The Woman in White: Several Narratives (Part 2)

Summary

Storytime for Grownups: "The Woman in White: Several Narratives (Part 2)" Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Storytime for Grownups
• Host/Author: Faith Moore
• Episode: The Woman in White: Several Narratives (Part 2)
• Release Date: April 3, 2025
• Description: "Storytime for Grownups" is an immersive podcast that fosters a love for classic literature by offering an audiobook experience enriched with insightful notes. Hosted by Faith Moore, listeners are invited to cozy up with a pot of tea and delve into timeless stories with guided commentary.

---

Episode Overview

In this episode of "Storytime for Grownups," Faith Moore continues her exploration of Wilkie Collins' classic novel, "The Woman in White." This installment, titled "Several Narratives (Part 2)," delves deeper into the unfolding mysteries surrounding the protagonist, Laura Fairlie, and the enigmatic Count Fosco. Faith intersperses her reading with analytical pauses, engaging discussions, and listener interactions to enhance comprehension and enjoyment.

---

Key Discussions and Insights

Navigating Recent Developments

Faith and her co-host Marian Halcombe address the pivotal moment in the story where Laura Fairlie's death is revealed. Marian expresses the collective grief of the characters:

Marian Halcombe [00:44]: "Laura is dead. It's so sad. I'm so glad that we can all be together in our grief right now."

The hosts emphasize that despite Laura's demise, the narrative trajectory remains rich with suspense and unresolved plotlines, ensuring continued engagement for listeners.

Listener Engagement and Theories

Faith highlights the active participation of her audience, who have been submitting thoughtful theories and reflections. However, to preserve the story's integrity and avoid spoilers, Faith refrains from sharing detailed listener insights. Instead, she focuses on addressing a particularly insightful letter:

Sarah Nall [10:37]: "I just finished listening to the most recent episode where Laura dies. I don't believe it. So many things are all wrong and I just can't believe that she has really died."

Sarah questions the authenticity of Laura's death, noting inconsistencies in characters' reactions and the impersonal narrative distance, which she feels diminishes the emotional impact.

Narrative Techniques and Emotional Distance

Marian delves into Sarah's observations, discussing how the novel's use of multiple narrators creates a detached perspective:

Marian Halcombe [12:03]: "The distance makes it so that we don't feel Laura's death as strongly as we would if we were still in Marian's diary, learning of it from her point of view."

This commentary underscores the novel's strategic use of narrative distance to build suspense and maintain an air of mystery, allowing readers to piece together the truth from various perspectives.

Character Reactions and Implications

The hosts analyze the reactions of key characters to Laura's death, particularly focusing on Count Fosco's behavior:

Marian Halcombe [16:14]: "Fosco's reaction to Laura getting sick is super over the top, but his reaction to her improvement seemed a bit more genuine."

They debate whether Fosco's exaggerated responses are genuine emotions or calculated performances, hinting at his potential role in the underlying mystery.

Unresolved Questions and Future Plotlines

Faith and Marian discuss lingering questions that propel the narrative forward, such as the significance of the date Laura left for London and the true circumstances surrounding her death. These elements set the stage for future revelations and deepen the intrigue surrounding the characters' motives and alliances.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Marian Halcombe [00:44]: "Laura is dead. It's so sad. I'm so glad that we can all be together in our grief right now."

• Sarah Nall [10:37]: "I just finished listening to the most recent episode where Laura dies. I don't believe it. So many things are all wrong and I just can't believe that she has really died."

• Marian Halcombe [12:03]: "The distance makes it so that we don't feel Laura's death as strongly as we would if we were still in Marian's diary, learning of it from her point of view."

• Marian Halcombe [16:14]: "Fosco's reaction to Laura getting sick is super over the top, but his reaction to her improvement seemed a bit more genuine."

---

Reading Segment: Walter Hartright's Narrative

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to Faith reading Walter Hartright's poignant narrative. Walter recounts his harrowing journey back to England after surviving a shipwreck and the devastating news of Laura's death:

Walter Hartright: "I had parted with the worst bitterness of the past, but not with my heart's remembrance of the sorrow and the tenderness of that memorable time."

His detailed description of visiting Laura's grave and the eerie encounter with a veiled woman adds layers of suspense and supernatural intrigue to the story. This segment not only advances the plot but also deepens the emotional resonance of Walter's loss and the mysteries surrounding Laura's demise.

---

Concluding Reflections

Faith and Marian reflect on the current state of the narrative, acknowledging that while a major plotline has concluded with Laura's death, numerous threads remain to be unraveled. They express anticipation for the forthcoming chapters, which promise to explore the depths of deceit, love, and the quest for justice:

Marian Halcombe [17:46]: "Ser Percival has left the country looking very guilty. The Count is still in England, and we suspect he's guilty, too, but no one else does."

The hosts encourage listeners to continue engaging with the story, promising that the remaining episodes will illuminate the dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic setting.

---

Final Thoughts and Audience Engagement

Faith reiterates the importance of listener interaction, inviting questions and thoughts through her website. She emphasizes the communal aspect of the podcast, fostering a shared experience as they navigate the complexities of "The Woman in White" together.

Faith Moore [19:08]: "My dream, my dream."

The episode concludes with a teaser for future content and a heartfelt invitation for listeners to stay connected, ensuring that the journey through classic literature remains both enlightening and emotionally fulfilling.

---

Conclusion

This episode of "Storytime for Grownups" masterfully balances the delivery of classic literary content with insightful commentary and active listener participation. By dissecting narrative techniques and character motivations, Faith Moore and Marian Halcombe provide a rich, engaging experience that not only brings "The Woman in White" to life but also deepens the audience's appreciation for Wilkie Collins' storytelling prowess.

Listeners are left eagerly anticipating the next chapters, equipped with thoughtful analyses and a heightened sense of involvement in the unfolding drama.

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 from the book, pausing from time to 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. Oh, what a disaster, right?

[Marian Halcombe]

Laura is dead. It's so sad. I'm so glad that we can all be together in our grief right now. So gather together, you guys. This is sad stuff, but we're not done yet. There's a lot of book left and a lot is going to happen between now and the end of the book. So we have tons to talk about and lots to figure out. And you guys have been writing to me such amazing letters. You guys have theories and thoughts and all kinds of things that I wish I could share with you right now. But I don't want to because I don't want to accidentally give any spoilers spoilers or to confirm or deny whether you're right or wrong. So I'm not going to do any of that. But I am going to talk about where we are now. I have one letter. It's a bit of a long letter, but I think it's a really useful one for figuring out kind of where we stand, what the lay of the land is. So I'm going to do that and I am going to talk about where we are right now and then we'll get back into it and see what happens next. Right? What's going to happen now that Laura is dead? Normally with a big reveal like that, I would read lots and lots of letters, right? That's what I've been doing with all these cliffhangers. I've been trying to show you how everyone's reacting so that you can all feel like you're reacting together and that this is a community, because it really is. It's just that I get the benefit of all your reactions. So I like to try to share those reactions as often as I can with you all. But I'm not going to do that now because so many of your letters, they're fantastic letters. So so many of them are saying, well, this is what I think is going to happen next. This is what I think is going on. Here's a theory that I have and you should keep writing me those letters and they're fantastic. But I can't share them because I don't want to give anything away by accident, so I'm not going to do that. But we are going to have this one letter and we are going to talk about it. But before we do that, I do have a couple of theory quick housekeeping things. The first is that you have probably noticed that the length of this episode is much shorter than usual. This is the culmination of the strange cuts that I've been making to the book. Not cuts like cutting things out, but where I've chosen to stop each episode and start the next one. And it all kind of culminates in the fact that this last chunk, I wanted it to be its own chunk. I wanted it to be separate from the chunk that we read last time and also separate from what comes next. And it all just kind of worked out this way because, as I said before, I had to cut that first Mickelson chapter. I guess it was the second Mickelson chapter. I had to cut it in two. And then I decided to play with some cliffhangers, and this is just how it made sense to cut it. So this is a shorter chapter this time. It's a shorter section of the book, but I think you'll see why I did it this way, and hopefully you'll enjoy it. I am looking forward to your reactions for this section in particular. So that's why this episode is a bit shorter than all the others. The other thing I just wanted to quickly bring up is I'm getting a lot of questions now about what book are we doing next, what happens over the summer, what's gonna happen when we're.

[Faith Moore]

Done with this book?

[Marian Halcombe]

And all of those questions, which are great questions, I would totally want to know the answer to that, too. So the first thing to tell you again is that this book is taking us all the way through May. It's gonna end very close to the end of May, and then we'll have a conclusion episode after that. So basically, we're not done yet. We've got all of April, we've got all of May left to go on this book. So that's the first thing to remember.

[Faith Moore]

The second thing to know.

[Marian Halcombe]

And for those of you who are new who joined us, I know a lot of people joined us at Christmas time, which is fantastic. And a lot of people joined us for the Woman in White. So welcome to all new listeners. I'm so happy that you're here, but one thing you may not know is.

[Faith Moore]

That during the summertime, the podcast changes a little bit.

[Marian Halcombe]

We go into something that I call Summer Session. It's because just realistically, I don't have as much time in the summer to create this podcast as I do during the school year. Because during the summer my kids are home with me and I'm a stay at home mom. So when they don't have school, I don't work. So I don't have as much time to put together these episodes at the level of quality that I want them to be.

[Faith Moore]

So I don't.

[Marian Halcombe]

We don't read a book over the summer, but instead we talk about books together. Last summer we had only ever read Jane Eyre. The podcast started last January, we had read Jane Eyre and then it became Summer. So last Summer session was a kind of like a college class on Jane Eyre. We took a really deep dive into the book and I talked about it a lot and I had some guests.

[Faith Moore]

On, we had some interviews.

[Marian Halcombe]

It was really fun. And if you haven't listened, by the way, if you haven't listened to any of the books before, wherever you joined us, those episodes are still all there. And I know a lot of you are listening to the Woman in White on Mondays and Thursdays and then on other days going back and listening to Jane Eyre or Pride and Prejudice or even A Christmas Carol. And that's what you should be doing. Please go back, listen to all of those books and listen to the Summer Session as well. It was a lot of fun and I got a lot of really great reactions about it. So that was really wonderful as well. So this time we have read many books, not just one. And so I'm gonna do something a little bit different for Summer Session, which I will reveal to you probably in May. I will let you know what Summer Session is going to be, but we will have some guests on. We will talk about literature and books. We'll talk about the books that we've read, we'll talk about a few other things. It's going to be really fun. I have a plan for it. I'm really looking forward to it. So I hope that you will stick around and join us for Summer Session. And then in September we start a new book.

[Faith Moore]

I liked.

[Marian Halcombe]

You guys know by now that I like to keep you guys guessing. I like for there to be some suspense in our lives. So I don't announce the next book.

[Faith Moore]

Until we're almost there.

[Marian Halcombe]

I announce it in August for the September book and I announce it by dropping a trailer into your podcast feed. So you need to be subscribed. Please subscribe so that all of those things come to you without you having to look for them. And while we're talking about subscribing, if you've been enjoying this show, I would love it if you would tap those five stars that are right there in your podcast player and even leave a positive review. That would be fantastic. It really just helps other people to find the show. I don't understand how these algorithms work, but apparently the more star ratings, the more reviews a show gets, the more likely it is to just kind of magically pop up in people's podcast players as, like, a show that you might like. And that's great because that means that people are just organically finding it because of you, and that's how we want it to go. The other thing that you can do do is text a link to the show to someone that you think might enjoy it. I would love it if you would do that as well. That's another way to grow the show. And if you are able and interested, there are also ways to support the show financially. You can scroll down into the show notes into the description of this episode, and you'll find a link to my Buy me a coffee page. It's of course, it would be buying.

[Faith Moore]

Me a tea, but that's just a.

[Marian Halcombe]

Way to make a donation. Essentially, it's like a tip jar. You can give as much or as little as you choose. We also have membership options, which are monthly. And you get access to our online community, which is called the drawing room, because this is our Victorian house, where the podcast is the main room and the online community is the withdrawing room.

[Faith Moore]

The drawing room, where we withdraw to.

[Marian Halcombe]

Discuss things off the air. So you can be a part of that as well. If you're interested in all of those links, as well as the links to our merch store, my website, the contact page, all kinds of links are in the description of this episode. Okay, let's move on. Let's get back to this book and see what is going to happen next. But first, let's recap what happened last time in case we need a reminder.

[Faith Moore]

And let's talk a little bit about.

[Marian Halcombe]

It and what it might mean for us and for our characters, the ones that are left. And then we'll read some more. So last time, of course, we read Mickelson's narrative, Chapter two, Part two, and then we read part one of this section called Several Narratives. And this time we're going to be reading the rest of the Several Narratives. So we're reading Several Narratives, Part 2. So let's talk about last time. Here's the recap.

[Faith Moore]

All right, so where we left off, Sir Percival shows up and admits that in fact Marian never left the house. He tells Mrs. Mickelson that he lied to Laura so that she would leave. And he says it's for Laura's own good, since she needed a change of scene and she never would have left without marrying. Mrs. Mickelson is very upset and tries.

[Marian Halcombe]

To quit, but Sir Percival says that.

[Faith Moore]

He'S leaving and so is Mrs. Rubell. So if she leaves, there'll be no.

[Marian Halcombe]

One to take care of Marian who's still sick. Mrs. Mickelson agrees to stay and care for Marian.

[Faith Moore]

So then Marian is asleep when she goes to find her.

[Marian Halcombe]

She's in an unused part of the house.

[Faith Moore]

And in the night, Sir Percival throws a fit and rides off, saying he.

[Marian Halcombe]

Can'T stay in the house any longer. Mrs. Mickelson says she has no idea what became of him after that. She even doesn't know now where he is. So Marian is then awake. She's very upset to learn that Laura is gone.

[Faith Moore]

And after some other bad thing happens.

[Marian Halcombe]

Which Mrs. Mickelson doesn't tell us about, Marian eventually is well enough to travel by train to Cumberland and Mrs. Mickelson doesn't know anything more. She ends by saying that she thinks that Count Fosco is innocent and everything that happened was Sir Percival's doing. And also that she's very sorry that.

[Faith Moore]

She can't remember when Laura left for.

[Marian Halcombe]

London, because apparently it's very important. So then we get a series of short narratives from several people.

[Faith Moore]

First we heard from a cook who.

[Marian Halcombe]

Worked for Count Fosco at the time when Laura came to stay the night on her way back to Cumberland.

[Faith Moore]

While she was there, Laura had some kind of fit.

[Marian Halcombe]

She took to her bed and then she died. A woman came to prepare her for.

[Faith Moore]

Burial and we heard from that woman that she stayed with the body from the moment she arrived until it was buried.

[Marian Halcombe]

The doctor confirmed that Laura was dead.

[Faith Moore]

And registered the death with the proper authorities. Laura was buried in her mother's grave.

[Marian Halcombe]

In Cumberland, and we saw that the tombstone there now bears her name and dates of birth and death, as well as her mother's. Alright, so as I say, I'm going to read one question. This time the question comes from Sarah Nall. I just finished listening to the most recent episode where Laura dies. I don't believe it. So many things are all wrong and I just can't believe that she has really died. But the other accounts so carefully document the death and burial and everything. One thing I noticed was how Count Fosco was commented to be so overcome and demonstrative that it came across almost as acting. The impersonal nature of the narrators helps distance me from the emotional impact of the story.

[Faith Moore]

While I am sad and disturbed, I feel as though I am sitting on.

[Marian Halcombe]

High, waiting for the next scene to play out.

[Faith Moore]

Suspended judgment, waiting for all stories to be told.

[Marian Halcombe]

I don't think I could bear it.

[Faith Moore]

Hearing all of it transpiring from Marian's perspective.

[Marian Halcombe]

So I am glad that it is not her voice and words we are hearing. Okay, so I think this is a really great point that Sara is making.

[Faith Moore]

About the way in which.

[Marian Halcombe]

The distance that we've been talking about for a while now, this distance that we feel from the action, because of the fact that it's all being told to us through narrators who aren't really a part of the action. This distance makes it so that we.

[Faith Moore]

Don'T feel Laura's death as strongly as.

[Marian Halcombe]

We would if we were still in Marian's diary, learning of it from her point of view.

[Faith Moore]

But on the other hand, that makes.

[Marian Halcombe]

It almost worse, right? Laura, our beloved Laura, is dead. This thing that we thought was going to happen for so long that we'd sort of stopped thinking it was going to happen, it's happened. Laura is dead. And we weren't there to see it. Essentially, we weren't with her at the end. And I don't know about you, but that feels terrible to me. And we only get this tiny glimpse of Marian and her reaction to the news. And we don't even know that that's even what we're witnessing until way later on. Here's what Mrs. Mickelson says in her narrative. She says, I need write no particulars.

[Faith Moore]

And I am relieved to know it. Of the effect produced on Ms. Halcomb by the news of Lady Glyde's departure.

[Marian Halcombe]

Or by the far more melancholy tidings which reached us only too soon afterwards at Blackwater Park. So she's saying that she had to be the one to tell Marian that Laura was dead. Dead. That was the far more melancholy tidings that she had to relate. And she's saying that she doesn't want to talk about the effect that it produced on Marian. Because presumably it was terrible to see. The effect was terrible. And we know from afar that after she heard the news and after she was well enough to travel, Marian left Blackwater park and took the train to Limridge, which is presumably where she is now. But we can't put it all together. We didn't put it all together until the end of last episode to know what this melancholy news was and why she's going sadly, by herself to Limmeridge, right? Here's what Mrs. Mickelson says about her leaving Blackwater. She says, the train which took me.

[Faith Moore]

Away from that miserable house was the.

[Marian Halcombe]

Train which took her away also, her being Marian.

[Faith Moore]

We parted very mournfully in London.

[Marian Halcombe]

I remained with a relative at Islington, and she went on to Mr. Fairlie's house in Cumberland. Okay, so we didn't get to be with Laura when she died. And we don't get to be with Marian while she grieves. These are our friends, right? Laura and Marian are our friends, and.

[Faith Moore]

We weren't there with them.

[Marian Halcombe]

And it's awful. And, of course, it makes us wonder. It makes me wonder, anyway, about our third friend, right?

[Faith Moore]

Walter Hartright, and where he is and.

[Marian Halcombe]

What his reaction will be when he learns that his beloved Laura is dead and buried. But as I was saying at the beginning of this episode, there is still a lot of book left, right? There are actually 14 more episodes. So seven more weeks, two more months. Essentially, about a third of the book is still left to go, which makes sense, because even though Laura is now dead, there's still a lot that we don't know. It's not really clear if her death was murder or if she somehow died of natural causes. We assume foul play because the book has told us that there's some sort of crime at the center of this story, but we don't know for sure. And no one who was actually there when Laura died seemed to think that there was anything suspicious about her death. But it does feel that it had something to do with the plan that the Count and Sir Percival were trying to put into action. Mrs. Mikkelsen seems to blame Sir Percival, which implies that there is some blame to be had. But of course, Sir Percival wasn't actually there when Laura died. He had ridden off into the night. And Count Fosco was there, although not actually in the house when it happened. Hester Pinhorn, right? Fosco's cook. She obviously had been asked to comment on whether she thought that Fosco killed Laura, which implies that perhaps Walter or whoever else is compiling this narrative thinks that that's the case. But she says that there's no reason to think that he did and that he wasn't even in the house when Laura died.

[Faith Moore]

As Sarah points out in her letter.

[Marian Halcombe]

Fosco's reaction to Laura Getting sick is super over the top, but Fosco is super over the top in general. And his reaction to learning that she was actually getting better seemed a bit more genuine. And the reaction was a happy one. So was he acting and actually he was glad that she was dying, or did he actually not want her to die? We don't know. And then there's this issue with the.

[Faith Moore]

Date, the date on which Laura left.

[Marian Halcombe]

Blackwater park for London. Mrs. Mickelson says that whoever's making her write this narrative has told her that that date is really important for some reason, but she can't remember it because she didn't write it down and it was a long time ago. Here's what she says about that. She says, I desire to express my.

[Faith Moore]

Regret at my own inability to remember the precise day on which Lady Glyde left Blackwater park for London.

[Marian Halcombe]

I am told that it is of.

[Faith Moore]

The last importance to ascertain the exact.

[Marian Halcombe]

Date of that lamentable journey, and I have anxiously taxed my memory to recall it. The effort has been in vain. Right.

[Faith Moore]

So why would that date be important?

[Marian Halcombe]

We don't know. So there's more to learn and hopefully some sort of justice to be done. Right? And of course, we hope at least, that we'll eventually be invited back into the inner circle and learn how Marian is doing. And also what's become of Walter, and of course, what's become of the Woman in White as well, because the book is named for her, so she must have something to do with the story. But I think it's fair to say that at this point, the first part of the story, the part about Laura.

[Faith Moore]

And Marian and Laura's marriage to Sir.

[Marian Halcombe]

Percival and whether or not he was going to kill her for her money, and all this suspense that's been building and building. That first part of the story, I think it's fair to say, is over. Right? The deed is done. Laura is dead. Ser Percival has left the country looking very guilty. The Count is still in England, and we suspect he's guilty, too, but no one else does. And he is free to attend Laura's funeral in his, like, ostentatious black clothes and everything. So there's been a shift, right? An ending of one plot line, essentially, and now we assume the opening of a new one, which involves what exactly happened and will justice be done? So let's keep reading and find out what's going to happen next.

[Faith Moore]

And remember, this part is going to.

[Marian Halcombe]

Be shorter than usual, but I think you'll see why I cut it this way after you've listened. And we'll get back to normal chapter divisions and normal episodes lengths starting on Monday.

[Faith Moore]

And of course, write to me.

[Marian Halcombe]

We're not done here by a long shot. This book has so much more up its sleeve, so don't forget to write it. Faithk moore.com Click on Contact or just scroll down into the show notes and click on the link that is there. All right, let's get started with several narratives. Part two of the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins it's story time.

[Faith Moore]

The Narrative of Walter Hartright early in the summer of 1850, I and my surviving companions left the wilds and forests of Central America for home. So remember, Walter had gone off on a dangerous mission to Central America and Marian had a vision that many people on the trip had died but Walter had survived, arrived at the coast. We took ship there for England. The vessel was wrecked in the Gulf of Mexico. I was among the few saved from the sea. It was my third escape from peril of death. Death by disease, death by the Indians, death by drowning. All three had approached me. All three had passed me by. The survivors of the wreck were rescued by an American vessel bound for Liverpool. The ship reached her port on the 13th day of October 1850. We landed late in the afternoon and I arrived in London the same night. These pages are not the record of my wanderings and my dangers away from home. The motives which led me from my country and my friends to a new world of adventure and perilous are known from that self imposed exile. I came back as I had hoped, prayed, believed I should come back a changed man in the waters of a new life. I had tempered my nature afresh in the stern school of extremity and danger. My will had learnt to be strong, my heart to be resolute, my mind to rely on itself. I had gone out to fly from my own future. I came back to face it as a man should, to face it with the inevitable suppression of myself which I knew it would demand from me. I had parted with the worst bitterness of the past, but not with my heart's remembrance of the sorrow and the tenderness of that memorable time. I had not ceased to feel the one irreparable disappointment of my life. I had only learnt to bear it. Laura Fairlie was in all my thoughts when the ship bore me away and I looked my last at England. Laura Fairlie was in all my thoughts when the ship brought me back and the morning light showed the friendly shore in view. My pen traces the old letters as my heart goes back to the old love, I write of her as Laura Fairley. Still it is hard to think of her. It is hard to speak of her by her husband's name. There are no more words of explanation to add on my appearance for the second time in these pages. This narrative, if I have the strength and the courage to write it, may now go on. My first anxieties and first hopes. When the morning came, centered in my mother and my sister, I felt the necessity of preparing them for the joy and surprise of my return after an absence during which it had been impossible for them to receive any tidings of me for months past. Early in the morning I sent a letter to the Hampstead cottage and followed it myself in an hour's time. When the first meeting was over, when our quiet and composure of other days began gradually to return to us, I saw something in my mother's face which told me that a secret oppression lay heavy on her heart. There was more than love. There was sorrow in the anxious eyes that looked on me so tenderly. There was pity in the kind hand that slowly and fondly strengthened its hold on mine. We had no concealments from each other. She knew how the hope of my life had been wrecked. She knew why I had left her. It was on my lips to ask as composedly as I could if any letter had come for me from Miss Halcombe, if there was any news of her sister that I might hear. But when I looked in my mother's face, I lost courage to put the question even in that guarded form. I could only say, doubtingly and restrainedly, you have something to tell me? My sister, who had been sitting opposite to us, rose suddenly, without a word of explanation, rose and left the room. My mother moved closer to me on the sofa and put her arms round my neck. Those fond arms trembled. The tears flowed fast over the faithful loving face. Walter, she whispered, my own darling, my heart is heavy for you.

[Marian Halcombe]

Oh, my son, my son.

[Faith Moore]

Try to remember that I am still left. My head sank on her bosom. She had said all in saying those words. So she's telling Walter that Laura is dead. It was the morning of the third day since my return, the morning of the 16th of October. I had remained with them at the cottage. I had tried hard not to embitter the happiness of my return to them, as it was embittered to me. I had done all man could to rise after the shock and accept my life resignedly, to let my great sorrow come in tenderness to my heart and not in despair. It was useless and hopeless. No tears soothed my aching eyes. No relief came to me from my sister's sympathy or my mother's love. On that third morning I opened my heart to them. At last the words passed my lips which I had longed to speak on the day when my mother told me of her death. Let me go away alone for a little while, I said. I shall bear it better when I have looked once more at the place.

[Marian Halcombe]

Where I first saw her, when I.

[Faith Moore]

Have knelt and prayed by the grave where they have laid her to rest. I departed on my journey, my journey to the grave of Laura Fairlie. It was a quiet autumn afternoon when I stopped at the solitary station and set forth alone on foot by the well remembered road. The waning sun was shining faintly through thin white clouds. The air was warm and still. The peacefulness of the lonely country was overshadowed and saddened by the influence of the falling year. I reached the moor. I stood again on the brow of the hill. I looked on along the path and there were the familiar garden trees in the distance, the clear sweeping semicircle of the drive, the high white walls of Limmeridge House, the chances and changes, the wanderings and dangers of months and months past, all shrank and shrivelled to nothing in my mind. It was like yesterday since my feet had last trodden the fragrant heathy ground. I thought I should see her coming to meet me with her little straw hat shading her face, her simple dress fluttering in the air and her well filled sketchbook ready in her hand. O death, thou hast thy sting. O grave, thou hast thy victory. I turned aside and there below me in the glen was the lonesome grey church, the porch where I had waited for the coming of the woman in white. The hills encircling the quiet burial ground, the brook bubbling cold over its stony bed. There was the marble cross, fair and white at the head of the tomb, the tomb that now rose over mother and daughter alike. I approached the grave. I crossed once more the low stone stile and bared my head as I touched the sacred ground, sacred to gentleness and goodness, sacred to reverence and grief. I stopped before the pedestal from which the cross rose on one side of it, on the side nearest to me, the newly cut inscription met my eyes, the hard, clear, cruel black letters which told the story of her life and death. I tried to read them. I did read as far as the name sacred to the memory of Laura. The kind blue eyes dim with tears, the fair head drooping wearily, the innocent parting words which implored me to leave her, oh, for a happier last memory of her than this. The memory I took away with me. The memory I bring back with me to her grave a second time. I tried to read the inscription. I saw at the end the date of her death. And above it, above it there were lines on the marble. There was a name among them which disturbed my thoughts of her. I went round to the other side of the grave where there was nothing to read, nothing of earthly vileness to force its way between her spirit and mine. So he's upset at seeing that it's Laura Glyde written on the tombstone, not Laura Fairley. I knelt down by the tomb. I laid my hands. I laid my head on the broad white stone and closed my weary eyes on the earth around on the light above. I let her come back to me. Oh, my love, my love. My heart may speak to you now. It is yesterday again since we parted. Yesterday since your dear hand lay in mine. Yesterday since my eyes looked their last on you. My love, My love. Time had flowed on and silence had fallen like thick night over its course. The first sound that came after the heavenly peace rustled faintly like a passing breath of air over the grass of the burial ground. I heard it nearing me slowly until it came, changed to my ear, came like footsteps moving onward, then stopped. I looked up. The sunset was near at hand. The clouds had parted. The slanting light fell mellow over the hills. The last of the day was cold and clear and still in the quiet valley of the dead beyond me in the burial ground, standing together in the cold clearness of the lower light, I saw two women. They were looking towards the tomb, looking towards me. Two. They came a little on and stopped again. Their veils were down and hid their faces from me. When they stopped, one of them raised her veil. In the still evening light I saw the face of Marion Halcombe. Changed, changed as if years had passed over it. The eyes large and wild and looking at me with a strange terror in them. The face worn and wasted piteously. Pain and fear and grief written on her as with a brand. I took one step towards her from the grave. She never moved. She never spoke. The veiled woman with her cried out faintly. I stopped. The springs of my life fell low and the shuddering of an unutterable dread crept over me from head to foot. The woman with the veiled face moved away from her companion and came towards me slowly, left by herself, standing by herself, Marion Halcombe spoke. It was the voice that I remembered. The voice not changed like the frightened eyes and the wasted face. My dream, my dream. I heard her say those words softly in the awful silence. She sank on her knees and raised her clasped hands to heaven. Father, strengthen him, Father, help him in his hour of need. The woman came on slowly and silently came on. I looked at her, at her and at none other. From that moment the voice that was praying for me faltered and sank low, then rose on a sudden and called.

[Marian Halcombe]

Affrightedly, called despairingly to me to come away.

[Faith Moore]

But the veiled woman had possession of me, body and soul. She stopped on one side of the grave. We stood face to face with the tombstone between us. She was close to the inscription on the side of the pedestal. Her gown touched the black letters. The voice came nearer and rose and rose, more passionately still. Hide your face. Don't look at her. Oh for God's sake, spare him. The woman lifted her veil, sacred to the memory of Laura Lady Glyde. Laura Lady Glyde was standing by the inscription and was looking at me over the grave. The second epoch of the story closes here. 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. If you are able to support the show financially, there's a link in the Show Notes to make a donation. I would really, really appreciate it. Alright everyone, story time is over. To be continue.