te. There were no letters at the _poste restante_ for
either of us. But when he put the question on my return, I told him
that there had been a letter for me, with alarming news from 'home.'
My 'mother' was dangerously ill, and I was entreated to lose no time in
hurrying back to England to see her.

"It seems quite unaccountable--now that I am away from him--but it is
none the less true, that I could not, even yet, tell him a downright
premeditated falsehood, without a sense of shrinking and shame, which
other people would think, and which I think myself, utterly inconsistent
with such a character as mine. Inconsistent or not, I felt it. And what
is stranger--perhaps I ought to say madder--still, if he had persisted
in his first resolution to accompany me himself to England rather than
allow me to travel alone, I firmly believe I should have turned my back
on temptation for the second time, and have lulled myself to rest once
more in the old dream of living out my life happy and harmless in my
husband's love.

"Am I deceiving myself in this? It doesn't matter--I dare say I am.
Never mind what _might_ have happened. What _did_ happen is the only
thing of any importance now.

"It ended in Midwinter's letting me persuade him that I was old enough
to take care of myself on the journey to England, and that he owed it to
the newspaper people, who had trusted their interests in his hands, not
to leave Turin just as he was established there. He didn't suffer at
taking leave of me as he suffered when he saw the last of his friend. I
saw that, and set down the anxiety he expressed that I should write to
him at its proper value. I have quite got over my weakness for him at
last. No man who really loved me would have put what he owed to a peck
of newspaper people before what he owed to his wife. I hate him for
letting me convince him! I believe he was glad to get rid of me. I
believe he has seen some woman whom he likes at Turin. Well, let
him follow his new fancy, if he pleases! I shall be the widow of Mr.
Armadale of Thorpe Ambrose before long; and what will his likes or
dislikes matter to me then?

"The events on the journey were not worth mentioning, and my arrival in
London stands recorded already on the top of the new page.

"As for to-day, the one thing of any importance that I have done since I
got to the cheap and quiet hotel at which I am now staying, has been
to send for the landlord, and ask him to help me to a sig