Ifhe
is
very
agreeable
you
may
bring
him
to
the
Court
as
soon
as
you
return
from
your
travels
.
Lady
Audley
tells
me
to
request
you
to
secure
her
a
set
of
sables
.
You
are
not
to
consider
the
price
,
but
to
be
sure
that
they
are
the
handsomest
that
can
be
obtained
.
Papa
is
perfectly
absurd
about
his
new
wife
,
and
she
and
I
cannot
get
on
together
at
all
;
not
that
she
is
disagreeable
to
me
,
for
,
as
far
as
that
goes
,
she
makes
herself
agreeable
to
every
one
;
but
she
is
so
irretrievably
childish
and
silly
.
"
Believe
me
to
be
,
my
dear
Robert
.
"
Your
affectionate
cousin
,
"
ALICIA
AUDLEY
.
"
CHAPTER
VII
.
AFTER
A
YEAR
.
The
first
year
of
George
Talboys
'
widowhood
passed
away
,
the
deep
band
of
crepe
about
his
hat
grew
brown
and
dusty
,
and
as
the
last
burning
day
of
another
August
faded
out
,
he
sat
smoking
cigars
in
the
quiet
chambers
of
Figtree
Court
,
much
as
he
had
done
the
year
before
,
when
the
horror
of
his
grief
was
new
to
him
,
and
every
object
in
life
,
however
trifling
or
however
important
,
seemed
saturated
with
his
one
great
sorrow
.
But
the
big
ex-dragoon
had
survived
his
affliction
by
a
twelvemonth
,
and
hard
as
it
may
be
to
have
to
tell
it
,
he
did
not
look
much
the
worse
for
it
.
Heaven
knows
what
wasted
agonies
of
remorse
and
self-reproach
may
not
have
racked
George
's
honest
heart
,
as
he
lay
awake
at
nights
thinking
of
the
wife
he
had
abandoned
in
the
pursuit
of
a
fortune
,
which
she
never
lived
to
share
.
Once
,
while
they
were
abroad
,
Robert
Audley
ventured
to
congratulate
him
upon
his
recovered
spirits
.
He
burst
into
a
bitter
laugh
.
"
Do
you
know
,
Bob
,
"
he
said
,
"
that
when
some
of
our
fellows
were
wounded
in
India
,
they
came
home
,
bringing
bullets
inside
them
.
They
did
not
talk
of
them
,
and
they
were
stout
and
hearty
,
and
looked
as
well
,
perhaps
,
as
you
or
I
;
but
every
change
in
the
weather
,
however
slight
,
every
variation
of
the
atmosphere
,
however
trifling
,
brought
back
the
old
agony
of
their
wounds
as
sharp
as
ever
they
had
felt
it
on
the
battle-field
.
I
've
had
my
wound
,
Bob
;
I
carry
the
bullet
still
,
and
I
shall
carry
it
into
my
coffin
.
"
The
travelers
returned
from
St.
Petersburg
in
the
spring
,
and
George
again
took
up
his
quarters
at
his
old
friend
's
chambers
,
only
leaving
them
now
and
then
to
run
down
to
Southampton
and
take
a
look
at
his
little
boy
.
He
always
went
loaded
with
toys
and
sweetmeats
to
give
to
the
child
;
but
,
for
all
this
,
Georgey
would
not
become
very
familiar
with
his
papa
,
and
the
young
man
's
heart
sickened
as
he
began
to
fancy
that
even
his
child
was
lost
to
him
.
"
What
can
I
do
?
"
he
thought
.
"
If
I
take
him
away
from
his
grandfather
,
I
shall
break
his
heart
;
if
I
let
him
remain
,
he
will
grow
up
a
stranger
to
me
,
and
care
more
for
that
drunken
old
hypocrite
than
for
his
own
father
.
But
then
,
what
could
an
ignorant
,
heavy
dragoon
like
me
do
with
such
a
child
?
What
could
I
teach
him
,
except
to
smoke
cigars
and
idle
around
all
day
with
his
hands
in
his
pockets
?
"
So
the
anniversary
of
that
30th
of
August
,
upon
which
George
had
seen
the
advertisement
of
his
wife
's
death
in
the
Times
newspaper
,
came
round
for
the
first
time
,
and
the
young
man
put
off
his
black
clothes
and
the
shabby
crape
from
his
hat
,
and
laid
his
mournful
garments
in
a
trunk
in
which
he
kept
a
packet
of
his
wife
's
letters
,
her
portrait
,
and
that
lock
of
hair
which
had
been
cut
from
her
head
after
death
.
Robert
Audley
had
never
seen
either
the
letters
,
the
portrait
,
or
the
long
tress
of
silky
hair
;
nor
,
indeed
,
had
George
ever
mentioned
the
name
of
his
dead
wife
after
that
one
day
at
Ventnor
,
on
which
he
learned
the
full
particulars
of
her
decease
.
"
I
shall
write
to
my
cousin
Alicia
to-day
,
George
,
"
the
young
barrister
said
,
upon
this
very
30th
of
August
.
"
Do
you
know
that
the
day
after
to-morrow
is
the
1st
of
September
?
I
shall
write
and
tell
her
that
we
will
both
run
down
to
the
Court
for
a
week
's
shooting
.
"
"
No
,
no
,
Bob
;
go
by
yourself
;
they
do
n't
want
me
,
and
I
'd
rather
—
"
"
Bury
yourself
in
Figtree
Court
,
with
no
company
but
my
dogs
and
canaries
!
No
,
George
,
you
shall
do
nothing
of
the
kind
.
"
"
But
I
do
n't
care
for
shooting
.
"
"
And
do
you
suppose
I
care
for
it
?
"
cried
Robert
,
with
charming
naivete
.
"
Why
,
man
,
I
do
n't
know
a
partridge
from
a
pigeon
,
and
it
might
be
the
1st
of
April
,
instead
of
the
1st
of
September
,
for
aught
I
care
.
I
never
hurt
a
bird
in
my
life
,
but
I
have
hurt
my
own
shoulder
with
the
weight
of
my
gun
.
I
only
go
down
to
Essex
for
the
change
of
air
,
the
good
dinners
,
and
the
sight
of
my
uncle
's
honest
,
handsome
face
.
Besides
,
this
time
I
've
another
inducement
,
as
I
want
to
see
this
fair-haired
paragon
—
my
new
aunt
.
You
'll
go
with
me
,
George
?
"
"
Yes
,
if
you
really
wish
it
.
"
The
quiet
form
his
grief
had
taken
after
its
first
brief
violence
,
left
him
as
submissive
as
a
child
to
the
will
of
his
friend
;
ready
to
go
anywhere
or
do
anything
;
never
enjoying
himself
,
or
originating
any
enjoyment
,
but
joining
in
the
pleasures
of
others
with
a
hopeless
,
uncomplaining
,
unobtrusive
resignation
peculiar
to
his
simple
nature
.
But
the
return
of
post
brought
a
letter
from
Alicia
Audley
,
to
say
that
the
two
young
men
could
not
be
received
at
the
Court
.
"
There
are
seventeen
spare
bed-rooms
,
"
wrote
the
young
lady
,
in
an
indignant
running
hand
,
"
but
for
all
that
,
my
dear
Robert
,
you
ca
n't
come
;
for
my
lady
has
taken
it
into
her
silly
head
that
she
is
too
ill
to
entertain
visitors
(
there
is
no
more
the
matter
with
her
than
there
is
with
me
)
,
and
she
cannot
have
gentlemen
(
great
,
rough
men
,
she
says
)
in
the
house
.
Please
apologize
to
your
friend
Mr.
Talboys
,
and
tell
him
that
papa
expects
to
see
you
both
in
the
hunting
season
.
"
"
My
lady
's
airs
and
graces
sha
n't
keep
us
out
of
Essex
for
all
that
,
"
said
Robert
,
as
he
twisted
the
letter
into
a
pipe-light
for
his
big
meerschaum
.
"
I
'll
tell
you
what
we
'll
do
,
George
:
there
's
a
glorious
inn
at
Audley
,
and
plenty
of
fishing
in
the
neighborhood
;
we
'll
go
there
and
have
a
week
's
sport
.
Fishing
is
much
better
than
shooting
;
you
've
only
to
lie
on
a
bank
and
stare
at
your
line
;
I
do
n't
find
that
you
often
catch
anything
,
but
it
's
very
pleasant
.
"
He
held
the
twisted
letter
to
the
feeble
spark
of
fire
glimmering
in
the
grate
,
as
he
spoke
,
and
then
changing
his
mind
,
deliberately
unfolded
it
,
and
smoothed
the
crumpled
paper
with
his
hand
.
"
Poor
little
Alicia
!
"
he
said
,
thoughtfully
;
"
it
's
rather
hard
to
treat
her
letter
so
cavalierly
—
I
'll
keep
it
;
"
upon
which
Mr.
Robert
Audley
put
the
note
back
into
its
envelope
,
and
afterward
thrust
it
into
a
pigeon-hole
in
his
office
desk
,
marked
important
.
Heaven
knows
what
wonderful
documents
there
were
in
this
particular
pigeon-hole
,
but
I
do
not
think
it
likely
to
have
contained
anything
of
great
judicial
value
.
If
any
one
could
at
that
moment
have
told
the
young
barrister
that
so
simple
a
thing
as
his
cousin
's
brief
letter
would
one
day
come
to
be
a
link
in
that
terrible
chain
of
evidence
afterward
to
be
slowly
forged
in
the
only
criminal
case
in
which
he
was
ever
to
be
concerned
,
perhaps
Mr.
Robert
Audley
would
have
lifted
his
eyebrows
a
little
higher
than
usual
.
So
the
two
young
men
left
London
the
next
day
,
with
one
portmanteau
and
a
rod
and
tackle
between
them
,
and
reached
the
straggling
,
old-fashioned
,
fast-decaying
village
of
Audley
,
in
time
to
order
a
good
dinner
at
the
Sun
Inn
.
Audley
Court
was
about
three-quarters
of
a
mile
from
the
village
,
lying
,
as
I
have
said
,
deep
down
in
the
hollow
,
shut
in
by
luxuriant
timber
.
You
could
only
reach
it
by
a
cross-road
bordered
by
trees
,
and
as
trimly
kept
as
the
avenues
in
a
gentleman
's
park
.
It
was
a
lonely
place
enough
,
even
in
all
its
rustic
beauty
,
for
so
bright
a
creature
as
the
late
Miss
Lucy
Graham
,
but
the
generous
baronet
had
transformed
the
interior
of
the
gray
old
mansion
into
a
little
palace
for
his
young
wife
,
and
Lady
Audley
seemed
as
happy
as
a
child
surrounded
by
new
and
costly
toys
.
In
her
better
fortunes
,
as
in
her
old
days
of
dependence
,
wherever
she
went
she
seemed
to
take
sunshine
and
gladness
with
her
.
In
spite
of
Miss
Alicia
's
undisguised
contempt
for
her
step-mother
's
childishness
and
frivolity
,
Lucy
was
better
loved
and
more
admired
than
the
baronet
's
daughter
.
That
very
childishness
had
a
charm
which
few
could
resist
.
The
innocence
and
candor
of
an
infant
beamed
in
Lady
Audley
's
fair
face
,
and
shone
out
of
her
large
and
liquid
blue
eyes
.
The
rosy
lips
,
the
delicate
nose
,
the
profusion
of
fair
ringlets
,
all
contributed
to
preserve
to
her
beauty
the
character
of
extreme
youth
and
freshness
.
She
owned
to
twenty
years
of
age
,
but
it
was
hard
to
believe
her
more
than
seventeen
.
Her
fragile
figure
,
which
she
loved
to
dress
in
heavy
velvets
,
and
stiff
,
rustling
silks
,
till
she
looked
like
a
child
tricked
out
for
a
masquerade
,
was
as
girlish
as
if
she
had
just
left
the
nursery
.
All
her
amusements
were
childish
.
She
hated
reading
,
or
study
of
any
kind
,
and
loved
society
.
Rather
than
be
alone
,
she
would
admit
Phoebe
Marks
into
her
confidence
,
and
loll
on
one
of
the
sofas
in
her
luxurious
dressing-room
,
discussing
a
new
costume
for
some
coming
dinner-party
;
or
sit
chattering
to
the
girl
with
her
jewel-box
beside
her
,
upon
the
satin
cushions
,
and
Sir
Michael
's
presents
spread
out
in
her
lap
,
while
she
counted
and
admired
her
treasures
.
She
had
appeared
at
several
public
balls
at
Chelmsford
and
Colchester
,
and
was
immediately
established
as
the
belle
of
the
county
.
Pleased
with
her
high
position
and
her
handsome
house
;
with
every
caprice
gratified
,
every
whim
indulged
;
admired
and
caressed
wherever
she
went
;
fond
of
her
generous
husband
;
rich
in
a
noble
allowance
of
pin-money
;
with
no
poor
relations
to
worry
her
with
claims
upon
her
purse
or
patronage
;
it
would
have
been
hard
to
find
in
the
County
of
Essex
a
more
fortunate
creature
than
Lucy
,
Lady
Audley
.
The
two
young
men
loitered
over
the
dinner-table
in
the
private
sitting-room
at
the
Sun
Inn
.
The
windows
were
thrown
wide
open
,
and
the
fresh
country
air
blew
in
upon
them
as
they
dined
.
The
weather
was
lovely
;
the
foliage
of
the
woods
touched
here
and
there
with
faint
gleams
of
the
earliest
tints
of
autumn
;
the
yellow
corn
still
standing
in
some
of
the
fields
,
in
others
just
falling
under
the
shining
sickle
;
while
in
the
narrow
lanes
you
met
great
wagons
drawn
by
broad-chested
cart-horses
,
carrying
home
the
rich
golden
store
.
To
any
one
who
has
been
,
during
the
hot
summer
months
,
pent
up
in
London
,
there
is
in
the
first
taste
of
rustic
life
a
kind
of
sensuous
rapture
scarcely
to
be
described
.
George
Talboys
felt
this
,
and
in
this
he
experienced
the
nearest
approach
to
enjoyment
that
he
had
ever
known
since
his
wife
's
death
.
The
clock
struck
five
as
they
finished
dinner
.
"
Put
on
your
hat
,
George
,
"
said
Robert
Audley
;
"
they
do
n't
dine
at
the
Court
till
seven
;
we
shall
have
time
to
stroll
down
and
see
the
old
place
and
its
inhabitants
.
"
The
landlord
,
who
had
come
into
the
room
with
a
bottle
of
wine
,
looked
up
as
the
young
man
spoke
.
"
I
beg
your
pardon
,
Mr.
Audley
,
"
he
said
,
"
but
if
you
want
to
see
your
uncle
,
you
'll
lose
your
time
by
going
to
the
Court
just
now
.
Sir
Michael
and
my
lady
and
Miss
Alicia
have
all
gone
to
the
races
up
at
Chorley
,
and
they
wo
n't
be
back
till
nigh
upon
eight
o'clock
,
most
likely
.
They
must
pass
by
here
to
go
home
.
"
Under
these
circumstances
of
course
it
was
no
use
going
to
the
Court
,
so
the
two
young
men
strolled
through
the
village
and
looked
at
the
old
church
,
and
then
went
and
reconnoitered
the
streams
in
which
they
were
to
fish
the
next
day
,
and
by
such
means
beguiled
the
time
until
after
seven
o'clock
.
At
about
a
quarter
past
that
hour
they
returned
to
the
inn
,
and
seating
themselves
in
the
open
window
,
lit
their
cigars
and
looked
out
at
the
peaceful
prospect
.
We
hear
every
day
of
murders
committed
in
the
country
.
Brutal
and
treacherous
murders
;
slow
,
protracted
agonies
from
poisons
administered
by
some
kindred
hand
;
sudden
and
violent
deaths
by
cruel
blows
,
inflicted
with
a
stake
cut
from
some
spreading
oak
,
whose
every
shadow
promised
—
peace
.
In
the
county
of
which
I
write
,
I
have
been
shown
a
meadow
in
which
,
on
a
quiet
summer
Sunday
evening
,
a
young
farmer
murdered
the
girl
who
had
loved
and
trusted
him
;
and
yet
,
even
now
,
with
the
stain
of
that
foul
deed
upon
it
,
the
aspect
of
the
spot
is
—
peace
.
No
species
of
crime
has
ever
been
committed
in
the
worst
rookeries
about
Seven
Dials
that
has
not
been
also
done
in
the
face
of
that
rustic
calm
which
still
,
in
spite
of
all
,
we
look
on
with
a
tender
,
half-mournful
yearning
,
and
associate
with
—
peace
.
It
was
dusk
when
gigs
and
chaises
,
dog-carts
and
clumsy
farmers
'
phaetons
,
began
to
rattle
through
the
village
street
,
and
under
the
windows
of
the
Sun
Inn
;
deeper
dusk
still
when
an
open
carriage
and
four
drew
suddenly
up
beneath
the
rocking
sign-post
.
It
was
Sir
Michael
Audley
's
barouche
which
came
to
so
sudden
a
stop
before
the
little
inn
.
The
harness
of
one
of
the
leaders
had
become
out
of
order
,
and
the
foremost
postillion
dismounted
to
set
it
right
.
"
Why
,
it
's
my
uncle
,
"
cried
Robert
Audley
,
as
the
carriage
stopped
.
"
I
'll
run
down
and
speak
to
him
.
"
George
lit
another
cigar
,
and
,
sheltered
by
the
window-curtains
,
looked
out
at
the
little
party
.
Alicia
sat
with
her
back
to
the
horses
,
and
he
could
perceive
,
even
in
the
dusk
,
that
she
was
a
handsome
brunette
;
but
Lady
Audley
was
seated
on
the
side
of
the
carriage
furthest
from
the
inn
,
and
he
could
see
nothing
of
the
fair-haired
paragon
of
whom
he
had
heard
so
much
.
"
Why
,
Robert
,
"
exclaimed
Sir
Michael
,
as
his
nephew
emerged
from
the
inn
,
"
this
is
a
surprise
!
"
"
I
have
not
come
to
intrude
upon
you
at
the
Court
,
my
dear
uncle
,
"
said
the
young
man
,
as
the
baronet
shook
him
by
the
hand
in
his
own
hearty
fashion
.
"
Essex
is
my
native
county
,
you
know
,
and
about
this
time
of
year
I
generally
have
a
touch
of
homesickness
;
so
George
and
I
have
come
down
to
the
inn
for
two
or
three
day
's
fishing
.
"
"
George
—
George
who
?
"
"
George
Talboys
.
"
"
What
,
has
he
come
?
"
cried
Alicia
.
"
I
'm
so
glad
;
for
I
'm
dying
to
see
this
handsome
young
widower
.
"
"
Are
you
,
Alicia
?
"
said
her
cousin
,
"
Then
egad
,
I
'll
run
and
fetch
him
,
and
introduce
you
to
him
at
once
.
"
Now
,
so
complete
was
the
dominion
which
Lady
Audley
had
,
in
her
own
childish
,
unthinking
way
,
obtained
over
her
devoted
husband
,
that
it
was
very
rarely
that
the
baronet
's
eyes
were
long
removed
from
his
wife
's
pretty
face
.
When
Robert
,
therefore
,
was
about
to
re-enter
the
inn
,
it
needed
but
the
faintest
elevation
of
Lucy
's
eyebrows
,
with
a
charming
expression
of
weariness
and
terror
,
to
make
her
husband
aware
that
she
did
not
want
to
be
bored
by
an
introduction
to
Mr.
George
Talboys
.
"
Never
mind
to-night
,
Bob
,
"
he
said
.
"
My
wife
is
a
little
tired
after
our
long
day
's
pleasure
.
Bring
your
friend
to
dinner
to-morrow
,
and
then
he
and
Alicia
can
make
each
other
's
acquaintance
.
Come
round
and
speak
to
Lady
Audley
,
and
then
we
'll
drive
home
.
"
My
lady
was
so
terribly
fatigued
that
she
could
only
smile
sweetly
,
and
hold
out
a
tiny
gloved
hand
to
her
nephew
by
marriage
.
"
You
will
come
and
dine
with
us
to-morrow
,
and
bring
your
interesting
friend
?
"
she
said
,
in
a
low
and
tired
voice
.
She
had
been
the
chief
attraction
of
the
race-course
,
and
was
wearied
out
by
the
exertion
of
fascinating
half
the
county
.
"
It
's
a
wonder
she
did
n't
treat
you
to
her
never-ending
laugh
,
"
whispered
Alicia
,
as
she
leaned
over
the
carriage-door
to
bid
Robert
good-night
;
"
but
I
dare
say
she
reserves
that
for
your
delectation
to-morrow
.
I
suppose
you
are
fascinated
as
well
as
everybody
else
?
"
added
the
young
lady
,
rather
snappishly
.
"
She
is
a
lovely
creature
,
certainly
,
"
murmured
Robert
,
with
placid
admiration
.
"
Oh
,
of
course
!
Now
,
she
is
the
first
woman
of
whom
I
ever
heard
you
say
a
civil
word
,
Robert
Audley
.
I
'm
sorry
to
find
you
can
only
admire
wax
dolls
.
"
Poor
Alicia
had
had
many
skirmishes
with
her
cousin
upon
that
particular
temperament
of
his
,
which
,
while
it
enabled
him
to
go
through
life
with
perfect
content
and
tacit
enjoyment
,
entirely
precluded
his
feeling
one
spark
of
enthusiasm
upon
any
subject
whatever
.
"
As
to
his
ever
falling
in
love
,
"
thought
the
young
lady
sometimes
,
"
the
idea
is
preposterous
.
If
all
the
divinities
on
earth
were
ranged
before
him
,
waiting
for
his
sultanship
to
throw
the
handkerchief
,
he
would
only
lift
his
eyebrows
to
the
middle
of
his
forehead
,
and
tell
them
to
scramble
for
it
.
"
But
,
for
once
in
his
life
,
Robert
was
almost
enthusiastic
.
"
She
's
the
prettiest
little
creature
you
ever
saw
in
your
life
,
George
,
"
he
cried
,
when
the
carriage
had
driven
off
and
he
returned
to
his
friend
.
"
Such
blue
eyes
,
such
ringlets
,
such
a
ravishing
smile
,
such
a
fairy-like
bonnet
—
all
of
a-tremble
with
heart's-ease
and
dewy
spangles
,
shining
out
of
a
cloud
of
gauze
.
George
Talboys
,
I
feel
like
the
hero
of
a
French
novel
:
I
am
falling
in
love
with
my
aunt
.
"
The
widower
only
sighed
and
puffed
his
cigar
fiercely
out
of
the
open
window
.
Perhaps
he
was
thinking
of
that
far-away
time
—
little
better
than
five
years
ago
,
in
fact
;
but
such
an
age
gone
by
to
him
—
when
he
first
met
the
woman
for
whom
he
had
worn
crape
round
his
hat
three
days
before
.
They
returned
,
all
those
old
unforgotten
feelings
;
they
came
back
,
with
the
scene
of
their
birth-place
.
Again
he
lounged
with
his
brother
officers
upon
the
shabby
pier
at
the
shabby
watering-place
,
listening
to
a
dreary
band
with
a
cornet
that
was
a
note
and
a
half
flat
.
Again
he
heard
the
old
operatic
airs
,
and
again
she
came
tripping
toward
him
,
leaning
on
her
old
father
's
arm
,
and
pretending
(
with
such
a
charming
,
delicious
,
serio-comic
pretense
)
to
be
listening
to
the
music
,
and
quite
unaware
of
the
admiration
of
half
a
dozen
open-mouthed
cavalry
officers
.
Again
the
old
fancy
came
back
that
she
was
something
too
beautiful
for
earth
,
or
earthly
uses
,
and
that
to
approach
her
was
to
walk
in
a
higher
atmosphere
and
to
breathe
a
purer
air
.
And
since
this
she
had
been
his
wife
,
and
the
mother
of
his
child
.
She
lay
in
the
little
churchyard
at
Ventnor
,
and
only
a
year
ago
he
had
given
the
order
for
her
tombstone
.
A
few
slow
,
silent
tears
dropped
upon
his
waistcoat
as
he
thought
of
these
things
in
the
quiet
and
darkening
room
.
Lady
Audley
was
so
exhausted
when
she
reached
home
,
that
she
excused
herself
from
the
dinner-table
,
and
retired
at
once
to
her
dressing-room
,
attended
by
her
maid
,
Phoebe
Marks
.
She
was
a
little
capricious
in
her
conduct
to
this
maid
—
sometimes
very
confidential
,
sometimes
rather
reserved
;
but
she
was
a
liberal
mistress
,
and
the
girl
had
every
reason
to
be
satisfied
with
her
situation
.
This
evening
,
in
spite
of
her
fatigue
,
she
was
in
extremely
high
spirits
,
and
gave
an
animated
account
of
the
races
,
and
the
company
present
at
them
.
"
I
am
tired
to
death
,
though
,
Phoebe
,
"
she
said
,
by-and-by
.
"
I
am
afraid
I
must
look
a
perfect
fright
,
after
a
day
in
the
hot
sun
.
"
There
were
lighted
candles
on
each
side
of
the
glass
before
which
Lady
Audley
was
standing
unfastening
her
dress
.
She
looked
full
at
her
maid
as
she
spoke
,
her
blue
eyes
clear
and
bright
,
and
the
rosy
childish
lips
puckered
into
an
arch
smile
.
"
You
are
a
little
pale
,
my
lady
,
"
answered
the
girl
,
"
but
you
look
as
pretty
as
ever
.
"
"
That
's
right
,
Phoebe
,
"
she
said
,
flinging
herself
into
a
chair
,
and
throwing
back
her
curls
at
the
maid
,
who
stood
,
brush
in
hand
,
ready
to
arrange
the
luxuriant
hair
for
the
night
.
"
Do
you
know
,
Phoebe
,
I
have
heard
some
people
say
that
you
and
I
are
alike
?
"
"
I
have
heard
them
say
so
,
too
,
my
lady
,
"
said
the
girl
,
quietly
"
but
they
must
be
very
stupid
to
say
it
,
for
your
ladyship
is
a
beauty
,
and
I
am
a
poor
,
plain
creature
.
"
"
Not
at
all
,
Phoebe
,
"
said
the
little
lady
,
superbly
;
"
you
are
like
me
,
and
your
features
are
very
nice
;
it
is
only
color
that
you
want
.
My
hair
is
pale
yellow
shot
with
gold
,
and
yours
is
drab
;
my
eyebrows
and
eyelashes
are
dark
brown
,
and
yours
are
almost
—
I
scarcely
like
to
say
it
,
but
they
're
almost
white
,
my
dear
Phoebe
.
Your
complexion
is
sallow
,
and
mine
is
pink
and
rosy
.
Why
,
with
a
bottle
of
hair-dye
,
such
as
we
see
advertised
in
the
papers
,
and
a
pot
of
rouge
,
you
'd
be
as
good-looking
as
I
,
any
day
,
Phoebe
.
"
She
prattled
on
in
this
way
for
a
long
time
,
talking
of
a
hundred
different
subjects
,
and
ridiculing
the
people
she
had
met
at
the
races
,
for
her
maid
's
amusement
.
Her
step-daughter
came
into
the
dressing-room
to
bid
her
good-night
,
and
found
the
maid
and
mistress
laughing
aloud
over
one
of
the
day
's
adventures
.
Alicia
,
who
was
never
familiar
with
her
servants
,
withdrew
in
disgust
at
my
lady
's
frivolity
.
"
Go
on
brushing
my
hair
,
Phoebe
,
"
Lady
Audley
said
,
every
time
the
girl
was
about
to
complete
her
task
,
"
I
quite
enjoy
a
chat
with
you
.
"
At
last
,
just
as
she
had
dismissed
her
maid
,
she
suddenly
called
her
back
.
"
Phoebe
Marks
,
"
she
said
,
"
I
want
you
to
do
me
a
favor
.
"
"
Yes
,
my
lady
.
"
"
I
want
you
to
go
to
London
by
the
first
train
to-morrow
morning
to
execute
a
little
commission
for
me
.
You
may
take
a
day
's
holiday
afterward
,
as
I
know
you
have
friends
in
town
;
and
I
shall
give
you
a
five-pound
note
if
you
do
what
I
want
,
and
keep
your
own
counsel
about
it
.
"
"
Yes
,
my
lady
.
"
"
See
that
that
door
is
securely
shut
,
and
come
and
sit
on
this
stool
at
my
feet
.
"
The
girl
obeyed
.
Lady
Audley
smoothed
her
maid
's
neutral-tinted
hair
with
her
plump
,
white
,
and
bejeweled
hand
as
she
reflected
for
a
few
moments
.
"
And
now
listen
,
Phoebe
.
What
I
want
you
to
do
is
very
simple
.
"
It
was
so
simple
that
it
was
told
in
five
minutes
,
and
then
Lady
Audley
retired
into
her
bed-room
,
and
curled
herself
up
cozily
under
the
eider-down
quilt
.
She
was
a
chilly
creature
,
and
loved
to
bury
herself
in
soft
wrappings
of
satin
and
fur
.
"
Kiss
me
,
Phoebe
,
"
she
said
,
as
the
girl
arranged
the
curtains
.
"
I
hear
Sir
Michael
's
step
in
the
anteroom
;
you
will
meet
him
as
you
go
out
,
and
you
may
as
well
tell
him
that
you
are
going
up
by
the
first
train
to-morrow
morning
to
get
my
dress
from
Madam
Frederick
for
the
dinner
at
Morton
Abbey
.
"
It
was
late
the
next
morning
when
Lady
Audley
went
down
to
breakfast
—
past
ten
o'clock
.
While
she
was
sipping
her
coffee
a
servant
brought
her
a
sealed
packet
,
and
a
book
for
her
to
sign
.
"
A
telegraphic
message
!
"
she
cried
;
for
the
convenient
word
telegram
had
not
yet
been
invented
.
"
What
can
be
the
matter
?
"
She
looked
up
at
her
husband
with
wide-open
,
terrified
eyes
,
and
seemed
half
afraid
to
break
the
seal
.
The
envelope
was
addressed
to
Miss
Lucy
Graham
,
at
Mr.
Dawson
's
,
and
had
been
sent
on
from
the
village
.
"
Read
it
,
my
darling
,
"
he
said
,
"
and
do
not
be
alarmed
;
it
may
be
nothing
of
any
importance
.
"
It
came
from
a
Mrs.
Vincent
,
the
schoolmistress
with
whom
she
had
lived
before
entering
Mr.
Dawson
's
family
.
The
lady
was
dangerously
ill
,
and
implored
her
old
pupil
to
go
and
see
her
.
"
Poor
soul
!
she
always
meant
to
leave
me
her
money
,
"
said
Lucy
,
with
a
mournful
smile
.
"
She
has
never
heard
of
the
change
in
my
fortunes
.
Dear
Sir
Michael
,
I
must
go
to
her
.
"
"
To
be
sure
you
must
,
dearest
.
If
she
was
kind
to
my
poor
girl
in
her
adversity
,
she
has
a
claim
upon
her
prosperity
that
shall
never
be
forgotten
.
Put
on
your
bonnet
,
Lucy
;
we
shall
be
in
time
to
catch
the
express
.
"
"
You
will
go
with
me
?
"
"
Of
course
,
my
darling
.
Do
you
suppose
I
would
let
you
go
alone
?
"
"
I
was
sure
you
would
go
with
me
,
"
she
said
,
thoughtfully
.
"
Does
your
friend
send
any
address
?
"
"
No
;
but
she
always
lived
at
Crescent
Villa
,
West
Brompton
;
and
no
doubt
she
lives
there
still
.
"
There
was
only
time
for
Lady
Audley
to
hurry
on
her
bonnet
and
shawl
before
she
heard
the
carriage
drive
round
to
the
door
,
and
Sir
Michael
calling
to
her
at
the
foot
of
the
staircase
.
Her
suite
of
rooms
,
as
I
have
said
,
opened
one
out
of
another
,
and
terminated
in
an
octagon
antechamber
hung
with
oil-paintings
.
Even
in
her
haste
she
paused
deliberately
at
the
door
of
this
room
,
double-locked
it
,
and
dropped
the
key
into
her
pocket
.
This
door
once
locked
cut
off
all
access
to
my
lady
's
apartments
.
CHAPTER
VIII
.
BEFORE
THE
STORM
.
So
the
dinner
at
Audley
Court
was
postponed
,
and
Miss
Alicia
had
to
wait
still
longer
for
an
introduction
to
the
handsome
young
widower
,
Mr.
George
Talboys
.
I
am
afraid
,
if
the
real
truth
is
to
be
told
,
there
was
,
perhaps
,
something
of
affectation
in
the
anxiety
this
young
lady
expressed
to
make
George
's
acquaintance
;
but
if
poor
Alicia
for
a
moment
calculated
upon
arousing
any
latent
spark
of
jealousy
lurking
in
her
cousin
's
breast
by
this
exhibition
of
interest
,
she
was
not
so
well
acquainted
with
Robert
Audley
's
disposition
as
she
might
have
been
.
Indolent
,
handsome
,
and
indifferent
,
the
young
barrister
took
life
as
altogether
too
absurd
a
mistake
for
any
one
event
in
its
foolish
course
to
be
for
a
moment
considered
seriously
by
a
sensible
man
.
His
pretty
,
gipsy-faced
cousin
might
have
been
over
head
and
ears
in
love
with
him
;
and
she
might
have
told
him
so
,
in
some
charming
,
roundabout
,
womanly
fashion
,
a
hundred
times
a
day
for
all
the
three
hundred
and
sixty-five
days
in
the
year
;
but
unless
she
had
waited
for
some
privileged
29th
of
February
,
and
walked
straight
up
to
him
,
saying
,
"
Robert
,
please
will
you
marry
me
?
"
I
very
much
doubt
if
he
would
ever
have
discovered
the
state
of
her
feelings
.
Again
,
had
he
been
in
love
with
her
himself
,
I
fancy
that
the
tender
passion
would
,
with
him
,
have
been
so
vague
and
feeble
a
sentiment
that
he
might
have
gone
down
to
his
grave
with
a
dim
sense
of
some
uneasy
sensation
which
might
be
love
or
indigestion
,
and
with
,
beyond
this
,
no
knowledge
whatever
of
his
state
.
So
it
was
not
the
least
use
,
my
poor
Alicia
,
to
ride
about
the
lanes
around
Audley
during
those
three
days
which
the
two
young
men
spent
in
Essex
;
it
was
wasted
trouble
to
wear
that
pretty
cavalier
hat
and
plume
,
and
to
be
always
,
by
the
most
singular
of
chances
,
meeting
Robert
and
his
friend
.
The
black
curls
(
nothing
like
Lady
Audley
's
feathery
ringlets
,
but
heavy
clustering
locks
,
that
clung
about
your
slender
brown
throat
)
,
the
red
and
pouting
lips
,
the
nose
inclined
to
be
retrousse
,
the
dark
complexion
,
with
its
bright
crimson
flush
,
always
ready
to
glance
up
like
a
signal
light
in
a
dusky
sky
,
when
you
came
suddenly
upon
your
apathetic
cousin
—
all
this
coquettish
espiegle
,
brunette
beauty
was
thrown
away
upon
the
dull
eyes
of
Robert
Audley
,
and
you
might
as
well
have
taken
your
rest
in
the
cool
drawing-room
at
the
Court
,
instead
of
working
your
pretty
mare
to
death
under
the
hot
September
sun
.
Now
fishing
,
except
to
the
devoted
disciple
of
Izaak
Walton
,
is
not
the
most
lively
of
occupations
;
therefore
,
it
is
scarcely
,
perhaps
,
to
be
wondered
that
on
the
day
after
Lady
Audley
's
departure
,
the
two
young
men
(
one
of
whom
was
disabled
by
that
heart
wound
which
he
bore
so
quietly
,
from
really
taking
pleasure
in
anything
,
and
the
other
of
whom
looked
upon
almost
all
pleasure
as
a
negative
kind
of
trouble
)
began
to
grow
weary
of
the
shade
of
the
willows
overhanging
the
winding
streams
about
Audley
.
"
Figtree
Court
is
not
gay
in
the
long
vacation
,
"
said
Robert
,
reflectively
:
"
but
I
think
,
upon
the
whole
,
it
's
better
than
this
;
at
any
rate
,
it
's
near
a
tobacconist
's
,
"
he
added
,
puffing
resignedly
at
an
execrable
cigar
procured
from
the
landlord
of
the
Sun
Inn
.
George
Talboys
,
who
had
only
consented
to
the
Essex
expedition
in
passive
submission
to
his
friend
,
was
by
no
means
inclined
to
object
to
their
immediate
return
to
London
.
"
I
shall
be
glad
to
get
back
,
Bob
,
"
he
said
,
"
for
I
want
to
take
a
run
down
to
Southampton
;
I
have
n't
seen
the
little
one
for
upward
of
a
month
.
"
He
always
spoke
of
his
son
as
"
the
little
one
;
"
always
spoke
of
him
mournfully
rather
than
hopefully
.
He
accounted
for
this
by
saying
that
he
had
a
fancy
that
the
child
would
never
learn
to
love
him
;
and
worse
even
than
this
fancy
,
a
dim
presentiment
that
he
would
not
live
to
see
his
little
Georgey
reach
manhood
.
"
I
'm
not
a
romantic
man
,
Bob
,
"
he
would
say
sometimes
,
"
and
I
never
read
a
line
of
poetry
in
my
life
that
was
any
more
to
me
than
so
many
words
and
so
much
jingle
;
but
a
feeling
has
come
over
me
,
since
my
wife
's
death
,
that
I
am
like
a
man
standing
upon
a
long
,
low
shore
,
with
hideous
cliffs
frowning
down
upon
him
from
behind
,
and
the
rising
tide
crawling
slowly
but
surely
about
his
feet
.
It
seems
to
grow
nearer
and
nearer
every
day
,
that
black
,
pitiless
tide
;
not
rushing
upon
me
with
a
great
noise
and
a
mighty
impetus
,
but
crawling
,
creeping
,
stealing
,
gliding
toward
me
,
ready
to
close
in
above
my
head
when
I
am
least
prepared
for
the
end
.
"
Robert
Audley
stared
at
his
friend
in
silent
amazement
;
and
,
after
a
pause
of
profound
deliberation
,
said
solemnly
,
"
George
Talboys
,
I
could
understand
this
if
you
had
been
eating
heavy
suppers
.
Cold
pork
,
now
,
especially
if
underdone
,
might
produce
this
sort
of
thing
.
You
want
change
of
air
,
my
dear
boy
;
you
want
the
refreshing
breezes
of
Figtree
Court
,
and
the
soothing
air
of
Fleet
street
.
Or
,
stay
,
"
he
added
,
suddenly
,
"
I
have
it
!
You
've
been
smoking
our
friend
the
landlord
's
cigars
;
that
accounts
for
everything
.
"
They
met
Alicia
Audley
on
her
mare
about
half
an
hour
after
they
had
come
to
the
determination
of
leaving
Essex
early
the
next
morning
.
The
young
lady
was
very
much
surprised
and
disappointed
at
hearing
her
cousin
's
determination
,
and
for
that
very
reason
pretended
to
take
the
matter
with
supreme
indifference
.
"
You
are
very
soon
tired
of
Audley
,
Robert
,
"
she
said
,
carelessly
;
"
but
of
course
you
have
no
friends
here
,
except
your
relations
at
the
Court
;
while
in
London
,
no
doubt
,
you
have
the
most
delightful
society
and
—
"
"
I
get
good
tobacco
,
"
murmured
Robert
,
interrupting
his
cousin
.
"
Audley
is
the
dearest
old
place
,
but
when
a
man
has
to
smoke
dried
cabbage
leaves
,
you
know
,
Alicia
—
"
"
Then
you
are
really
going
to-morrow
morning
?
"
"
Positively
—
by
the
express
train
that
leaves
at
10.50
.
"
"
Then
Lady
Audley
will
lose
an
introduction
to
Mr.
Talboys
,
and
Mr.
Talboys
will
lose
the
chance
of
seeing
the
prettiest
woman
in
Essex
.
"
"
Really
—
"
stammered
George
.
"
The
prettiest
woman
in
Essex
would
have
a
poor
chance
of
getting
much
admiration
out
of
my
friend
,
George
Talboys
,
"
said
Robert
.
"
His
heart
is
at
Southampton
,
where
he
has
a
curly-headed
little
urchin
,
about
as
high
as
his
knee
,
who
calls
him
'
the
big
gentleman
,
'
and
asks
him
for
sugar-plums
.
"
"
I
am
going
to
write
to
my
step-mother
by
to-night
's
post
,
"
said
Alicia
.
"
She
asked
me
particularly
in
her
letter
how
long
you
were
going
to
stop
,
and
whether
there
was
any
chance
of
her
being
back
in
time
to
receive
you
.
"
Miss
Audley
took
a
letter
from
the
pocket
of
her
riding-jacket
as
she
spoke
—
a
pretty
,
fairy-like
note
,
written
on
shining
paper
of
a
peculiar
creamy
hue
.
"
She
says
in
her
postcript
,
'
Be
sure
you
answer
my
question
about
Mr.
Audley
and
his
friend
,
you
volatile
,
forgetful
Alicia
!
'
"
"
What
a
pretty
hand
she
writes
!
"
said
Robert
,
as
his
cousin
folded
the
note
.
"
Yes
,
it
is
pretty
,
is
it
not
?
Look
at
it
,
Robert
.
"
She
put
the
letter
into
his
hand
,
and
he
contemplated
it
lazily
for
a
few
minutes
,
while
Alicia
patted
the
graceful
neck
of
her
chestnut
mare
,
which
was
anxious
to
be
off
once
more
.
"
Presently
,
Atalanta
,
presently
.
Give
me
back
my
note
,
Bob
.
"
"
It
is
the
prettiest
,
most
coquettish
little
hand
I
ever
saw
.
Do
you
know
,
Alicia
,
I
have
no
great
belief
in
those
fellows
who
ask
you
for
thirteen
postage
stamps
,
and
offer
to
tell
you
what
you
have
never
been
able
to
find
out
yourself
;
but
upon
my
word
I
think
that
if
I
had
never
seen
your
aunt
,
I
should
know
what
she
was
like
by
this
slip
of
paper
.
Yes
,
here
it
all
is
—
the
feathery
,
gold-shot
,
flaxen
curls
,
the
penciled
eyebrows
,
the
tiny
,
straight
nose
,
the
winning
,
childish
smile
;
all
to
be
guessed
in
these
few
graceful
up-strokes
and
down-strokes
.
George
,
look
here
!
"
But
absent-minded
and
gloomy
George
Talboys
had
strolled
away
along
the
margin
of
the
ditch
,
and
stood
striking
the
bulrushes
with
his
cane
,
half
a
dozen
paces
away
from
Robert
and
Alicia
.
"
Nevermind
,
"
said
the
young
lady
,
impatiently
;
for
she
by
no
means
relished
this
long
disquisition
upon
my
lady
's
note
.
"
Give
me
the
letter
,
and
let
me
go
;
it
's
past
eight
,
and
I
must
answer
it
by
to-night
's
post
.
Come
,
Atalanta
!
Good-by
,
Robert
—
good-by
,
Mr.
Talboys
.
A
pleasant
journey
to
town
.
"
The
chestnut
mare
cantered
briskly
through
the
lane
,
and
Miss
Audley
was
out
of
sight
before
those
two
big
,
bright
tears
that
stood
in
her
eyes
for
one
moment
,
before
her
pride
sent
them
,
back
again
,
rose
from
her
angry
heart
.
"
To
have
only
one
cousin
in
the
world
,
"
she
cried
,
passionately
,
"
my
nearest
relation
after
papa
,
and
for
him
to
care
about
as
much
for
me
as
he
would
for
a
dog
!
"
By
the
merest
of
accidents
,
however
,
Robert
and
his
friend
did
not
go
by
the
10.50
express
on
the
following
morning
,
for
the
young
barrister
awoke
with
such
a
splitting
headache
,
that
he
asked
George
to
send
him
a
cup
of
the
strongest
green
tea
that
had
ever
been
made
at
the
Sun
,
and
to
be
furthermore
so
good
as
to
defer
their
journey
until
the
next
day
.
Of
course
George
assented
,
and
Robert
Audley
spent
the
forenoon
in
a
darkened
room
with
a
five-days'-old
Chelmsford
paper
to
entertain
himself
withal
.
"
It
's
nothing
but
the
cigars
,
George
,
"
he
said
,
repeatedly
.
"
Get
me
out
of
the
place
without
my
seeing
the
landlord
;
for
if
that
man
and
I
meet
there
will
be
bloodshed
.
"
Fortunately
for
the
peace
of
Audley
,
it
happened
to
be
market-day
at
Chelmsford
;
and
the
worthy
landlord
had
ridden
off
in
his
chaise-cart
to
purchase
supplies
for
his
house
—
among
other
things
,
perhaps
,
a
fresh
stock
of
those
very
cigars
which
had
been
so
fatal
in
their
effect
upon
Robert
.
The
young
men
spent
a
dull
,
dawdling
,
stupid
,
unprofitable
day
;
and
toward
dusk
Mr.
Audley
proposed
that
they
should
stroll
down
to
the
Court
,
and
ask
Alicia
to
take
them
over
the
house
.
"
It
will
kill
a
couple
of
hours
,
you
know
,
George
:
and
it
seems
a
great
pity
to
drag
you
away
from
Audley
without
having
shown
you
the
old
place
,
which
,
I
give
you
my
honor
,
is
very
well
worth
seeing
.
"
The
sun
was
low
in
the
skies
as
they
took
a
short
cut
through
the
meadows
,
and
crossed
a
stile
into
the
avenue
leading
to
the
archway
—
a
lurid
,
heavy-looking
,
ominous
sunset
,
and
a
deathly
stillness
in
the
air
,
which
frightened
the
birds
that
had
a
mind
to
sing
,
and
left
the
field
open
to
a
few
captious
frogs
croaking
in
the
ditches
.
Still
as
the
atmosphere
was
,
the
leaves
rustled
with
that
sinister
,
shivering
motion
which
proceeds
from
no
outer
cause
,
but
is
rather
an
instinctive
shudder
of
the
frail
branches
,
prescient
of
a
coming
storm
.
That
stupid
clock
,
which
knew
no
middle
course
,
and
always
skipped
from
one
hour
to
the
other
,
pointed
to
seven
as
the
young
men
passed
under
the
archway
;
but
,
for
all
that
,
it
was
nearer
eight
.
They
found
Alicia
in
the
lime-walk
,
wandering
listlessly
up
and
down
under
the
black
shadow
of
the
trees
,
from
which
every
now
and
then
a
withered
leaf
flapped
slowly
to
the
ground
.
Strange
to
say
,
George
Talboys
,
who
very
seldom
observed
anything
,
took
particular
notice
of
this
place
.
"
It
ought
to
be
an
avenue
in
a
churchyard
,
"
he
said
.
"
How
peacefully
the
dead
might
sleep
under
this
somber
shade
!
I
wish
the
churchyard
at
Ventnor
was
like
this
.
"
They
walked
on
to
the
ruined
well
;
and
Alicia
told
them
some
old
legend
connected
with
the
spot
—
some
gloomy
story
,
such
as
those
always
attached
to
an
old
house
,
as
if
the
past
were
one
dark
page
of
sorrow
and
crime
.
"
We
want
to
see
the
house
before
it
is
dark
,
Alicia
,
"
said
Robert
.
"
Then
we
must
be
quick
.
"
she
answered
.
"
Come
.
"
She
led
the
way
through
an
open
French
window
,
modernized
a
few
years
before
,
into
the
library
,
and
thence
to
the
hall
.
In
the
hall
they
passed
my
lady
's
pale-faced
maid
,
who
looked
furtively
under
her
white
eyelashes
at
the
two
young
men
.
They
were
going
up-stairs
,
when
Alicia
turned
and
spoke
to
the
girl
.
"
After
we
have
been
in
the
drawing-room
,
I
should
like
to
show
these
gentlemen
Lady
Audley
's
rooms
.
Are
they
in
good
order
,
Phoebe
?
"
"
Yes
,
miss
;
but
the
door
of
the
anteroom
is
locked
,
and
I
fancy
that
my
lady
has
taken
the
key
to
London
.
"
"
Taken
the
key
!
Impossible
!
"
cried
Alicia
.
"
Indeed
,
miss
,
I
think
she
has
.
I
cannot
find
it
,
and
it
always
used
to
be
in
the
door
.
"
"
I
declare
,
"
said
Alicia
,
impatiently
,
"
that
is
not
at
all
unlike
my
lady
to
have
taken
this
silly
freak
into
her
head
.
I
dare
say
she
was
afraid
we
should
go
into
her
rooms
,
and
pry
about
among
her
pretty
dresses
,
and
meddle
with
her
jewelry
.
It
is
very
provoking
,
for
the
best
pictures
in
the
house
are
in
that
antechamber
.
There
is
her
own
portrait
,
too
,
unfinished
but
wonderfully
like
.
"
"
Her
portrait
!
"
exclaimed
Robert
Audley
.
"
I
would
give
anything
to
see
it
,
for
I
have
only
an
imperfect
notion
of
her
face
.
Is
there
no
other
way
of
getting
into
the
room
,
Alicia
?
"
"
Another
way
?
"
"
Yes
;
is
there
any
door
,
leading
through
some
of
the
other
rooms
,
by
which
we
can
contrive
to
get
into
hers
?
"
His
cousin
shook
her
head
,
and
conducted
them
into
a
corridor
where
there
were
some
family
portraits
.
She
showed
them
a
tapestried
chamber
,
the
large
figures
upon
the
faded
canvas
looking
threatening
in
the
dusky
light
.
"
That
fellow
with
the
battle-ax
looks
as
if
he
wanted
to
split
George
's
head
open
,
"
said
Mr.
Audley
,
pointing
to
a
fierce
warrior
,
whose
uplifted
arm
appeared
above
George
Talboys
'
dark
hair
.
"
Come
out
of
this
room
,
Alicia
,
"
added
the
young
man
,
nervously
;
"
I
believe
it
's
damp
,
or
else
haunted
.
Indeed
,
I
believe
all
ghosts
to
be
the
result
of
damp
or
dyspepsia
.
You
sleep
in
a
damp
bed
—
you
awake
suddenly
in
the
dead
of
the
night
with
a
cold
shiver
,
and
see
an
old
lady
in
the
court
costume
of
George
the
First
's
time
,
sitting
at
the
foot
of
the
bed
.
The
old
lady
's
indigestion
,
and
the
cold
shiver
is
a
damp
sheet
.
"
There
were
lighted
candles
in
the
drawing-room
.
No
new-fangled
lamps
had
ever
made
their
appearance
at
Audley
Court
.
Sir
Michael
's
rooms
were
lighted
by
honest
,
thick
,
yellow-looking
wax
candles
,
in
massive
silver
candlesticks
,
and
in
sconces
against
the
walls
.
There
was
very
little
to
see
in
the
drawing-room
;
and
George
Talboys
soon
grew
tired
of
staring
at
the
handsome
modern
furniture
,
and
at
a
few
pictures
of
some
of
the
Academicians
.
"
Is
n't
there
a
secret
passage
,
or
an
old
oak
chest
,
or
something
of
that
kind
,
somewhere
about
the
place
,
Alicia
?
"
asked
Robert
.
"
To
be
sure
!
"
cried
Miss
Audley
,
with
a
vehemence
that
startled
her
cousin
;
"
of
course
.
Why
did
n't
I
think
of
it
before
?
How
stupid
of
me
,
to
be
sure
!
"
"
Why
stupid
?
"
"
Because
,
if
you
do
n't
mind
crawling
upon
your
hands
and
knees
,
you
can
see
my
lady
's
apartments
,
for
that
passage
communicates
with
her
dressing-room
.
She
does
n't
know
of
it
herself
,
I
believe
.
How
astonished
she
'd
be
if
some
black-visored
burglar
,
with
a
dark-lantern
,
were
to
rise
through
the
floor
some
night
as
she
sat
before
her
looking-glass
,
having
her
hair
dressed
for
a
party
!
"
"
Shall
we
try
the
secret
passage
,
George
?
"
asked
Mr.
Audley
.
"
Yes
,
if
you
wish
it
.
"
Alicia
led
them
into
the
room
which
had
once
been
her
nursery
.
It
was
now
disused
,
except
on
very
rare
occasions
when
the
house
was
full
of
company
.
Robert
Audley
lifted
a
corner
of
the
carpet
,
according
to
his
cousin
's
directions
,
and
disclosed
a
rudely-cut
trap-door
in
the
oak
flooring
.
"
Now
listen
to
me
,
"
said
Alicia
.
"
You
must
let
yourself
down
by
the
hands
into
the
passage
,
which
is
about
four
feet
high
;
stoop
your
head
,
walk
straight
along
it
till
you
come
to
a
sharp
turn
which
will
take
you
to
the
left
,
and
at
the
extreme
end
of
it
you
will
find
a
short
ladder
below
a
trap-door
like
this
,
which
you
will
have
to
unbolt
;
that
door
opens
into
the
flooring
of
my
lady
's
dressing-room
,
which
is
only
covered
with
a
square
Persian
carpet
that
you
can
easily
manage
to
raise
.
You
understand
me
?
"
"
Perfectly
.
"
"
Then
take
the
light
;
Mr.
Talboys
will
follow
you
.
I
give
you
twenty
minutes
for
your
inspection
of
the
paintings
—
that
is
,
about
a
minute
apiece
—
and
at
the
end
of
that
time
I
shall
expect
to
see
you
return
.
"
Robert
obeyed
her
implicitly
,
and
George
submissively
following
his
friend
,
found
himself
,
in
five
minutes
,
standing
amidst
the
elegant
disorder
of
Lady
Audley
's
dressing-room
.
She
had
left
the
house
in
a
hurry
on
her
unlooked-for
journey
to
London
,
and
the
whole
of
her
glittering
toilette
apparatus
lay
about
on
the
marble
dressing-table
.
The
atmosphere
of
the
room
was
almost
oppressive
for
the
rich
odors
of
perfumes
in
bottles
whose
gold
stoppers
had
not
been
replaced
.
A
bunch
of
hot-house
flowers
was
withering
upon
a
tiny
writing-table
.
Two
or
three
handsome
dresses
lay
in
a
heap
upon
the
ground
,
and
the
open
doors
of
a
wardrobe
revealed
the
treasures
within
.
Jewelry
,
ivory-backed
hair-brushes
,
and
exquisite
china
were
scattered
here
and
there
about
the
apartment
.
George
Talboys
saw
his
bearded
face
and
tall
,
gaunt
figure
reflected
in
the
glass
,
and
wondered
to
see
how
out
of
place
he
seemed
among
all
these
womanly
luxuries
.
They
went
from
the
dressing-room
to
the
boudoir
,
and
through
the
boudoir
into
the
ante-chamber
,
in
which
there
were
,
as
Alicia
had
said
,
about
twenty
valuable
paintings
,
besides
my
lady
's
portrait
.
My
lady
's
portrait
stood
on
an
easel
,
covered
with
a
green
baize
in
the
center
of
the
octagonal
chamber
.
It
had
been
a
fancy
of
the
artist
to
paint
her
standing
in
this
very
room
,
and
to
make
his
background
a
faithful
reproduction
of
the
pictured
walls
.
I
am
afraid
the
young
man
belonged
to
the
pre-Raphaelite
brotherhood
,
for
he
had
spent
a
most
unconscionable
time
upon
the
accessories
of
this
picture
—
upon
my
lady
's
crispy
ringlets
and
the
heavy
folds
of
her
crimson
velvet
dress
.
The
two
young
men
looked
at
the
paintings
on
the
walls
first
,
leaving
this
unfinished
portrait
for
a
bonne
bouche
.
By
this
time
it
was
dark
,
the
candle
carried
by
Robert
only
making
one
nucleus
of
light
as
he
moved
about
holding
it
before
the
pictures
one
by
one
.
The
broad
,
bare
window
looked
out
upon
the
pale
sky
,
tinged
with
the
last
cold
flicker
of
the
twilight
.
The
ivy
rustled
against
the
glass
with
the
same
ominous
shiver
as
that
which
agitated
every
leaf
in
the
garden
,
prophetic
of
the
storm
that
was
to
come
.
"
There
are
our
friend
's
eternal
white
horses
,
"
said
Robert
,
standing
beside
a
Wouvermans
.
"
Nicholas
Poussin
—
Salvator
—
ha
—
hum
!
Now
for
the
portrait
.
"
He
paused
with
his
hand
on
the
baize
,
and
solemnly
addressed
his
friend
.
"
George
Talboys
,
"
he
said
,
"
we
have
between
us
only
one
wax
candle
,
a
very
inadequate
light
with
which
to
look
at
a
painting
.
Let
me
,
therefore
,
request
that
you
will
suffer
us
to
look
at
it
one
at
a
time
;
if
there
is
one
thing
more
disagreeable
than
another
,
it
is
to
have
a
person
dodging
behind
your
back
and
peering
over
your
shoulder
,
when
you
're
trying
to
see
what
a
picture
's
made
of
.
"
George
fell
back
immediately
.
He
took
no
more
interest
in
any
lady
's
picture
than
in
all
the
other
wearinesses
of
this
troublesome
world
.
He
fell
back
,
and
leaning
his
forehead
against
the
window-panes
,
looked
out
at
the
night
.
When
he
turned
round
he
saw
that
Robert
had
arranged
the
easel
very
conveniently
,
and
that
he
had
seated
himself
on
a
chair
before
it
for
the
purpose
of
contemplating
the
painting
at
his
leisure
.
He
rose
as
George
turned
round
.
"
Now
,
then
,
for
your
turn
,
Talboys
,
"
he
said
.
"
It
's
an
extraordinary
picture
.
"
He
took
George
's
place
at
the
window
,
and
George
seated
himself
in
the
chair
before
the
easel
.
Yes
,
the
painter
must
have
been
a
pre-Raphaelite
.
No
one
but
a
pre-Raphaelite
would
have
painted
,
hair
by
hair
,
those
feathery
masses
of
ringlets
,
with
every
glimmer
of
gold
,
and
every
shadow
of
pale
brown
.
No
one
but
a
pre-Raphaelite
would
have
so
exaggerated
every
attribute
of
that
delicate
face
as
to
give
a
lurid
brightness
to
the
blonde
complexion
,
and
a
strange
,
sinister
light
to
the
deep
blue
eyes
.
No
one
but
a
pre-Raphaelite
could
have
given
to
that
pretty
pouting
mouth
the
hard
and
almost
wicked
look
it
had
in
the
portrait
.
It
was
so
like
,
and
yet
so
unlike
.
It
was
as
if
you
had
burned
strange-colored
fires
before
my
lady
's
face
,
and
by
their
influence
brought
out
new
lines
and
new
expressions
never
seen
in
it
before
.
The
perfection
of
feature
,
the
brilliancy
of
coloring
,
were
there
;
but
I
suppose
the
painter
had
copied
quaint
mediaeval
monstrosities
until
his
brain
had
grown
bewildered
,
for
my
lady
,
in
his
portrait
of
her
,
had
something
of
the
aspect
of
a
beautiful
fiend
.
Her
crimson
dress
,
exaggerated
like
all
the
rest
in
this
strange
picture
,
hung
about
her
in
folds
that
looked
like
flames
,
her
fair
head
peeping
out
of
the
lurid
mass
of
color
as
if
out
of
a
raging
furnace
.
Indeed
the
crimson
dress
,
the
sunshine
on
the
face
,
the
red
gold
gleaming
in
the
yellow
hair
,
the
ripe
scarlet
of
the
pouting
lips
,
the
glowing
colors
of
each
accessory
of
the
minutely
painted
background
,
all
combined
to
render
the
first
effect
of
the
painting
by
no
means
an
agreeable
one
.
But
strange
as
the
picture
was
,
it
could
not
have
made
any
great
impression
on
George
Talboys
,
for
he
sat
before
it
for
about
a
quarter
of
an
hour
without
uttering
a
word
—
only
staring
blankly
at
the
painted
canvas
,
with
the
candlestick
grasped
in
his
strong
right
hand
,
and
his
left
arm
hanging
loosely
by
his
side
.
He
sat
so
long
in
this
attitude
,
that
Robert
turned
round
at
last
.
"
Why
,
George
,
I
thought
you
had
gone
to
sleep
!
"
"
I
had
almost
.
"
"
You
've
caught
a
cold
from
standing
in
that
damp
tapestried
room
.
Mark
my
words
,
George
Talboys
,
you
've
caught
a
cold
;
you
're
as
hoarse
as
a
raven
.
But
come
along
.
"
Robert
Audley
took
the
candle
from
his
friend
's
hand
,
and
crept
back
through
the
secret
passage
,
followed
by
George
—
very
quiet
,
but
scarcely
more
quiet
than
usual
.
They
found
Alicia
in
the
nursery
waiting
for
them
.
"
Well
?
"
she
said
,
interrogatively
.
"
We
managed
it
capitally
.
But
I
do
n't
like
the
portrait
;
there
's
something
odd
about
it
.
"
"
There
is
,
"
said
Alicia
;
"
I
've
a
strange
fancy
on
that
point
.
I
think
that
sometimes
a
painter
is
in
a
manner
inspired
,
and
is
able
to
see
,
through
the
normal
expression
of
the
face
,
another
expression
that
is
equally
a
part
of
it
,
though
not
to
be
perceived
by
common
eyes
.
We
have
never
seen
my
lady
look
as
she
does
in
that
picture
;
but
I
think
that
she
could
look
so
.
"
"
Alicia
,
"
said
Robert
Audley
,
imploringly
,
"
do
n't
be
German
!
"
"
But
,
Robert
—
"
"
Do
n't
be
German
,
Alicia
,
if
you
love
me
.
The
picture
is
—
the
picture
:
and
