from the butler at the top to the stable boy at the
bottom. Go on with the women-servants, from the cook in all her glory
to the small female child who weeds the garden. Lady Lundie had
cross-examined her way downward as far as the page, when Sir Patrick
joined her.

"My dear lady! pardon me for reminding you again, that this is a
free country, and that you have no claim whatever to investigate Miss
Silvester's proceedings after she has left your house."

Lady Lundie raised her eyes, devotionally, to the ceiling. She looked
like a martyr to duty. If you had seen her ladyship at that moment, you
would have said yourself, "A martyr to duty."

"No, Sir Patrick! As a Christian woman, that is not _my_ way of looking
at it. This unhappy person has lived under my roof. This unhappy person
has been the companion of Blanche. I am responsible--I am, in a manner,
morally responsible. I would give the world to be able to dismiss it
as you do. But no! I must be satisfied that she _is_ married. In the
interests of propriety. For the quieting of my own conscience. Before I
lay my head on my pillow to-night, Sir Patrick--before I lay my head on
my pillow to-night!"

"One word, Lady Lundie--"

"No!" repeated her ladyship, with the most pathetic gentleness. "You
are right, I dare say, from the worldly point of view. I can't take the
worldly point of view. The worldly point of view hurts me." She turned,
with impressive gravity, to the page. "You know where you will go,
Jonathan, if you tell lies!"

Jonathan was lazy, Jonathan was pimply, Jonathan was fat--_but_ Jonathan
was orthodox. He answered that he did know; and, what is more, he
mentioned the place.

Sir Patrick saw that further opposition on his part, at that moment,
would be worse than useless. He wisely determined to wait, before he
interfered again, until Lady Lundie had thoroughly exhausted herself and
her inquiries. At the same time--as it was impossible, in the present
state of her ladyship's temper, to provide against what might happen
if the inquiries after Anne unluckily proved successful--he decided on
taking measures to clear the house of the guests (in the interests of
all parties) for the next four-and-twenty hours.

"I only want to ask you a question, Lady Lundie," he resumed. "The
position of the gentlemen who are staying here is not a very pleasant
one while all this is going on. If you had been content to let the
matter pass without notice, we should hav