A Mere Chance, Vol. 3 of 3

s, of which no one ever saw the original designs, and that have been unknown centuries a-weaving, cannot be sensibly altered in the infinitesimal fragment that one human lif

; the lines of character, laid down by many forefathers, are twisted or straightened by violent wrenchings of irresponsible fate-as in

tly quite changed (though-as she is still a very young woman-we are not prepared to suppose that she will never be her old weak and

n destiny-had already given force and point, and meaning and dignity, to her whole personality and her relations with life; but now t

he first person of her own party whom she met there was Mr. Reade, under whose pr

eived her, piloted her through the crowd until he found his small wife, whose b

?" she asked herself in dismay. "

go home," s

he took her cousin to the cloak-room, sent Ned for a cab, and i

tairs to see if her maid was on the premises, Mrs. Reade put her arm

k at all. She would not betray the mother's crime to the daughter, and she would not

d voice. "I could not dance-I could not stay in that place. I shall be bet

Beatrice bluntly. "I shall not le

oriness that was very unusual to her. Beatrice,

ton coming upstairs, bustling along in great haste. He

didn't you tell me, and let me bring you home, if you wanted to come? You have set all the room talking and gossiping, slinking of

a hair's breadth, lifted her eyes steadil

sis in the conjugal relations of this pair had come, which no outsider had

ions are necessary," said she; "and I w

r mistress would ring when she wanted her; and in the lobby of the hotel she replied to her husband's anxious inquiries

g over the stairs to see that her natural protector was in attendance, returned

ce intimated at once that she had "found out something," though it did not suggest any catast

f swagger which she had herself nursed and nourished by her excess of wifely meekness. "I am n

the drawing-room

he met with stagger

at I was engaged to you that Christmas-you know when I mean-two years ago, when I was ill?

d, ashamed, embarrassed, and savage. He did not know ho

you of those things? What is Mr. Dalry

?" she p

"All's fair in love and war, you know, my dear; and it was that aunt of yours who told t

, with that implacable har

u," she said; "I will ne

iveness," he began. And then he gave up trying to make a joke of it, and turned upon her sava

is friend," sh

iend to make those expl

It was by accident that

ffairs? Do you forget that you are a married woman-that you are my wife? It was bad enoug

drawing herself up proudly, "that he would never have forsaken me! I might have been sure that he would never break his word; that whoever was to blame for what happened

upon m

with me. I have never had any secrets from you, and I never will have any. You know as well as I do that I loved hi

can sit there and tel

im, especially now I understand how things have been with us-no one will know it, but it will be in my he

e himself with passion

sort of sardonic snarl; "I shall know now

she replied proudly. "If I am not to be trusted, he is. Do not insult us any m

his own wrongs, which were very real ones in their way, and both of them making reckless proposals with respect to their domestic

several hours; and in the morning, when passion was spent, and she was lying in her bed still and quiet

o. We can't undo it now, Rachel, if we would, and there's no good in ma

ace. They were cold and hard no lo

we have injured one another. We must try to make

ked her face, and adju

rselves a little. We said a great deal more than we me

noon if she felt well enough, and went forth with the sense that he was treating

ough there was every variety of conjecture as to the cause of it, and a division of opinion as to which was the most to bla