ished; and I suppose that
answer will punish her more than a lengthier rebuke.--My mind is so
distracted, I cannot judge of these trumpery woman-fears and whims;
there, I have written as you suggest. Give her all the proof she needs,
and tell her that in six months at furthest, come what will, she shall
bear the name of Egerton, as henceforth she must share his fate."

"Why say six months?"

"Parliament must be dissolved, and there must be a general election
before then. I shall either obtain a seat, be secure from a jail, have
won field for my energies, or--"

"Or what?"

"I shall renounce ambition altogether, ask my brother to assist me
towards whatever debts remain when all my property is fairly sold--they
cannot be much. He has a living in his gift; the incumbent is old, and,
I hear, very ill. I can take orders."

"Sink into a country parson!"

"And learn content. I have tasted it already. She was then by my side.
Explain all to her. This letter, I fear, is too unkind--But to doubt me
thus!"

Levy hastily placed the letter in his pocketbook; and, for fear it
should be withdrawn, took his leave.

And of that letter he made such use, that the day after he had given
it to Nora, she had left the house, the neighbourhood; fled, and not
a trace! Of all the agonies in life, that which is most poignant and
harrowing, that which for the time most annihilates reason, and leaves
our whole organization one lacerated, mangled heart, is the conviction
that we have been deceived where we placed all the trust of love. The
moment the anchor snaps, the storm comes on, the stars vanish behind the
cloud.

When Levy returned, filled with the infamous hope which had stimulated
his revenge,--the hope that if he could succeed in changing into
scorn and indignation Nora's love for Audley, he might succeed also
in replacing that broken and degraded idol,--his amaze and dismay were
great on hearing of her departure. For several days he sought her traces
in vain. He went to Lady Jane Horton's,--Nora had not been there. He
trembled to go back to Egerton. Surely Nora would have written to her
husband, and in spite of her promise, revealed his own falsehood; but as
days passed, and not a clew was found, he had no option but to repair to
Egerton Hall, taking care that the bailiffs still surrounded it.
Audley had received no line from Nora. The young husband was surprised,
perplexed, uneasy, but had no suspicion of the truth.

At leng