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\u00a0Separated: A Divided Story<\/strong><\/p>\n I was very much displeased when Phina came to me with the news that she was engaged to Eustace Manvers.<\/p>\n It seemed so\u00a0sudden; and\u00a0he was the one\u00a0man amongst\u00a0our acquaintances whom I\u00a0should have\u00a0wished my\u00a0sister not to\u00a0choose; but as\u00a0my wishes had\u00a0not been consulted, I shut my lips tightly, and said nothing. But\u00a0Phina’s flashing dark eyes read the dissatisfaction in\u00a0my face, and in a moment her arms were round me.<\/p>\n “Now, little sister, don’t be cross. I know Eustace\u00a0is not a bit like your dear sedate Robert; but, you see,\u00a0you and I are so unlike, that it is unreasonable of you\u00a0to expect me to choose a man of Robert’s stamp.”<\/p>\n I began an indignant defence of my absent Robert, but Phina waxed more eloquent.\u00a0“Yes, yes, I know he is a model husband, the dear old slow-coach. But you know, Christine, if I were really bound to such a quiet, easy-going man, I should positively grow to hate him in time. I could not settle down for ever in a quiet country place; I want to live, not to stagnate. Eustace and I mean to travel a great deal; we shall be together, and see all the glorious sights and wonderful places of which I have dreamed. Yes, I know we shall be happy; so don’t look grave\u00a0over it, little sister.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Life is not a dream; it is a stern reality, as you will find,” I answered shortly; but my impulsive sister was looking out at the sunset, and vouchsafed no reply. Phina always called me “little sister,” though I was several years her senior, and had been married three years; but it was no wonder she chose the appellation. We were so unlike\u2014I so small and insignificant, and she so tall, graceful, and handsome.<\/p>\n Looking at the matter in a worldly sense, I ought really to have been proud and pleased at my sister’s contemplated union with Eustace Manvers. He belonged to a good old family, possessed a comfortable little estate of his own, and was generally considered\u00a0handsome. His claim to good looks I could not deny,\u00a0as far as graceful contour of feature went; but to me\u00a0the keen grey eyes, gleaming beneath thick fair brows,\u00a0had an expression that marred the whole beauty of the\u00a0face. There was that in their keen penetrating glance\u00a0which made me intensely uncomfortable, and at the\u00a0same time attracted while repelling me. I said so to\u00a0Robert once, but he only laughed.<\/p>\n “Do you know, little wife, that you are an extremely\u00a0nervous and sensitive plant? In one thing you and\u00a0Phina are much alike: a man with a strong will,\u00a0mingled with a certain animal magnetism, could make\u00a0you do almost anything.”<\/p>\n I repudiated the idea of such a thing at the time;\u00a0but afterwards my eyes were opened to see that\u00a0Eustace really had an influence over me, and delighted\u00a0to make his power felt. From that time I began to\u00a0fear as well as dislike him.<\/p>\n Eustace Manvers exerted all his most fascinating\u00a0powers in the days that followed the announcement of\u00a0the engagement, and made himself so agreeable that\u00a0my old dislike began to fade away. If Phina was\u00a0deeply in love with her fianc\u00e9, he certainly was as much\u00a0in love with her; he seemed to take pleasure in every\u00a0word that came from her lips, and watched her every\u00a0movement with the most lover-like devotion any\u00a0woman could desire. I did not wonder at this\u2014it\u00a0was so natural; for my sister appeared to grow more\u00a0beautiful than ever as days went by. Her whole\u00a0nature seemed etherealized; every little pleasure\u00a0was a mine of wealth to her; every-day worries\u00a0and troubles she laughed away. Her world had\u00a0become glorified. With the beauty of our Jewish\u00a0mother, Phina had inherited the passionate nature,\u00a0and I trembled sometimes as I noted the intensity of\u00a0her affection for the man she loved. Once I ventured\u00a0to remonstrate with her, and bade her beware of\u00a0setting up an idol in her heart.<\/p>\n “As if I could love him too much!\u201dshe said impetuously. \u201cDo you think such a thing is possible,\u00a0Christine? No; I am sure the God who implanted\u00a0in our hearts the love for each other meant us to love\u00a0with all the strength of our nature.”<\/p>\n “Nevertheless, it is well sometimes to admit the\u00a0possibility of a separation,” I said.<\/p>\n \u201cI cannot admit it. Nothing but death could\u00a0separate us; and even that, to true hearts, is but a\u00a0bodily separation. Now, don’t croak, Christine; let\u00a0me be happy. You were happy when Robert was\u00a0your lover, and not your husband.”<\/p>\n \u201cI am happy now,” I answered softly, letting my\u00a0memory flit back to those glad days when Robert\u00a0wooed me.<\/p>\n ‘Yes; sweet as was the dawn of love’s dream, I felt\u00a0I would not exchange the deep calm joy of my wedded life for my former freedom, light-hearted and glad as it had been.<\/p>\n As weeks passed by, I was conscious that a barrier\u00a0had risen between Phina and myself. She no longer\u00a0spoke to me of Eustace; if I mentioned his name, she\u00a0apparently took no notice. I began to torment myself\u00a0for having been so cold and unsympathetic that she\u00a0could no longer confide in me. Sometimes I felt very\u00a0jealous of Eustace and her growing manifestation of\u00a0affection for him. It was Eustace first and last, and\u00a0his diurnal visits were the culminating points of joy\u00a0in days that were all happiness to her.<\/p>\n A few miles from our little village of Eltonbridge\u00a0was a small country seat named the Priory\u2014a quaint\u00a0romantic building, reputed to be the oldest in the\u00a0neighbourhood.<\/p>\n For many years the place had been uninhabited, the\u00a0owner finding a difficulty in selling it, and not caring\u00a0to reside there himself.<\/p>\n At last it was purchased by a Mr. Seldon, a wealthy\u00a0manufacturer. The neighbouring families were at first\u00a0reluctant to acknowledge a man who had made his\u00a0money in trade; but Sir Alfred and Lady Joyce, of\u00a0Joyce Court, called upon the new-comers, and the rest\u00a0of their circle followed suit.<\/p>\n I was not at all prepossessed in favour of Mr. and Mrs.\u00a0Seldon or their daughter, an only child. The daughter\u00a0was certainly the most presentable of the three; but\u00a0there was a brusqueness of manner and want of\u00a0refinement that jarred upon my too sensitive nerves.\u00a0The Priory estate joined that of Eustace Manvers:\u00a0which fact was sufficient to account for Phina’s head-\u00a0strong overtures of friendship towards Miss Seldon.\u00a0They had been in their new home just three weeks\u00a0when \u201cBeatrice”\u2014as Phina had already learned to call\u00a0her\u2014was invited to spend a few days with us.\u00a0With our house and grounds she was rapturously\u00a0enchanted.<\/p>\n The gardens were \u201cquite too lovely for anything,”\u00a0she declared. \u201cPa must come over and take pattern\u00a0by them, as he meant to do up the Priory in tip-top\u00a0style.” My little two-year-old Bobby was the\u00a0sweetest cherub that ever breathed”; but unfortunately he did not appreciate the superlative appellations lavished upon him; he sturdily refused to let\u00a0Miss Seldon nurse him, and screamed if she tried to\u00a0kiss him. I could not understand the attraction this\u00a0new friend had for Phina, nor how Eustace could\u00a0share the infatuation.<\/p>\n On the last evening of Miss Seldon’s visit we were\u00a0sitting in the drawing-room, the windows widely\u00a0opened; for it had been, one of those overpowering\u00a0days which sometimes burst suddenly upon us with\u00a0almost tropical heat\u2014a kind of recompense for the\u00a0cold bleak spring which has made us doubt the possible\u00a0approach of summer. Robert was dining out, and I\u00a0was anxiously listening for his return; for the air was\u00a0sultry and oppressive, and dark clouds were beginning\u00a0to gather. Conversation had flagged; perhaps it was\u00a0too much trouble to talk in such an atmosphere.\u00a0Miss Seldon broke the silence; she was never still\u00a0for more than a few moments.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Manvers, do you believe in mesmerism?”\u00a0It might have been fancy, but I thought Eustace\u00a0started and changed colour.<\/p>\n \u201cI beg your pardon, Miss Seldon.”<\/p>\n \u201cDo you believe in mesmerism, I asked\u2014because I\u00a0don’t, and I don’t think anybody will ever make me,\u00a0either. Pa took us to some place in London once,\u00a0and I would go up and let them experiment on me.\u00a0Of course, ma was awfully shocked; but I was determined to see if there was anything in it. But it was\u00a0no go; the fellow could make nothing of me, and at\u00a0last he had to give it up as a bad job. Didn’t I laugh,\u00a0too!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho was the gentleman who failed so ignominiously?\u201dEustace asked, in calm clear tones.\u201dI think he called himself Professor Latreille, or\u00a0some such name.”<\/p>\n \u201cAh! I have heard of the man. I am sorry he\u00a0could not convince you of the wonderful power of his\u00a0mysterious art; for it is a power\u2014a marvellous power\u00a0\u2014 in spite of your ridicule, Miss Seldon. I firmly\u00a0believe in it; in fact, at one time I practised the art\u00a0myself, and with no little success.”<\/p>\n \u201cDid you really? How interesting! And has the\u00a0power left you, Mr. Manvers? ”<\/p>\n \u201cHardly, I think; but long neglect and disuse\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, do try and see if you can do anything! You\u00a0may experiment on me if you like\u2014now do.”\u00a0Eustace crossed the room and stood in front of the\u00a0entreating beauty. I turned my head away, for I was\u00a0annoyed that the subject had been brought up, and\u00a0mentally decided that it was the first and last time\u00a0such an exhibition should take place in my drawing-\u00a0room.<\/p>\n For a few moments there was silence, then the\u00a0sound of Miss Seldon’s suppressed laughter, which\u00a0finally broke out into a loud \u201cHa! Ha!”\u00a0I rose and closed the window; for the gardener was\u00a0outside attending to some plants, and I was ashamed\u00a0that he should hear such loud unlady-like tones. I\u00a0looked at Eustace; he was very pale’.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are the first woman with whom I have\u00a0failed,” he said at last.<\/p>\n \u201cTry me,” said Phina, who had been silent hitherto.\u00a0It might have been my foolish fancy again, but I\u00a0thought I really did detect a curl of the lip as he\u00a0turned away from Miss Seldon, and said in even\u00a0tones\u2014” I shall have a very easy task.”<\/p>\n \u201cPhina, I beg that you will desist,” I said authoritatively.<\/p>\n \u201cNonsense, Christine!\u2014it is only fun. Go on,\u00a0please, Eustace.”<\/p>\n When she spoke in that tone, I knew well from past\u00a0experience that remonstrance was useless.\u00a0I was seriously displeased by this time\u2014so much\u00a0so that in my anger I forgot good breeding and\u00a0courtesy, and deliberately turned my back upon the\u00a0three inmates of the room.<\/p>\n Again there was dead silence, more heavy and\u00a0oppressive than before.<\/p>\n How I wished Robert would come and put an end\u00a0to this unseemly farce!<\/p>\n A moment later I sprang from my chair at the\u00a0sound of a fall, my exclamation of surprise being\u00a0drowned by Miss Seldon’s scream of fright.\u00a0Phina had fallen from her seat, and lay upon the\u00a0floor, white and rigid. Eustace lifted her gently, but\u00a0she made no sound.<\/p>\n In my fright and terror, my anger did not die down.\u201dYou have been guilty of unwarrantable impertinence, Mr. Manvers. You deliberately set my wishes\u00a0aside, and with this result. I hope\u201d<\/p>\n In the mid-it of my indignant tirade speech suddenly\u00a0failed me. Those half-opened eyes were fixed upon\u00a0me with a gleam of command which, without words,\u00a0bade me be silent, and I dared not disobey. All my\u00a0pulses were thrilling with a strange excitement; power-\u00a0less and trembling, I stood, unable to move or speak.\u00a0It seemed like an hour\u2014I dare say it was but a moment\u2014then I heard the sound of a familiar footfall. \u201cRobert !” I cried, and the spell was broken.<\/p>\n “Will you kindly ring the bell, Miss Seldon?” said\u00a0Eustace, in his suavest manner.<\/p>\n I was thankful to see my guest take her departures\u00a0on the following morning. Phina was quite unnerved\u00a0and prostrate for several days.<\/p>\n I nursed her carefully, and was at last rewarded by\u00a0seeing the death-like pallor of her face give place to\u00a0a faint pink tinge, which told of returning health.\u00a0She was very silent during those days, and I fore-\u00a0bore to tease her with needless conversation, and\u00a0studiously avoided all mention of what had taken\u00a0place on the evening of her sudden illness.\u00a0We had an engagement to dine at the Priory the\u00a0following week.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you had better remain at home, dear,” I\u00a0said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, no; I feel quite well, and I really wish to go.\u00a0I am longing to see Beatrice again,” she replied.\u00a0Eustace had made his visits very short and infrequent during this time; but Phina made no remark,\u00a0and expressed but little pleasure when told that he\u00a0had called.<\/p>\n Of course, we went to the Priory. Phina determinedly refused to stay at home, even when Eustace\u00a0added his entreaties to mine. Masons were already\u00a0busy about the old place adding a new wing, which\u00a0was to comprise a ball-room and billiard saloon.\u201dSpoiling the place completely,” as I said to Robert.\u00a0The dinner passed off much as such dinners do,\u00a0save that there was an ostentatious display of silver,\u00a0and a very poor display of brilliant conversation.\u00a0Afterwards, in the drawing-room, Miss Seldon sat\u00a0on the sofa by my side, and detailed the merits and\u00a0imperfections of several of the single gentlemen\u00a0among the guests, each of whom, she said, “wanted\u00a0her.”<\/p>\n It has always been unaccountable to me that girls\u00a0should be so fond of talking about the different men\u00a0who have fallen in love with them, or \u201cwanted\u201d them,\u00a0as Miss Seldon called it. I am very thankful indeed\u00a0that no one but Robert ever \u201cwanted” me, or, if anyone did, he or they never took the trouble to tell me so.\u00a0I am afraid Miss Seldon found me a very unsympathetic confidante, for presently she moved away and\u00a0left to me my own comfortable corner, with no one\u00a0near enough to speak to me. The soft cushions being\u00a0very conducive to drowsiness, I fell into a doze for a\u00a0few moments.<\/p>\n I was awakened by the sound of a masculine voice\u00a0from behind the screen at the back of my sofa.\u00a0It was Major Thorn who was speaking\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cSavours rather of Americanism, doesn’t it? Well,\u00a0there’s plenty of money, I suppose, and in these days\u00a0cash covers a multitude of sins in the social world.”<\/p>\n \u201cTrue. I see Miss Seldon is creating a sensation\u00a0among our marriageable gentlemen. If our friend\u00a0Manvers were not already engaged, I should say that\u00a0he was smitten.”<\/p>\n I recognised the voice of my old friend Mr. Summerhayes, the rector.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a thousand pities Miss Elkington fell in love\u00a0with him,” returned the major.<\/p>\n \u201cHe would never be so foolish as to think of putting Miss Seldon in the place of his betrothed, to say\u00a0nothing of the dishonour. There is no comparison\u00a0between them.”<\/p>\n \u201cOf course not, to our way of thinking; but the\u00a0money might be a temptation. Miss Seldon is an\u00a0only child, and the Priory grounds join the Manvers\u00a0estate.”\u201cPray do not entertain the idea for a moment,\u00a0major. Really our conversation is degenerating into\u00a0gossip.”<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Well, we will say no more\u2014only I know a\u00a0thing or two about Manvers which makes me suspicious. He is not as rich as you might imagine.”<\/p>\n ‘\u201dWhat a splendid sunset!\u201dsaid the rector.\u00a0Dear old man! I knew how he hated anything\u00a0approaching scandal, and Phina was one of his\u00a0favourites.<\/p>\n I spent a mauvais quart d\u2019heure<\/em> until Phina came,\u00a0and sat down beside me. I noticed that her face was\u00a0flushed, her hands trembled, and beads of perspiration\u00a0stood on her forehead.<\/p>\n \u201cDo let us be going, Christine,” she said, with an\u00a0appealing look in her dark eyes.<\/p>\n “Are you not well, dear?”<\/p>\n \u201cYes; but I want to go. Eustace thinks I had\u00a0better,” she replied.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is of no consequence to me what Mr. Manvers\u00a0thinks,” I answered crossly.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I cannot\u2014oh, I dare not\u2014stay,” she said,\u00a0standing up.<\/p>\n The eyes of the other ladies were turned inquiringly\u00a0towards us, and, fearful of making a scene, I took leave\u00a0of Mrs. Seldon, and departed.<\/p>\n I noticed that Eustace did not see us to the carriage,\u00a0as was his custom on such occasions.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did you mean by saying you dared not\u00a0remain?” I asked on the way home.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, nothing. My head ached, and I did not know\u00a0what I was saying.”<\/p>\n And yet she had told me that she felt quite well.<\/p>\n The more I thought of it, the more convinced I became that Eustace Manvers, for some purpose of his\u00a0own, had exercised what I mentally designated his “unholy powers” over my darling sister.<\/p>\n As the summer waned. I began to hope, and yet to\u00a0fear, that Phina would come to me one day and tell me\u00a0that she was going to be married. I hoped it for the\u00a0sake of her own peace of mind; I feared because I\u00a0believed that, whatever Eustace had felt at the commencement of the engagement, all his love for his\u00a0promised wife had now died out of his heart.<\/p>\n There was no real necessity for long waiting. Phina\u00a0had her own small fortune, and would be no burden to\u00a0any man. As the weeks flitted by, I noticed that she\u00a0drooped more and more. Sometimes she was silent\u00a0and depressed, at others elated and excitable.<\/p>\n Eustace came as seldom as he consistently could,\u00a0and I knew that all the neighbourhood was talking of\u00a0his marked attention to Miss Seldon. She visited us\u00a0often enough, and at times I could scarcely bring\u00a0myself to be civil to her.<\/p>\n At last, I could bear it no longer. If Phina was\u00a0blind, it was time someone opened her eyes.\u00a0She listened to all I had to say without a single\u00a0denial or interruption; but when, at the end, I besought\u00a0her for her own honour’s sake to give Eustace up, her\u00a0fiery indignation burst forth.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat right have you, Christine, or anyone else, to\u00a0say that he no longer loves me? I tell you, jealousy\u00a0and malicious tongues will never separate us.”<\/p>\n “You are separated already in everything but tlie\u00a0outward bond; and that, if you do not break it yourself, will soon be broken for you. Phina, dear, believe\u00a0that it is only for your good I speak.”<\/p>\n “I will never believe he has ceased to love me unless\u00a0I hear it from his own lips. Christine, was there ever\u00a0any insanity in our family? ”<\/p>\n 1 was startled by the query.<\/p>\n “What makes you ask such a thing?” I inquired.<\/p>\n “I wish particularly to know. I was asked the\u00a0same question myself once. You would not condemn\u00a0a man for breaking his engagement if he believed the\u00a0girl he loved had any tendency that way, would you?”<\/p>\n “Certainly I should. He should think of these\u00a0things beforehand. In my opinion, a betrothal is as\u00a0sacred and binding as marriage: ‘ For better, for worse,\u00a0for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health.’ You\u00a0know all the rest, Phina.”<\/p>\n “You have not answered my question. There was\u00a0some relative of ours who died insane, was there\u00a0not?”<\/p>\n There was a peevishness in her tone which warned\u00a0me to give a direct answer without further waiting.<\/p>\n “Yes, there was, Phina; but mind, I believe it was\u00a0temper, and not insanity.”<\/p>\n “How foolish you are, Christine! Tell me about it.”<\/p>\n “It was our mother’s mother. She was a Jewess, and very beautiful, but haying a passionate and ungovernable temper. When her daughter\u2014our mother,\u00a0Phina\u2014married a Christian and renounced the Jewish\u00a0faith, she cursed her, and vowed never to speak to her\u00a0again. It was the keeping this wicked vow, I firmly\u00a0believe, that caused her reason to forsake her. Aunt\u00a0Lena told me about it years ago; I think it would\u00a0have been as well to have said nothing.”<\/p>\n Phina sat silent for a time. Presently she asked, \u201cDo you think such things are hereditary?”<\/p>\n ” No, I do not,” I responded firmly.<\/p>\n To tell the truth, I had never given the subject a\u00a0thought, and to have Phina asking such strange questions made me very uncomfortable.<\/p>\n How I wished that our dear father and mother had\u00a0been spared! They could have governed this wild\u00a0and passionate nature of my sister’s, which was always\u00a0causing me so much anxiety. Then it struck me how\u00a0much Phina resembled the portrait I had seen of our\u00a0grandmother.<\/p>\n I told Robert of all this, and he looked grave.\u00a0“We must not allow this, little wife. You and\u00a0Phina shall have a holiday. You will forget all your\u00a0little difficulties, and come home fresh and happy.”<\/p>\n We paid a series of visits among old friends, and I\u00a0was delighted to note the effect of a change of scene\u00a0on the drooping spirits of my sister. Once more she\u00a0was radiant and beautiful; and so numerous were her\u00a0admirers, that I comforted myself with the thought\u00a0that, should Eustace Manvers prove unfaithful, there\u00a0would be no lack of candidates to fill his place. Only,\u00a0if Phina loved him as I loved my Robert, it would be\u00a0impossible to displace him for another. I could only\u00a0hope her love, like her nature, was different from mine.<\/p>\n Alas for my hopes! As soon as we returned to\u00a0Eltonbridge all her old restlessness\u00a0and excitability returned. I knew,\u00a0without asking, that she was helplessly, hopelessly miserable.\u00a0I could see that a crisis was\u00a0approaching, and I hoped and\u00a0prayed that it might speedily come,\u00a0and end the unendurable suspense.<\/p>\n Little did I think how terrible\u00a0that crisis was to be!\u00a0I had been to see my friend Mrs.\u00a0Summerhayes, and had prolonged\u00a0my stay beyond the hour for making\u00a0fashionable calls; but in the country we do not adhere strictly to\u00a0fixed rules\u2014in the case of intimate\u00a0friends, at least.<\/p>\n The clay had been dull, and it\u00a0was unusually dark for the hour. I\u00a0did not mind the short walk, but\u00a0the chill greyness which wrapped\u00a0the landscape in gloom had a de-\u00a0pressing influence, and I hurried\u00a0along, anxious to reach the more\u00a0congenial atmosphere of my bright\u00a0happy home.<\/p>\n The hall door stood open, and not a sound could\u00a0be heard.\u00a0A sudden sense of desolation fell upon me as I entered the dark drawing-room, hoping to find Robert or\u00a0Phina there. The room was deserted; but even in\u00a0the fading light I could detect an air of unusual disorder: chairs were disarranged, and a choice vase on\u00a0a little table had been knocked over on its side.<\/p>\n “Bobbie has been here,” I said to myself, trying to\u00a0shake off the feeling of oppression and apprehension.\u00a0As I turned to cross the room, my foot struck some-\u00a0thing small and hard. 1 stooped and picked it up.\u00a0It was Phina’s engagement ring, battered and\u00a0crushed.<\/p>\n Then I knew that at last the crisis had come.<\/p>\n My poor darling!<\/p>\n I rushed up the stairs to my sister’s room. It was\u00a0ablaze with light; and there, seated before the looking-\u00a0glass, her white arms and neck glittering with jewels,\u00a0was Phina.<\/p>\n She turned to me with a loud wild laugh.<\/p>\n “He will never find another as handsome,” she cried.<\/p>\n “Am I not more beautiful than she? Yes, 1 know I\u00a0am; but we are separated now\u2014separated!\u201d She uttered the last words with\u00a0an unearthly scream.<\/p>\n Paralysed as I was with terror,\u00a0the dreadful truth dawned upon\u00a0me\u2014my sister had lost her reason!<\/p>\n Two days later, Eustace Manvers called. Doubtless the news\u00a0had spread, in spite of my precautions, and he had come to condole\u00a0with us in our calamity. I was\u00a0too weak and unnerved to go down\u00a0at once; but when Robert had\u00a0been with him for about ten\u00a0minutes, I summoned all my\u00a0courage and entered the morning-\u00a0room.<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen it coming on for a\u00a0long while,” he was saying as 1\u00a0went in.<\/p>\n “Your perceptions are unusually\u00a0acute,” I said, without a word of\u00a0greeting.<\/p>\n He looked uncomfortable, and\u00a0stood up as if anxious to go.\u00a0”I have been explaining to Mr.\u00a0Fielden that under the circumstances it will be advisable to consider the engagement between your\u00a0sister and myself at an end. It\u00a0would be folly to continue it.”<\/p>\n “Are you sure it was not at an\u00a0end before this happened?” I\u00a0asked, looking him fully in the\u00a0face.<\/p>\n He turned a shade paler, but\u00a0gave no answer.<\/p>\n “I found this on the floor the\u00a0evening my sister was taken ill I will return it to\u00a0you.”<\/p>\n I handed him the battered ring as I spoke.<\/p>\n If I wanted confirmation of my suspicions, I had it\u00a0in his face as he mechanically took the ring, and without a word to either of us, left the house.<\/p>\n The interview had been too much for me. I felt a\u00a0throbbing in my head; the room seemed whirling\u00a0round me; Robert’s arms were about me, then they\u00a0seemed to lose their hold, and I fell \u2014deeper and\u00a0deeper\u2014into an abyss of darkness.<\/p>\n II<\/strong><\/p>\n I must apologise for intruding my uncouth narrative\u00a0in the midst of a story so ably told; but Mrs. Fielden\u00a0insists that I alone can finish what she has begun.<\/p>\n I am a plain, homely man, and writing is a new\u00a0thing to me; therefore, what I have to say will be\u00a0told in as few words as possible.<\/p>\n When Mrs. Fielden, with her invalid sister and an\u00a0attendant, took a small house in our quiet watering-\u00a0place, 1 called upon her\u2014partly because her husband\u00a0was an old friend of mine, and partly because I had heard her sister’s sad story, and was anxious to gain\u00a0a few more particulars.<\/p>\n Some years ago I was in the medical profession, but\u00a0the death of a relative leaving me comfortably provided for, I decided to leave the somewhat crowded\u00a0arena, thereby making elbow-room for some young\u00a0fellow who needed the proceeds of a practice more\u00a0than I did. I had known Eustace Manvers, too, in\u00a0days gone by, therefore the affair had more than an\u00a0ordinary interest for me. Mrs. Fielden was very\u00a0grateful for my visits, and by-and-by I ventured to\u00a0ask for an interview with her sister, to which, rather\u00a0unwillingly, she consented.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n