
putting
her
hands
,
which
she
could
hardly
lift
,
to
her
eyes
.
'
Are
we
both
in
hell
—
you
for
being
a
harlot
,
and
I
for
killing
myself
?
I
should
be
happy
if
I
thought
the
fire
had
got
hold
of
you
.
I
hate
you
,
Hippolyta
Valence
.
I
ought
to
have
killed
you
first
.
'
That
was
the
voice
Lord
Trelingham
had
heard
,
his
daughter
cursing
the
woman
that
,
as
she
said
,
had
stolen
Rupert
's
love
.
Well
for
the
unhappy
father
that
the
walls
were
thick
and
Tom
Davenant
held
him
when
he
would
have
made
his
way
to
her
.
Hippolyta
dared
not
stay
in
the
cell
.
Such
agitation
would
cost
Lady
May
her
life
.
She
was
not
far
from
the
door
.
She
glided
out
and
came
to
the
old
man
.
'
Your
daughter
has
recovered
from
her
swoon
,
but
she
is
wandering
,
'
said
the
nun
,
taking
no
heed
of
Rupert
.
'
If
you
would
sit
by
her
bedside
it
might
calm
her
.
'
Lord
Trelingham
pressed
her
hand
gratefully
and
replied
,
'
You
are
Lady
May
's
saviour
.
'
—
'
Ah
no
,
'
said
Hippolyta
,
her
glance
sinking
;
I
have
saved
nobody
.
'
Rupert
drew
near
.
'
Will
you
always
malign
yourself
?
'
he
cried
sharply
.
They
were
the
first
words
he
had
spoken
in
the
Earl
's
hearing
.
He
did
not
offer
to
accompany
Lord
Trelingham
.
When
he
was
gone
to
his
daughter
,
Tom
Davenant
,
looking
compassionately
on
the
artist
,
said
to
him
,
'
Is
there
anything
I
can
do
for
you
,
Glanville
?
'
—
'
Try
to
save
Ivor
,
'
was
the
reply
,
which
bewildered
Davenant
,
who
had
seen
nothing
,
and
did
not
know
who
had
rescued
his
cousin
.
He
thought
Glanville
must
be
out
of
his
mind
.
He
sought
an
explanation
from
Hippolyta
,
who
could
hardly
speak
for
crying
.
But
when
he
learnt
that
Ivor
was
in
the
chaplain
's
room
,
and
perhaps
fatally
injured
,
for
so
Rupert
told
him
,
he
entreated
Miss
Valence
to
show
him
the
way
,
and
all
three
were
standing
at
Don
Ramiro
's
door
as
the
physician
arrived
from
Sepúlveda
.
They
were
forbidden
to
enter
,
and
a
dreary
pause
ensued
till
the
medical
examination
was
concluded
.
It
left
no
hope
.
The
injuries
were
internal
,
and
of
the
most
serious
character
;
they
could
not
be
dealt
with
,
and
the
utmost
now
to
be
expected
was
that
the
patient
would
lose
consciousness
ere
the
agony
became
unendurable
.
Not
knowing
in
what
relations
those
present
stood
to
Ivor
,
the
physician
,
a
brief
sententious
speaker
,
uttered
his
verdict
aloud
,
prescribed
a
few
simple
lenitives
,
and
a
gradually
increasing
dose
of
morphia
which
he
had
brought
with
him
;
and
was
proceeding
to
visit
Lady
May
.
The
tall
military-looking
man
who
had
insisted
on
being
present
at
the
examination
,
but
did
not
utter
a
syllable
throughout
,
rose
when
the
doctor
ended
,
and
said
to
him
in
very
pure
Spanish
,
'
How
long
will
my
boy
live
?
I
am
his
father
.
'
The
doctor
uttered
an
angry
exclamation
.
'
Why
did
you
not
tell
me
,
then
?
am
I
an
executioner
?
'
he
cried
.
'
The
young
man
may
live
seven
or
eight
days
.
But
it
is
uncertain
,
'
and
his
voice
dropped
,
—
'
the
days
may
shrink
to
hours
.
'
Colonel
Valence
sat
down
and
took
Ivor
's
hand
again
.
It
was
resting
on
the
coverlet
,
for
he
had
now
been
transferred
to
the
chaplain
's
bed
.
CHAPTER
XXXVI
THE
FURIES
APPEASED
The
case
of
Lady
May
proved
less
desperate
.
She
had
thrown
herself
into
the
deepest
part
of
the
lake
,
and
would
have
been
washed
down
by
the
current
of
the
Guadalete
—
which
was
there
running
at
a
great
speed
—
had
not
Ivor
Mardol
seized
her
as
she
rose
the
second
time
and
carried
her
within
a
few
yards
of
the
shore
.
Thus
she
had
escaped
unhurt
,
while
he
,
striking
,
as
he
last
went
down
,
on
the
sunken
rocks
,
had
received
his
deathblow
.
When
the
doctor
came
Lady
May
was
sitting
upright
with
her
arms
round
her
father
's
neck
,
weeping
and
imploring
his
forgiveness
.
She
told
him
it
was
a
sudden
frenzy
for
which
she
could
not
account
that
tempted
her
to
stand
on
the
edge
of
the
boat
when
it
drifted
.
The
name
of
Hippolyta
she
kept
in
her
bosom
,
nor
did
she
inquire
for
Rupert
.
The
doctor
at
once
insisted
on
her
lying
down
.
He
prescribed
rest
for
several
days
and
light
nourishment
.
'
Who
brought
me
out
?
'
she
asked
.
The
doctor
did
not
know
his
name
;
and
would
not
of
course
mention
the
dangerous
state
in
which
her
preserver
lay
.
Thus
the
evening
closed
in
.
None
of
the
strangers
returned
to
the
Fonda
d'Oro
.
Accommodation
was
found
for
them
in
the
dismantled
wing
at
San
Lucar
.
But
there
was
little
sleep
that
night
for
any
.
Ivor
,
kept
awake
by
intense
pain
,
but
scarcely
conscious
,
refused
to
take
the
narcotic
.
He
did
not
want
to
die
yet
;
such
was
his
constant
cry
.
There
was
so
much
to
be
done
.
He
must
have
time
.
And
by
the
mercy
of
Heaven
time
was
given
.
The
pain
grew
less
towards
morning
.
He
slept
without
morphia
,
and
passed
a
comparatively
easy
day
.
In
the
afternoon
he
sent
for
Hippolyta
,
who
,
fatigued
with
the
horrible
scenes
through
which
she
had
gone
,
had
been
ordered
by
the
Mother
Superior
to
take
a
few
hours
'
rest
in
the
morning
.
She
no
sooner
came
into
the
room
than
he
held
out
his
arms
,
'
My
sister
,
my
sister
!
'
he
cried
in
a
feeble
voice
but
with
exceeding
joy
on
his
countenance
.
'
I
am
every
one
's
sister
,
'
she
replied
,
smiling
at
the
poor
invalid
.
'
Are
you
in
less
pain
now
?
'
He
laughed
as
she
spoke
.
'
You
are
not
every
one
's
sister
as
you
are
mine
,
'
he
answered
;
and
trying
to
turn
towards
Colonel
Valence
,
but
sinking
down
as
he
found
the
pain
catching
him
,
'
Tell
her
,
father
,
'
he
went
on
with
a
gasp
;
'
she
does
not
know
.
Why
did
n't
you
tell
her
yesterday
?
'
The
Colonel
had
passed
the
night
sleepless
,
like
Hippolyta
—
he
at
the
bedside
of
Ivor
Mardol
,
she
in
a
chair
at
some
distance
.
But
though
he
saw
her
move
about
him
,
and
even
called
her
by
name
,
and
kissed
her
on
the
cheek
,
he
had
spoken
hardly
at
all
;
neither
did
he
explain
his
words
to
the
physician
.
And
she
,
intent
on
so
many
things
,
could
not
realise
their
meaning
.
It
was
like
a
sudden
flash
,
therefore
,
when
her
father
,
looking
at
the
young
man
rather
than
at
his
long-lost
Hippolyta
,
said
calmly
,
'
This
is
your
brother
,
my
dear
.
He
is
the
son
of
my
first
wife
,
Alice
Davenant
.
'
He
drew
her
to
him
,
and
joined
his
children
's
hands
.
There
are
meetings
,
recognitions
,
which
refuse
to
be
described
.
There
is
a
joy
in
the
depths
of
sadness
greater
than
mortal
can
depict
,
though
many
have
felt
it
.
I
shall
not
attempt
to
speak
of
the
hours
that
succeeded
,
as
,
little
by
little
,
brother
and
sister
came
to
understand
that
they
were
indeed
what
Colonel
Valence
told
them
.
It
was
a
feast
for
angels
.
In
the
melancholy
convent
,
with
an
unhappy
Rupert
lying
prostrate
in
his
room
,
and
Lady
May
coming
back
to
the
recollection
of
yesterday
,
with
its
poignant
anguish
and
irremediable
sin
,
nay
,
while
the
wings
of
death
were
hovering
over
them
,
Ivor
and
Hippolyta
sat
entranced
,
and
knew
that
nothing
could
dim
their
joy
.
The
new-found
brother
told
,
in
feeble
accents
,
and
pausing
at
the
end
of
almost
every
sentence
,
the
story
of
his
birth
,
and
the
reasons
that
had
moved
a
father
who
,
albeit
in
a
stern
way
,
loved
his
children
,
to
put
a
veil
of
mystery
between
himself
and
his
only
son
.
Ivor
would
not
allow
Colonel
Valence
to
take
the
word
out
of
his
mouth
;
an
excessive
gladness
,
mingled
with
reverence
for
his
father
,
impelled
him
to
repeat
the
strange
story
,
as
one
child
may
delight
to
tell
another
the
fairy-tale
it
has
heard
.
Hippolyta
listened
with
a
sadder
feeling
.
She
was
not
surprised
;
but
she
was
grieved
at
the
remembrance
of
those
many
years
during
which
she
had
not
known
a
brother
's
love
.
She
looked
at
her
father
wonderingly
.
If
it
was
a
rebuke
,
he
did
not
take
notice
of
it
.
He
had
no
thought
for
any
one
but
Ivor
.
And
he
sat
,
in
the
bent
attitude
of
fatigue
or
sorrow
,
while
they
talked
in
low
tones
at
his
side
,
Ivor
resting
as
well
as
he
could
,
and
Hippolyta
holding
her
brother
's
hand
.
Three
children
,
it
appeared
,
were
born
of
the
marriage
with
Lady
Alice
.
Two
were
daughters
,
who
died
while
they
were
quite
young
in
London
,
where
their
parents
had
for
the
most
part
resided
during
the
ten
or
eleven
years
of
their
wedded
life
.
Lady
Alice
,
who
had
always
been
of
a
delicate
constitution
,
never
quite
recovered
from
the
trouble
of
her
last
two
years
at
Trelingham
.
She
was
absolutely
submissive
to
Colonel
Valence
;
she
did
not
speak
of
her
brother
,
and
would
have
accompanied
her
husband
on
his
Spanish
expeditions
,
had
he
not
insisted
that
she
should
stay
in
London
and
watch
over
the
children
.
Twice
he
returned
,
and
twice
he
was
called
on
to
follow
the
beloved
remains
of
a
daughter
to
the
grave
.
He
was
not
a
man
to
bend
under
the
storms
of
fate
;
he
bore
up
,
and
he
suffered
acutely
.
His
old
daring
spirit
was
unchanged
,
but
every
year
beheld
the
growth
of
a
sadder
and
a
more
saturnine
humour
in
Colonel
Valence
.
To
his
wife
he
was
a
perfect
husband
;
to
his
associates
a
proud
,
resolute
,
unhappy
man
.
At
last
the
stroke
fell
which
cut
his
life
in
twain
.
Lady
Alice
gave
birth
to
a
son
,
and
died
the
same
day
.
With
failing
breath
she
implored
her
husband
,
whose
darkening
brow
and
fierce
intensity
of
grief
struck
her
in
the
midst
of
her
agony
,
not
to
visit
on
the
child
his
mother
's
loss
.
And
then
she
calmly
passed
away
,
having
attained
and
enjoyed
the
one
happiness
on
which
she
had
set
her
heart
.
But
the
bereaved
husband
could
not
endure
to
look
on
Ivor
.
He
turned
his
face
when
the
nurse
brought
the
poor
wailing
thing
,
and
would
have
put
it
into
his
arms
.
Only
Lady
Alice
's
condition
had
kept
him
from
returning
to
Spain
,
where
the
prospects
of
the
democratic
party
were
gloomy
,
and
the
presence
of
the
bolder
spirits
was
urgently
needed
.
Long
determined
that
no
child
of
his
should
touch
Lady
Alice
's
fortune
,
or
take
a
place
in
the
succession
to
Trelingham
,
he
saw
that
it
was
time
to
carry
out
a
resolution
which
should
endure
into
future
years
.
Lord
Trelingham
was
not
yet
married
;
his
cousin
,
Mr.
Davenant
,
who
came
next
in
the
entail
,
was
a
middle-aged
man
about
town
,
of
easy
fortune
,
and
easier
morals
.
He
had
not
married
,
did
not
intend
to
marry
,
and
viewed
with
the
equanimity
of
selfishness
the
extinction
which
threatened
both
the
elder
and
the
younger
lines
of
the
ancient
house
to
which
he
belonged
.
Colonel
Valence
had
kept
an
eye
on
these
things
.
It
seemed
by
no
means
improbable
that
Lady
Alice
's
surviving
child
would
come
into
the
Trelingham
estate
;
and
if
he
did
so
,
and
were
a
man
of
ability
or
character
,
he
would
not
find
it
impossible
to
get
the
title
of
Trelingham
revived
in
his
favour
.
That
must
not
be
,
said
the
Colonel
,
and
he
shaped
his
action
accordingly
.
He
had
long
known
and
admired
the
stern
integrity
of
Mr.
Mardol
.
At
one
time
their
principles
had
been
almost
the
same
;
and
though
they
never
met
without
discussing
the
question
of
'
physical
force
,
'
they
remained
on
terms
of
friendship
,
and
,
I
might
say
,
of
affection
.
At
this
juncture
,
then
,
Colonel
Valence
entrusted
Ivor
to
the
keeping
of
the
old
philosopher
and
his
wife
.
He
did
not
say
whose
child
it
was
,
or
what
motives
made
such
a
step
necessary
.
Nor
did
they
ask
.
Mr.
Mardol
consented
on
two
conditions
.
One
was
that
Ivor
should
be
told
,
when
capable
of
understanding
it
,
that
he
was
not
their
child
;
the
other
,
that
he
should
be
educated
strictly
on
the
lines
of
the
humanitarian
philosophy
.
We
have
seen
that
both
were
fulfilled
.
Colonel
Valence
believed
that
a
little
knowledge
of
life
would
lead
his
son
to
sufficiently
stern
principles
,
and
he
trusted
no
one
like
Mr.
Mardol
.
He
went
abroad
,
and
was
absent
from
England
many
years
.
During
the
interval
Lord
Trelingham
had
married
,
but
the
only
issue
was
a
daughter
,
Lady
May
.
Mr.
Davenant
,
too
,
had
been
caught
by
a
clever
woman
,
and
surrendered
his
bachelor
independence
.
He
had
one
son
,
a
child
of
two
years
old
.
Thus
the
danger
of
the
succession
seemed
to
have
been
averted
from
Ivor
.
But
Lady
Alice
's
fortune
still
awaited
him
,
and
there
was
no
security
that
he
would
not
,
on
Colonel
Valence
's
decease
,
be
taken
up
by
his
mother
's
people
,
and
lost
to
the
cause
of
democracy
.
The
Colonel
,
therefore
,
persisted
in
his
old
plan
of
bringing
up
Ivor
Valence
as
Ivor
Mardol
,
and
training
him
to
the
habits
of
life
and
thought
which
befitted
an
engraver
's
son
.
He
could
now
bear
to
look
on
the
boy
;
he
loved
him
after
a
silent
fashion
of
his
own
.
But
he
was
resolved
,
cost
what
it
might
,
to
keep
the
vow
he
had
spoken
in
the
picture-gallery
at
Trelingham
Court
.
No
child
of
his
should
touch
any
part
of
that
inheritance
,
great
or
small
.
He
might
have
acknowledged
Ivor
at
an
earlier
date
,
if
the
young
man
had
not
shown
such
tenacity
in
adhering
to
the
peaceful
principles
of
Mr.
Mardol
.
But
while
he
did
so
,
the
mystery
continued
.
Rather
than
endanger
it
,
Colonel
Valence
,
on
learning
the
presence
of
Ivor
's
friend
,
the
artist
,
at
Trelingham
,
had
at
once
quitted
Falside
;
and
he
stayed
away
as
long
as
Ivor
dwelt
in
the
Hermitage
.
From
Hippolyta
he
kept
the
secret
as
carefully
as
from
all
the
world
.
He
allowed
himself
the
pleasure
of
making
her
copy
his
epistles
to
her
brother
in
a
cypher
of
which
she
had
not
the
key
;
and
to
the
same
motive
we
must
attribute
the
commission
he
gave
her
,
which
led
to
her
visiting
the
chalet
,
and
making
the
acquaintance
of
Rupert
Glanville
.
All
this
Ivor
could
not
know
,
or
repeat
if
he
had
known
.
But
he
told
Hippolyta
of
his
early
dreams
,
his
longing
for
home
and
a
sister
's
affection
,
his
grief
lest
she
should
have
gone
astray
on
leaving
Rupert
,
his
estrangement
from
Colonel
Valence
after
the
meeting
in
Denzil
Lane
.
'
And
you
,
'
he
said
,
the
smile
coming
into
his
eyes
,
—
'
it
was
you
that
ended
it
;
you
that
brought
father
and
me
together
.
When
you
wrote
to
the
Duke
of
Adullam
,
—
oh
,
I
know
him
,
he
has
been
a
kind
friend
to
me
,
—
and
said
what
you
had
done
,
and
that
you
desired
to
see
your
father
before
leaving
this
house
,
the
Duke
sent
for
me
.
He
was
aware
that
a
difference
had
arisen
between
me
and
Mr.
Felton
,
as
I
called
him
.
It
does
not
matter
now
.
By
and
by
I
will
come
back
to
that
,
when
I
am
dying
,
'
—
his
smile
was
ineffable
,
—
'
but
,
you
know
,
the
Duke
thought
it
was
time
I
should
learn
everything
.
Do
you
remember
meeting
him
?
'
'
Once
,
years
ago
,
when
I
was
quite
a
child
;
but
he
took
no
notice
of
me
.
'
'
He
was
acquainted
with
your
history
,
nevertheless
,
and
had
been
told
more
of
it
by
Rupert
than
I
knew
.
And
he
went
over
it
all
from
the
beginning
.
He
sent
me
the
same
evening
to
Paris
,
to
Mr.
Felton
.
And
I
found
him
,
and
how
surprised
he
was
,
and
glad
too
,
when
he
saw
that
the
secret
had
come
out
!
He
did
not
wish
me
to
be
a
Davenant
or
to
be
tempted
by
the
glories
of
Trelingham
.
That
was
why
he
had
denied
himself
,
and
,
in
a
manner
,
disowned
me
,
poor
boy
!
As
if
I
cared
for
Trelingham
!
'
He
was
obliged
to
stop
