, I think it must have
been then. The first words they said to me were that it was not the
Captain Thorn spoken of by Richard. I felt a shock of disappointment,
which was wicked enough of me, but I had been so sure he was the man;
and to hear that he was not, seemed to throw us further back than ever.
Mr. Carlyle, on the contrary, was glad for he had taken a liking to
Captain Thorn. Well, Richard went in to mamma, and Mr. Carlyle was
so kind as to accede to her request that he would remain and pace the
garden with me. We were so afraid of papa's coming home; he was bitter
against Richard, and would inevitably have delivered him up at once to
justice. Had he come in, Mr. Carlyle was to keep him in the garden by
the gate whilst I ran in to give notice and conceal Richard in the hall.
Richard lingered; papa did not come; and I cannot tell how long we paced
there; but I had my shawl on, and it was a lovely moonlight night."

That unhappy listener clasped her hands to pain. The matter-of-fact
tone, the unconscious mention of commonplace trifles, proved that
they had not been pacing about in disloyalty to her, or for their own
gratification. _Why_ had she not trusted her noble husband? Why had she
listened to that false man, as he pointed them out to her walking there
in the moonlight? Why had she given vent, in the chariot, to that burst
of passionate tears, of angry reproach? Why, oh! why had she hastened
to be revenged? But for seeing them together, she might not have done as
she did.

"Richard came forth at last, and departed, to be again an exile. Mr.
Carlyle also departed; and I remained at the gate, watching for papa.
By and by Mr. Carlyle came back again; he had got nearly home when he
remembered that he had left a parchment at our house. It seemed to
be nothing but coming back; for just after he had gone a second time,
Richard returned in a state of excitement, stating that he had seen
Thorn--Thorn the murderer, I mean--in Bean lane. For a moment I doubted
him, but not for long, and we ran after Mr. Carlyle. Richard described
Thorn's appearance; his evening dress, his white hands and diamond ring;
more particularly he described a peculiar motion of his hand as he threw
back his hair. In that moment it flashed across me that Thorn must be
Captain Levison; the description was exact. Many and many a time since
have I wondered that the thought did not strike Mr. Carlyle."

Lady Isabel sat with her mouth open, as if she