The Woman in White: Gilmore 1-2

Summary

Storytime for Grownups – Episode Summary: "The Woman in White: Gilmore 1-2"

Release Date: February 3, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Storytime for Grownups, host Faith Moore and guest Vincent Gilmour continue their exploration of Wilkie Collins' classic novel, The Woman in White. This episode focuses on Chapters 1-2 of Mr. Gilmore’s narrative, marking a significant shift from the previously narrated chapters by Walter Hartright. Faith and Vincent guide listeners through the unfolding drama, providing insightful commentary and analysis to enhance the reading experience.

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Recap of Previous Episode

Faith and Vincent begin by recapping the events of the last episode, where they concluded Walter Hartright’s narrative (Chapters 14-15). Walter’s departure from Limmeridge House after investigating Anne Catherick’s mysterious disappearance left both the characters and listeners yearning for closure.

Key Points:

• Walter reveals his encounters with Anne and his suspicions regarding Sir Percival Glyde.
• Marian and Laura express their sadness as Walter prepares to leave.
• Vincent notes the emotional weight of Walter’s departure, emphasizing its impact on both the characters and the audience.

Notable Quote:

"They see Walter leaving at a critical moment, setting up Laura as our damsel in distress."
— Vincent Gilmour [07:02]

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Listener Feedback and Reflection

The episode features thoughtful engagement with listener Deli, who expresses feelings of abandonment due to Walter’s sudden departure. Faith and Vincent delve into Deli’s sentiments, discussing the emotional resonance of leaving a beloved character during a moment of crisis.

Discussion Highlights:

• Emotional Connection: How Walter's exit deepens our empathy for Laura.
• Plot Development: The strategic narrative choice to shift focus to Mr. Gilmore.
• Audience Engagement: Acknowledging listeners' investment in Walter's journey.

Notable Quote:

"We are leaving Walter at a critical moment, setting up Laura as our damsel in distress."
— Vincent Gilmour [08:35]

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Introduction to Mr. Gilmore’s Narrative (Chapters 1-2)

Faith introduces the transition to Mr. Gilmore’s narrative, highlighting the shift from Walter Hartright’s intimate perspective to that of the family lawyer, Mr. Gilmore. This change promises new insights and developments in the ongoing mystery surrounding Sir Percival Glyde.

Key Points:

• Narrative Shift: From Walter’s personal experiences to Mr. Gilmore’s legal and analytical viewpoint.
• Character Introduction: Establishing Mr. Gilmore’s role and his relationship with the Fairley family.
• Plot Progression: Anticipating new revelations and the continuation of the investigation.

Notable Quote:

"Mr. Gilmore is now our narrator, adding new links to the chain of events."
— Faith Moore [16:31]

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Detailed Summary of Mr. Gilmore’s Narrative

Vincent reads Chapters 1-2 from Mr. Gilmore’s perspective, uncovering pivotal events that further the plot and deepen the mystery.

Summary Highlights:

• Mr. Gilmore’s Visit: Arrives at Limmeridge House to oversee Sir Percival Glyde's upcoming marriage to Laura Fairlie.
• Character Observations: Describes Sir Percival's courteous demeanor contrasted with Laura’s unease.
• Anonymous Letter Investigation: Mr. Gilmore explains his role in analyzing the anonymous letter implicating Sir Percival.
• Sir Percival’s Defense: Sir Percival provides a detailed account of his relationship with Anne Catherick, aiming to clear his name.
• Suspicious Developments: Laura’s reluctance and emotional turmoil hint at deeper secrets and potential conflicts.

Notable Quote:

"If Sir Percival spoke to you yesterday, he speculates on such a result as you have just mentioned."
— Faith Moore [45:06]

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Discussions and Insights

Faith and Vincent engage in a rich discussion, analyzing the developments in Mr. Gilmore’s narrative and their implications for the story’s progression.

Discussion Points:

• Character Dynamics: The tension between Sir Percival and the Fairley family, and the emerging role of Mr. Gilmore as a new investigative force.
• Narrative Technique: The effectiveness of shifting narrators in maintaining suspense and providing fresh perspectives.
• Themes: Trust, deception, and the complexities of human relationships as depicted through the characters' interactions.
• Expectations: Anticipating Mr. Gilmore’s influence on uncovering new truths and resolving existing mysteries.

Notable Quote:

"Sir Percival is an irresistible man. Courteous, considerate, delightfully free from pride."
— Faith Moore [60:18]

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Notable Quotes with Attribution and Timestamps

To capture the essence of the discussions and the narrative's depth, here are selected quotes from the episode:

1. Vincent Gilmour [07:02]:

   "We are leaving Walter at a critical moment, setting up Laura as our damsel in distress."

2. Faith Moore [16:31]:

   "Mr. Gilmore is now our narrator, adding new links to the chain of events."

3. Faith Moore [45:06]:

   "If Sir Percival spoke to you yesterday, he speculates on such a result as you have just mentioned."

4. Faith Moore [60:18]:

   "Sir Percival is an irresistible man. Courteous, considerate, delightfully free from pride."

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Conclusion and Next Steps

As the episode wraps up, Faith and Vincent set the stage for the next installment, encouraging listeners to engage with the story and provide feedback. They emphasize the importance of community interaction through their online platform, The Drawing Room, and remind listeners to support the podcast through ratings and reviews.

Final Thoughts:

• Emotional Investment: Encouraging listeners to empathize with the characters’ struggles.
• Continued Engagement: Highlighting the ongoing mystery and the promise of further revelations in upcoming episodes.
• Community Building: Fostering a space for discussion and shared enjoyment of classic literature.

Notable Quote:

"Peace. A man of my age and experience ought to have known better than to vacillate in this unreasonable manner."
— Faith Moore [56:03]

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Support and Engage

Faith Moore and Vincent Gilmour express their gratitude towards listeners, urging them to:

• Rate and Review: Boost the podcast's visibility by leaving five-star ratings and positive reviews.
• Join the Community: Engage with fellow fans in The Drawing Room online community.
• Support Financially: Consider making donations to help sustain the podcast, though emphasizing that contributions are entirely voluntary.

Faith close the episode with heartfelt thanks and a tease for the next chapter, ensuring listeners remain eager for continuation.

Final Quote:

"Your having Marian Halcombe to live with you can easily be settled by private arrangement."
— Faith Moore [56:45]

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Thank you for joining Faith Moore and Vincent Gilmour on this literary journey. Stay tuned for the next episode as they delve deeper into the mysteries of The Woman in White.

Transcript

[Faith Moore]

Hello and welcome to Storytime for Grown Ups. I'm Faith Moore and this season we're reading the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Each episode I'll read a few chapters.

[Vincent Gilmour]

From the book, pausing from time to.

[Faith Moore]

Time to give brief explanations so it's easier to follow along. It's like an audiobook with built in notes. So brew a pot of tea, find a cozy chair and settle in. It's story time.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Hi everyone. I just want to say quickly thank you to everyone who joined me on Thursday for our first ever tea time over in our online community, the Drawing Room. I had such a good time. I don't know if you did, I hope you did. I had a great time anyway. Really, it was really touching to me actually to be able to hear the voices of you guys, the people that I have been emailing with all of this time back and forth. So to get to meet some of you that way was just really a joy. So thank you to those of you who came and for being there. And thank you to all of you who have signed up to be a part of the Drawing Room, our online community. I love popping in there from time to time and saying hello and I love that you guys are starting to.

[Faith Moore]

Talk to each other and to talk.

[Vincent Gilmour]

About these books and other books and.

[Faith Moore]

Just life in general.

[Vincent Gilmour]

It's lovely. I hope that it can be a place where we, we can all gather for a long time to come. So thank you for being there.

[Faith Moore]

If you're interested in joining the Drawing.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Room, our online community, and you haven't done it yet, there is a link in the show notes. Just scroll down and click on it. Clicking on it doesn't mean that you have to do anything. It just gives you a little bit more information. So I do recommend that you check that out if you're interested. It's just a way that we can all chat together in a different way and that you guys can chat to each other. Because as I'm always saying, I get to hear from you guys all the time, but you guys don't get to talk to each other. So that's just a way for you guys to get to talk to each other and also sometimes me.

[Faith Moore]

I will let you know the date.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Of the next tea time soon as I say it's going to be sometime at the end of February. I haven't quite worked out the date yet, so stay tuned for that. I'll post it both in the Drawing Room community itself, but I'll also say it here in case you decide that you want to join for that? So a big change is coming in the story, right? We finished Walter Hartright's narrative last time and now we are moving on to a new narrative. So we've got lots to talk about and lots to find out about and do. Before we get into that, just a quick reminder, if you are enjoying the show, I would love it if you would take just a second or two to tap those five stars, give it a five star rating and even leave a positive review in the podcast player where you're listening.

[Faith Moore]

Those things are so helpful.

[Vincent Gilmour]

It just helps the podcast rise in the algorithm so that it starts being revealed to people magically in their podcast player as something that they might like. So I hope you'll consider doing that if you haven't already. And thank you to those of you who have. I know that you're doing that. I can see those ratings and those reviews coming in. So thank you.

[Faith Moore]

And of course, text a link to.

[Vincent Gilmour]

The show to anyone at all that you think might like it. A friend, a relation, somebody random that you saw on the street. Text them a link and tell them that you think that they might like this show. Because that's another great way to grow the show. And the show is growing, it's doing really well and I'm thrilled. It's all because of you. So please keep doing that. I really appreciate it.

[Faith Moore]

And of course, keep writing to me.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Faithk moore.com and click on Contact or just scroll down into the show notes and click that contact link. Because this show is absolutely nothing without your questions and your comments. And I just love hearing from you and I love these correspondences that we have started together. So please don't forget to do that. And while you're checking out links, I hope that you'll check out the other links that are in the show notes, including the Merch store I just mentioned last time. We have a new design in the Merch store. The Pride and Prejudice design is there, but so is the Jane Eyre design and the Storytime logo. And more will be coming. So check that out. And then even if you don't want to become a member, I do accept donations via our page. It's called Buy Me a Coffee, but you would be buying me a tea and that's my way of accepting donations. Of course, you are in no way obligated to spend anything on this show. This show is free and I'm happy to give it to you. But when the show generates revenue, it allows me to spend more time focusing on the show instead of some other pursuits. So it is a very wonderful and helpful way that you can support. Support me if you feel able and so inclined. So that is there as well.

[Faith Moore]

All right, so last time we read.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Hartright's narrative, chapters 14 through 15, and we were told that that was the end of Hartright's narrative. Today we are going to read Gilmore's narrative, chapters one to two. Gilmore. Okay, we're going to talk about that. So let's do the recap. And then I've got a question that's going to help us make the transition from WALTER Hartright to Mr. Gilmore. But before we do that, here's the recap.

[Faith Moore]

So where we left off, Walter goes back to Lynbridge House and tells Marian.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Everything that happened in the graveyard with Anne Catherick.

[Faith Moore]

And so the two of them set.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Off for the farm where Anne Catherick was staying.

[Faith Moore]

But they find out that she and her friend Mrs. Clements have left in a terrible hurry and no one knows why.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So Marian and Walter track down a.

[Faith Moore]

Dairy maid who comes from the farm and works at Limridge. And she tells them that Anne Catherick became very upset when she heard that Sir Percival Glyde was coming to the neighborhood soon.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And Walter and Marian assume that this is what made Anne Catherick run away.

[Faith Moore]

Since Sir Percival is apparently the one.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Who locked her in the asylum. Mr. Gilmore, the family lawyer, arrives and.

[Faith Moore]

He assures Walter that he will take.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Over the investigation where Walter has left off.

[Faith Moore]

And he sends a man out to try to find Anne and Mrs. Clemens. Mr. Gilmore seems certain that Sir Percival.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Is not at fault in any way.

[Faith Moore]

And so then Walter tells Mr. Fairley.

[Vincent Gilmour]

By letter that he's got to leave. And Mr. Fairley says okay, but he's very rude about it.

[Faith Moore]

And Walter spends kind of one last melancholy evening at the house.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And in the morning, he says goodbye.

[Faith Moore]

To Marian and to Laura. Laura gives him a painting that she's done. And she's clearly just as sad to.

[Vincent Gilmour]

See Walter go as Walter is sad to leave her.

[Faith Moore]

And that, we're told, is the end.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Of Walter Hartright's narrative. Okay, so today's question comes to us from Delhi. I hope I'm saying that right. So Deli writes, Ugh, it feels so.

[Faith Moore]

Wrong to leave Walter Hartright like this. I'm sure Collins knows what he's doing, but I feel like we're being forced to abandon a friend in his hour of grief.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Couldn't Collins at least let us see him back home safely and let us.

[Faith Moore]

Be a listening ear for him as he tries to resume his old life.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Then I realize maybe that's how Walter feels.

[Faith Moore]

He, after all, is required to leave.

[Vincent Gilmour]

The person he loves most at what.

[Faith Moore]

May be the beginning of her darkest hour.

[Vincent Gilmour]

I guess it's only just that we should have to feel a little of that pain of separation.

[Faith Moore]

Right. Okay. Yes.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So, yes, to all of this.

[Faith Moore]

Right.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Walter is leaving us at a critical moment, this moment when Ser Percival Glyde is set to arrive, and we don't know if he's the villain or not. We've come to like Walter and identify with Walter. At least I have. You know, he's been our narrator for a long time now. So he is us, essentially, and he's leaving us.

[Faith Moore]

And as Deli points out, we're leaving him. He's so sad and broken, and we.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Don'T get to go with him back to London to comfort him. Right. But also, and I think actually that this is the reason why Wilkie Collins takes Walter away from us at this point. The fact of Walter leaving highlights the fact that Laura Fairley is completely alone in the world. We talked about this a little bit before, but it's really being hammered home to us now. Laura's guardian, Mr. Fairley, is a narcissistic hypochondriac who doesn't care about Laura one way or the other. She has no father or mother. The only family she's got, really, is Marian. And Marian would do anything for her and is desperate to protect her, but she's also a woman and therefore can't protect her or help her legally. Walter is really the only person who might, like, maybe be able to do something to help her. But he's got to leave her because.

[Faith Moore]

It'S not proper for him to stay.

[Vincent Gilmour]

There when he's in love with her and she's going to marry somebody else. So from a plot perspective, we've now set up that Laura is our damsel in distress.

[Faith Moore]

All the potential dangers and problems are.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Kind of swirling around her in particular, and she's pretty much completely alone.

[Faith Moore]

And the hero of the story, Walter.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Is leaving out of necessity. So it's sad that we don't get to stay with Walter in his time of need, but also it's really sad and potentially dangerous for Laura that Walter is leaving her in her potential time of need.

[Faith Moore]

And in the last episode, Collins was.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Really playing up that air of sadness, that air of melancholy. Right. We had Walter kind of walking past.

[Faith Moore]

All of his old haunts and reminiscing.

[Vincent Gilmour]

About the days when he and Laura were happy. And there's an almost kind of melodramatic poignancy about it all. And we realize that actually even the weather is mirroring Walter's mood and sort of subconsciously affecting our mood as well, I think.

[Faith Moore]

Here's a quote.

[Vincent Gilmour]

It's from when Walter is wandering around. It says, I went on to the avenue of trees where we had breathed together the warm fragrance of August evenings.

[Faith Moore]

Where we had admired together the myriad.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Combinations of shade and sunlight that dappled.

[Faith Moore]

The ground at our feet. The leaves fell about me from the groaning branches, and the earthy decay in the atmosphere chilled me to the bones.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So it was springtime and lovely when they were happy. And now it's cold and decaying and barren because they're sad.

[Faith Moore]

And we also get a little extra peek at Laura.

[Vincent Gilmour]

You know, we've talked a little about how Laura can sometimes seem like a sort of non entity. We don't know her as well as we know Marian, for example, but we learn that she and Walter did actually have these many quiet and intimate chats.

[Faith Moore]

Together and that Laura told Walter about.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Herself, about how much she misses her father.

[Faith Moore]

And we get a little bit of.

[Vincent Gilmour]

A clearer picture of this person that Walter is in love with.

[Faith Moore]

Right? He tells us.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Here's another quote.

[Faith Moore]

She had talked to me on the.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Spot, from which I now look down.

[Faith Moore]

Of her father, who was her last surviving parent, had told me how fond.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Of each other they had been and.

[Faith Moore]

How sadly she missed him still when she entered certain rooms in the house.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And when she took up forgotten occupations and amusements with which he had been associated.

[Faith Moore]

So it's all very sad, right? We're going to miss Walter.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Laura and Marian will miss Walter.

[Faith Moore]

Walter will miss Laura and Marian.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Laura and Walter are in love, but they can't be together.

[Faith Moore]

Even if Laura wasn't engaged, they can't.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Be together because they're too far apart socially.

[Faith Moore]

So the fact that Walter is leaving.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Is sad for all of us, all the readers and Laura and Marian, the characters, everyone. It's sad for us all.

[Faith Moore]

And I think if you opened up.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Your podcast player to access today's episode and felt sort of disappointed or worried or confused that Mr. Gilmore, the lawyer, is going to be our next narrator. You're probably not alone like Mr. Gilmore, really. We don't know Mr. Gilmore. He doesn't necessarily feel safe to us.

[Faith Moore]

He's an outsider.

[Vincent Gilmour]

I mean, I don't know about you, but I sort of wanted Marian or even Laura or someone to be our next narrator. If we can't have Walter, but instead we've got this old lawyer guy who on the one hand is the only other person who might be able to help Laura in a crisis.

[Faith Moore]

But on the other hand, he's not.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Really a known quantity at this point.

[Faith Moore]

And he also seems to feel very certain that Sir Percival is going to.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Be able to explain himself. And that may be true, but since.

[Faith Moore]

We'Ve identified with Walter all this time.

[Vincent Gilmour]

We are inclined to dislike Sir Percival at this point. So this investigation, right, this detective mission that Walter, with Marian's help has been on, it's transferring now from Walter to M. Gilmour.

[Faith Moore]

And Mr. Gilmore seems to understand his mission.

[Vincent Gilmour]

He says, here's a quote that share, I quite understand, gives you an interest which you might not otherwise have felt.

[Faith Moore]

In knowing that the future management of the investigation which you have begun will be placed in safe hands.

[Vincent Gilmour]

My dear sir, make yourself quite easy on that point. It will be placed in my hands. Okay.

[Faith Moore]

But of course, Mr. Gilmore is a very different sort of investigator than Walter.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Mr. Gilmour tells us that specifically, he says, I am an old man and.

[Faith Moore]

I take the practical view. You are a young man and you.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Take the romantic view, meaning that when we were with Walter, all the biases.

[Faith Moore]

Of Walter's love for Laura were our biases too.

[Vincent Gilmour]

We are now inclined to dislike Sir Percival because we're inclined to dislike the.

[Faith Moore]

Man that Laura is going to marry.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And we're inclined to dislike him also because Anne Catherick dislikes him. And like Walter, we have some sympathy for Anne Catherick, even though she's still kind of a mystery to us as she is to Walter as well. But of course, being biased isn't actually helpful here.

[Faith Moore]

And now that we're presumably about to.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Meet Sir Percival, it makes sense to try to keep an open mind. I mean, Mr. Gilmore is also biased. That's important. He's inclined to think that Sir Percival is innocent because Sir Percival is an upstanding gentleman and there aren't any rumors about him or anything that might raise suspicion. But Mr. Gilmore is also more jaded and practical than Walter. And if he learns that Sir Percival isn't a good guy, I think we can trust that he's going to change his opinion of him.

[Faith Moore]

So as we go into this next.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Section where we're theoretically going to meet Sir Percival Glyde, we're going to see him through clearer eyes than Walter's.

[Faith Moore]

But as Deli says in her letter, it's hard to see Walter go.

[Vincent Gilmour]

But remember that Walter is the one who put together this whole narrative, he's the one that's trying to make this crime, whatever it turns out to be, he's trying to make it known to the world. So that tells us that Walter's part in the story isn't actually entirely over. He has some stake left in it, even if it's only after whatever happens, happens.

[Faith Moore]

And we know that he still loves.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Laura, though we don't know if he ever actually sees her again or if he just loves her from afar.

[Faith Moore]

And Walter's farewell words to Laura are his farewell words to us as well.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Here's what he says.

[Faith Moore]

He says those days may never return.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Ms. Fairlie.

[Faith Moore]

My way of life and yours are very far apart. But if a time should come when the devotion of my whole heart and.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Soul and strength will give you a moment's happiness or spare you a moment's.

[Faith Moore]

Sorrow, will you try to remember the poor drawing master who has taught you? Ms. Halcombe has promised to trust me. Will you promise, too?

[Vincent Gilmour]

So he's telling Laura she can always.

[Faith Moore]

Call on him if she needs help.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And he's telling us also that when.

[Faith Moore]

Whatever happens, happens, whenever this crime gets committed, he'll be waiting. Right?

[Vincent Gilmour]

Laura can call on him, Marian can call on him. And we can call on him too, if we need to. So let's find out if we need to. Okay, let's see what we can learn from Mr. Gilmour and what happens when and if we meet Sir Percival Glydd. Don't forget to write to me faithkmoore.com and click on Contact. Or just click the link in the show notes and check out those other links as well, if you're interested. All right, let's get started with Gilmore's narrative, chapters one through two of the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.

[Faith Moore]

It's story time. The Story continued by Vincent Gilmour of Chancery Lane, Solicitor 1. I write these lines at the request of my friend Mr. Walter Hartright. They are intended to convey a description of certain events which seriously affected Ms. Fairley's interest and which took place after the period of Mr. Hartright's departure from Limmeridge House. There is no need for me to say whether my own opinion does or does not sanction the disclosure of the remarkable family story of which my narrative forms an important component part. Mr. Hartright has taken that responsibility on himself, and circumstances yet to be related will show that he has amply earned the right to do so, if he chooses to exercise it.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So Mr. Gilmore is saying that it.

[Faith Moore]

Doesn'T matter whether he thinks It's a.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Good idea to publish the whole story of what happened because Walter has some authority, which we don't really know about yet, to do it. Regardless of what Gilmore thinks, the plan.

[Faith Moore]

He has adopted for presenting the story to others in the most truthful and most vivid manner requires that it should be told at each successive stage in the march of events by the persons who were directly concerned in those events at the time of their occurrence. My appearance here as narrator is the necessary consequence of this arrangement. I was present during the sojourn of Sir Percival Glyde in Cumberland and was personally concerned in one important result of his short residence under Mr. Fairlie's roof. It is my duty therefore, to add these new links to the chain of events and to take up the chain itself at the point where, for the present only, Mr. Hartright has dropped it. So because something that's important to this narrative happened while Mr. Gilmore was at Limmeridge House and because Walter wasn't there.

[Vincent Gilmour]

When it happened, Mr. Gilmore is now our narrator.

[Faith Moore]

I arrived at Lymridge house on Friday 2nd November. My object was to remain at Mr. Fairlie's until the arrival of Sir Percival Glyde. If that event led to the appointment of any given day for Sir Percival's union with Ms. Fairlie, I was to take the necessary instructions back with me to London and to occupy myself in drawing the ladies marriage settlement. So the marriage settlement is the legal.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Document that would show how Miss Fairlie's fortune is to be treated once she's married to Sir Percival.

[Faith Moore]

On the Friday, I was not favored by Mr. Fairlie with an interview. He had been or had fancied himself to be an invalid for years past and he was not well enough to receive me. Miss Halcombe was the first member of the family whom I saw. She met me at the house door and introduced me to Mr. Hartright, who had been staying at Lynbridge for some time past. I did not see Miss Fairlie until later in the day at dinner time. She was not looking well and I was sorry to observe it. She is a sweet, lovable girl, as amiable and attentive to everyone about her as her excellent mother used to be. Though personally speaking, she takes after her father. Mrs. Fairlie had dark eyes and hair and her elder daughter, Miss Halcombe, strongly reminds me of her. Miss Fairlie played to us in the evening. Not so well as usual, I thought. We had a rubber at whist. A mere profanation so far as play.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Was concerned, of that noble game meaning.

[Faith Moore]

No one was playing the game very well. So here we're getting Gilmore's perspective on.

[Vincent Gilmour]

The scene we've already had from Walter's point of view.

[Faith Moore]

I had been favorably impressed by Mr. Hartright on our first introduction to one another. But I soon discovered that he was not free from the social failings incidental to his age. There are three things that none of the young men of the present generation can. They can't sit over their wine. They can't play at whist. They can't. And they can't pay a lady a compliment. Mr. Hartright was no exception to the general rule otherwise. Even in those early days, and on that short acquaintance, he struck me as being a modest and gentlemanlike young man. So the Friday passed. I say nothing about the more serious matters which engaged my attention on that day. The anonymous letter to Ms. Fairlie, the measures I thought it right to adopt when the matter was mentioned to me, and the conviction I entertained that every possible explanation of the circumstances would be readily afforded by Sir Percival Glyde. Having all been fully noticed, as I understand in the narrative which precedes this. On the Saturday, Mr. Hartright had left before I got down to breakfast. Miss Fairlie kept her room all day and Miss Halcombe appeared to me to be out of spirits. The house was not what it used to be in the time of Mr. And Mrs. Philip Fairlie. I took a walk by myself in the forenoon and looked about at some of the places which I first saw when I was staying at Lymridge to transact family business more than 30 years since. They were not what they used to be either. At 2 o'clock Mr. Fairlie sent to say he was well enough to see me. He had not altered, at any rate.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Since I first knew him.

[Faith Moore]

His talk was to the same purpose.

[Vincent Gilmour]

As usual, all about himself and his.

[Faith Moore]

Ailments, his wonderful coins and his matchless Rembrandt etchings. The moment I tried to speak of the business that had brought me to his house, he shut his eyes and said I upset him. I persisted in upsetting him by returning again and again to the subject. All I could ascertain was that he looked on his niece's marriage as a settled thing. That her father had sanctioned it, that he sanctioned it himself, that it was a desirable marriage and that he should be personally rejoiced when the worry of it was over. As to the settlements, if I would consult his niece and afterwards dive as deeply as I pleased into my own knowledge of the family affairs and get everything ready and limit his share in.

[Vincent Gilmour]

The business as Guardian to saying yes at the right moment.

[Faith Moore]

Why, of course. He would meet my views and everybody.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Else'S views with infinite pleasure.

[Faith Moore]

In the meantime, there I saw him, a helpless sufferer confined to his room.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Did I think he looked as if he wanted teasing?

[Faith Moore]

No. Then why tease him? I might perhaps have been a little.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Astonished at this extraordinary absence of all self assertion on Mr. Fairlie's part in.

[Faith Moore]

The character of Guardian. If my knowledge of the family affairs had not been sufficient to remind me that he was a single man and that he had nothing more than a life interest in the Limmeridge property.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Meaning that Mr. Fairlie has no claim to any of Laura's money, so he doesn't particularly care what happens to it.

[Faith Moore]

As matters stood, therefore, I was neither surprised nor disappointed at the result of the interview. Mr. Fairlie had simply justified my expectations and there was an end of it. Sunday was a dull day out of doors and in a letter arrived for me from Sir Percival Glyde's solicitor, acknowledging the receipt of my copy of the anonymous letter and my accompanying statement of the case. Miss Fairlie joined us in the afternoon, looking pale and depressed and altogether unlike herself. I had some talk with her and ventured on a delicate allusion to Sir Percival. She listened and said nothing. All other subjects she pursued willingly, but this subject she allowed to drop. I began to doubt whether she might not be repenting of her engagement, just as young ladies often do when repentance comes too late. On Monday, Sir Percival Glyde arrived. I found him to be a most prepossessing man so far as manners and appearance were concerned. He looked rather older than I had expected, his head being bald over the forehead and his face somewhat marked and worn. But his movements were as active and his spirits as high as a young man's. His meeting with Miss Halcombe was delightfully hearty and unaffected, and his reception of me upon my being presented to him was so easy and pleasant that we got on together like old friends. Miss Fairlie was not with us when he arrived, but she entered the room about 10 minutes afterwards. Sir Percival rose and paid his compliments with perfect grace. His evident concern on seeing the change for the worse in the young lady's looks was expressed with a mixture of tenderness and respect, with an unassuming delicacy of tone, voice and manner, which did equal credit to his good breeding and his good sense. I was rather surprised under these circumstances to see that Miss Fairlie continued to be constrained and uneasy in his presence and that she took the first opportunity of leaving the room again. Sir Percival neither noticed the restraint in her reception of him nor her sudden withdrawal from our society. He had not obtruded his attentions on her while she was present, and he did not embarrass Miss Halcombe by any allusion to her departure when she was gone. His tact and taste were never at fault on this or on any other.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Occasion when I was in his company at Limmeridge House.

[Faith Moore]

As soon as Miss Fairlie had left the room, he spared us all embarrassment on the subject of the anonymous letter by adverting to it of his own.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Accord, meaning Sir Percival brought up the anonymous letter himself.

[Faith Moore]

He had stopped in London on his way from Hampshire, had seen his solicitor, had read the documents forwarded by me, and had travelled on to Cumberland, anxious to satisfy our minds by the speediest and the fullest explanation that words could convey. On hearing him express himself to this effect, I offered him the original letter which I had kept for his inspection. He thanked me and declined to look at it, saying that he had seen the copy and that he was quite willing to leave the original in our hands. The statement itself, on which he immediately entered was as simple and satisfactory as I had all along anticipated it would be. Mrs. Catherick, he informed us, had in past years laid him under some obligations for faithful services rendered to his family connections and to himself. She had been doubly unfortunate in being married to a husband who had deserted her and in having an only child whose mental faculties had been in a disturbed condition from a very early age. Although her marriage had removed her to a part of Hampshire far distant from the neighborhood in which Sir Percival's property was situated, he had taken care not to lose sight of her. His friendly feeling towards the poor woman in consideration of her past services, having been greatly strengthened by his admiration of the patience and courage with which she supported her calamities. In course of time, the symptoms of mental affliction in her unhappy daughter increased to such a serious extent as to make it a matter of necessity to place her under proper medical care. Mrs. Catherick herself recognized this necessity, but she also felt the prejudice common to persons occupying her respectable station against allowing her child to be admitted as a pauper into a public asylum. Sir Percival had respected this prejudice as he respected honest independence of feeling in any rank of life, and had resolved to mark his grateful sense of Mrs. Catherick's early attachment to the interests of himself and his family by defraying the expense of her daughter's maintenance into trustworthy private asylum.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So Anne Catherick's mother had been connected.

[Faith Moore]

With Sir Percival's family somehow, probably as a servant of some kind. And Sir Percival made sure to help.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Her when he could. Anne had always struggled with mental illness.

[Faith Moore]

And as she got older, it got worse. Her mother didn't want her to go to a public asylum, which was more like a prison in those days. So Sir Percival paid for her to go to a private one where she.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Would receive better care.

[Faith Moore]

To her mother's regret, and to his own regret, the unfortunate creature had discovered the share which circumstances had induced him to take in placing her under restraint, and had conceived the most intense hatred and distrust of him. In consequence to that hatred and distrust which had expressed itself in various ways in the asylum, the anonymous letter written after her escape was plainly attributable. So he's saying that Anne's hatred of.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Him, of Sir Percival, stems from the.

[Faith Moore]

Fact that she knows he helped them find the private asylum, so she blames.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Him for the fact that she was locked away.

[Faith Moore]

If Miss Halcombe's or Mr. Gilmour's recollection of the document did not confirm that view, or if they wished for any additional particulars about the asylum, the address of which he mentioned, as well as the names and addresses of the two doctors on whose certificates the patient was admitted, he was ready to answer any question and to clear up any uncertainty. He had done his duty to the unhappy young woman by instructing his solicitor to spare no expense in tracing her and in restoring her once more to medical, medical care. And he was now only anxious to do his duty towards Ms. Fairlie and towards her family in the same plain, straightforward way. I was the first to speak in answer to this appeal. My own course was plain to me. It is the great beauty of the law that it can dispute any human statement made under any circumstances and reduced to any form. If I had felt professionally called upon to set up a case against Sir Percival Glyde on the strength of his own explanation, I could have done so beyond all doubt. But my duty did not lie in this direction. My function was the purely judicial kind. I was to weigh the explanation we had just heard, to allow all due force to the high reputation of the gentleman who offered it, and to decide honestly whether the probabilities on Sir Percival's own showing were plainly with him or plainly against him. My own conviction was that they were plainly with him and I accordingly declared that his explanation was, to my mind, unquestionably a satisfactory 1. So Mr. Gilmour believes sir Percival's explanation. Miss Halcombe, after looking at me very earnestly, said a few words on her side to the same effect. With a certain hesitation of manner, however, which the circumstances did not seem to me to warrant. I am unable to say positively whether Sir Percival noticed this or not. My opinion is that he did, seeing that he pointedly resumed the subject, although he might now with all propriety have allowed it to drop. If my plain statement of facts had only been addressed to Mr. Gilmour, he said I should consider any further reference to this unhappy matter as unnecessary. I may fairly expect Mr. Gilmour, as a gentleman, to believe me on my word. And when he has done me that justice, all discussion of the subject between us has come to an end. But my position with a lady is not the same. I owe to her what I would concede to no man alive. A proof of the truth of my assertion. You cannot ask for that proof, Miss Halcombe. And it is therefore my duty to you, and still more to Miss Fairlie to offer it. May I beg that you will write at once to the mother of this unfortunate woman, to Mrs. Catherick, to ask for her testimony in support of the explanation which I have just offered to you. I saw Miss Halcombe change colour and look a little uneasy. Sir Percival's suggestion, politely as it was expressed, appeared to her, as it appeared to me to point very delicately at the hesitation which her manner had betrayed a moment or two since. I hope, Sir Percival, you don't do me the injustice to suppose that I distrust you, she said quickly. Certainly not. Miss Halcombe. I make my proposal purely as an act of attention to you. Will you excuse my obstinacy if I still venture to press it? He walked to the writing table as he spoke, drew a chair to it and opened the paper case. Let me beg of you to write the note, he said, as a favor to me. It need not occupy you more than a few minutes. You have only to ask Mrs. Catherick two questions. First, if her daughter was placed in the asylum with her knowledge and approval. Secondly, if the share I took in the matter was such as to merit the expression of her gratitude towards myself. Mr. Gilmour's mind is at ease on this unpleasant subject and your mind is at ease. Pray set my mind at ease also by writing the note. You oblige me to grant your request, Sir Percival, when I would much rather refuse it.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So it's embarrassing to Marian to be.

[Faith Moore]

Asked to write to Anne's mother because it implies that she is distrustful of Sir Percival and needs some sort of.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Concrete proof that he's not lying.

[Faith Moore]

With those words, Miss Halcombe rose from her place and went to the writing table. Sir Percival thanked her, handed her a pen, and then walked away towards the fireplace. Miss Fairlie's little Italian greyhound was lying on the rug. He held out his hand and called to the dog good humouredly. Come, Nina, he said. We remember each other, don't we? The little beast, cowardly and cross grained as pet dogs usually are, looked up at him sharply, shrank away from his outstretched hand, whined, shivered, and hid itself under a sofa. It was scarcely possible that he could have been put out by such a trifle as a dog's reception of him, but I observed nevertheless that he walked away towards the window very suddenly. Perhaps his temper is irritable at times.

[Vincent Gilmour]

If so, I can sympathize with him.

[Faith Moore]

My temper is irritable at times too. Miss Halcombe was not long in writing the note. When it was done, she rose from the writing table and handed the open sheet of paper to Sir Percival. He bowed, took it from her, folded it up immediately without looking at the contents, sealed it, wrote the address, and handed it back to her in silence. I never saw anything more gracefully and more becomingly done in my life. You insist on my posting this letter, Sir Percival, said Miss Halcombe. I beg you will post it, he answered. And now that it is written and sealed up, allow me to ask one or two last questions about the unhappy woman to whom it refers. I have read the communication which Mr. Gilmour kindly addressed to my solicitor, describing the circumstances under which the writer of the anonymous letter was identified. But there are certain points to which that statement does not refer. Did Anne Catherick see Miss Fairlie? Certainly not, replied Miss Halcombe. Did she see you? No. She saw nobody from the house then? Except a certain Mr. Hartright who accidentally met with her in the churchyard here. Nobody else? Mr. Hartright was employed at Limmeridge as a drawing master, I believe. Is he a member of one of the watercolour societies?

[Vincent Gilmour]

I believe he is, answered Miss Halcombe.

[Faith Moore]

He paused for a moment, as if he was thinking over the last answer, and then added, did you find out where Anne Catherick was living when she.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Was in this neighbourhood?

[Faith Moore]

Yes, at a farm on the moor called Todd's Corner. It is a duty we all owe to the poor creature herself to trace her, continued Sir Percival. She may have said something at Todd's Corner which may help us to find her. I will go there and make Inquiries on the chance. In the meantime, as I cannot prevail on myself to discuss this painful subject with Miss Fairlie, may I beg Miss Halcombe that you will kindly undertake to give her the necessary explanation, deferring it, of course, until you have received the reply to that note. Miss Halcombe promised to comply with his request. He thanked her, nodded pleasantly, and left us to go and establish himself in his own room. As he opened the door, the cross grained greyhound poked out her sharp muzzle from under the sofa and barked and snapped at him. Good morning's work, Miss Halcombe, I said as soon as we were alone. Here is an anxious day. Well ended already? Yes, she answered. No doubt I am very glad your mind is satisfied. My mind? Surely with that note in your hand your mind is at ease too? Oh, yes. How can it be otherwise? I know the thing could not be, she went on, speaking more to herself than to me, but I almost wish Walter Hartright had stayed here long enough to be present at the explanation and to hear the proposal to me to write this note. I was a little surprisedperhaps a little piqued also by these last words. Events, it is true, connected Mr. Hartright very remarkably with the affair of the letter, I said, and I readily admit that he conducted himself, all things considered, with great delicacy and discretion. But I am quite at a loss to understand what useful influence his presence could have exercised in relation to the effect of Sir Percival's statement on your mind or mine. It was only a fancy, she said absently.

[Vincent Gilmour]

There's no need to discuss it, Mr. Gilmore.

[Faith Moore]

Your experience ought to be, and is the best guide I can desire. I did not altogether like her thrusting the whole responsibility in that marked manner on my shoulders. If Mr. Fairlie had done it, I should not have been surprised, but resolute, clear minded, Miss Halcombe was the very last person in the world whom I should have expected to find shrinking from the expression of an opinion of her own. If any doubts still trouble you, I said, why not mention them to me at once? Tell me plainly, have you any reason to distrust Sir Percival Glyde? None whatever. Do you see anything improbable or contradictory in his explanation? How can I say I do after the proof he has offered me of the truth of it? Can there be better testimony in his favour, Mr. Gilmore, than the testimony of the woman's mother? None better. If the answer to your note of.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Inquiry proves to be satisfactory, I for.

[Faith Moore]

One cannot see what more any friend of Sir Percival's can possibly expect from him. Then we must post the note, she.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Said, rising to leave the room and.

[Faith Moore]

Dismiss all further reference to the subject. Until the answer arrives, don't attach any.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Weight to my hesitation.

[Faith Moore]

I can give no better reason for it than that. I have been overanxious about Laura lately, and anxiety, Mr. Gilmore, unsettles the strongest of us. She left me abruptly, her naturally firm voice faltering as she spoke those last words. A sensitive, vehement, passionate nature.

[Vincent Gilmour]

A woman of 10,000 in these trivial, superficial times.

[Faith Moore]

I had known her from her earliest years. I had seen her tested as she grew up in more than one trying family crisis, and my long experience made me attach an importance to her hesitation under the circumstances here detailed, which I should certainly not have felt. In the case of another woman, I could see no cause for any uneasiness or doubt, but she had made me a little uneasy and a little doubtful. None the less, in my youth I should have chafed and fretted under the irritation of my own unreasonable state of mind. In my age I knew better and went out philosophically to walk it off. We all met again at dinner time. Sir Percival was in such boisterous high spirits that I hardly recognized him as the same man whose quiet tact, refinement, and good sense had impressed me so strongly. At the interview of the morning. The only trace of his former self that I could detect reappeared every now and then in his manner towards Miss Fairlie. A look or a word from her suspended his loudest laugh, checked his gayest flow of talk, and rendered him all attention to her and to no one else at table in an instant. Although he never openly tried to draw her into the conversation, he never lost the slightest chance she gave him of letting her drift into it by accident, and of saying the words to her under those favourable circumstances which a man with less tact and delicacy would have pointedly addressed to her the moment they occurred to him. Rather, to my surprise, Miss Fairlie appeared to be sensible of his attentions without being moved by them. She was a little confused from time.

[Vincent Gilmour]

To time when he looked at her.

[Faith Moore]

Or spoke to her, but she never warmed towards him. Rank fortune, good breeding, good looks, the respect of a gentleman, and the devotion of a lover were all humbly placed at her feet, and so far as appearances went, were all offered in vain. On the next day, the Tuesday, Sir Percival went in the morning, taking one of the servants with him as a guide to Todd's Corner. His inquiries, as I afterwards heard, led to no results. On his return he had an interview with Mr. Fairlie and in the afternoon he and Ms. Halcombe rode out together. Nothing else happened worthy of record. The evening passed as usual. There was no change in Sir Percival and no change in Ms. Fairlie. The Wednesday's post brought with it an event. The reply from Mrs. I took a copy of the document which I have preserved and which I may as well present in this place. It ran as follows. So this is the answer to Marian's letter which Sir Percival had her write to Anne Catherick's mother, asking if Sir Percival's account of what happened was accurate. Madam, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter inquiring whether my daughter Anne was placed under medical superintendence with my knowledge and approval, and whether the share taken in the matter by Sir Percival Glyde was such as to merit the expression of my gratitude towards that gentleman. Be pleased to accept my answer in the affirmative to both those questions and believe me to remain your obedient servant, Jane Anne Catherick.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So basically, yes, Anne was placed in.

[Faith Moore]

A private asylum because Sir Percival was kind enough to pay for it. Short, sharp and to the point inform.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Rather a businesslike letter for a woman.

[Faith Moore]

To write in substance as plain a confirmation as could be desired of Sir Percival Glyde's statement. This was my opinion, and with certain minor reservations, Ms. Halcomb's opinion also. Sir Percival, when the letter was shown to him, did not appear to be struck by the sharp, short tone of it. He told us that Mrs. Catherick was a woman of few words, a clear headed, straightforward, unimaginative person who wrote briefly and plainly just as she spoke. The next duty to be accomplished, now that the answer had been received, was to acquaint Ms. Fairlie with sir Percival's explanation. Miss Halcombe had undertaken to do this and had left the room to go to her sister when she suddenly returned again and sat down by the easy chair in which I was read the newspaper. Sir Percival had gone out a minute before to look at the stables and no one was in the room but ourselves. I suppose we have really and truly done all we can, she said, turning.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And twisting Mrs. Catherick's letter in her hand.

[Faith Moore]

If we are friends of Sir Percival's, who know him and trust him, we have done all and more than all that is necessary. I answered, a little annoyed by this return of her hesitation. But if we are enemies who suspect him, that alternative is not even to be thought of. She interposed. We are Sir Percival's friends, and if generosity and forbearance can add to our regard for him. We ought to be Sir Percival's admirers as well. You know that he saw Mr. Fairlie yesterday and that afterwards went out with me. Yes, I saw you riding away together. We began the ride by talking about Anne Catherick and about the singular manner in which Mr. Hartright met with her. But we soon dropped that subject and Sir Percival spoke next in the most unselfish terms of his engagement with Laura. He said he had observed that she was out of spirits and he was willing, if not informed to the contrary, to attribute to that cause the alteration in her manner towards him during his present visit. If, however, there was any more serious reason for the change, he would entreat that no constraint might be placed on her inclinations, either by Mr. Fairlie or by me. All he asked in that case was that she would recall to mind for the last time what the circumstances were under which the engagement between them was made and what his conduct had been from the beginning of the courtship to the present time. If, after due reflection on those two subjects, she seriously desired that he would withdraw his pretensions to the honour of becoming her husband, and if she would tell him so plainly with her own lips, he would sacrifice himself by leaving her perfectly free to withdraw from the engagement. So Sir Percival told Marian that if Laura doesn't want to marry him for some reason, then she should have no fear in telling him and that he.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Would release her from the engagement if she wanted.

[Faith Moore]

No man could say more than that, Miss Halcombe. As to my experience, few men in his situation would have said as much. She paused after I had spoken those words and looked at me with a singular expression of perplexity and distress. I accuse nobody and I suspect nothing.

[Vincent Gilmour]

She broke out abruptly.

[Faith Moore]

But I cannot and will not accept the responsibility of persuading Laura to this marriage. That is exactly the course which Sir Percival Glyde has himself requested you to take.

[Vincent Gilmour]

I replied in astonishment.

[Faith Moore]

He has begged you not to force her inclinations and he indirectly obliges me to force them if I give her his message. How can that possibly be? Consult your own knowledge of Laura, Mr. Gilmore. If I tell her to reflect on the circumstances of her engagement, I at once appeal to two of the strongest feelings in her nature. To her love for her father's memory and to her strict regard for truth. You know that she never broke a promise in her life. You know that she entered on this engagement at the beginning of her father's fatal illness and that he spoke hopefully and happily of her marriage to Sir Percival Glyde on his deathbed.

[Vincent Gilmour]

So she's saying that if she does.

[Faith Moore]

As Sir Percival suggested. And remind Laura of the circumstances under which they were engaged, Laura will definitely go through with the marriage. Because it was the wish of her beloved father that she do it. I own that I was a little shocked at this view of the case. Surely, I said, you don't mean to infer that when Sir Percival spoke to you yesterday, he speculated on such a result as you have just mentioned?

[Vincent Gilmour]

So Gilmore's asking if she thinks Sir.

[Faith Moore]

Percival mentioned Laura's father in order to.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Manipulate her into agreeing to marry him?

[Faith Moore]

Her frank, fearless face answered for her before she spoke. Do you think I would remain an instant in the company of any man whom I suspected of such baseness as that? She asked angrily. I liked to feel her hearty indignation.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Flash out on me in that way.

[Faith Moore]

We see so much malice and so.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Little indignation in my profession.

[Faith Moore]

In that case, I said, excuse me if I tell you in our legal phrase that you are traveling out of the record. Whatever the consequences may be. Sir Percival has a right to expect that your sister should carefully consider her engagement from every possible point of view before she claims her release from it. If that unlucky letter has prejudiced her against him, go at once and tell her that he has cleared himself in your eyes and in mine. What objection can she urge against him after that? What excuse can she possibly have for changing her mind about a man whom she had virtually accepted for her husband more than two years ago? In the eyes of law and reason, Mr. Gilmore? No excuse, I dare say, if she still hesitates, and if I still hesitate, you must attribute our strange conduct, if you like, to caprice in both cases. And we must bear the imputation as well as we can. With those words she suddenly rose and left me. When a sensible woman has a serious question put to her and evades it by a flippant answer, it is a sure sign in 99 cases out of a hundred that she has something to conceal. I returned to the perusal of the newspaper, strongly suspecting that Ms. Halcombe and Ms. Fairlie had a secret between them which they were keeping from Sir Percival and keeping from me. I thought this hard on both of us, especially on Sir Percival. So the secret that they're keeping is that Laura is in love with Walter.

[Vincent Gilmour]

But Mr. Gilmore doesn't know anything about that.

[Faith Moore]

My doubts, or to speak more correctly, my convictions, were confirmed by Ms. Halcombe's language and manner. When I saw her again later in the day she was suspiciously brief and reserved in telling me the result of her interview with her sister. Miss Fairly, it appeared, had listened quietly while the affair of the letter was placed before her in the right point of view. But when Miss Halcombe next proceeded to say that the object of Sir Percival's visit at Limmeridge was to prevail on her to let a day be fixed for the marriage, she checked all further reference to the subject by begging for time. If Sir Percival would consent to spare her for the present, she would undertake to give him his final answer before the end of the year. She pleaded for this delay with such anxiety and agitation that Miss Halcombe had promised to use her influence, if necessary, to obtain it. And there, at Miss Fairlie's earnest entreaty, all further discussion of the marriage question had ended. The purely temporary arrangement thus proposed might have been convenient enough to the young lady but it proved somewhat embarrassing to the writer of these lines, meaning to him, Mr. Gilmore, that morning's post had brought a letter from my partner which obliged me to return to town the next day by the afternoon train. It was extremely probable that I should find no second opportunity of presenting myself at Limmeridge House during the remainder of the year. In that case, supposing Miss Fairlie ultimately decided on holding to her engagement, my necessary personal communication with her before I drew her settlement would become something like a downright impossibility and we should be obliged to commit to writing questions which ought always to be discussed on both sides by word of mouth. So if Laura doesn't agree definitively to the engagement now, then Mr. Gilmore can't.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Draw up the settlement now, and then.

[Faith Moore]

He later, he won't be able to discuss it with her personally because he.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Can'T come back and so she won't be able to have his aid in.

[Faith Moore]

The way that she should. I said nothing about this difficulty until Sir Percival had been consulted on the subject of the desired delay. He was too gallant a gentleman not to grant the request immediately. When Miss Halcombe informed me of this, I told her that I must absolutely speak to her sister before I left Limmeridge. And it was therefore arranged that I should see Miss Fairlie in her own.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Sitting room the next morning.

[Faith Moore]

She did not come down to dinner or join us in the evening. Indisposition was the excuse, and I thought Sir Percival looked as well he might a little annoyed when he heard of it. The next morning, as soon as breakfast was over, I went up to Miss Fairlie's sitting room. The poor girl looked so pale and sad, and came forward to welcome me so readily and prettily that the resolution to lecture her on her caprice and indecision, which I had been forming all the way upstairs, failed me on the spot. I led her back to the chair from which she had risen and placed myself opposite to her. Her cross grained pet greyhound was in the room and I fully expected a barking and snapping reception. Strange to say the whimsical little brute falsified my expectations by jumping into my lap and poking its sharp muzzle familiarly into my hand the moment I sat down. You used often to sit on my knee when you were a child, my dear, I said. And now your little dog seems determined to succeed you in the vacant throne. Is that pretty drawing you're doing? I pointed to a little album which lay on the table by her side and which she had evidently been looking over when I came in. The page that lay open had a small water colour landscape very neatly mounted on it. This was the drawing which had suggested my question. An idle question. Enough. But how could I begin to talk of business to her the moment I opened my lips?

[Vincent Gilmour]

No, she said, looking away from the drawing rather confusedly, it is not my doing.

[Faith Moore]

Her fingers had a restless habit which I remembered in her as a child of always playing with the first thing that came to hand whenever anyone was talking to her. On this occasion they wandered to the album and toyed absently about the margin of the little watercolor drawing. The expression of melancholy deepened on her face. She did not look at the drawing or look at me. Her eyes moved uneasily from object to object in the room, betraying plainly that she suspected what my purpose was in coming to speak to her. Seeing that I thought it best to get to the purpose with as little delay as possible. One of the errands, my dear, which brings me here is to bid you good bye, I began. I must get back to London to day, and before I leave I want to have a word with you on the subject of your own affairs. I am very sorry you are going.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Mr. Gilmore, she said, looking at me kindly.

[Faith Moore]

It is like the happy old times to have you here. I hope I may be able to come back and recall those pleasant memories once more, I continued. But as there is some uncertainty about the future, I must take my opportunity when I can get it and speak to you now. I am your old lawyer and your old friend, and I may remind you, I am sure, without offence, of the possibility of your marrying Sir Percival Glyde. She took her hand off the little album as suddenly as if it had turned hot and burned her. Her fingers twined together nervously in her lap. Her eyes looked down again at the floor, and an expression of constraint settled on her face, which looked almost like an expression of pain. Is it absolutely necessary to speak of my marriage engagement? She asked in low tones. It is necessary to refer to it, I answered, but not to dwell on it. Let us merely say that you may marry, or that you may not marry. In the first case I must be prepared beforehand to draw your settlement, and I ought not to do that without, as a matter of politeness, first consulting you. This may be my only chance of hearing what your wishes are. Let us therefore suppose the case of your marrying, and let me inform you.

[Vincent Gilmour]

In as few words as possible what.

[Faith Moore]

Your position is now and what you may make it, if you please, in the future. I explained to her the object of a marriage settlement and then told her exactly what her prospects were in the first place on her coming of age, and in the second place on the decease of her uncle, marking the distinction between the property in which she had a life interest only and the property which was left at her control. She listened attentively, with the constrained expression still on her face and her hands still nervously clasped together in her lap.

[Vincent Gilmour]

And now, I said in conclusion, tell.

[Faith Moore]

Me if you can think of any condition which in the case we have supposed you would wish me to make for you. Subject, of course, to your guardian's approval, as you are not yet of age. She moved uneasily in her chair, then looked in my face on a sudden, very earnestly. If it does happen, she began faintly, if I am. If you are married, I added, helping her out, don't let them part me from Marian.

[Vincent Gilmour]

She cried with a sudden outbreak of energy.

[Faith Moore]

Oh, Mr. Gilmore, pray make it law that Marian is to live with me. Under other circumstances I might perhaps have been amused at this essentially feminine interpretation of my question and of the long explanation which had preceded it, but her looks and tones when she spoke were of a kind to make me more than serious. They distressed me. Her words, few as they were, betrayed a desperate clinging to the past which boded ill for the future. Your having Marion Halcombe to live with you can easily be settled by private arrangement, I said. You hardly understood my question. I think it referenced to your own property, to the disposal of your money. Supposing you were to make a will when you come of age, who would you like the money to go to? Marion has been mother and sister both to me, said the good affectionate girl.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Her pretty blue eyes glistening while she spoke.

[Faith Moore]

May I leave it to Marian, Mr. Gilmore? Certainly, my love, I answered. But remember what a large sum it is. Would you like it all to go to Miss Halcombe? She hesitated. Her color came and went, and her hand stole back again to the little album. Not all of it, she said. There is someone else besides Marion. She stopped, her color heightened, and the fingers of the hand that rested upon the album beat gently on the margin of the drawing, as if her memory had set them going mechanically with the remembrance of a favorite tune. You mean some other member of the.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Family besides Miss Halcombe?

[Faith Moore]

I suggested, seeing her at a loss to proceed. The heightened color spread to her forehead and her neck, and the nervous fingers suddenly clasped themselves fast round the edge of the book. There is someone else, she said, not noticing my last words, though she had evidently heard them. There is someone else who might like a little keepsake If. If I might leave it. There would be no harm if I should die first. She paused again. The color that had spread over her cheeks suddenly as suddenly, left them. The hand on the album, resigned its hold, trembled a little, and moved the book away from her. She looked at me for an instant, then turned her head aside in the chair. Her handkerchief fell to the floor as she changed her position, and she hurriedly hid her face from me in her hands. Sad to remember her as I did, the liveliest, happiest child that ever laughed the day through, and to see her now in the flower of her age and her beauty so broken and so brought down as this. In the distress that she caused me, I forgot the years that had passed and the change they had made in our position towards one another. I moved my chair close to her and picked up her handkerchief from the carpet and drew her hands from her face gently. Don't cry, my love, I said, and dried the tears that were gathering in her eyes with my own hand, as if she had been the little Laura Fairley of ten long years ago. It was the best way I could have taken to compose her. She laid her head on my shoulder and smiled faintly through her tears. I am very sorry for forgetting myself, she said artlessly. I have not been well. I have felt sadly weak and nervous lately, and I often cry without reason when I am alone. I am better now. I can answer you as I ought, Mr. Gilmore. I can indeed. No, no, my dear, I replied. We will consider the subject as done with. For the present. You have said enough to sanction my taking the best possible care of your interests, and we can settle details at another opportunity. Let us have done with business now and talk of something else. I led her at once into speaking on other topics. In 10 minutes time she was in better spirits, and I rose to take my leave. Come here again, she said earnestly. I will try to be worthier of your kind feeling for me and for my interests, if you will only come again. Still clinging to the past, the past which I represented to her in my way, as Miss Halcombe did in hers. It troubled me sorely to see her looking back at the beginning of her career, just as I look back at the end of mine. If I do come again, I hope I shall find you better, I said, better and happier. God bless you, my dear. She only answered by putting up her.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Cheek to me to be kissed.

[Faith Moore]

Even lawyers have hearts, and mine ached a little as I took leave of her. The whole interview between us had hardly lasted more than half an hour. She had not breathed a word in my presence to explain the mystery of her evident distress and dismay at the prospect of her marriage. And yet she had contrived to win me over to her side of the question. I neither knew how nor why. I had entered the room feeling that Sir Percival Glyde had fair reason to complain of the manner in which she was treating him. I left it secretly, hoping that matters might end in her taking him at his word and claiming her release. Peace. A man of my age and experience ought to have known better than to vacillate in this unreasonable manner. I can make no excuse for myself. I can only tell the truth and say so. It was the hour of my departure was now drawing near. I sent to Mr. Fairlie to say that I would wait on him to take leave if he liked, but that he must excuse my being rather in a hurry. He sent a message back, written in pencil on a slip of paper. Kind love and best wishes, dear Gilmore. Hurry of any kind is expressly injurious to me. Pray take care of yourself. Goodbye. Just before I left, I saw Miss Halcombe for a moment alone. Have you said all you wanted to Laura? She asked. Yes, I replied. She is very weak and nervous. I am glad she has you to take care of her. Miss Halcombe's sharp eyes studied my face attentively. You are altering your opinion about Laura, she said. You are readier to make allowances for.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Her than you were yesterday.

[Faith Moore]

No sensible man ever engages unprepared in a fencing match of words with a woman. I only answered, let me know what happens. I will do nothing till I hear from you. She still looked hard in my face. I wish it was all over and well over, Mr. Gilmour, and so do you. With those words she left me. Sir Percival most politely insisted on seeing me to the carriage door. If you are ever in my neighborhood, he said, pray don't forget that I am sincerely anxious to improve our acquaintance. The tried and trusted old friend of this family will always be a welcome visitor in any house of mine. A really irresistible man. Courteous, considerate, delightfully free from pride. A gentleman, every inch of him. As I drove away to the station, I felt as if I could cheerfully do anything to promote the interests of Sir Percival Glyde. Anything in the world, except drawing the marriage settlement of his wife. Thank you so much for listening. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapters. Is there anything you'd like me to clarify? Did something particularly interest you? Please go to my website, faithkmoore.com, click on Contact and send me your questions and thoughts. Or you can click on the link in the Show Notes to contact me. I'll feature one or two of your entries at the start of the next episode. Speaking of links, don't forget to take a look at the other links in the Show Notes. You can learn more about me, check out our merch store, or pick up one of my books. Before I go, I'd like to ask a quick favor. This is an independent podcast. It's produced, recorded and marketed by me, so I need your help. Spread the word about the show by posting about it on social media or texting a link to your friends. Subscribe, tap those five stars and leave a positive review wherever you're listening.

[Vincent Gilmour]

If you are able to support the.

[Faith Moore]

Show financially, there's a link in the.

[Vincent Gilmour]

Show Notes to make a donation.

[Faith Moore]

I would really, really appreciate it. Alright everyone, story time is over to be continue.