bythe
imperfect
momentary
double
action
of
the
two
brain‐lobes
;
or
was
it
a
recollection
of
a
suspicion
which
had
long
existed
in
her
mind
,
but
unconsciously
,
not
daring
to
come
to
the
surface
?
Anyhow
,
it
seemed
to
Anne
,
as
she
stood
by
the
open
window
looking
into
the
night
,
and
listening
to
Sacha’s
faint
moanings
,
as
if
she
had
gone
through
that
or
something
similar
before
—
as
if
it
were
not
the
first
time
that
she
was
invaded
by
the
thought
that
all
this
persecution
by
invisible
and
uncatchable
enemies
was
a
deception
practised
by
Madame
Elaguine
herself
,
a
kind
of
artificial
excitement
and
interest
got
up
for
the
benefit
of
her
friends
,
for
the
benefit
of
her
own
morbid
and
theatrical
temper
?
It
was
difficult
for
a
woman
,
simple
,
sincere
,
completely
all
of
a
piece
,
like
Anne
Brown
,
to
conceive
such
a
possibility
,
and
still
more
difficult
for
her
not
to
revolt
from
its
contemplation
as
from
an
act
of
disloyalty
.
But
,
on
the
other
hand
,
Anne
,
just
in
proportion
to
her
slowness
of
mental
perception
,
had
not
the
power
,
which
so
many
of
us
possess
,
of
denying
the
evidence
of
her
reason
for
the
sake
of
her
feelings
.
So
the
words
in
the
book
,
which
seemed
as
if
they
contained
the
suggestion
of
the
whole
performance
(
if
performance
it
was
)
;
the
fact
of
the
dressing‐gown
having
been
out
of
reach
of
all
danger
;
the
manner
of
Madame
Elaguine
and
of
her
maid
on
this
and
previous
occasions
,
—
haunted
Anne
,
and
united
with
the
sudden
recollection
of
what
she
had
read
in
one
of
Marjory
Leigh’s
scientific
books
about
the
connection
between
hysteria
and
monomania
,
about
the
strange
passion
for
deceit
,
for
hoax
,
for
theatricality
,
sometimes
observable
in
hysterical
women
.
And
then
she
remembered
the
face
and
voice
of
Edmund
Lewis
,
his
ironical
remark
about
the
impossibility
of
finding
the
culprits
,
his
indifference
and
amused
superiority
.
Could
he
too
have
guessed
?
—
and
,
it
suddenly
struck
her
,
could
Hamlin
have
had
the
same
thought
?
No
,
she
felt
sure
Hamlin
had
not
.
BOOK
VIII
.
CHAPTER
I
.
THE
incident
of
the
burning
bed
left
the
inmates
of
Wotton
Hall
in
a
state
of
excitement
which
outlasted
their
stay
in
the
country
.
All
attempts
to
find
the
culprits
had
been
useless
;
and
Madame
Elaguine
had
begged
Hamlin
not
to
permit
any
regular
judicial
inquiry
,
lest
the
story
of
her
persecution
,
about
which
she
affected
to
be
excessively
jealous
,
should
become
public
property
.
Hamlin
,
who
hated
vulgar
publicity
,
easily
consented
.
But
the
mysterious
story
was
now
known
to
all
the
guests
at
Wotton
,
and
soon
became
known
to
the
whole
pre‐Raphaelite
set
which
centred
round
the
house
at
Hammersmith
,
with
the
result
of
turning
Madame
Elaguine
,
in
the
eyes
of
Mrs
Spencer
and
her
friends
,
from
something
not
much
better
than
an
adventuress
,
into
something
uncommonly
like
a
heroine
and
a
martyr
;
for
it
seemed
as
if
these
good
folk
,
whose
life
was
the
most
humdrum
prose
and
whose
ideal
was
the
most
far‐fetched
poetry
,
felt
absolute
gratitude
towards
the
remarkable
individual
who
supplied
them
with
a
real
mystery
,
a
real
persecution
by
unknown
enemies
,
a
real
romance
.
So
when
Sacha
,
on
her
return
to
town
,
began
to
suffer
or
to
think
that
she
suffered
from
nervous
prostration
due
to
this
terrible
shock
,
and
to
lie
even
more
than
usual
on
sofas
in
even
more
than
usually
picturesque
dressing‐gowns
,
she
found
herself
surrounded
by
a
crowd
of
sympathising
and
admiring
artists
,
writers
,
and
critics
,
to
whom
she
confided
,
one
by
one
,
and
in
slightly
different
versions
,
the
details
of
her
strange
history
.
The
only
person
who
seemed
displeased
was
Hamlin
;
and
the
only
person
who
seemed
cold
was
Miss
Brown
.
Hamlin
always
required
to
absorb
the
whole
attention
of
any
person
to
whom
he
took
a
liking
;
to
see
his
cousin
fenced
round
with
idiots
,
as
he
described
it
,
was
almost
a
physical
annoyance
to
him
;
he
was
cross
,
captious
,
bitter
,
and
gruff
;
and
the
more
he
showed
his
temper
the
more
pleasure
Madame
Elaguine
took
in
provoking
him
.
As
usual
,
when
out
of
sorts
with
the
world
,
and
especially
when
he
felt
himself
neglected
,
Hamlin
began
once
more
to
pay
attentions
to
Miss
Brown
,
to
bemoan
his
own
baseness
and
weakness
,
to
throw
himself
on
her
compassion
,
to
insinuate
that
in
her
lay
his
only
hope
.
This
sort
of
talk
,
with
his
beautiful
dreamy
eyes
fixed
adoringly
upon
her
,
his
slow
quiet
voice
sounding
like
that
of
a
votary
before
an
altar
,
had
long
become
for
Anne
a
mere
additional
bitterness
;
a
bitterness
of
comprehension
proportionate
to
the
long
delusion
which
had
made
her
see
in
this
sort
of
behaviour
the
dissatisfaction
of
a
noble
nature
,
the
yearnings
of
real
love
.
She
was
accustomed
to
it
;
and
would
have
merely
smiled
the
bitter
smile
which
had
become
part
of
her
nature
.
But
now
,
every
lover‐like
look
or
word
from
Hamlin
inspired
Anne
with
positive
terror
;
it
seemed
as
if
he
had
let
her
fancy
that
he
loved
his
cousin
—
that
he
had
let
her
dream
of
release
,
of
freedom
from
the
life
captivity
which
threatened
her
soul
,
only
to
creep
back
,
as
a
cat
creeps
back
to
the
mouse
with
which
it
is
playing
,
and
slowly
stretch
forth
his
hand
to
seize
her
.
This
feeling
became
so
strong
in
Anne
that
little
by
little
there
developed
in
her
a
nervous
dread
of
Hamlin
:
every
time
that
he
approached
her
alone
,
that
he
fixed
his
eyes
on
her
face
or
addressed
her
by
her
name
,
she
was
aware
of
a
chill
throughout
her
body
,
of
a
sudden
pallor
in
her
face
;
a
chill
,
a
pallor
which
,
if
noticed
,
must
mean
to
Hamlin
that
she
loved
him
.
Into
this
vague
and
painful
suspense
were
vaguely
mingled
the
suspicions
which
she
had
formed
regarding
Madame
Elaguine
.
Confusedly
Anne
was
conscious
that
the
worthiness
or
unworthiness
of
Sacha
was
not
a
matter
of
indifference
to
her
;
if
Sacha
was
a
mere
hysterical
liar
,
she
could
not
sincerely
love
Hamlin
,
Hamlin
could
not
love
her
;
and
if
this
man
and
this
woman
did
not
love
one
another
,
Anne
Brown
was
once
more
,
what
she
had
for
a
brief
time
imagined
that
she
was
no
longer
,
the
slave
of
her
protector
,
as
Mademoiselle
Aïssé
had
been
the
slave
of
M
.
de
Ferréol
.
Suddenly
,
one
day
,
there
came
a
change
,
and
with
it
the
end
of
the
terrible
doubt
and
fear
which
were
corroding
Miss
Brown’s
soul
.
What
had
happened
Anne
never
clearly
understood
;
she
only
perceived
a
change
,
and
guessed
that
it
was
connected
in
some
manner
with
the
sudden
disappearance
of
Edmund
Lewis
,
and
with
some
tremendous
quarrel
between
him
and
Hamlin
which
seemed
to
have
preceded
it
.
Mr
Lewis
,
who
had
spent
all
his
mornings
in
Hamlin’s
studio
,
and
all
his
evenings
in
Madame
Elaguine’s
boudoir
,
appeared
to
have
sunk
into
the
ground
;
his
very
name
was
scarcely
mentioned
;
and
Anne
Brown
,
who
hated
the
very
sight
of
the
little
man
with
the
sealing‐wax
lips
and
green
cat‐like
eyes
,
who
instinctively
felt
that
he
personified
all
the
peculiarities
which
degraded
Hamlin
in
her
eyes
,
had
a
vague
superstitious
notion
that
now
that
he
was
gone
everything
would
settle
happily
.
What
had
Lewis
done
?
Had
he
insulted
Madame
Elaguine
;
and
had
this
insulting
,
by
a
man
who
was
his
friend
,
of
a
woman
whom
he
loved
,
made
Hamlin
suddenly
conscious
of
his
love
for
Sacha
,
and
of
his
duty
to
protect
an
irresponsible
little
woman
whom
his
indecision
was
putting
into
a
false
position
?
The
more
Miss
Brown
pored
over
the
subject
,
the
more
did
it
seem
as
if
there
could
be
no
other
explanation
.
But
whatever
the
explanation
,
the
result
was
unmistakable
.
On
the
score
of
ill‐health
,
Madame
Elaguine
had
more
or
less
dismissed
all
those
admiring
and
sympathising
friends
who
had
given
Hamlin
so
much
umbrage
,
and
Hamlin
had
become
almost
her
sole
and
constant
visitor
.
He
appeared
to
have
almost
taken
up
his
abode
at
the
Russian’s
.
He
came
to
Hammersmith
for
lunch
as
usual
,
but
always
found
some
excuse
or
other
for
leaving
immediately
after
:
he
was
painting
a
portrait
of
his
cousin
,
and
his
cousin
was
too
delicate
to
give
him
sittings
except
in
her
drawing‐room
.
He
not
merely
neglected
Anne
,
but
obviously
avoided
her
.
He
seemed
to
dread
being
left
alone
with
her
,
as
much
as
she
,
for
such
very
different
reasons
,
had
dreaded
to
be
left
alone
with
him
:
when
he
did
not
succeed
in
getting
away
,
he
was
moody
and
depressed
;
yet
he
seemed
moody
and
depressed
also
whenever
,
as
was
frequently
the
case
,
he
was
sent
for
by
his
cousin
,
and
whenever
Anne
met
them
together
.
It
seemed
to
Miss
Brown
as
if
she
could
understand
it
all
so
well
:
she
,
who
was
slow
in
understanding
others
,
felt
as
if
she
knew
Hamlin’s
character
as
her
own
father
must
have
known
the
construction
and
working
of
the
machines
which
she
remembered
seeing
him
continually
taking
to
pieces
and
setting
up
again
.
Hamlin
had
been
,
so
Anne
thought
,
obliged
to
admit
to
himself
that
he
loved
his
cousin
,
and
that
he
had
made
her
love
him
;
and
he
was
depressed
and
irritated
at
his
own
inability
to
take
any
decided
course
,
at
his
humiliation
in
finding
that
this
was
the
end
of
all
his
romance
with
Anne
,
at
his
dread
of
being
obliged
,
sooner
or
later
,
to
tell
Anne
the
truth
;
nay
,
Miss
Brown
thought
she
knew
Hamlin
sufficiently
well
to
be
persuaded
that
there
entered
into
his
feelings
a
certain
annoyance
at
having
to
forfeit
the
exotic
and
unhealthy
pleasure
of
being
partially
in
love
with
two
women
at
a
time
,
and
at
the
impetuosity
of
Sacha
precipitating
matters
from
a
position
of
hesitation
and
self‐reproach
,
which
was
in
some
ways
pleasant
to
his
peculiar
temper
,
into
a
situation
requiring
a
definite
and
prompt
solution
.
Oh
,
Anne
had
not
suffered
silently
these
two
years
,
without
getting
to
understand
the
strange
character
to
which
her
suffering
was
due
.
Yes
,
she
knew
Hamlin
and
what
was
passing
in
his
mind
;
and
the
sense
of
power
implied
in
this
knowledge
,
the
power
of
following
all
that
he
felt
and
thought
,
gave
her
a
sort
of
pleasure
,
proportionate
to
that
very
sense
of
her
difficulty
in
understanding
any
character
save
her
own
;
a
curious
rare
pleasure
,
in
which
mingled
the
consciousness
of
the
price
at
which
it
had
been
bought
,
and
the
almost
ineffable
consciousness
that
this
that
she
was
studying
concerned
her
no
more
;
the
pleasure
,
so
often
talked
about
,
of
the
man
who
has
escaped
the
shipwreck
and
looks
down
upon
the
dangerous
waters
in
safety
.
Yes
;
she
was
safe
;
she
was
free
.
It
gave
her
a
morbid
pleasure
also
to
watch
Madame
Elaguine
,
who
,
in
the
last
month
or
so
,
ever
since
the
quarrel
with
Edmund
Lewis
and
the
consequent
intimacy
with
her
cousin
,
had
suddenly
changed
in
her
manner
towards
Anne
—
had
shown
a
half‐savage
,
half‐childish
desire
to
parade
her
conquest
before
her
rival
,
to
let
her
see
how
completely
she
had
taken
Hamlin
away
from
her
,
to
humiliate
and
insult
her
:
the
flaunting
perversity
of
a
new
sultana
towards
an
old
one
.
Anne
had
hitherto
insisted
on
thinking
that
Madame
Elaguine
was
really
a
very
noble
little
woman
,
and
this
revelation
of
a
base
wish
to
wound
and
humiliate
,
hurt
her
at
first
like
some
nauseous
smell
arising
suddenly
beneath
her
nostrils
.
But
disgust
was
soon
replaced
by
that
new
and
secret
pleasure
in
the
consciousness
of
understanding
this
woman
better
than
she
understood
herself
;
by
the
pleasure
in
feeling
how
wasted
were
all
Madame
Elaguine’s
insults
—
how
startled
would
not
the
little
woman
be
,
could
she
but
know
that
every
proof
of
her
supremacy
over
Hamlin
was
to
Miss
Brown
as
each
successively
sawed‐through
window‐bar
is
to
the
prisoner
pining
for
the
day
of
deliverance
.
Anne
felt
herself
getting
into
so
singular
a
condition
of
excitement
,
losing
so
completely
,
under
the
pressure
of
these
conflicting
doubts
and
hopes
in
the
past
,
of
the
great
joy
in
the
present
,
all
her
usual
self‐composure
and
self‐control
,
that
she
took
fiercely
to
working
,
to
hurrying
in
every
way
through
those
studies
which
she
had
long
since
begun
in
the
sickening
often‐deferred
hope
that
they
might
become
her
livelihood
if
she
should
ever
be
released
from
Hamlin
.
Miss
Brown
had
often
and
often
,
even
when
the
sense
of
hopelessness
had
been
bitterest
,
consoled
herself
with
what
she
believed
to
be
unrealisable
dreams
for
the
future
;
and
after
going
through
many
possible
plans
,
she
had
decided
that
if
—
if
—
she
should
ever
become
her
own
mistress
,
she
would
employ
,
resolutely
determined
to
return
it
to
him
some
day
,
part
of
the
money
which
Hamlin
had
settled
upon
her
,
in
entering
Girton
or
Newnham
,
where
she
would
train
herself
to
become
a
teacher
in
a
public
school
.
Almost
mechanically
,
her
studies
(
and
restlessness
,
and
the
desire
for
something
that
should
not
be
the
harassing
reality
,
had
developed
in
her
a
perfect
passion
for
study
)
fell
into
this
programme
.
She
had
gone
in
for
political
economy
,
history
,
and
what
people
are
pleased
to
call
moral
sciences
.
Now
that
liberty
seemed
on
the
point
of
being
realised
,
and
that
she
felt
the
want
of
something
to
steady
her
shaken
nature
,
she
applied
herself
to
this
work
with
redoubled
ardour
.
“
If
you
go
on
like
that
you
will
get
seedy
,
Annie
,
”
warned
the
practical
Marjory
Leigh
,
now
on
the
eve
of
becoming
Mrs
Harry
Collett
.
And
Marjory
Leigh
proved
right
.
The
secret
excitement
of
the
last
months
,
joined
to
the
recent
overwork
,
was
too
much
for
Anne
.
One
day
she
was
suddenly
taken
ill
,
and
a
little
time
later
she
was
delirious
.
“
Nervous
prostration
from
overwork
,
”
said
the
doctors
.
A
great
remorse
,
which
was
at
the
same
time
a
great
triumph
,
rose
up
in
Hamlin’s
heart
.
“
Sacha
,
”
he
cried
,
one
day
as
Madame
Elaguine
came
into
the
studio
at
Hammersmith
,
after
visiting
the
sick
woman
,
“
it
is
I
who
am
killing
Anne
;
and
it
is
you
—
you
—
who
are
forcing
me
to
do
it
,
”
—
and
he
tore
the
portrait
of
Madame
Elaguine
off
the
board
of
his
easel
,
and
pulled
the
paper
,
in
long
ribbons
,
through
his
fingers
.
“
It’s
no
great
harm
,
”
said
the
Russian
,
quietly
;
“
I’m
not
quite
such
a
guy
as
you
represented
me
,
Watty
,
and
I’m
the
better
pleased
not
to
go
down
to
posterity
like
that
.
As
to
Anne
,
don’t
flatter
yourself
you
are
breaking
her
heart
,
for
the
excellent
reason
that
there
is
none
to
break
.
Too
much
study
!
the
doctor
says
,
and
he
knows
.
A
woman
like
that
works
only
with
her
brain
.
Too
much
Euclid
,
Kant
,
Hegel
,
Fichte
,
etc.
You
needn’t
flatter
yourself
that
you
are
of
the
company
.
Seriously
,
can
you
be
such
a
baby
as
to
imagine
that
if
that
woman
loved
you
she
wouldn’t
have
turned
me
out
of
doors
ages
ago
?
Besides
,
she
talked
only
of
Girton
College
and
of
her
cousin
Richard
when
she
was
delirious
,
the
nurse
tells
me
.
”
Madame
Elaguine
watched
Hamlin
as
she
let
these
words
drop
,
then
she
burst
out
laughing
.
“
Poor
Walter
!
what
a
misfortune
it
is
to
be
a
poet
and
to
be
vain
!
I
am
really
grieved
for
you
.
But
sooner
or
later
you
would
understand
that
when
a
woman
has
no
heart
,
but
only
‘a
muscle
for
pumping
the
blood
to
the
extremities
,
’
as
one
of
her
professors
calls
it
,
she
can’t
love
;
and
that
,
moreover
,
no
woman
will
ever
understand
or
love
you
,
you
silly
person
,
except
your
cousin
Sacha
.
”
Cosmo
Chough
,
who
had
come
to
the
studio
door
,
and
,
not
being
troubled
with
scruples
when
base
creatures
like
Madame
Elaguine
were
concerned
,
and
having
,
moreover
,
a
violent
curiosity
about
everything
concerning
the
Eternal
Feminine
,
had
listened
at
the
keyhole
,
affirmed
to
Miss
Brown
some
time
after
that
Madame
Elaguine
had
then
and
there
put
her
arms
round
Hamlin’s
neck
,
and
called
him
a
poor
,
vain
little
baby
.
CHAPTER
II
.
ON
recovering
from
that
long
delirium
,
during
which
she
had
raved
only
about
the
past
and
the
future
,
about
Miss
Curzon
,
the
Perrys
,
the
Villa
Arnolfini
,
Cousin
Dick
,
Girton
College
,
and
political
economy
,
but
never
—
by
some
singular
obliviousness
of
the
present
—
about
Hamlin
and
Sacha
,
—
the
first
persons
that
Anne
Brown
recognised
about
her
were
the
Leigh
girls
.
Marjory
had
postponed
her
marriage
in
order
to
help
her
sister
in
nursing
Miss
Brown
;
and
Mrs
Macgregor
had
gladly
accepted
their
proposal
to
settle
for
the
time
being
in
the
house
at
Hammersmith
,
she
herself
being
far
too
unpractical
to
be
of
any
use
.
Anne’s
impressions
were
vague
,
diffuse
;
the
ideas
aud
sensations
,
the
slight
amount
of
life
of
one
day
of
early
convalescence
being
,
so
to
speak
,
diluted
into
what
were
really
days
and
weeks
,
day
and
night
succeeding
each
other
confusedly
to
the
girl
,
but
feebly
awake
and
for
ever
falling
asleep
.
It
was
a
dream
,
but
a
pleasant
one
,
consisting
of
veiled
misty
impressions
,
separated
by
tracts
of
lethargy
:
impressions
of
the
kind
faces
and
voices
of
Mary
and
Marjory
,
of
the
gleams
of
sunshine
on
the
carpet
,
of
the
waving
of
treetops
outside
the
window
,
of
the
whistle
of
the
steamboat
on
the
Thames
;
the
song
of
the
canary
in
the
housekeeper’s
room
—
the
cry
of
the
milkman
;
of
the
bunches
of
big
red
and
yellow
roses
put
down
upon
the
sheet
before
her
;
of
the
broth
and
jelly
and
tea
feebly
refused
,
and
yet
greedily
swallowed
,
—
trifles
,
nothings
,
but
transformed
by
the
haze
of
mixed
weakness
and
relief
into
things
possessing
a
charm
,
and
never
to
be
forgotten
.
The
mere
sense
of
rest
and
renovation
constituted
a
sort
of
happiness
,
with
which
mingled
the
consciousness
of
the
kindness
of
those
round
her
,
—
of
the
Leigh
girls
and
Mrs
Macgregor
,
who
were
in
her
room
nearly
all
day
;
of
Mrs
Spencer
,
who
came
from
the
other
end
of
London
every
afternoon
;
of
Chough
and
Cousin
Dick
,
who
came
to
make
inquiries
;
even
of
Hamlin
,
whose
magnificent
bundles
and
baskets
of
flowers
and
fruit
arrived
regularly
,
together
with
the
bunch
of
sweet‐peas
and
pinks
which
Chough
had
bought
at
the
greengrocer’s
,
or
the
sprigs
of
laburnum
which
he
had
stolen
in
the
park
.
Everything
in
the
world
seemed
so
good
and
simple
;
all
worries
and
doubts
had
gone
with
the
dreadful
visions
of
the
delirious
nights
.
Anne
had
never
in
her
life
felt
so
simply
,
completely
happy
;
perhaps
because
,
with
her
tense
and
tragic
character
,
perfect
happiness
was
possible
only
in
weakness
and
vagueness
.
Little
by
little
the
past
became
concrete
once
more
;
but
it
became
concrete
as
the
past
,
all
her
doubts
and
difficulties
remaining
far
distant
behind
her
,
like
the
Alps
which
the
traveller
has
arduously
crossed
,
and
looks
back
upon
from
the
warm
Lombard
plain
.
She
took
up
her
position
and
feelings
where
she
had
left
them
:
she
felt
herself
free
.
At
first
she
could
scarcely
tell
why
,
as
we
sometimes
can
scarcely
account
to
ourselves
for
something
which
has
happened
the
previous
day
,
and
which
,
though
forgotten
,
fills
us
with
vague
pleasure
or
pain
on
awakening
.
Then
she
began
to
understand
once
more
,
and
to
add
to
her
recollections
what
she
could
make
out
of
the
present
.
She
noticed
that
the
Leighs
scarcely
ever
spoke
of
Hamlin
;
that
they
brought
in
his
flowers
,
books
,
and
messages
with
a
certain
constraint
,
even
,
she
thought
,
with
an
occasional
look
of
disgust
and
indignation
.
And
they
never
,
never
once
mentioned
Madame
EIaguine
.
“
What
has
become
of
Sacha
Elaguine
?
”
she
asked
one
day
,
rolling
her
head
,
with
face
even
paler
than
before
,
and
black
crisp
hair
just
beginning
to
cluster
after
cropping
short
,
on
the
pillows
.
“
Has
she
gone
out
of
town
?
You
have
never
spoken
about
her
,
Mary
.
”
Mary
Leigh
,
who
was
seated
,
holding
Anne’s
thin
white
hand
,
did
not
raise
her
head
;
and
Marjory
,
who
was
pouring
out
the
tea
hard
by
,
flushed
scarlet
.
“
Haven’t
I
?
Oh
yes
,
I
must
,
”
answered
Mary
Leigh
,
still
keeping
her
eyes
on
the
pattern
of
the
carpet
.
“
Madame
Elaguine
?
Oh
,
she’s
just
as
usual
.
”
“
Odious
little
brute
,
”
scowled
Marjory
.
Mary
raised
her
head
sharply
,
and
gave
her
sister
a
look
of
reproof
.
Anne
asked
no
more
.
She
had
understood
:
during
her
illness
Sacha
had
tightened
her
hold
on
Hamlin
;
the
Leighs
had
seen
it
,
or
been
told
,
and
Mary
was
afraid
lest
her
sister
should
let
out
to
the
invalid
what
she
imagined
to
be
a
heart‐breaking
secret
.
“
I
am
free
!
”
thought
Anne
;
and
repeated
these
words
to
herself
every
time
that
one
of
the
Leighs
spoke
coldly
of
Hamlin
,
or
looked
savage
when
he
was
mentioned
.
And
sometimes
she
fancied
that
she
could
distinguish
in
the
face
and
manner
of
the
true‐hearted
Mary
,
of
the
indignant
Marjory
,
the
pain
and
perplexity
of
foreseeing
that
they
possessed
a
terrible
secret
,
that
they
must
make
a
terrible
revelation
.
Once
,
she
felt
sure
,
Mary’s
heart
had
almost
burst
for
her
silence
.
Miss
Leigh
had
brought
in
Hamlin’s
usual
gift
of
flowers
,
a
bunch
of
beautiful
white
roses
and
jasmine
;
she
was
going
to
hand
it
to
Anne
,
when
her
face
suddenly
contracted
,
and
she
stuffed
the
flowers
roughly
into
a
jar
.
“
Won’t
you
let
me
smell
Mr
Hamlin’s
flowers
,
Mary
?
”
asked
Anne
from
her
bed
.
Mary
Leigh
gave
her
a
long
strange
look
.
“
They
aren’t
fit
for
you
,
Anne
,
”
said
Mary
,
in
a
hoarse
voice
;
“
they’re
horrible
,
morbid
sort
of
things
—
they’ll
just
make
your
head
ache
.
”
“
My
head
is
much
stronger
than
you
think
,
”
said
Anne
;
“
let
me
have
them
—
they
are
lovely
.
The
jasmine
doesn’t
smell
like
ordinary
jasmine
.
What
is
it
?
—
it
smells
like
the
incense
that
Sacha
Elaguine
burns
in
her
boudoir
;
it’s
nice
,
but
too
strong
.
I
wonder
whether
they
have
been
in
her
boudoir
to
catch
it
.
It’s
very
kind
of
Mr
Hamlin
to
bring
them
to
me
,
especially
as
”
—
Anne
looked
up
with
a
smile
which
frightened
Mary
Leigh
out
of
her
wits
—
“
he
doesn’t
care
a
bit
about
me
any
longer
,
you
know
.
”
Mary
Leigh
threw
herself
on
her
knees
before
Anne’s
bed
,
and
drawing
her
head
to
her
,
kissed
her
.
“
Oh
,
Annie
,
Annie
,
my
darling
!
”
she
cried
.
“
You
are
good
,
”
answered
Anne
—
“
you
are
good
to
love
me
so
.
But
Mr
Hamlin
is
also
very
good
,
although
he
doesn’t
love
me
.
I
am
very
happy
—
so
happy
,
Mary
dear
.
”
“
She
is
mad
,
”
thought
Mary
,
in
terror
,
as
Anne
threw
her
head
back
,
smiling
,
her
onyx‐grey
eyes
beaming
,
on
the
pillow
.
And
she
resolved
that
,
as
long
as
she
could
help
,
Anne
Brown
should
not
know
what
she
knew
,
and
what
,
every
time
that
Hamlin’s
name
was
mentioned
,
sickened
her
heart
.
Some
days
later
Miss
Brown
was
sufficiently
well
to
exchange
her
bed
for
a
couch
in
the
drawing‐room
down‐stairs
;
and
then
Hamlin
asked
whether
he
might
be
admitted
to
see
her
for
a
few
minutes
.
He
seemed
painfully
impressed
at
the
sight
of
Anne
,
whom
he
was
accustomed
to
see
looking
the
embodiment
of
physical
strength
,
a
sort
of
primeval
warrior‐woman
,
stretched
out
on
the
sofa
,
so
thin
and
hollow‐checked
,
so
pale
,
with
a
pallor
quite
different
from
the
natural
opaque
ivory
pallor
of
her
complexion
;
so
weak
of
voice
and
gesture
,
so
wholly
despoiled
,
it
seemed
to
him
,
of
her
usual
sombre
haughtiness
:
resigned
,
and
with
the
gentleness
of
a
sick
child
.
He
was
silent
and
depressed
,
as
a
man
might
be
who
knew
her
to
be
more
seriously
ill
than
she
thought
;
and
yet
,
as
Anne
was
well
aware
,
it
was
most
obvious
to
him
and
to
every
one
that
she
was
entirely
out
of
danger
,
and
rapidly
recovering
.
Miss
Brown
understood
:
he
was
weighed
down
,
but
with
a
worse
conscience
than
Mary
Leigh
,
—
by
the
thought
that
this
woman
was
unaware
of
the
sort
of
treachery
which
was
being
committed
behind
her
back
.
Anne
,
on
the
other
hand
,
felt
more
really
pleased
to
see
him
than
she
had
done
this
long
time
past
;
it
seemed
as
if
,
now
that
the
bond
which
tied
her
to
him
was
loosened
,
she
could
see
once
more
all
that
was
amiable
and
noble
in
him
,
—
that
she
could
like
him
again
,
feel
towards
him
simply
,
naturally
,
as
towards
a
friend
and
benefactor
.
And
she
felt
sorry
for
his
depression
,
for
what
she
imagined
to
be
his
self‐reproach
;
desirous
of
telling
him
almost
,
then
and
there
,
that
he
need
not
make
himself
unhappy
,
that
he
was
free
to
love
his
cousin
.
Miss
Brown
was
still
unfit
for
much
conversation
;
and
Hamlin
seemed
glad
to
cut
short
the
interview
.
She
asked
him
to
raise
one
of
the
blinds
;
and
when
the
light
streamed
upon
his
face
,
she
thought
she
saw
in
it
something
unusual
,
something
beyond
his
mere
usual
melancholy
,
a
lassitude
and
look
of
being
worried
;
again
she
felt
sorry
for
him
.
“
How
is
your
cousin
Sacha
?
”
she
asked
.
“
She
is
well
,
”
he
answered
briefly
,
“
and
—
sends
you
many
messages
.
I
don’t
let
her
come
,
because
she
would
excite
you
.
Goodbye
.
”
Every
afternoon
Hamlin
returned
for
a
short
time
.
Anne’s
first
impression
was
merely
strengthened
;
Hamlin
was
extraordinarily
depressed
,
worried‐looking
,
taciturn
.
Anne
felt
really
sorry
for
him
;
he
was
evidently
,
she
thought
,
eating
his
heart
out
in
doubts
and
self‐reproach
;
he
had
gone
too
far
with
Sacha
to
retreat
,
and
yet
his
engagement
to
Miss
Brown
forbade
his
taking
a
decisive
step
.
After
all
,
he
was
truer
and
nobler
than
she
had
thought
,
more
of
her
real
Hamlin
of
former
days
;
she
reflected
that
this
hostility
of
temperament
and
aims
between
them
,
this
long
and
sickening
endurance
of
a
bond
which
suited
neither
,
had
made
her
unjust
and
bitter
towards
him
,
prone
to
seek
for
only
his
worse
sides
,
neglectful
of
his
good
ones
.
She
felt
that
it
was
not
the
least
benefit
of
her
release
that
she
could
now
be
perfectly
grateful
once
more
;
that
she
could
give
to
this
man
the
affection
which
he
really
deserved
,
and
which
she
really
felt
,
now
that
the
terrible
debt
of
love
was
cancelled
.
She
was
sorry
,
very
sorry
for
him
,
and
determined
that
,
since
he
had
not
the
heart
,
it
was
for
her
to
speak
.
But
invariably
,
and
as
if
warned
by
a
secret
intuition
,
he
had
interrupted
the
conversation
,
and
gone
away
whenever
she
had
been
on
the
point
of
speaking
.
The
bare
name
of
Madame
Elaguine
seemed
enough
to
send
him
away
;
and
yet
,
whenever
Anne
succeeded
in
making
him
speak
of
his
cousin
,
he
had
spoken
of
her
with
a
strange
bitterness
,
and
almost
disgust
.
“
He
is
mean
,
after
all
,
”
thought
Anne
;
“
he
is
angry
with
poor
Sacha
for
being
the
cause
of
his
finding
himself
in
a
false
position
.
”
And
she
determined
that
she
would
speak
,
not
to
him
but
to
Madame
Elaguine
;
she
felt
that
she
could
not
endure
the
way
in
which
he
would
assuredly
seek
to
whitewash
himself
at
his
cousin’s
expense
.
Mean
,
very
mean
;
nay
,
something
more
than
mean
.
What
irritation
or
hypocrisy
could
induce
him
to
speak
of
the
woman
whom
he
loved
with
a
sort
of
constant
innuendo
,
a
constant
sort
of
undercurrent
of
disgust
?
And
again
she
began
to
despise
and
dislike
him
.
Another
thing
soon
struck
her
.
There
was
something
unusual
about
Hamlin’s
appearance
.
Somewhat
effeminate
he
had
always
been
in
his
aristocratic
refinement
;
but
now
it
seemed
to
her
as
if
there
were
in
his
face
a
something
,
half
physical
,
half
spiritual
,
a
vague
,
helpless
,
half‐stupefied
look
,
which
made
her
think
of
that
hysterical
tippling
little
poet
Dennistoun
,
whom
she
disliked
so
much
.
Her
mind
reverted
to
what
she
had
heard
about
Edmund
Lewis
having
,
at
one
period
,
induced
Hamlin
to
take
opium
.
“
Is
Mr
Lewis
back
?
”
she
asked
.
Hamlin
flushed
all
over
.
“
Lewis
is
not
likely
to
return
,
”
he
answered
briefly
.
What
was
the
meaning
of
it
all
?
Hamlin
was
also
,
she
noticed
,
no
longer
as
careful
in
his
dress
as
he
had
formerly
been
;
there
was
something
vaguely
rowdy
about
him
.
And
once
,
as
he
stooped
over
her
to
rearrange
the
cushions
under
her
head
,
it
seemed
to
her
—
was
it
true
or
not
?
—
that
she
felt
a
sickening
whiff
,
like
those
which
she
well
remembered
since
her
childhood
,
when
her
father
had
come
in
from
drinking
and
taken
her
on
his
knees
.
Was
it
possible
that
Hamlin
,
weak
as
he
was
,
and
feeling
himself
cornered
in
a
false
position
,
had
taken
to
drinking
—
to
drinking
,
which
had
been
the
fatal
vice
of
his
family
,
of
his
brother
,
father
,
and
of
his
uncles
,
in
order
to
rid
himself
of
his
worries
?
She
must
speak
to
Madame
Elaguine
.
She
must
let
them
know
that
they
were
free
.
CHAPTER
III
.
WHILE
she
was
in
this
perplexity
about
Hamlin
,
Miss
Brown
received
a
visit
from
her
cousin
Dick
.
She
had
scarcely
seen
him
,
and
never
alone
,
since
that
memorable
walk
home
from
Professor
Richmond’s
lecture
.
Whether
from
the
sense
that
he
had
gone
too
far
,
that
his
violence
had
offended
and
frightened
her
;
or
whether
,
more
probably
,
from
his
having
rushed
to
the
conclusion
that
she
was
unattainable
and
perhaps
unworthy
of
his
seeking
,
Richard
Brown
had
kept
studiously
out
of
her
way
.
For
the
first
time
in
his
life
he
came
in
with
hesitation
and
almost
shyness
.
He
sat
down
by
the
side
of
her
arm‐chair
,
and
spoke
with
a
gentleness
,
a
courtesy
,
that
were
quite
unusual
in
him
,
and
had
a
charm
just
from
their
contrast
with
his
downright
and
gruff
personality
.
The
conversation
rolled
upon
various
indifferent
subjects
;
he
seemed
to
be
feeling
his
way
to
something
,
trying
to
decide
whether
she
was
strong
enough
to
admit
of
his
saying
something
which
weighed
on
his
mind
.
“
You
are
nearly
recovered
now
?
”
he
asked
.
“
Do
you
feel
as
if
you
were
getting
your
strength
back
,
Anne
?
”
“
Oh
yes
,
”
she
answered
;
“
I
feel
wonderfully
well
.
I
have
been
for
a
drive
these
last
few
days
,
and
I
am
sure
I
could
walk
,
if
only
they
would
let
me
.
I
only
feel
very
tired
and
lazy
every
now
and
then
.
”
There
was
a
pause
.
“
Do
you
remember
what
you
told
me
that
afternoon
when
we
walked
home
from
Richmond’s
lecture
—
a
rainy
day
at
the
end
of
March
?
”
he
asked
suddenly
.
“
Yes
,
I
do
.
”
“
You
said
,
if
you
remember
,
that
you
did
not
care
for
Mr
Hamlin
,
and
that
you
felt
yourself
bound
to
him
only
by
gratitude
and
the
sense
that
he
wanted
you
—
do
you
remember
,
Nan
?
”
“
I
remember
perfectly
.
Well
?
”
Richard
Brown
had
spoken
slowly
and
watching
her
face
;
and
he
seemed
surprised
at
the
perfect
calm
which
he
read
in
it
.
“
Well
,
I
think
it
is
right
that
you
should
know
what
is
by
this
time
known
by
all
your
acquaintances
.
Walter
Hamlin
no
longer
wants
you
;
he
has
entirely
thrown
you
over
for
another
woman
.
He
is
—
I
don’t
know
exactly
what
to
call
it
,
and
don’t
mean
any
innuendo
—
well
—
the
accepted
lover
of
Madame
Elaguine
.
”
Anne
nodded
.
“
I
know
it
,
”
she
answered
coolly
.
“
I
have
known
it
,
or
at
least
guessed
it
,
since
a
long
while
.
”
Richard
was
surprised
,
and
,
unconsciously
perhaps
to
himself
,
mortified
.
He
had
always
resented
his
cousin’s
fidelity
to
Hamlin
,
had
always
,
with
his
tendency
to
seek
for
base
motives
wherever
he
could
not
sympathise
,
suspected
that
this
fidelity
was
a
mere
cover
for
an
unworthy
love
of
the
fine
æsthetic
gentleman
or
for
his
fortune
and
position
;
and
he
had
anticipated
a
certain
pleasure
in
seeing
Anne
wince
beneath
his
revelation
.
“
It
is
no
business
of
mine
to
pass
a
judgment
over
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
he
proceeded
slowly
,
and
wondering
,
suspicious
as
he
always
was
with
women
,
of
the
genuineness
of
Anne’s
imperturbability
;
“
the
whole
business
seems
to
me
quite
consonant
with
all
my
notions
of
his
character
.
”
“
I
do
not
think
Mr
Hamlin
has
acted
dishonourably
towards
me
,
”
put
in
Anne
,
quietly
;
“
on
the
contrary
,
I
feel
sure
that
he
reproaches
himself
much
more
than
he
need
.
”
“
Very
likely
.
What
I
was
going
to
say
is
merely
that
this
new
turn
which
matters
have
taken
necessarily
implies
an
entire
change
in
your
position
towards
Mr
Hamlin
.
He
no
longer
wants
you
;
you
are
therefore
free
.
Am
I
correct
in
my
view
of
the
case
?
”
He
was
speaking
with
a
deference
to
her
opinion
quite
new
in
him
.
“
As
far
as
I
can
judge
,
”
answered
Anne
,
playing
with
a
big
lapis‐lazuli
rosary
which
she
had
taken
off
her
neck
,
“
I
think
you
are
quite
correct
,
Dick
.
I
believe
I
am
free
.
”
She
hesitated
and
spoke
the
last
words
almost
inaudibly
,
as
if
superstitiously
afraid
that
they
should
be
heard
.
“
In
that
case
I
presume
you
will
have
to
remodel
your
life
.
Have
you
thought
of
any
plans
?
”
“
I
have
thought
over
the
matter
a
good
deal
.
My
intention
,
as
soon
as
Mr
Hamlin
and
I
have
come
to
an
explanation
,
which
will
be
shortly
,
is
to
go
to
Ireland
for
a
few
months
with
Mary
Leigh
,
to
finish
getting
well
and
to
finish
some
preparatory
work
,
and
then
to
go
up
to
Girton
.
I
should
be
able
to
pass
the
entrance
examination
in
another
three
months
.
You
see
,
”
she
added
,
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
in
spending
the
money
that
he
has
in
turning
me
into
a
lady
,
has
made
it
difficult
for
me
to
take
to
any
such
livelihood
as
would
have
naturally
been
mine
under
other
circumstances
;
and
I
think
,
therefore
,
that
I
have
a
right
to
invest
a
portion
of
the
money
which
he
has
settled
upon
me
,
and
which
he
fully
intended
me
to
keep
in
any
ease
,
in
qualifying
myself
for
the
only
sort
of
business
for
which
I
am
now
fit
.
He
has
settled
upon
me
the
equivalent
of
five
hundred
a‐year
,
apart
from
the
expenses
of
this
house
,
of
which
I
know
nothing
.
Much
less
than
that
would
more
than
cover
the
expenses
of
keeping
me
at
Girton
and
of
starting
me
as
a
teacher
or
journalist
;
and
once
fairly
started
,
I
hope
I
should
be
able
to
support
myself
and
gradually
to
refund
this
money
.
Do
you
think
that
would
be
fair
,
Dick
?
You
see
,
it
is
quite
useless
for
me
to
think
of
ever
repaying
,
even
if
money
could
repay
in
such
matters
,
what
Mr
Hamlin
has
spent
upon
me
during
all
these
years
.
”
She
seemed
to
hesitate
,
to
be
afraid
of
being
mean
,
of
appearing
to
take
advantage
of
Hamlin’s
generosity
.
“
Do
you
really
contemplate
renouncing
the
fortune
which
Mr
Hamlin
settled
on
you
?
giving
up
all
the
luxury
to
which
he
has
accustomed
you
,
Annie
?
”
Richard
Brown
,
disinterested
though
he
was
,
was
too
deeply
impressed
with
the
mercenary
temper
of
mankind
,
to
believe
very
easily
in
such
sentiments
.
“
Why
,
of
course
,
”
answered
Anne
.
“
When
Mr
Hamlin
marries
his
cousin
,
he
will
find
,
that
he
has
not
too
much
with
all
his
money
.
And
I
would
certainly
not
keep
any
of
it
as
soon
as
I
could
do
without
;
though
heaven
knows
I
am
not
ungrateful
,
nor
so
silly
as
to
fancy
that
I
should
be
in
the
very
least
lightening
my
obligation
towards
him
.
”
Richard
did
not
answer
for
a
moment
.
“
Listen
,
”
he
said
,
not
without
hesitation
“
I
am
nearer
to
you
than
Walter
Hamlin
and
whatever
I
am
,
I
owe
it
to
your
father
.
I
find
I
have
just
made
a
very
considerable
and
quite
unexpected
profit
off
some
mining
shares
which
Mr
Gillespie
left
me
.
Let
me
advance
you
out
of
this
money
whatever
may
be
wanted
to
defray
your
expenses
at
college
;
you
will
repay
me
when
you
find
it
convenient
.
In
this
way
,
you
will
be
entirely
independent
of
Mr
Hamlin
at
once
:
you
can
let
him
have
all
his
money
.
”
Richard
Brown
hesitated
,
in
a
way
very
singular
in
his
cut‐and‐dry
nature
;
he
seemed
prepared
for
a
rebuff
.
“
You
are
very
kind
,
Dick
;
but
I
can’t
accept
your
offer
.
I
owe
it
to
Mr
Hamlin
,
in
return
for
all
the
generosity
he
has
shown
towards
me
and
would
still
show
,
that
I
should
never
accept
anything
from
any
man
but
him
,
even
if
I
were
not
resolved
never
to
put
myself
under
such
an
obligation
again
.
I
have
no
right
to
prefer
your
generosity
to
his
.
”
Richard
Brown
was
silent
.
Then
,
after
a
moment
,
they
fell
to
talking
about
the
plans
and
theories
which
occupied
Cousin
Dick’s
mind
.
He
was
unusually
gentle
and
modest
;
he
really
seemed
to
be
losing
some
of
that
narrowness
which
had
been
the
ugly
side
of
his
powerful
and
upright
nature
.
“
You
are
becoming
quite
tolerant
,
Dick
,
”
remarked
Anne
.
“
Six
months
ago
you
could
never
have
conceived
that
any
one
unlike
yourself
or
differing
from
your
views
could
have
anything
good
in
him
.
I
am
very
glad
;
it
will
make
you
more
hopeful
of
the
world
,
and
show
you
a
lot
of
energy
and
good
faith
which
deserves
to
be
united
to
your
own
,
and
which
you
would
formerly
have
thrown
upon
the
dust‐heap
.
”
“
You
are
right
,
”
answered
Brown
.
“
I
feel
that
I
have
diminished
my
own
usefulness
by
not
admitting
any
other
kind
of
usefulness
than
my
own
.
I
often
catch
myself
thinking
,
now
,
that
my
great
danger
lies
in
my
tendency
to
underrate
people
;
sometimes
it
seems
as
if
,
unless
I
can
struggle
against
it
,
it
will
invade
and
sterilise
my
whole
nature
.
”
“
I
am
so
glad
you
feel
like
that
,
Dick
.
”
“
And
do
you
know
,
”
he
continued
,
“
I
think
this
change
is
due
to
you
;
knowing
you
has
shown
me
how
horribly
unreasonable
and
unjust
I
am
apt
to
be
in
my
preconceived
notions
.
I
really
did
think
you
an
æsthete
once
,
Annie
;
nay
,
at
one
time
,
I
was
so
base
as
to
think
that
you
were
base
,
that
you
cared
for
Hamlin’s
position
and
money
and
good
looks
,
while
not
caring
for
him
.
Will
you
forgive
me
,
Annie
?
”
He
bent
over
her
,
and
took
her
hand
.
She
let
him
hold
it
for
a
minute
.
She
felt
so
strangely
free
,
so
safe
,
so
happy
somehow
with
this
man
,
whose
presence
had
so
often
been
a
threat
and
an
insult
.
“
I
wonder
whether
you
will
ever
learn
to
be
just
to
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
she
mused
.
“
I
will
do
my
best
.
”
She
had
withdrawn
her
hand
from
his
.
“
I
wonder
whether
I
have
ever
been
just
to
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
said
Anne
.
Richard
reddened
.
“
What
makes
you
say
that
,
Nan
?
”
“
I
don’t
know
.
I
feel
how
difficult
it
is
for
a
nature
like
mine
to
be
just
towards
,
to
understand
,
any
one
outside
it
.
”
“
Can
you
be
just
towards
me
?
”
he
suddenly
asked
.
“
I
am
,
I
think
.
”
“
Do
you
think
,
then
,
”
went
on
Richard
Brown
,
“
that
during
the
time
you
spend
at
Girton
you
could
try
a
little
and
understand
me
,
—
you
could
try
and
like
me
a
little
,
Annie
?
”
“
I
do
like
you
,
Richard
,
”
she
answered
coldly
;
but
a
quiet
happiness
,
like
that
of
a
windless
,
half‐covered
morning
in
the
fields
,
stole
over
her
.
“
I
don’t
mean
this
,
”
he
said
,
rising
.
“
I
want
you
to
like
me
,
Nan
,
as
much
—
as
much
as
you
thought
you
liked
Walter
Hamlin
.
”
Anne
shook
her
head
sadly
.
“
That
is
quite
impossible
,
”
she
said
:
“
one
doesn’t
feel
like
that
twice
,
I
fancy
,
Richard
,
any
more
than
one
believes
twice
in
angels
or
such
things
.
”
Richard
Brown
frowned
.
She
could
never
pluck
Hamlin
,
Hamlin
in
some
shape
,
real
or
false
,
out
of
her
heart
.
“
Good‐bye
,
”
he
said
;
“
I
fear
I
have
tired
you
.
Annie
,
”
he
added
,
“
it
is
idiotic
,
isn’t
it
?
but
all
the
time
you
were
ill
,
even
until
I
came
into
this
room
,
I
kept
hoping
that
you
might
have
lost
your
looks
—
that
Hamlin
might
be
quite
unable
ever
to
care
for
you
again
—
that
you
might
have
ceased
to
be
,
in
this
sort
of
way
,
above
me
.
And
yet
,
when
I
saw
you
,
I
was
glad
it
was
not
so
.
Oh
,
Nan
,
promise
me
you
will
try
and
like
me
a
little
.
”
“
Please
don’t
say
that
,
Dick
.
I
have
been
a
slave
,
a
prisoner
.
Can’t
you
understand
that
my
great
joy
is
the
sense
of
my
freedom
,
my
sense
of
belonging
to
no
one
,
caring
about
no
one
?
Can’t
you
understand
that
it
seems
horrible
to
me
to
even
think
that
I
could
ever
care
for
any
one
again
?
Can’t
you
let
me
enjoy
my
liberty
,
at
least
until
I
have
realised
that
it
isn’t
a
dream
?
”
She
spoke
with
impetuosity
,
but
gently
;
and
her
cousin
did
not
feel
rebuked
.
“
By
the
way
,
”
he
said
,
“
I
suppose
you
have
heard
who
is
expected
here
soon
—
your
old
friend
,
Melton
Perry
.
”
“
Melton
Perry
!
”
cried
Anne
.
It
seemed
such
centuries
since
she
had
heard
that
name
last
.
“
Oh
,
I
shall
be
so
glad
to
see
him
,
he
is
such
a
good
man
!
”
She
walked
up
and
down
after
Dick
had
left
.
Melton
Perry
!
the
name
brought
up
the
far
,
far
distant
past
—
a
vision
of
the
untidy
house
at
Florence
;
of
Mrs
Perry’s
lean
and
Sapphic
profile
;
of
the
tall
grass
and
crushed
herbs
in
the
vineyard
of
the
Villa
Arnolfini
;
of
Hamlin
as
she
had
first
known
him
—
a
mysterious
,
unattainable
ideal
high
above
her
;
of
the
studio
at
the
top
of
the
tower
;
of
herself
,
as
she
recollected
herself
to
have
been
,
a
sombre
,
unhappy
creature
,
with
whose
identity
she
seemed
to
have
no
connection
,
and
into
whose
dark
and
confused
mind
she
felt
unable
to
see
.
There
was
something
very
painful
in
this
sudden
return
of
the
past
in
company
with
her
old
friend
,
and
Anne
thought
bitterly
of
the
difference
between
the
dreams
of
happiness
,
so
positive
,
so
perfect
,
of
those
days
,
and
the
reality
of
happiness
,
so
negative
,
so
poor
—
consisting
in
what
?
in
being
left
to
herself
—
which
belonged
to
her
now
.
And
yet
,
after
all
,
as
she
looked
into
her
girlhood
before
Hamlin’s
coming
,
she
recognised
the
same
negativeness
;
she
had
wished
to
be
free
,
to
be
a
daily
governess
,
to
depend
upon
no
one
for
her
livelihood
,
to
be
able
to
know
something
of
a
wider
life
.
She
had
never
hoped
,
scarcely
even
wished
,
for
happiness
;
the
semblance
of
it
had
passed
before
her
eyes
,
had
,
for
a
brief
time
,
made
her
life
more
acutely
sensitive
;
but
she
returned
to
the
negative
:
it
was
the
law
of
her
life
.
And
,
as
she
cleared
her
mind
of
all
vain
regrets
,
she
became
aware
that
,
in
a
manner
,
this
return
upon
her
scene
of
Melton
Perry
was
like
the
ringing
of
the
bell
,
the
orchestral
flourish
,
which
ends
a
piece
as
it
has
begun
it
.
The
comedy
of
her
love
for
Hamlin
,
and
of
Hamlin’s
love
for
her
,
was
over
;
and
she
felt
impatient
for
Melton
Perry’s
arrival
.
CHAPTER
IV
.
THE
day
after
this
visit
from
Cousin
Dick
,
came
the
first
visit
from
Madame
Elaguine
.
It
seemed
to
Anne
that
,
from
the
very
moment
of
her
entering
the
room
,
she
could
perceive
something
strange
in
Sacha’s
manner
—
something
brazen
,
flaunting
,
cruel
.
The
little
woman
somehow
no
longer
looked
so
small
and
that
childish
appealingness
had
entirely
left
her
manner
;
she
was
self‐possessed
,
cynical
,
triumphant
.
Her
very
dress
was
different
from
anything
in
which
Miss
Brown
had
hitherto
seen
her
;
exotic
indeed
and
fantastic
,
like
everything
that
she
wore
,
but
certainly
not
turned
out
by
Madame
Elaguine’s
maid
.
She
kissed
Anne
familiarly
on
both
cheeks
,
enveloping
her
in
an
atmosphere
of
heady
Eastern
perfumes
.
“
Poor
Annie
,
”
she
said
,
“
you
have
been
very
ill
,
and
must
have
thought
me
a
great
brute
for
not
coming
to
see
you
before
.
But
Walter
absolutely
forbade
my
coming
—
stood
in
front
of
your
door
,
so
to
speak
,
and
shut
it
in
my
face
.
He
pretended
that
I
should
have
excited
you
too
much
.
Perhaps
I
should
;
I
am
a
wretched
,
excitable
creature
.
Perhaps
he
was
right
;
what
do
you
think
?
”
Madame
Elaguine
fixed
her
eyes
on
those
of
Anne
;
a
long
look
of
scrutiny
and
triumph
,
as
if
she
had
expected
to
see
her
wince
.
“
I
think
Mr
Hamlin
was
quite
mistaken
,
”
answered
Miss
Brown
quietly
,
understanding
the
meaning
of
that
look
.
“
I
am
much
less
subject
to
excitement
than
he
supposes
;
and
your
presence
would
not
have
excited
me
more
than
any
one
else’s
.
”
“
Really
!
”
and
Madame
Elaguine’s
mouth
took
a
peculiar
little
sneering
turn
;
“
I
should
have
thought
that
I
was
exciting
,
now
.
Not
more
exciting
,
for
instance
,
than
the
Miss
Leighs
?
or
than
your
cousin
,
Mr
Richard
Brown
?
”
and
she
again
looked
scrutinisingly
at
Anne
,
who
merely
shook
her
head
.
“
By
the
way
,
your
cousin
has
quite
cut
me
of
late
,
Annie
—
ask
him
why
.
I
suspect
that
he
thinks
me
a
dangerous
woman
,
quite
without
moral
ballast
,
—
what
my
German
teacher
used
to
call
Sittlicher
Ernst
.
He
was
such
a
funny
creature
that
German
teacher
of
mine
;
did
I
ever
tell
you
about
him
?
He
taught
at
the
school
where
I
was
in
Petersburg
:
a
thin
lank
creature
,
with
long
red
wrists
projecting
a
yard
from
his
sleeves
,
and
a
waistcoat
which
would
ride
up
whenever
he
was
excited
;
he
used
to
lean
against
the
wall
,
any
part
of
his
body
at
random
,
and
bend
and
sway
the
rest
of
him
about
,
like
a
caterpillar
.
He
taught
us
German
literature
,
and
was
very
shocked
because
I
said
the
‘Bride
of
Corinth’
was
the
only
amusing
thing
Goethe
had
ever
written
.
He
believed
in
Schopenhauer
—
and
hated
women
,
and
me
in
particular
,
because
I
had
no
Sittlicher
Ernst
;
and
one
day
,
what
do
you
think
he
did
?
he
fell
on
his
knees
and
tried
to
catch
me
round
the
waist
.
Poor
devil
!
he
was
turned
out
of
doors
,
and
drowned
himself
later
.
I
wonder
whether
it
was
out
of
despair
at
my
want
of
Sittlicher
Ernst
?
He
was
such
a
queer
creature
.
I
sometimes
think
,
after
all
,
he
was
the
only
man
I
could
really
have
loved
,
if
only
his
waistcoat
had
not
ridden
up
,
and
his
wrists
projected
so
much
from
his
cuffs
.
”
Sacha
laughed
,
and
bit
her
lower
lip
a
little
,
so
that
it
suddenly
became
scarlet
,
like
the
lips
of
Edmund
Lewis
.
She
threw
herself
back
in
her
chair
,
one
foot
crossed
over
the
other
,
her
eyes
fixed
on
the
Venetian
chandelier
,
which
caught
opalescent
lights
in
the
sunshine
;
she
was
smiling
,
perhaps
in
recollection
of
the
professor
with
his
wrists
and
his
waistcoat
.
Anne
did
not
know
what
to
say
;
the
presence
of
this
woman
seemed
to
freeze
her
,
like
the
contact
of
some
clammy
thing
:
it
was
as
if
the
soul
of
Edmund
Lewis
had
entered
her
body
and
had
become
more
active
,
more
subtle
in
its
new
habitation
.
Mechanically
her
eyes
rested
upon
Madame
Elaguine’s
dress
,
a
marvellous
vague
thing
,
made
in
some
confused
resemblance
of
the
men’s
dress
of
Moliére’s
time
,
—
a
crimson
plush
coat
and
a
big
man’s
cravat
of
Flanders
lace
,
but
all
bursting
out
,
by
every
conceivable
slashing
and
gap
,
into
a
mass
of
lace
,
which
hung
about
her
like
a
cloud
of
thistle‐down
,
beneath
which
her
thin
and
nervous
little
body
seemed
to
twist
and
writhe
with
every
word
.
“
It’s
a
pretty
frock
,
isn’t
it
?
”
she
remarked
,
looking
down
upon
it
with
satisfaction
.
“
Oh
no
,
I
didn’t
make
this
;
I
am
bored
with
always
making
my
own
frocks
.
It’s
from
Worth
.
I
swore
I
would
bring
round
Watty
from
belief
in
pre‐Adamitic
skirts
and
purfled
sleeves
and
eighteen‐penny
medievalism
to
a
belief
in
Worth
;
you
know
he
used
always
to
rant
at
Paris
clothes
.
Well
,
I’ve
been
as
good
as
my
word
;
this
is
from
Worth
,
and
what’s
more
,
Walter
has
paid
my
bill
.
Humiliating
,
rather
,
isn’t
it
?
but
then
,
you
see
,
I’m
a
pauper
,
and
can’t
buy
Worth
frocks
on
a
thousand
a‐year
,
including
subscription
for
a
copy
of
Chough’s
new
translation
of
‘Villon
,
’
with
all
the
improprieties
annotated
,
Dutch
paper
,
morocco
,
rough
edges
,
price
three
guineas
,
can
I
?
”
Anne
flushed
.
Hamlin
had
paid
for
Sacha’s
dress
!
And
yet
,
had
Hamlin
not
paid
for
not
merely
one
,
but
all
Anne’s
dresses
these
years
—
nay
,
for
everything
that
Anne
saw
about
her
—
nay
,
for
everything
almost
that
Anne
knew
and
was
?
And
still
,
how
was
it
,
there
was
a
difference
?
and
as
she
looked
at
Sacha
in
her
fantastic
Molière
coat
of
crimson
plush
and
watered
white
silk
and
lace
,
which
Hamlin
had
paid
for
,
she
could
not
get
out
of
her
mind
the
image
of
certain
French
kept
women
whom
she
had
seen
,
in
their
elaborate
dresses
and
well‐appointed
victorias
,
driving
in
the
Park
.
It
was
very
unjust
and
horrible
,
yet
she
could
not
get
it
out
of
her
mind
.
“
Walter
is
a
queer
creature
,
”
went
on
Madame
Elaguine
;
“
somewhat
like
my
German
caterpillar
professor
:
I
don’t
mean
in
the
matter
of
wrists
and
waistcoats
,
but
in
the
matter
of
women
.
I
don’t
know
how
to
say
it
;
my
ideas
aren’t
ever
very
clear
:
I
suppose
it’s
want
of
Sittlicher
Ernst
,
and
also
because
I’m
hysterical
—
at
least
the
doctors
say
so
;
because
I
insist
on
having
my
own
way
.
I
mean
that
Walter
,
for
instance
,
hates
me
in
a
certain
sense
just
as
that
professor
did
.
I’m
sure
he
sometimes
feels
as
if
he
could
throttle
me
,
because
I
have
no
Sittlicher
Ernst
,
and
because
I
made
love
to
him
,
and
offered
him
barley‐sugar
and
tops
when
I
was
ten
.
And
yet
!
Ah
,
well
,
I
suppose
I
am
a
wretch
!
Oh
,
Annie
dear
,
I
fear
,
I
fear
I
am
a
wretch
!
”
and
Madame
Elaguine
suddenly
jumped
up
from
her
chair
and
flung
her
arms
round
Miss
Brown’s
neck
and
kissed
her
,
with
such
violence
that
Anne
felt
her
lips
almost
like
leeches
and
her
teeth
pressing
into
her
cheeks
.
“
Oh
Annie
,
I
am
an
unworthy
wretch
!
I
am
a
beast
towards
you
!
”
she
cried
.
Anne
felt
a
horror
,
a
kind
of
fear
of
death
;
and
yet
she
felt
sorry
for
this
woman
;
was
she
not
a
wretch
in
not
clearing
up
the
position
—
in
letting
this
woman
continue
to
love
in
shame
,
when
she
might
love
openly
and
honourably
?
She
loosened
herself
from
Sacha’s
embrace
.
“
Madame
Elaguine
”
she
began
,
feeling
her
face
still
burning
from
this
strangling
embrace
,
and
mechanically
smoothing
her
ruffled
hair
,
“
I
have
long
wanted
to
tell
you
something
with
regard
to
Mr
Hamlin
—
indeed
I
feel
I
ought
to
have
told
it
you
before
,
but
.
.
.
”
At
this
moment
the
door
opened
and
Hamlin
entered
.
Anne
had
missed
her
opportunity
;
it
was
impossible
to
speak
before
Hamlin
,
although
she
had
once
or
twice
contemplated
clearing
up
matters
to
him
and
his
cousin
at
the
same
time
.
But
it
was
impossible
now
.
Sacha
had
something
strange
,
brazen
,
about
her
,
which
froze
Anne’s
soul
.
Hamlin
was
listless
,
depressed
,
with
that
hang‐dog
,
stupefied
air
that
Miss
Brown
had
noticed
in
him
of
late
.
He
spoke
little
,
barely
answered
any
of
Sacha’s
remarks
:
every
time
that
he
raised
his
eyes
upon
his
cousin
,
it
was
with
an
expression
that
amounted
almost
to
disgust
;
and
she
seemed
nowise
hurt
,
but
rather
amused
and
pleased
at
this
look
,
and
took
a
