through forest and wilderness, where
companions stronger than I had fallen by my side;
through peril of death thrice renewed, and thrice
escaped, the Hand that leads men on the dark
road to the future, had led me to meet that
time. Forlorn and disowned, sorely tried and
sadly changed; her beauty faded, her mind
clouded; robbed of her station in the world, of
her place among living creatures, the devotion I
had promised, the devotion of my whole heart
and soul and strength might be laid blamelessly,
now, at those dear feet. In the right of her
calamity, in the right of her friendlessness, she
was mine at last! Mine to support, to protect,
to cherish, to restore. Mine to love and honour
as father and brother both. Mine to vindicate
through all risks and all sacrifices— through the
hopeless struggle against Rank and Power,
through the long fight with armed Deceit and
fortified Success, through the waste of my
reputation, through the loss of my friends, through
the hazard of my life.

II.

MY position is defined; my motives are
acknowledged. The story of Marian and the story
of Laura must come next.

I shall relate both narratives, not in the words
(often interrupted, often inevitably confused) of
the speakers themselves, but in the words of the
brief, plain, studiously simple abstract which I
committed to writing for my own guidance, and
for the guidance of my legal adviser. So the
tangled web will be most speedily and most
intelligibly unrolled.

The story of Marian begins, where the narrative
of the housekeeper at Blackwater Park
left off.

On Lady Glyde's departure from her
husband's house, the fact of that departure, and
the necessary statement of the circumstances
under which it had taken place, were communicated
to Miss Halcombe by the housekeeper.
It was not till some days afterwards (how
many days exactly, Mrs. Michelson, in the
absence of any written memorandum on the
subject, could not undertake to say) that a letter
arrived from Madame Fosco announcing Lady
Glyde's sudden death in Count Fosco's house
The letter avoided mentioning dates, and left it
to Mrs. Michelson's discretion to break the news
at once to Miss Halcombe, or to defer doing
so until that lady's health should be more firmly
established.

Having consulted Mr. Dawson (who had been
himself delayed, by ill health, in resuming his
attendance at Blackwater Park), Mrs. Michelson,
by the doctor's advice and in the doctor's
presence, communicated the news, either on the
day when the letter was received, or on the day
after. It is not necessary to dwell here upon
the effect which the intelligence of Lady Glyde's
sudden death produced on her sister. It is only
useful to the present purpose to say that she
was not able to travel for more than three weeks
afterwards. At the end of that time she
proceeded to London, accompanied by the housekeeper.
They parted there; Mrs. Michelson
previously informing Miss Halcombe of her
address, in case they might wish to communicate
at a future period.

On parting with the housekeeper, Miss
Halcombe went at once to the office of Messrs
Gilmore and Kyrle, to consult with the latter
gentleman, in Mr. Gilmore's absence. She
mentioned to Mr. Kyrle, what she had thought it
desirable to conceal from everyone else (Mrs.
Michelson included)—her suspicion of the
circumstances under which Lady Glyde was said to
have met her death. Mr. Kyrle, who had
previously given friendly proof of his anxiety to
serve Miss Halcombe, at once undertook to
make such inquiries as the delicate and dangerous
nature of the investigation proposed to him
would permit.

To exhaust this part of the subject before going
farther, it may be here mentioned that Count
Fosco offered every facility to Mr. Kyrle, on
that gentleman's stating that he was sent by
Miss Halcombe to collect such particulars as
had not yet reached her of Lady Glyde's
decease. Mr. Kyrle was placed in communication
with the medical man, Mr. Goodricke, and with
the two servants. In the absence of any means
of ascertaining the exact date of Lady Glyde's
departure from Blackwater Park, the result of
the doctor's and the servants' evidence, and of
the volunteered statements of Count Fosco and
his wife, was conclusive to the mind of Mr.
Kyrle. He could only assume that the intensity
of Miss Halcombe's suffering under the loss of her
sister, had misled her judgment in a most deplorable
manner; and he wrote her word that the
shocking suspicion to which she had alluded in
his presence, was, in his opinion, destitute of
the smallest fragment of foundation in truth.
Thus the investigation by Mr. Gilmore's partner
began and ended.

Meanwhile, Miss Halcombe had returned to
Limmeridge House; and had there collected all
the additional information which she was able to
obtain.

Mr. Fairlie had received his first intimation
of his niece's death from his sister, Madame
Fosco; this letter also not containing any exact
reference to dates. He had sanctioned his sister's
proposal that the deceased lady should be laid
in her mother's grave in Limmeridge churchyard.
Count Fosco had accompanied the
remains to Cumberland, and had attended the
funeral at Limmeridge, which took place on the
2nd of August. It was followed, as a mark of
respect, by all the inhabitants of the village and
the neighbourhood. On the next day, the
inscription (originally drawn out, it was said, by
the aunt of the deceased lady, and submitted for
approval to her brother, Mr. Fairlie) was
engraved on one side of the monument over the
tomb.

On the day of the funeral, and for one day
after it, Count Fosco had been received as a
guest at Limmeridge House; but no interview
had taken place between Mr. Fairlie and himself,
by the former gentleman's desire. They