"Pray don't alarm yourself," he said to his aunt, in his quietest tones.
"If she attempts to annoy you or Miss Roseberry again, I have it in my
power to stop her instantly."

"How?" asked Lady Janet.

"How, indeed!" echoed Horace. "If we give her in charge to the police,
we shall become the subject of a public scandal."

"I have managed to avoid all danger of scandal," Julian answered; the
expression of distress in his face becoming more and more marked while
he spoke. "Before I called here to-day I had a private consultation with
the magistrate of the district, and I have made certain arrangements at
the police station close by. On receipt of my card, an experienced man,
in plain clothes, will present himself at any address that I indicate,
and will take her quietly away. The magistrate will hear the charge in
his private room, and will examine the evidence which I can produce,
showing that she is not accountable for her actions. The proper medical
officer will report officially on the case, and the law will place her
under the necessary restraint."

Lady Janet and Horace looked at each other in amazement. Julian was,
in their opinion, the last man on earth to take the course--at once
sensible and severe--which Julian had actually adopted. Lady Janet
insisted on an explanation.

"Why do I hear of this now for the first time?" she asked. "Why did you
not tell me you had taken these precautions before?"

Julian answered frankly and sadly.

"Because I hoped, aunt, that there would be no necessity for proceeding
to extremities. You now force me to acknowledge that the lawyer and the
doctor (both of whom I have seen this morning) think, as you do, that
she is not to be trusted. It was at their suggestion entirely that
I went to the magistrate. They put it to me whether the result of
my inquiries abroad--unsatisfactory as it may have been in other
respects--did not strengthen the conclusion that the poor woman's mind
is deranged. I felt compelled in common honesty to admit that it was so.
Having owned this, I was bound to take such precautions as the lawyer
and the doctor thought necessary. I have done my duty--sorely against my
own will. It is weak of me, I dare say; but I can _not_ bear the
thought of treating this afflicted creature harshly. Her delusion is so
hopeless! her situation is such a pitiable one!"

His voice faltered. He turned away abruptly and took up his hat.
Lady Janet followed him, and spoke to h