pleasurein
provoking
it
by
a
hundred
absurdities
,
and
by
a
sort
of
bullying
way
,
as
if
expressly
to
show
her
power
over
this
sullen
creature
.
They
did
not
stay
long
.
Madame
Elaguine
rose
,
and
Hamlin
mechanically
followed
her
example
:
was
it
that
he
could
not
see
her
go
away
by
herself
,
or
that
he
was
afraid
of
being
left
alone
with
Miss
Brown
?
“
This
is
my
first
visit
to
you
since
your
illness
,
and
it
will
be
my
last
for
a
little
time
,
”
said
Madame
Elaguine
,
letting
Hamlin
help
her
on
with
her
cloak
,
and
spinning
out
the
operation
,
as
if
to
show
that
this
depressed
and
sullen
creature
,
for
all
his
sulkiness
,
was
her
slave
.
“
Are
you
going
away
?
”
cried
Anne
,
a
sudden
fear
entering
her
heart
.
Sacha
noticed
her
involuntary
flush
,
and
mistook
its
meaning
.
“
Only
for
a
fortnight
,
”
she
answered
,
with
an
odd
smile
.
“
Oh
no
;
I
can’t
do
without
London
and
my
friends
—
hideous
London
and
disagreeable
friends
,
at
least
so
far
as
Walter
is
concerned
.
I
suppose
it’s
my
perversity
and
want
of
Sittlicher
Ernst
,
again
.
I
am
going
to
Paris
this
evening
.
I
have
a
notion
of
taking
Boris
out
of
his
English
school
and
sending
him
to
the
Lycée
.
I
feel
I
have
had
a
surfeit
of
respectability
and
æstheticism
,
and
that
I’d
rather
my
son
were
a
Frenchman
and
a
Bohemian
.
It’s
a
whim
.
Perhaps
it
will
make
me
return
a
frantic
Anglomaniac
.
Fancy
if
Boris
were
to
grow
up
a
thing
like
this
!
”
pointing
to
Hamlin
,
—
“
a
horrible
pseudo
Sir
Galahad
,
as
Watty
was
at
sixteen
.
Faugh
!
I
couldn’t
bear
it
.
Good‐bye
,
Annie
dear
;
I
fear
you
must
think
me
an
immoral
woman
,
and
that
my
German
professor
wasn’t
so
far
wrong
.
Good‐bye
,
my
beautiful
Madonna
of
the
Glaciers
,
”
and
again
Miss
Brown
was
half
stifled
in
the
cloud
of
oriental
perfumes
,
as
Madame
Elaguine
kissed
her
cavalierly
on
both
cheeks
.
“
Come
along
,
Watty
!
”
cried
Sacha
;
“
can’t
you
learn
to
open
the
door
for
a
woman
?
”
“
Good‐bye
,
Miss
Brown
,
”
and
Hamlin
gave
a
little
sigh
of
weariness
as
he
pressed
Anne’s
hand
.
Miss
Brown
remained
in
a
state
of
vague
fear
all
that
day
.
Was
that
love
—
at
least
on
Hamlin’s
part
—
that
look
of
bored
disgust
with
which
he
had
responded
to
Madame
Elaguine’s
provocation
?
Anne
grew
pale
at
the
notion
of
that
fortnight
of
Sacha’s
absence
.
Would
Hamlin
,
fickle
,
easily
wounded
in
his
vanity
,
sated
with
Madame
Elaguine’s
Russian
ways
,
remain
faithful
to
the
absent
woman
?
Would
he
not
rather
return
and
begin
afresh
that
old
,
old
story
of
Platonic
adoration
,
of
self‐reproach
,
with
what
his
cousin
called
Madonna
of
the
Glaciers
?
And
as
Hamlin
was
leaving
,
he
had
said
to
her
half
audibly
,
“
If
you
will
allow
me
,
I
will
come
to‐morrow
afternoon
and
see
what
can
be
done
to
my
Vision
of
Beatrice
,
if
you
will
give
me
a
sitting
.
”
A
sitting
!
Anne’s
heart
had
sunk
at
the
mere
word
.
But
the
next
morning
she
found
on
the
tray
on
which
her
breakfast
was
brought
up
a
twisted
note
.
It
was
from
Hamlin
,
written
late
the
previous
night
.
“
DEAR
MISS
BROWN
,
”
it
said
,
—
“
I
fear
you
will
think
me
very
uncourteous
to
break
through
our
engagement
for
to‐morrow
morning
.
But
I
am
feeling
rather
anxious
lest
Madame
Elaguine
should
get
imposed
on
about
the
school
for
her
boy
;
so
I
shall
join
her
for
a
few
days
in
Paris
.
Pray
forgive
my
apparent
rudeness
.
—
Yours
sincerely
,
W
.
H
.
”
“
What’s
your
news
,
Annie
?
”
asked
Mary
Leigh
,
who
had
come
in
to
see
after
her
invalid
.
“
You
look
as
if
you
had
come
in
for
a
fortune
!
”
Anne
made
an
effort
and
laughed
.
“
It
was
only
Mr
Hamlin
postponing
a
sitting
which
I
was
to
give
him
.
I
really
don’t
feel
much
like
sitting
yet
.
Mr
Hamlin’s
gone
to
Paris
to
look
after
a
school
for
Boris
Elaguine
.
”
“
And
Madame
Elaguine
?
”
“
Madame
Elaguine
—
went
yesterday
.
”
“
Oh
,
indeed
!
”
answered
Mary
Leigh
;
and
as
she
said
that
,
a
wave
of
red
came
into
Miss
Brown’s
pale
face
—
why
,
Anne
could
not
herself
have
explained
.
CHAPTER
V.
THE
day
after
Hamlin’s
departure
to
join
Madame
Elaguine
,
Richard
Brown
paid
another
visit
at
Hammersmith
;
and
he
dropped
in
frequently
in
the
next
few
days
.
He
never
spoke
of
his
hopes
,
he
never
inquired
about
Anne’s
plans
;
he
scarcely
so
much
as
alluded
to
Hamlin’s
departure
.
He
seemed
satisfied
to
see
his
cousin
,
to
explain
to
her
all
the
things
that
he
hoped
some
day
to
do
.
This
forbearance
,
this
delicate
discretion
,
on
the
part
of
one
of
the
most
tactless
and
exacting
of
men
;
this
something
which
implied
that
Cousin
Dick
had
learned
to
consult
her
wishes
,
touched
Miss
Brown
very
much
.
Love
,
or
by
whatever
other
name
(
since
the
name
of
love
was
discredited
to
Anne
)
she
might
choose
to
call
Richard’s
strong
and
steady
feeling
,
seemed
to
have
purified
this
powerful
and
generous
temper
of
that
alloy
of
coarse
and
contemptuous
suspicion
that
had
occasionally
repelled
her
so
much
.
Richard
Brown
had
become
comparatively
quite
charitable
in
his
judgments
,
sincerely
anxious
to
be
just
.
He
tried
to
see
things
a
little
from
her
point
of
view
—
nay
,
even
to
understand
whatever
good
there
was
or
had
been
in
Hamlin
.
This
big
and
self‐reliant
man
,
who
had
already
thought
and
done
so
much
for
himself
and
for
others
,
began
to
appear
to
his
cousin
as
less
mature
than
she
had
fancied
,
and
even
less
self‐reliant
;
new
instincts
and
perceptions
,
new
sides
of
his
nature
—
making
it
fuller
,
richer
,
purer
—
developing
under
her
influence
.
Anne
did
not
love
her
cousin
;
she
did
not
even
anticipate
loving
him
anything
as
she
had
once
loved
Hamlin
.
She
recognised
that
,
in
her
nature
,
love
could
exist
only
for
an
ideal
,
and
in
an
ideal
she
could
never
again
believe
;
but
she
became
aware
of
a
relation
of
frank
comradeship
,
of
mutual
respect
and
attachment
and
usefulness
,
which
warmed
her
nature
,
and
made
hopes
and
projects
bud
and
blossom
up
.
She
was
nervously
anxious
for
that
fortnight
to
have
come
to
an
end
,
to
have
Hamlin
back
,
to
speak
to
him
;
and
yet
,
at
the
same
time
,
it
seemed
to
her
dreadful
that
these
few
days
of
freedom
from
care
,
freedom
from
the
shadow
which
had
so
long
hung
over
her
,
should
so
soon
come
to
an
end
.
The
fortnight
was
drawing
to
a
close
;
Hamlin
would
soon
be
back
.
Anne
began
to
be
filled
with
unendurable
impatience
;
she
even
,
once
or
twice
,
began
a
letter
telling
him
everything
,
and
tore
it
up
only
from
the
fear
that
it
might
seem
harsh
,
ungrateful
,
that
it
might
(
and
the
idea
was
terrible
to
her
)
make
him
suppose
that
she
was
jealous
,
that
she
loved
him
.
It
was
a
great
relief
to
her
when
there
suddenly
came
a
telegram
,
sent
on
from
Hamlin’s
lodgings
,
and
opened
by
his
servant
,
which
announced
for
next
evening
the
arrival
of
Melton
Perry
,
who
knew
nothing
of
Hamlin’s
momentary
absence
from
town
.
“
Oh
,
Aunt
Claudia
,
”
cried
Anne
,
“
Mr
Perry
is
coming
to‐morrow
evening
!
Do
you
think
—
oh
,
do
you
think
you
could
have
him
to
stay
here
till
Mr
Hamlin
return
?
”
“
Who
is
Mr
Perry
?
”
asked
Chough
,
who
was
dining
with
them
,
suddenly
pricking
up
his
ears
at
Anne’s
excited
tone
.
Could
he
be
the
explanation
of
Anne’s
indifference
to
Hamlin
?
thought
the
poet
of
the
Eternal
Feminine
.
“
Mr
Perry
,
”
answered
Anne
,
“
is
the
gentleman
in
whose
house
I
was
a
servant
until
I
met
Mr
Hamlin
—
the
father
of
the
little
girls
whose
maid
I
was
.
He
was
very
kind
to
me
,
and
I
am
very
fond
of
him
.
”
Cosmo
Chough
stared
at
her
in
amazement
.
He
had
quite
forgotten
,
indeed
he
had
never
properly
realised
,
that
this
queenly
woman
,
this
more
than
Dante’s
Beatrice
or
Petrarch’s
Laura
,
had
actually
been
a
nursemaid
—
a
servant
!
She
a
servant
!
he
repeated
to
himself
,
looking
at
Miss
Brown
as
she
sat
opposite
him
;
at
this
goddess
,
it
seemed
to
him
,
with
the
wonderful
face
as
of
one
of
Michelangelo’s
Titanesses
;
the
solemn
,
mysterious
,
onyx‐grey
eyes
;
the
something
superhumanly
grand
in
person
and
movement
.
To
have
been
a
servant
,
and
to
remind
people
of
it
,
was
his
next
thought
;
and
this
Cosmo
Chough
,
conscious
of
his
supposed
father
the
duke
,
and
of
his
real
father
the
apothecary
at
Limerick
,
was
absolutely
unable
to
comprehend
.
“
Mr
Perry
,
except
Miss
Curzon
,
was
the
only
friend
I
ever
had
,
until
—
until
I
met
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
went
on
Miss
Brown
.
“
You
will
give
him
the
spare
room
,
Aunt
Claudia
,
for
my
sake
,
won’t
you
?
And
you
will
let
me
arrange
it
for
him
,
and
make
it
look
a
little
untidy
,
and
put
match‐boxes
and
pipe‐lights
about
,
so
that
he
may
feel
a
little
comfortable
.
”
Mrs
Macgregor
laughed
.
“
Put
as
many
pipe‐lights
about
as
you
please
,
my
dear
;
but
if
he
fill
Watty’s
studio
with
pipe‐smoke
,
you
will
be
responsible
,
not
I
.
”
The
next
afternoon
Anne
Brown
was
just
in
the
midst
of
what
she
called
making
the
spare
room
look
untidy
,
taking
out
the
superfluous
æsthetic
furniture
which
would
,
she
knew
,
fidget
her
former
master
to
death
,
dragging
in
leather
arm‐chairs
instead
of
imitation
Queen
Anne
things
,
and
piling
newspapers
and
novels
on
the
table
,
when
a
visitor
was
announced
.
She
went
down
into
the
drawing‐room
,
and
,
to
her
surprise
,
found
Edmund
Lewis
.
An
inexpressible
sense
of
disgust
came
over
her
,
This
man
personified
all
that
she
hated
most
of
that
past
with
which
she
was
about
to
break
for
ever
.
The
little
man
with
the
auburn
beard
and
sealing‐wax
lips
was
considerably
less
free‐and‐easy
and
sultan‐like
than
usual
;
his
humiliation
,
whatever
it
was
,
had
evidently
done
him
good
.
Indeed
,
Miss
Brown
was
almost
beginning
to
ask
herself
whether
she
might
not
have
been
a
little
unjust
towards
him
also
,
so
respectful
and
amiable
had
he
made
himself
,
when
it
began
to
dawn
upon
her
that
there
was
an
explanation
for
his
visit
much
more
in
keeping
with
the
character
she
had
hitherto
attributed
to
him
.
“
I
hear
that
Walter
Hamlin
is
in
Paris
with
his
cousin
,
”
he
had
remarked
,
after
a
few
minutes’
conversation
.
He
had
tried
to
say
it
in
an
off‐hand
manner
;
but
Anne
had
felt
his
green
eyes
fixed
curiously
upon
her
.
“
Yes
;
they
have
gone
to
settle
about
sending
Boris
to
the
Lycée
.
”
Lewis
hereupon
made
some
remarks
about
English
and
French
schools
,
and
upon
the
education
of
Boris
Elaguine
;
but
slowly
and
dexterously
he
made
the
conversation
return
to
Sacha
and
Hamlin
;
he
made
the
conspicuous
matter
no
longer
the
object
of
Madame
Elaguine’s
and
Hamlin’s
journey
to
Paris
,
but
the
journey
itself
.
“
I
don’t
think
Madame
Elaguine’s
Russian
relations
—
her
aunt
who
lives
in
Paris
and
Boris’s
grandfather
—
will
be
particularly
pleased
at
her
going
about
like
that
with
a
young
man
,
”
he
said
.
“
Russians
are
such
corrupt
people
,
they
see
mischief
in
everything
.
”
Anne
understood
.
Edmund
Lewis
,
who
always
hated
her
,
had
been
unable
to
resist
the
temptation
,
now
that
both
Hamlin
and
Sacha
were
safe
out
of
the
way
,
of
seeing
the
proud
Miss
Brown
wince
beneath
his
compassion
.
He
was
artistically
playing
upon
the
feelings
of
humiliation
and
anger
with
which
he
imagined
her
to
be
filled
.
“
Madame
Elaguine
is
Mr
Hamlin’s
cousin
,
you
must
remember
,
”
answered
Anne
,
quietly
bending
over
her
embroidery
.
“
True
;
but
the
people
who
meet
them
in
Paris
won’t
know
that
,
or
won’t
believe
it
.
Besides
,
it’s
not
as
if
they
had
always
lived
together
and
been
as
brother
and
sister
,
as
some
cousins
have
.
I
think
Madame
Elaguine
is
very
rash
to
run
the
risk
of
unnecessary
gossip
;
and
I
must
say
I
can’t
understand
Hamlin
being
so
dense
as
not
to
see
that
he
was
compromising
his
cousin
,
especially
as
people
were
beginning
to
notice
his
assiduity
to
his
cousin
even
here
.
Of
course
,
however
,
”
added
Lewis
,
fixing
his
eyes
on
Miss
Brown
,
“
being
engaged
,
to
you
makes
a
difference
to
Hamlin
.
A
man
who
is
engaged
to
be
married
may
,
I
suppose
,
go
about
with
any
woman
—
it
is
as
if
he
were
married
.
I
am
very
sorry
I
shall
be
far
away
,
somewhere
in
Central
Asia
or
South
America
—
I
don’t
know
where
—
when
your
marriage
will
come
off
,
Miss
Brown
.
I
must
make
my
congratulations
betimes
.
”
“
There
is
nothing
to
congratulate
about
,
”
answered
Anne
,
quietly
;
“
there
has
been
no
question
of
my
marrying
Mr
Hamlin
.
I
am
sorry
such
an
idea
should
have
got
abroad
.
I
was
,
you
know
,
Mr
Hamlin’s
ward
till
lately
,
and
I
am
now
taking
advantage
of
his
aunt’s
kindness
to
stay
here
till
—
till
I
settle
what
I
am
going
to
do
;
I
may
be
going
to
Girton
—
I
don’t
know
.
”
“
Oh
,
indeed
!
”
exclaimed
Lewis
;
“
pray
forgive
my
unintentional
impertinence
then
.
Girton
?
Ah
—
How
long
do
you
intend
remaining
there
?
”
“
I
don’t
know
.
Nothing
is
settled
yet
.
”
Anne
was
determined
not
to
let
this
man
enjoy
his
impertinence
and
spitefulness
:
he
should
go
away
baffled
.
“
I
may
stay
there
altogether
.
I
should
rather
like
to
be
a
teacher
.
”
“
And
I
,
”
said
Lewis
,
with
one
of
his
would‐be
fascinating
smiles
,
“
would
,
in
that
case
,
like
to
be
a
pupil
,
Miss
Brown
.
”
Anne
did
not
answer
.
He
must
be
disappointed
,
she
thought
.
But
he
was
determined
to
get
some
satisfaction
out
of
her
.
“
I
can’t
get
over
Hamlin’s
thoughtlessness
in
accompanying
Madame
Elaguine
to
Paris
,
”
he
said
.
“
It
would
have
been
so
simple
to
ask
some
lady
to
be
of
the
party
.
I
suppose
you
did
not
like
leaving
Mrs
Macgregor
?
I
was
sorry
to
hear
that
she
was
ailing
.
”
“
There
was
no
question
of
my
going
,
”
answered
Anne
;
“
and
I
do
think
it
is
such
silly
nonsense
about
any
one
being
required
.
If
people
choose
to
think
that
Mr
Hamlin
is
going
to
marry
his
cousin
—
well
,
why
not
?
It
would
be
a
very
natural
thing
if
he
did
.
”
She
looked
Lewis
boldly
in
the
face
.
It
was
the
first
time
that
she
had
said
the
thing
which
she
believed
,
hoped
for
,
prayed
for
.
Edmund
Lewis
was
evidently
staggered
;
and
Anne
enjoyed
watching
his
discomfiture
.
But
a
thought
soon
came
into
his
subtle
head
.
“
I
suppose
you
see
a
good
deal
of
Mr
Richard
Brown
?
”
he
asked
;
“
he’s
an
extraordinarily
clever
man
.
”
“
Yes
;
he
is
very
able
.
I
see
him
often
enough
.
At
present
his
electioneering
business
doesn’t
leave
him
much
time
.
”
“
Ah
,
to
be
sure
.
It
costs
a
lot
of
money
,
doesn’t
it
,
to
get
into
Parliament
?
But
I
suppose
Mr
Brown
is
rich
now
,
is
he
not
?
”
“
He
is
well
off
.
”
“
And
he
is
sure
to
succeed
.
He
has
a
fine
career
before
him
,
”
mused
Lewis
.
He
had
,
as
he
thought
,
grasped
the
situation
:
there
had
been
an
amicable
exchange
—
Anne
was
to
marry
Richard
Brown
,
and
Sacha
was
to
have
Hamlin
.
All
his
enemies
—
for
Sacha
and
Hamlin
had
evidently
sent
him
to
the
right-about
—
were
going
to
be
happily
settled
.
His
paste‐coloured
face
grew
pastier
than
ever
;
he
bit
his
scarlet
lips
and
auburn
moustache
;
he
looked
horribly
angry
and
malignant
;
wickeder
than
even
Anne
,
who
had
always
hated
him
,
would
have
believed
it
possible
.
But
he
kept
his
temper
—
nay
,
he
was
quite
unusually
deferential
and
sweet
.
He
led
the
conversation
to
other
topics
;
and
Anne
thought
that
his
only
object
was
now
to
talk
no
more
about
the
affairs
which
he
had
so
misjudged
,
when
,
she
scarcely
knew
how
,
he
began
to
talk
about
Wotton
Hall
—
first
about
the
scenery
,
then
about
the
grounds
,
then
the
house
,
then
their
stay
there
,
and
finally
about
the
incident
of
the
burning
bed
.
He
went
over
all
the
circumstances
of
it
;
he
summed
up
all
that
he
and
Anne
knew
of
Madame
Elaguine’s
persecution
;
and
then
,
as
if
discussing
a
curious
psychological
problem
,
he
asked
her
whether
it
had
ever
occurred
to
her
that
there
was
any
possibility
that
the
persecution
should
be
a
fraud
,
and
that
the
bed
had
been
set
fire
to
by
Madame
Elaguine
herself
.
“
I
don’t
know
whether
you
remarked
at
the
time
,
that
the
flames
burst
out
just
two
minutes
after
Madame
Elaguine
had
fetched
the
cigarette‐papers
out
of
her
room
,
and
that
she
had
given
orders
to
her
maid
not
to
come
until
she
should
be
rung
for
,
”
said
Lewis
;
“
also
,
that
Madame
Elaguine
seemed
extremely
unwilling
that
any
inquiry
should
be
made
into
the
matter
afterwards
.
”
Anne
said
nothing
;
the
recollection
of
the
precious
lace‐trimmed
dressing‐gown
,
placed
carefully
out
of
the
way
of
the
flames
,
and
of
that
sentence
,
“
And
they
never
forgot
,
so
long
as
they
lived
,
that
terrible
burning
bed
,
”
which
had
caught
her
eye
in
little
Hélène
Elaguine’s
story‐book
,
came
into
her
mind
.
She
had
put
that
matter
of
the
persecution
behind
her
of
late
,
and
yet
in
her
heart
she
felt
that
she
believed
it
to
be
a
fraud
.
“
I
have
had
my
doubts
about
it
,
”
bending
over
her
work
lest
Lewis
should
see
her
face
.
“
Indeed
,
”
she
added
boldly
,
indignant
at
her
own
want
of
frankness
,
“
I
am
inclined
to
believe
that
Madame
Elaguine
did
set
that
bed
on
fire
.
Several
things
have
made
me
think
so
.
”
Lewis
smiled
.
“
I
am
glad
to
find
that
you
take
my
view
of
the
case
,
Miss
Brown
.
The
chemist
at
Appledore
—
where
,
if
you
remember
,
Madame
Elaguine
went
for
some
shopping
the
day
before
the
fire
—
showed
me
himself
the
bottle
of
acid
from
which
he
had
helped
Madame
Elaguine
—
I
forget
the
name
of
the
stuff
—
she
said
she
wanted
some
to
take
spots
out
of
a
dress
.
”
“
Indeed
,
”
went
on
Lewis
,
“
I
think
that
we
have
in
Madame
Elaguine
a
very
curious
instance
of
a
sort
of
monomania
which
has
,
I
believe
,
its
scientific
name
,
”
—
and
Lewis
began
to
retail
a
variety
of
instances
,
culled
out
of
some
volume
of
‘Causes
célèbres
,
’
of
persons
who
had
elaborately
made
up
persecutions
of
which
themselves
were
victims
.
He
had
always
been
fond
of
talking
as
if
he
knew
a
great
deal
about
morbid
conditions
of
the
brain
,
and
,
indeed
,
morbid
things
of
all
sorts
;
and
he
talked
for
some
time
as
if
he
took
a
purely
abstract
interest
in
the
case
.
“
One
is
apt
to
meet
very
singular
types
among
Russian
women
,
especially
such
as
have
led
a
wandering
life
like
Madame
Elaguine
,
”
went
on
Lewis
.
“
They
are
devoured
by
a
passion
for
the
forbidden
,
or
at
least
for
the
unreal
and
theatrical
;
there
is
something
strangely
crooked
in
their
moral
vision
,
something
discordant
in
their
nature
.
They
are
extraordinary
,
charming
,
intelligent
,
depraved
creatures
.
Only
a
Russian
woman
could
be
at
once
so
childish
and
so
theatrical
and
insincere
,
so
full
of
idealism
and
of
cynicism
,
as
Madame
Elaguine
.
Ah
,
she
is
a
wonderful
being
!
That
matter
of
the
burning
bed
finishes
her
off
perfectly
.
”
Edmund
Lewis
fixed
his
green
magnetic
eyes
on
Anne
.
He
still
believed
that
she
must
hate
Sacha
,
as
it
was
clear
that
,
for
some
reason
or
other
,
he
hated
the
Russian
;
and
he
wished
,
by
giving
Miss
Brown
these
notions
about
Madame
Elaguine
,
to
induce
her
to
revenge
herself
and
him
.
But
Anne
had
become
quite
dense
to
his
intentions
.
She
did
not
connect
these
ideas
with
Lewis
;
his
words
seemed
to
her
now
the
mere
expression
of
all
the
things
which
her
own
instinct
had
revealed
,
and
which
she
had
put
behind
her
in
her
desire
that
Sacha
should
relieve
her
of
the
intolerable
debt
to
Hamlin
.
The
creature
described
by
this
odious
man
was
the
real
Sacha
;
she
was
Madame
Elaguine
as
she
now
clearly
appeared
to
Miss
Brown
.
And
yet
how
unjust
!
Lewis
had
wanted
to
torment
her
by
making
her
jealous
of
Madame
Elaguine
;
he
now
wished
to
pay
off
Madame
Elaguine
for
having
,
in
some
manner
,
slighted
his
own
vanity
.
“
I
think
you
take
a
dreadful
view
of
the
matter
,
”
she
said
;
“
you
explain
Madame
Elaguine
,
who
is
only
half
a
Russian
,
by
all
the
horrible
Russians
you
have
ever
met
or
imagined
.
I
think
there
is
a
much
simpler
explanation
.
Madame
Elaguine
has
been
very
strangely
brought
up
;
she
has
lived
with
very
bad
people
;
her
husband
was
a
horrible
wretch
,
we
all
know
.
She
is
excessively
hysterical
—
her
mother
,
Mr
Hamlin’s
aunt
,
was
so
also
—
and
we
all
know
that
the
desire
to
be
prominent
,
to
deceive
,
is
a
common
form
of
hysteria
.
And
as
she
has
never
been
brought
up
to
restrain
herself
,
she
imagines
herself
to
be
persecuted
,
and
makes
up
the
persecution
.
She
is
much
more
to
be
pitied
than
to
be
blamed
.
”
Anne
spoke
rapidly
.
She
seemed
to
be
speaking
fairly
;
and
yet
she
knew
she
was
wilfully
misrepresenting
,
that
Madame
Elaguine
was
something
more
than
a
hysterical
monomaniac
:
she
remembered
Mrs
Macgregor’s
stories
of
Sacha’s
degraded
childhood
,
all
the
accusations
of
her
precocious
lying
and
unchasteness
,
of
her
having
led
one
of
her
cousins
into
mischief
,
and
set
the
house
by
the
ears
.
She
was
indignant
with
herself
for
defending
this
woman
—
out
of
charity
?
out
of
conviction
?
No.
But
merely
because
she
required
that
this
woman
be
sufficiently
innocent
to
become
Hamlin’s
wife
.
Edmund
Lewis
stroked
his
auburn
beard
meditatively
.
“
I
don’t
believe
in
praise
and
blame
,
”
he
answered
;
“
I
believe
merely
in
fate
.
Some
people
are
born
noble
,
truthful
,
chaste
—
others
just
the
reverse
.
It
is
the
fault
of
neither
;
and
each
,
in
its
way
,
is
equally
interesting
and
valuable
to
the
artist
or
the
psychologist
.
The
curious
thing
about
Madame
Elaguine
is
,
that
she
apparently
stands
half‐way
;
she
is
,
according
to
the
ideas
of
the
world
,
half
responsible
and
half
irresponsible
.
We
see
in
her
a
hysterical
woman
,
troubled
by
a
morbid
love
of
deceit
;
and
at
the
same
time
a
woman
to
whom
such
deceit
is
or
has
been
practically
necessary
.
Madame
Elaguine
continues
for
her
amusement
,
and
develops
to
the
utmost
,
an
imaginary
persecution
,
whose
origin
must
be
sought
in
some
intrigue
which
it
was
her
interest
to
veil
by
a
mystification
,
”
Lewis
drawled
on
in
his
omniscient
,
half‐pedantic
way
,
as
if
the
intrigues
of
married
women
were
the
most
usual
subject
of
conversation
between
a
man
and
a
young
lady
,
and
as
if
to
suggest
that
Madame
Elaguine
had
led
a
loose
life
were
the
most
obvious
and
inoffensive
of
proceedings
.
Miss
Brown
blushed
crimson
;
but
she
felt
something
more
than
insulted
,
something
more
than
indignant
.
What
right
had
this
man
to
focus
all
her
own
suspicions
concerning
a
woman
whom
she
fervently
wished
not
to
suspect
?
“
Mr
Lewis
,
”
she
said
,
“
I
don’t
think
those
things
should
be
listened
to
by
me
or
said
by
you
.
I
believe
that
Madame
Elaguine
is
not
sound
in
her
mind
,
and
that
her
persecution
is
a
hoax
;
but
I
believe
that
she
is
an
honest
woman
in
other
respects
.
She
is
a
friend
of
mine
,
and
I
will
not
hear
her
slandered
.
”
“
Heaven
forbid
that
I
should
wish
to
slander
her
!
I
think
she
is
a
fascinating
woman
;
and
she
is
—
at
least
she
was
—
quite
as
great
a
friend
of
mine
as
of
yours
.
I
was
only
telling
you
how
I
explain
her
character
.
”
Lewis
had
always
appeared
a
reptile
in
Anne’s
eyes
;
but
never
so
much
as
just
now
.
“
I
hate
scandal
,
”
he
said
,
taking
his
hat
,
“
and
I
am
most
grieved
to
have
appeared
to
be
talking
scandal
.
People
always
misunderstand
the
sort
of
passionate
interest
I
take
in
every
kind
of
curious
character
.
I
suppose
you
would
call
it
morbid
,
Miss
Brown
;
but
I
really
was
considering
Madame
Elaguine
merely
as
an
interesting
study
.
”
All
this
kind
of
talk
,
of
which
Hamlin
was
so
fond
,
perfectly
sickened
Anne
;
and
the
sudden
stirring
up
of
all
her
old
suspicions
was
exasperating
.
“
That
is
all
very
fine
,
”
she
said
angrily
;
“
but
do
you
,
or
do
you
not
,
believe
Madame
Elaguine
to
be
a
dishonourable
woman
,
apart
from
this
monomania
?
”
“
It
is
very
hard
to
say
.
You
know
I
disbelieve
in
what
you
call
moral
responsibilities
.
I
imagine
Madame
Elaguine
to
have
found
her
mania
for
persecution
very
convenient
at
one
period
of
her
life
—
yes
,
certainly
.
I
think
it
is
the
only
rational
way
to
account
for
the
beginning
of
it
—
don’t
you
?
”
Miss
Brown
took
no
notice
of
Lewis’s
insolent
inquisitiveness
of
manner
.
“
If
you
think
that
,
Mr
Lewis
,
”
she
said
,
“
may
I
ask
how
you
reconciled
with
your
notions
of
gentlemanly
behaviour
the
calm
way
in
which
you
let
Mr
Hamlin
introduce
such
a
woman
as
you
describe
to
me
,
and
let
me
continue
to
know
her
?
No
;
you
are
perfectly
aware
that
all
this
is
merely
trumped
up
at
the
moment
.
”
And
she
put
her
hand
on
the
bell‐handle
,
for
the
door
to
be
opened
to
Lewis
.
Edmund
Lewis
smiled
.
“
Walter
Hamlin’s
eyes
are
quite
as
good
as
mine
.
As
regards
my
behaviour
towards
you
,
I
cannot
go
into
details
,
but
you
may
understand
,
dear
Miss
Brown
,
that
two
or
three
months
ago
I
may
not
,
as
a
man
of
honour
,
have
been
at
liberty
to
discuss
Madame
Elaguine’s
character
in
the
way
that
I
have
done
now
that
Madame
Elaguine’s
relations
with
me
have
entirely
changed
their
nature
.
Good‐bye
,
dear
Miss
Brown
.
I
am
most
truly
grieved
if
I
have
offended
you
in
any
way
.
”
Anne
merely
made
an
impatient
gesture
,
a
gesture
almost
of
disgust
,
as
Edmund
Lewis
left
the
room
.
So
this
was
the
explanation
of
Edmund
Lewis’s
apparent
disgrace
!
Sacha
Elaguine
had
repelled
his
odious
advances
,
she
had
closed
her
door
to
him
,
she
had
complained
to
Hamlin
;
and
now
,
as
soon
as
their
backs
were
turned
,
Lewis
had
come
to
slander
them
without
fear
of
a
horsewhipping
.
Anne
seemed
to
breathe
once
more
—
thank
heaven
that
the
wretch
had
overreached
himself
in
his
malice
!
CHAPTER
VI
.
THE
door
had
scarcely
closed
upon
Edmund
Lewis
,
when
it
opened
again
suddenly
.
“
Mr
Perry
!
”
cried
Anne
,
rising
and
running
forward
as
a
child
might
run
to
meet
a
former
kind
and
encouraging
teacher
;
“
Mr
Perry
!
oh
I
am
so
glad
to
see
you
!
”
It
really
seemed
to
her
that
this
dear
,
good
,
open
familiar
face
,
with
the
untidy
yellow
hair
and
beard
,
—
that
this
well‐known
,
boyish
,
slouching
figure
drove
away
like
some
cabalistic
sign
the
loathsome
creature
who
had
been
there
a
few
minutes
before
,
—
that
Melton
Perry
dispelled
all
the
horrid
vision
left
behind
by
Edmund
Lewis
.
“
Didn’t
expect
me
yet
,
eh
,
Annie
—
I
mean
Miss
Brown
?
”
said
Melton
Perry
,
as
she
seized
his
hand
in
both
hers
.
“
I
suppose
you
expected
me
by
the
Dover
train
.
But
I
came
by
Dieppe
,
six
hours’
agony
,
but
a
saving
of
twelve‐and‐sixpence
.
I
was
always
an
economical
creature
,
wasn’t
I
?
Why
,
what’s
that
you
have
round
your
neck
?
That
beastly
little
pewter
and
horn
rosary
that
I
got
you
at
the
Fair
of
the
Impruneta
,
by
George
!
Fancy
your
having
kept
such
a
thing
!
”
“
It’s
one
of
the
best
things
I
have
,
”
said
Anne
,
the
tears
coming
into
her
eyes
as
this
well‐known
voice
brought
back
the
far‐distant
past
—
“
it’s
the
present
of
a
friend
.
”
“
And
all
this
,
isn’t
this
also
the
present
of
a
friend
?
”
said
Perry
,
throwing
himself
into
an
arm‐chair
,
and
looking
round
the
room
with
much
the
same
wonder
with
which
Anne
had
looked
at
its
strange
furniture
,
its
brocades
and
embroideries
,
and
Japanese
vases
and
lustre
plates
,
when
she
first
came
;
“
but
I
forgot
,
Walter
Hamlin
isn’t
a
particular
friend
of
yours
.
”
To
this
jest
Miss
Brown
made
no
answer
:
if
only
Melton
Perry
could
guess
at
the
literal
truth
of
his
words
!
“
Lord
,
what
a
damned
gorgeous
place
this
is
!
”
cried
Perry
,
still
looking
round
;
and
then
,
suddenly
turning
towards
Anne
,
where
she
sat
,
in
a
wonderful
trailing
dress
of
deep
crimson
stamped
velvet
,
a
big
bunch
of
blackish
crimson
roses
marking
off
,
throwing
into
relief
,
the
strange
opaque
ivory
of
her
face
,
“
what
a
beautiful
woman
you
are
,
Annie
!
Do
you
know
,
I
usen’t
to
believe
it
,
when
Watty
raved
about
you
at
the
Villa
Arnolfini
.
What
a
crusty
old
jackass
I
must
have
been
!
But
tell
,
why
in
the
wide
world
aren’t
you
married
yet
?
What
have
you
been
doing
all
this
time
?
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
has
not
asked
me
to
marry
him
yet
,
”
answered
Anne
,
laconically
.
Melton
Perry
thrust
his
hands
upon
the
arms
of
his
chair
,
and
his
whole
body
forward
.
“
Not
asked
you
to
marry
him
yet
!
”
he
repeated
;
“
do
you
mean
to
say
you
aren’t
engaged
to
him
.
.
.
?
”
Anne
shook
her
head
.
“
That
he’s
been
going
loafing
,
and
spooning
,
and
doing
Vita
Nuova
all
this
time
?
I
thought
that
he
must
have
lost
two
dozen
grandfathers
and
grandmothers
in
rapid
succession
,
so
that
one
mourning
postponed
your
marriage
after
the
other
,
or
something
similar
.
”
Then
a
thought
suddenly
struck
him
.
“
Hamlin’s
not
ill
?
”
he
cried
.
“
Consumption
,
madness
,
doctors’
consultations
,
—
anything
of
that
sort
?
”
Miss
Brown
could
not
help
smiling
.
“
Oh
no
,
Mr
Hamlin
has
been
quite
well
.
He
is
in
Paris
at
present
;
he
didn’t
expect
you
quite
so
soon
,
but
he
will
be
back
in
a
day
or
two
.
”
Melton
Perry
rose
and
looked
Anne
very
earnestly
in
the
face
—
“
Miss
Brown
—
no
,
I
can’t
call
you
Miss
Brown
—
Annie
,
tell
me
the
truth
.
Has
Hamlin
not
kept
his
word
—
has
he
played
you
any
dirty
trick
?
No
,
no
,
I
don’t
mean
anything
,
—
but
,
has
Hamlin
played
fast
and
loose
with
you
?
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
never
intended
asking
me
to
marry
him
at
once
,
”
answered
Anne
,
evasively
.
She
felt
in
Melton
Perry’s
suspicions
that
again
,
as
with
her
cousin
,
Hamlin
would
be
attacked
,
maligned
,
that
she
would
have
to
defend
him
.
“
Don’t
you
remember
,
Mr
Perry
?
We
were
to
wait
,
to
see
whether
we
really
.
.
.
I
will
tell
you
all
about
it
later
—
to‐morrow
.
It
is
a
long
story
;
I
want
to
hear
about
you
now
,
about
Italy
—
about
your
work
,
the
children
,
Mrs
Perry
.
”
“
Mr
Hamlin
,
”
she
added
,
fearing
lest
her
evasive
answers
,
her
haste
to
get
rid
of
the
subject
,
should
prejudice
Perry
against
his
friend
,
“
has
been
most
generous
and
noble
towards
me
;
indeed
much
more
than
I
can
ever
say
.
”
“
I’m
damned
if
I
understand
any
of
it
,
”
said
Perry
to
himself
,
as
he
proceeded
to
answer
Anne’s
rapid
strings
of
questions
about
his
wife
,
his
little
girls
,
his
pictures
,
his
etchings
,
—
those
etchings
,
never
thought
of
before
,
which
had
revealed
in
this
sixth‐rate
painter
a
great
artist
,
and
had
brought
him
,
in
good
case
to
make
money
,
to
England
.
Miss
Brown
insisted
upon
showing
him
up
to
his
room
herself
.
As
she
was
leaving
him
,
he
looked
at
her
long
and
seriously
.
“
Annie
,
”
he
said
,
“
if
it’s
not
rude
to
ask
,
for
I’ve
forgotten
—
how
old
are
you
?
”
“
I
was
twenty‐four
last
month
.
Why
do
you
ask
?
Do
you
think
I
look
more
?
”
—
she
added
,
with
a
smile
whose
bitterness
he
did
not
catch
.
She
could
scarcely
realise
it
herself
;
she
seemed
to
have
lived
so
long
,
such
years
and
years
since
she
had
seen
him
last
—
nay
,
since
she
had
first
entered
this
room
.
“
Twenty‐four
,
”
repeated
Perry
,
stupidly
.
“
Well
now
,
don’t
be
offended
—
of
course
you
couldn’t
be
more
,
for
you
weren’t
of
age
when
you
left
us
;
but
somehow
—
it
isn’t
that
you
don’t
look
young
,
you
know
,
but
all
the
same
I
should
have
thought
.
.
.
I’m
a
rude
brute
.
”
“
That
I
was
much
older
,
”
laughed
Miss
Brown
.
“
Well
,
I
often
think
so
myself
.
”
“
It’s
something
,
I
don’t
know
what
.
You
are
far
handsomer
than
in
Italy
,
and
you
never
did
look
much
like
a
girl
—
you
know
what
I
mean
;
but
now
,
upon
my
word
,
I
don’t
know
how
to
say
it
,
I
never
saw
an
unmarried
woman
look
like
you
.
You
look
as
if
you
had
seen
and
understood
such
a
heap
of
things
.
I
feel
quite
a
fool
before
you
.
Forgive
me
,
”
he
said
,
“
I’m
always
a
blundering
tomfool
.
I
had
somehow
thought
of
you
as
something
like
my
own
girls
.
Winnie’s
sixteen
,
you
know
,
and
such
a
strapping
girl
.
But
I
feel
as
if
you
might
be
my
grandmother
.
”
Anne
laughed
.
“
I
have
always
felt
as
if
I
were
your
grandmother
.
I
was
born
old
.
Good‐bye
,
Mr
Perry
.
Remember
that
dinner
is
at
seven
;
and
put
on
a
dress‐coat
if
you
want
to
win
the
heart
of
my
aunt
—
I
mean
Mr
Hamlin’s
aunt
.
”
Melton
Perry
whistled
as
he
stooped
to
unbuckle
his
portmanteau
.
“
I’m
damned
if
I
understand
anything
of
it
all
,
and
Annie
least
of
any
of
them
,
”
he
mused
.
CHAPTER
VII
.
“
AFTER
all
,
”
said
Melton
Perry
to
himself
next
morning
,
as
he
sat
under
the
big
apple‐trees
in
the
garden
,
smoking
his
pipe
and
looking
at
Miss
Brown
stitching
at
a
piece
of
embroidery
and
overwhelming
him
with
questions
about
Winnie
,
Mildred
,
Leila
,
the
baby
,
Mrs
Perry
—
nay
,
even
about
all
her
former
fellow‐servants
in
Italy
,
and
the
grocer
round
the
corner
,
and
the
milkman
,
and
the
man
who
came
from
the
country
every
Monday
to
fetch
the
linen
,
—
“
after
all
,
it
was
a
very
bright
idea
of
old
Watty’s
to
fall
in
love
with
our
nursemaid
and
turn
her
into
a
wonderful
æsthetic
being
in
a
wonderful
æsthetic
house
:
it
was
very
sensible
of
Mrs
Perry
to
encourage
him
in
the
idea
;
and
it
was
just
like
a
confounded
,
fumbling
,
purblind
old
pig
and
ass
like
me
to
try
and
prevent
it
.
”
After
lunch
Anne
took
Melton
Perry
up
into
the
drawing‐room
,
cool
,
and
almost
Italian
,
with
drawn
blinds
and
a
faint
smell
of
flowers
in
the
dusk
,
on
one
of
the
most
stifling
London
afternoons
.
Perry
mechanically
took
out
a
cigarette
;
but
he
hastily
put
it
in
again
.
It
seemed
to
him
profanation
to
smoke
in
such
a
wonderful
room
,
in
the
presence
of
such
a
wonderful
woman
.
“
Please
smoke
;
you
used
always
to
smoke
after
lunch
with
Mrs
Perry
,
”
said
Anne
.
“
But
—
this
isn’t
Florence
;
and
you
—
you
aren’t
Mrs
Perry
.
”
Anne
made
an
impatient
gesture
that
he
should
take
out
his
cigarettes
again
.
She
had
determined
that
she
must
speak
to
him
before
Hamlin
came
;
that
she
must
try
and
get
him
to
understand
,
to
explain
things
to
Hamlin
.
But
how
get
this
good‐natured
,
kindly
,
childish
,
yet
in
a
way
chivalrous
,
harum‐scarum
creature
to
understand
her
story
?
She
had
a
great
dread
of
the
impossibility
of
making
him
understand
that
Hamlin
had
never
acted
meanly
towards
her
—
that
their
estrangement
was
due
to
nothing
voluntary
on
Hamlin’s
part
,
to
nothing
but
the
disappointing
of
her
own
perhaps
unwarranted
ideals
;
of
making
him
understand
that
Hamlin’s
connection
with
Madame
Elaguine
,
instead
of
being
a
grievance
in
her
eyes
,
was
the
greatest
happiness
she
could
conceive
.
Perry
was
sure
to
burst
out
against
Hamlin
,
to
refuse
to
listen
to
her
explanations
,
to
insist
upon
fighting
the
battle
of
an
injured
woman
.
Anne
groaned
at
the
thought
,
as
she
might
have
groaned
at
some
immense
stone
to
roll
uphill
.
It
was
always
so
difficult
for
her
to
understand
others
,
so
intolerably
more
difficult
to
make
herself
understood
.
But
she
had
resolved
.
“
I
must
tell
you
all
my
history
since
last
we
saw
each
other
,
”
she
said
;
“
you
will
want
to
hear
it
,
won’t
you
,
Mr
Perry
?
”
Perry
,
to
whose
brain
all
the
unwonted
splendour
of
this
house
,
all
the
fantasticalness
of
finding
his
former
nursemaid
changed
into
a
magnificently
dressed
goddess
,
had
gone
with
a
sort
of
narcotic
effect
,
answered
in
a
stupefied
way
,
“
Oh
dear
,
yes
—
of
course
—
I’m
dying
to
hear
it
.
I
can’t
at
all
realise
that
it
is
really
you
,
Annie
,
or
really
anybody
and
anything
.
Do
you
remember
when
we
went
into
Lucca
that
day
for
the
feast
of
the
Holy
Face
,
and
I
left
you
with
Winnie
and
Mildred
to
go
to
the
opera
with
Hamlin
?
D’you
remember
the
plaster
bust
of
Castruccio
at
the
top
of
the
hotel
stairs
,
with
the
old
woman’s
night‐cap
on
?
I
don’t
know
why
that
bust
haunted
me
so
.
What
tiny
trots
Winnie
and
Mildred
were
,
with
sashes
down
at
their
knees
!
and
such
confounded
young
flirts
,
five
feet
seven
,
as
they
are
now
!
I
see
you
have
Winnie’s
photograph
.
How
comic
those
brats
must
have
looked
!
.
.
.
But
won’t
you
tell
me
all
your
marvellous
and
incredible
circumstances
?
”
“
I
scarcely
know
where
to
begin
;
perhaps
I
had
better
begin
at
the
end
.
You
wanted
to
know
,
”
said
Anne
,
making
a
great
effort
to
arrest
Perry’s
attention
,
“
why
Mr
Hamlin
and
I
weren’t
married
yet
,
nor
even
engaged
.
.
.
”
“
Oh
yes
;
what
the
deuce
is
the
meaning
of
it
,
Annie
?
You
are
certainly
the
queerest
people
,
you
æsthetic
folk
.
By
Jove
!
you
actually
have
a
photograph
of
yourself
with
the
children
.
I
had
clean
forgotten
its
existence
;
and
now
I
remember
as
if
it
were
yesterday
taking
you
to
Alinari’s
,
and
how
beastly
naughty
Winnie
was
!
Oh
,
what
a
sulky
blackamoor
you
do
look
,
Annie
!
Good
gracious
!
you
don’t
mean
to
say
you
know
her
?
”
and
Melton
Perry
suddenly
turned
the
album
,
at
which
he
was
looking
,
towards
Anne
.
“
Where
in
the
world
did
you
pick
up
a
photograph
of
Mrs
Constantine
Bulzo
?
”
“
Mrs
Constantine
Bulzo
?
”
asked
Anne
,
in
amazement
.
“
Whom
do
you
mean
?
I
never
heard
of
such
a
person
.
That
photograph
?
—
why
,
that’s
a
half‐Russian
cousin
of
Mr
Hamlin
's
,
Sacha
Elaguine
,
who
was
a
Miss
Polozoff
.
”
“
Hamlin’s
cousin
!
”
whistled
Melton
Perry
,
—
“
well
,
upon
my
word
.
.
.
yes
,
of
course
,
I
had
forgotten
—
of
course
,
her
name
isn’t
Mrs
Constantine
Bulzo
any
longer
.
But
may
I
ask
,
how
under
heaven
do
you
come
to
know
Madame
Elaguine
?
”
“
I
don’t
understand
a
word
.
This
lady
is
Madame
Elaguine
;
she
is
Mr
Hamlin’s
first
cousin
,
and
that’s
of
course
how
I
come
to
know
her
.
”
“
Hamlin’s
cousin
or
not
Hamlin’s
cousin
,
how
in
the
wide
world
could
a
woman
like
you
ever
know
,
ever
meet
such
a
—
such
a
—
excuse
the
word
,
but
it’s
the
least
bad
I
can
find
—
such
an
abominable
baggage
as
this
woman
,
Elaguine
,
or
Bulzo
,
or
Polozoff
—
as
this
abominable
Sacha
?
”
Miss
Brown
turned
white
and
almost
green
;
the
embroidery
slipped
out
of
her
hands
—
she
gasped
.
“
Good
Lord
,
what’s
the
matter
with
you
,
Annie
?
”
cried
Perry
,
jumping
up
;
“
you
surely
didn’t
imagine
that
—
you
surely
can’t
be
a
great
friend
of
such
a
creature
as
that
.
What’s
the
matter
?
—
are
you
ill
?
”
“
It’s
nothing
—
the
heat
,
I
suppose
,
”
said
Anne
,
stooping
to
pick
up
her
embroidery
;
“
and
then
,
also
,
I
suppose
I’m
not
very
strong
yet
;
I’ve
had
brain
fever
,
and
you
took
me
by
surprise
.
But
I
oughtn’t
to
have
been
surprised
,
because
I
know
Sacha
Elaguine
has
a
great
many
enemies
,
and
that
her
circumstances
,
her
history
,
and
in
some
measure
,
unfortunately
,
her
ways
and
character
,
rather
lend
themselves
to
all
manner
of
horrible
stories
.
She’s
a
frightfully
tried
and
slandered
little
woman
,
poor
thing
.
But
I
don’t
—
I
don’t
believe
any
of
it
.
”
Anne
was
conscious
of
a
horrible
effort
as
she
spoke
these
words
;
lying
was
difficult
to
her
;
and
she
remembered
Edmund
Lewis’s
words
.
“
Are
you
really
fond
of
Madame
Bulzo
—
I
mean
Madame
Elaguine
?
”
asked
Perry
,
grown
very
serious
suddenly
,
and
looking
Anne
in
the
face
with
an
expression
of
surprise
and
pain
.
“
Are
you
intimate
with
her
?
”
“
I
am
intimate
in
the
sense
of
having
been
with
her
a
good
deal
,
and
knowing
more
than
other
people
about
her
,
”
answered
Anne
;
“
but
I
can’t
say
I
am
a
great
friend
of
hers
.
She
is
Mr
Hamlin’s
cousin
;
she
has
settled
in
England
recently
;
he
—
we
,
I
mean
—
see
a
good
deal
of
her
.
I
am
awfully
sorry
for
her
,
poor
little
woman
;
but
there
isn’t
very
much
in
common
between
us
.
”
“
Thank
goodness
!
”
cried
Perry
.
“
Do
you
know
,
the
sight
of
that
photograph
made
me
feel
quite
sick
—
the
thought
that
you
,
Annie
,
should
be
the
friend
of
such
a
creature
.
But
I
knew
you
couldn’t
be
.
”
“
But
I
am
Madame
Elaguine’s
friend
;
I
don’t
believe
a
word
of
the
infamous
stories
that
are
told
about
her
;
and
you
wouldn’t
believe
them
either
,
if
you
knew
all
that
I
do
.
”
“
What
do
you
know
?
”
asked
Perry
,
slowly
and
pityingly
;
“
about
the
iniquities
of
Monsieur
Elaguine
,
about
the
terrible
persecution
,
the
bits
of
letters
,
the
pistol‐shots
,
the
poisoned
chocolate
,
the
lit
spirits
of
wine
poured
under
the
door
,
—
all
that
crazy
imposture
,
I
suppose
?
Well
,
I
hope
that
Hamlin
knows
no
more
than
you
;
otherwise
,
by
God
!
he’s
no
better
than
a
blackguard
to
let
you
associate
with
this
woman
,
be
she
his
cousin
a
hundred
times
over
;
and
you
must
never
see
that
woman
again
,
Annie
.
I
forbid
you
to
—
I
,
as
the
oldest
friend
you
have
in
the
world
—
I
forbid
you
to
defile
yourself
by
knowing
that
infamous
creature
.
”
And
Perry
walked
fiercely
up
and
down
,
while
Miss
Brown
,
her
whole
body
,
it
seemed
to
her
,
melting
away
from
her
soul
,
sat
speechless
looking
at
him
.
“
Listen
to
me
,
Anne
,
”
he
said
,
“
and
judge
whether
I
am
unfair
.
God
knows
I’m
not
a
Puritan
,
neither
towards
myself
nor
towards
others
.
I’ve
been
a
very
rowdy
man
;
I’ve
knowu
a
great
many
rowdy
women
—
what
you
call
regular
bad
women
—
Russians
,
who
are
the
worst
of
all
—
by
the
dozen
.
I’m
not
a
red‐tapist
;
I
can
quite
understand
women
misbehaving
,
—
having
lovers
—
that
sort
of
thing
,
—
or
even
,
if
they
are
very
wretched
,
selling
themselves
.
It’s
beastly
immoral
to
say
so
before
a
woman
,
but
still
,
there
it
is
,
it’s
the
truth
.
Well
,
such
as
you
see
me
,
I
wouldn’t
touch
that
woman
with
the
longest
pair
of
tongs
in
all
the
devil’s
kitchen
.
That
woman
is
really
wicked
—
not
merely
immoral
,
but
abominable
,
atrocious
;
she
is
the
sort
of
woman
who
absolutely
degrades
a
man
,
takes
a
pleasure
in
turning
him
into
a
beast
and
a
madman
—
whose
greatest
pleasure
would
be
to
degrade
and
make
a
beast
of
an
honest
woman
.
Just
listen
to
me
.
Some
five
years
ago
I
knew
a
Greek
couple
—
a
young
man
and
his
sister
,
called
Constantine
and
Marie
Bulzo
.
They
were
orphans
,
very
young
,
very
handsome
,
especially
the
boy
,
who
was
only
eighteen
or
nineteen
.
They
were
a
sort
of
half‐English
Greeks
,
and
went
in
for
being
æsthetical
and
artistic
,
all
that
sort
of
thing
.
I
knew
them
in
Florence
,
where
Miss
Bulzo
,
who
was
four
or
five
years
older
than
her
brother
,
was
studying
painting
.
I
gave
them
both
lessons
.
I
never
met
two
such
beautiful
creatures
,
body
and
soul
,
as
those
young
Bulzos
.
They
were
like
young
saints
,
and
yet
perfectly
childish
and
merry
,
and
they
were
quite
devoted
to
each
other
:
Marie
really
lived
only
for
the
boy
.
Well
,
six
months
later
I
met
the
two
at
Venice
.
They
were
staying
at
the
same
hotel
as
your
Madame
Elaguine
,
who
immediately
proceeded
to
make
herself
awfully
fascinating
and
pathetic
to
them
.
Of
course
the
poor
children
swallowed
all
about
the
persecutions
by
the
Nihilists
as
so
much
Gospel
.
They
introduced
me
,
and
Madame
Elaguine
rather
amused
me
;
but
I
saw
very
soon
that
she
wasn’t
a
woman
for
them
to
know
.
There
was
a
man
staying
in
the
same
hotel
,
an
old
friend
of
hers
,
and
,
in
fact
,
her
lover
,
who
was
one
of
the
vilest
scoundrels
the
world
ever
bred
—
a
horrible
loathsome
old
Russian
.
I
used
to
wonder
how
Madame
Elaguine
could
endure
him
,
but
then
I
found
out
that
he
paid
her
bills
for
her
.
I
tried
to
warn
the
Bulzos
,
especially
Constantine
,
as
,
being
a
man
,
he
might
be
expected
to
understand
such
things
rather
better
.
But
,
figurati
!
(
and
Perry
made
an
expressive
gesture
of
Italian
exaggeration
,
)
they
wouldn’t
hear
a
word
against
their
beloved
,
deeply
injured
,
martyrised
Madame
Elaguine
.
Well
,
we
half
quarrelled
;
I
scarcely
saw
anything
of
them
.
At
the
end
of
four
months
what
do
I
hear
,
but
that
Miss
Bulzo
was
married
to
Madame
Elaguine’s
loathsome
Russian
;
and
then
,
a
week
later
,
I
see
Constantine
and
Madame
Elaguine
go
off
in
the
train
together
.
Do
you
understand
?
Madame
Elaguine
,
who
was
in
love
with
young
Bulzo
,
wanted
to
go
off
with
him
,
and
not
knowing
what
to
do
with
Marie
,
and
wishing
to
dismiss
and
settle
accounts
with
her
quondam
lover
,
had
,
in
some
fiendish
way
,
induced
this
innocent
girl
of
twenty‐four
to
marry
this
frightful
old
Russian
sinner
—
had
sold
her
to
the
loathsome
beast
as
a
settlement
to
their
debts
;
and
Marie
,
after
a
few
months
,
simply
pined
away
and
died
of
shame
and
disgust
at
the
slavery
she
had
been
sold
into
.
Do
you
understand
that
?
”
“
I
understand
;
but
I
don’t
see
why
I
should
believe
—
it’s
too
horrible
to
be
true
.
”
“
It
is
true
,
though
,
for
Constantine
Bulzo
told
it
me
all
himself
later
;
how
the
Elaguine
had
talked
him
over
to
consent
,
and
had
regularly
bullied
his
sister
into
the
marriage
,
by
pretending
that
it
was
the
only
way
of
paying
a
lot
of
imaginary
debts
of
her
brother’s
,
and
had
forced
Constantine
,
who
was
raving
in
love
with
her
,
to
hold
his
tongue
.
That
was
the
end
of
Marie
Bulzo
.
Now
as
to
Constantine
.
His
sister
once
safely
married
to
her
old
beast
,
he
went
off
with
the
Elaguine
,
or
rather
,
the
Elaguine
went
off
with
him
.
Next
summer
I
met
them
at
Perugia
;
they
were
travelling
about
in
remote
places
as
Mr
and
Mrs
Bulzo
;
and
English
people
were
so
kind
as
to
believe
that
this
Russian
woman
of
thirty
and
this
Greek
boy
of
twenty
were
married
.
Constantine
perfectly
adored
her
;
but
I
never
saw
a
man
more
changed
:
he
looked
thirty
,
a
miserable
,
hang‐dog
,
effeminate
sort
of
creature
,
quite
unable
to
do
anything
except
drag
after
his
so‐called
wife
.
That
woman
had
regularly
ruined
the
poor
boy
,
broken
his
spirit
,
turned
him
into
a
kind
of
male
odalisque
of
hers
.
Two
years
later
the
Bulzos
were
at
Venice
again
;
and
I
came
just
in
time
for
the
catastrophe
.
One
fine
morning
Mrs
Constantine
Bulzo
,
become
Madame
Elaguine
once
more
,
packed
her
trunks
and
went
off
with
a
French
painter
,
leaving
her
supposed
husband
to
pay
the
hotel
bill
.
”
“
I
saw
Constantine
shortly
after
;
the
woman
had
spent
nearly
all
his
money
,
and
he
was
living
,
or
starving
,
in
a
room
in
a
beastly
court
,
slinking
out
only
early
in
the
morning
and
late
at
night
,
spending
the
day
lying
in
his
bed
,
eating
opium
and
drinking
.
I
never
saw
such
a
wreck
in
my
life
.
As
he
was
starving
,
I
got
him
a
place
as
clerk
at
a
picture‐shop
,
and
tried
to
get
him
to
work
;
but
he
didn’t
seem
to
care
about
living
,
and
went
on
drinking
and
stupefying
himself
,
till
one
day
he
drowned
himself
in
the
lagoon
—
they
say
accidentally
,
but
I
shall
never
believe
it
.
That
is
the
story
of
your
Madame
Elaguine
;
and
I
swear
to
you
I
have
not
exaggerated
one
word
of
it
.
Do
you
still
think
she
is
a
woman
fit
to
be
known
by
you
?
By
heaven
!
when
I
think
what
that
miserable
boy
was
when
I
saw
him
last
,
and
what
he
had
been
when
first
I
knew
him
,
I
feel
as
if
it
would
be
the
greatest
possible
pleasure
to
throttle
your
Madame
Elaguine
with
my
own
hands
!
Upon
my
soul
,
I
do
!
”
Perry
was
walking
up
and
down
rapidly
.
Anne
had
never
seen
him
so
excited
in
his
life
.
“
But
,
”
remarked
Miss
Brown
,
coldly
,
“
even
admitting
your
story
to
be
true
,
which
I
suppose
,
as
it
comes
from
you
,
that
I
must
,
was
it
all
the
woman’s
fault
?
You
men
always
throw
the
blame
on
the
woman
.
But
your
Constantine
Bulzo
must
have
been
a
wretched
weak
creature
.
”
Perry
stopped
short
.
“
No
one
has
a
right
to
expect
every
man
or
every
woman
to
be
very
strong
,
”
he
answered
,
sadly
.
“
This
poor
boy
was
kind
and
trusting
,
and
,
when
left
to
his
own
devices
,
honest
.
He
was
not
weaker
than
most
men
,
especially
than
most
artistic
natures
—
not
weaker
,
for
instance
,
than
Walter
Hamlin
.
”
Anne
Brown
did
not
answer
.
But
next
morning
she
greatly
surprised
Melton
Perry
by
asking
him
,
in
a
voice
that
affected
him
as
being
very
strange
—
“
Did
you
tell
me
something
—
a
dreadful
story
—
about
Madame
Elaguine
and
a
young
Greek
friend
of
yours
,
yesterday
afternoon
?
”
Perry
looked
at
her
with
surprise
.
There
was
something
in
her
wide‐opened
,
strained
eyes
,
in
her
rigidity
of
features
,
that
made
him
think
of
a
sleep‐walker
.
“
Of
course
I
did
.
Why
?
”
“
Oh
,
nothing
.
I
had
only
a
very
bad
night
—
all
manner
of
horrible
dreams
,
and
I
was
not
sure
whether
this
might
not
be
one
of
them
.
”
CHAPTER
VIII
.
“
DO
you
know
,
Annie
,
”
said
Melton
Perry
,
two
or
three
days
later
,
“
I
find
Watty
very
much
altered
.
He
seems
so
fearfully
depressed
and
broken‐spirited
.
He
used
always
to
be
bored
,
but
not
like
this
;
he
has
got
to
look
so
old
,
with
those
great
rings
under
his
eyes
.
”
Miss
Brown
did
not
answer
.
Hamlin
had
returned
the
previous
evening
from
Paris
,
and
she
also
had
noticed
that
he
was
changed
—
not
so
much
,
indeed
,
as
Melton
Perry
seemed
to
think
,
for
Melton
Perry
had
not
seen
him
for
four
or
five
years
;
and
she
—
she
had
watched
a
change
coming
over
him
during
the
last
months
.
Yet
even
she
must
own
to
herself
that
this
change
had
made
rapid
progress
during
his
fortnight
or
three
weeks
in
Paris
,
or
at
least
that
this
absence
enabled
her
to
notice
the
change
much
more
.
He
was
even
more
than
usually
apathetic
and
silent
,
and
his
pleasure
at
seeing
his
old
friend
once
more
was
so
slight
,
or
rather
so
tempered
by
a
kind
of
indifference
and
even
annoyance
,
that
Miss
Brown
felt
perfectly
nervous
lest
poor
warm‐hearted
Melton
Perry
should
feel
mortally
