She asked whether any servant was waiting
for an answer. No,--the servant, who had left it, had gone at once.
She read the note, and sat working, with it before her, for a quarter
of an hour; and then walked over to her desk and answered it.

MY DEAR COLONEL OSBORNE,

It will be best to say nothing whatever about the
occurrence of yesterday; and if possible, not to
think of it. As far as I am concerned, I wish for no
change;--except that people should be more reasonable.
You can call of course whenever you please; and I am very
grateful for your expression of friendship.

Yours most sincerely,

EMILY TREVELYAN.

Thanks for the words of the opera.

When she had written this, being determined that all should be open
and above board, she put a penny stamp on the envelope, and desired
that the letter should be posted. But she destroyed that which she
had received from Colonel Osborne. In all things she would act as she
would have done if her husband had not been so foolish, and there
could have been no reason why she should have kept so unimportant a
communication.

In the course of the day Trevelyan passed through the hall to the
room which he himself was accustomed to occupy behind the parlour,
and as he did so saw the note lying ready to be posted, took it up,
and read the address. He held it for a moment in his hand, then
replaced it on the hall table, and passed on. When he reached his own
table he sat down hurriedly, and took up in his hand some Review that
was lying ready for him to read. But he was quite unable to fix his
mind upon the words before him. He had spoken to his wife on that
morning in the strongest language he could use as to the unseemliness
of her intimacy with Colonel Osborne; and then, the first thing she
had done when his back was turned was to write to this very Colonel
Osborne, and tell him, no doubt, what had occurred between her and
her husband. He sat thinking of it all for many minutes. He would
probably have declared himself that he had thought of it for an hour
as he sat there. Then he got up, went up-stairs and walked slowly
into the drawing-room. There he found his wife sitting with her
sister. "Nora," he said, "I want to speak to Emily. Will you forgive
me, if I ask you to leave us for a few minutes?" Nora, with an
anxious look at Emily, got up and left the room.

"Why do you send her away?" said Mrs. Trevelyan.

"Because I wish to be alone