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May
looked
pale
but
smiling
:
Dr.
Bencomb
,
who
had
just
come
for
the
second
time
,
took
a
more
hopeful
view
,
and
Mrs.
Mingott
's
dauntless
determination
to
live
and
get
well
was
already
having
an
effect
on
her
family
.
May
led
Archer
into
the
old
lady
's
sitting-room
,
where
the
sliding
doors
opening
into
the
bedroom
had
been
drawn
shut
,
and
the
heavy
yellow
damask
portieres
dropped
over
them
;
and
here
Mrs.
Welland
communicated
to
him
in
horrified
undertones
the
details
of
the
catastrophe
.
It
appeared
that
the
evening
before
something
dreadful
and
mysterious
had
happened
.
At
about
eight
o'clock
,
just
after
Mrs.
Mingott
had
finished
the
game
of
solitaire
that
she
always
played
after
dinner
,
the
door-bell
had
rung
,
and
a
lady
so
thickly
veiled
that
the
servants
did
not
immediately
recognise
her
had
asked
to
be
received.The
butler
,
hearing
a
familiar
voice
,
had
thrown
open
the
sitting-room
door
,
announcing
:
"
Mrs.
Julius
Beaufort
"
--
and
had
then
closed
it
again
on
the
two
ladies
.
They
must
have
been
together
,
he
thought
,
about
an
hour
.
When
Mrs.
Mingott
's
bell
rang
Mrs.
Beaufort
had
already
slipped
away
unseen
,
and
the
old
lady
,
white
and
vast
and
terrible
,
sat
alone
in
her
great
chair
,
and
signed
to
the
butler
to
help
her
into
her
room
.
She
seemed
,
at
that
time
,
though
obviously
distressed
,
in
complete
control
of
her
body
and
brain
.
The
mulatto
maid
put
her
to
bed
,
brought
her
a
cup
of
tea
as
usual
,
laid
everything
straight
in
the
room
,
and
went
away
;
but
at
three
in
the
morning
the
bell
rang
again
,
and
the
two
servants
,
hastening
in
at
this
unwonted
summons
(
for
old
Catherine
usually
slept
like
a
baby
)
,
had
found
their
mistress
sitting
up
against
her
pillows
with
a
crooked
smile
on
her
face
and
one
little
hand
hanging
limp
from
its
huge
arm.The
stroke
had
clearly
been
a
slight
one
,
for
she
was
able
to
articulate
and
to
make
her
wishes
known
;
and
soon
after
the
doctor
's
first
visit
she
had
begun
to
regain
control
of
her
facial
muscles
.
But
the
alarm
had
been
great
;
and
proportionately
great
was
the
indignation
when
it
was
gathered
from
Mrs.
Mingott
's
fragmentary
phrases
that
Regina
Beaufort
had
come
to
ask
her
--
incredible
effrontery
!
--
to
back
up
her
husband
,
see
them
through
--
not
to
"
desert
"
them
,
as
she
called
it
--
in
fact
to
induce
the
whole
family
to
cover
and
condone
their
monstrous
dishonour
.
"
I
said
to
her
:
'
Honour
's
always
been
honour
,
and
honesty
honesty
,
in
Manson
Mingott
's
house
,
and
will
be
till
I
'm
carried
out
of
it
feet
first
,
'
"
the
old
woman
had
stammered
into
her
daughter
's
ear
,
in
the
thick
voice
of
the
partly
paralysed
.
"
And
when
she
said
:
'
But
my
name
,
Auntie
--
my
name
's
Regina
Dallas
,
'
I
said
:
'
It
was
Beaufort
when
he
covered
you
with
jewels
,
and
it
's
got
to
stay
Beaufort
now
that
he
's
covered
you
with
shame
.
'
"
So
much
,
with
tears
and
gasps
of
horror
,
Mrs.
Welland
imparted
,
blanched
and
demolished
by
the
unwonted
obligation
of
having
at
last
to
fix
her
eyes
on
the
unpleasant
and
the
discreditable
.
"
If
only
I
could
keep
it
from
your
father-in-law
:
he
always
says
:
'
Augusta
,
for
pity
's
sake
,
do
n't
destroy
my
last
illusions
'
--
and
how
am
I
to
prevent
his
knowing
these
horrors
?
"
the
poor
lady
wailed
.
"
After
all
,
Mamma
,
he
wo
n't
have
SEEN
them
,
"
her
daughter
suggested
;
and
Mrs.
Welland
sighed
:
"
Ah
,
no
;
thank
heaven
he
's
safe
in
bed
.
And
Dr.
Bencomb
has
promised
to
keep
him
there
till
poor
Mamma
is
better
,
and
Regina
has
been
got
away
somewhere
.
"
Archer
had
seated
himself
near
the
window
and
was
gazing
out
blankly
at
the
deserted
thoroughfare
.
It
was
evident
that
he
had
been
summoned
rather
for
the
moral
support
of
the
stricken
ladies
than
because
of
any
specific
aid
that
he
could
render
.
Mr.
Lovell
Mingott
had
been
telegraphed
for
,
and
messages
were
being
despatched
by
hand
to
the
members
of
the
family
living
in
New
York
;
and
meanwhile
there
was
nothing
to
do
but
to
discuss
in
hushed
tones
the
consequences
of
Beaufort
's
dishonour
and
of
his
wife
's
unjustifiable
action.Mrs
.
Lovell
Mingott
,
who
had
been
in
another
room
writing
notes
,
presently
reappeared
,
and
added
her
voice
to
the
discussion
.
In
THEIR
day
,
the
elder
ladies
agreed
,
the
wife
of
a
man
who
had
done
anything
disgraceful
in
business
had
only
one
idea
:
to
efface
herself
,
to
disappear
with
him
.
"
There
was
the
case
of
poor
Grandmamma
Spicer
;
your
great-grandmother
,
May
.
Of
course
,
"
Mrs.
Welland
hastened
to
add
,
"
your
great-grandfather
's
money
difficulties
were
private
--
losses
at
cards
,
or
signing
a
note
for
somebody
--
I
never
quite
knew
,
because
Mamma
would
never
speak
of
it
.
But
she
was
brought
up
in
the
country
because
her
mother
had
to
leave
New
York
after
the
disgrace
,
whatever
it
was
:
they
lived
up
the
Hudson
alone
,
winter
and
summer
,
till
Mamma
was
sixteen
.
It
would
never
have
occurred
to
Grandmamma
Spicer
to
ask
the
family
to
'
countenance
'
her
,
as
I
understand
Regina
calls
it
;
though
a
private
disgrace
is
nothing
compared
to
the
scandal
of
ruining
hundreds
of
innocent
people
.
"
"
Yes
,
it
would
be
more
becoming
in
Regina
to
hide
her
own
countenance
than
to
talk
about
other
people
's
,
"
Mrs.
Lovell
Mingott
agreed
.
"
I
understand
that
the
emerald
necklace
she
wore
at
the
Opera
last
Friday
had
been
sent
on
approval
from
Ball
and
Black
's
in
the
afternoon
.
I
wonder
if
they
'll
ever
get
it
back
?
"
Archer
listened
unmoved
to
the
relentless
chorus
.
The
idea
of
absolute
financial
probity
as
the
first
law
of
a
gentleman
's
code
was
too
deeply
ingrained
in
him
for
sentimental
considerations
to
weaken
it
.
An
adventurer
like
Lemuel
Struthers
might
build
up
the
millions
of
his
Shoe
Polish
on
any
number
of
shady
dealings
;
but
unblemished
honesty
was
the
noblesse
oblige
of
old
financial
New
York
.
Nor
did
Mrs.
Beaufort
's
fate
greatly
move
Archer
.
He
felt
,
no
doubt
,
more
sorry
for
her
than
her
indignant
relatives
;
but
it
seemed
to
him
that
the
tie
between
husband
and
wife
,
even
if
breakable
in
prosperity
,
should
be
indissoluble
in
misfortune
.
As
Mr.
Letterblair
had
said
,
a
wife
's
place
was
at
her
husband
's
side
when
he
was
in
trouble
;
but
society
's
place
was
not
at
his
side
,
and
Mrs.
Beaufort
's
cool
assumption
that
it
was
seemed
almost
to
make
her
his
accomplice
.
The
mere
idea
of
a
woman
's
appealing
to
her
family
to
screen
her
husband
's
business
dishonour
was
inadmissible
,
since
it
was
the
one
thing
that
the
Family
,
as
an
institution
,
could
not
do.The
mulatto
maid
called
Mrs.
Lovell
Mingott
into
the
hall
,
and
the
latter
came
back
in
a
moment
with
a
frowning
brow
.
"
She
wants
me
to
telegraph
for
Ellen
Olenska
.
I
had
written
to
Ellen
,
of
course
,
and
to
Medora
;
but
now
it
seems
that
's
not
enough
.
I
'm
to
telegraph
to
her
immediately
,
and
to
tell
her
that
she
's
to
come
alone
.
"
The
announcement
was
received
in
silence
.
Mrs.
Welland
sighed
resignedly
,
and
May
rose
from
her
seat
and
went
to
gather
up
some
newspapers
that
had
been
scattered
on
the
floor
.
"
I
suppose
it
must
be
done
,
"
Mrs.
Lovell
Mingott
continued
,
as
if
hoping
to
be
contradicted
;
and
May
turned
back
toward
the
middle
of
the
room
.
"
Of
course
it
must
be
done
,
"
she
said
.
"
Granny
knows
what
she
wants
,
and
we
must
carry
out
all
her
wishes
.
Shall
I
write
the
telegram
for
you
,
Auntie
?
If
it
goes
at
once
Ellen
can
probably
catch
tomorrow
morning
's
train
.
"
She
pronounced
the
syllables
of
the
name
with
a
peculiar
clearness
,
as
if
she
had
tapped
on
two
silver
bells
.
"
Well
,
it
ca
n't
go
at
once
.
Jasper
and
the
pantry-boy
are
both
out
with
notes
and
telegrams
.
"
May
turned
to
her
husband
with
a
smile
.
"
But
here
's
Newland
,
ready
to
do
anything
.
Will
you
take
the
telegram
,
Newland
?
There
'll
be
just
time
before
luncheon
.
"
Archer
rose
with
a
murmur
of
readiness
,
and
she
seated
herself
at
old
Catherine
's
rosewood
"
Bonheur
du
Jour
,
"
and
wrote
out
the
message
in
her
large
immature
hand
When
it
was
written
she
blotted
it
neatly
and
handed
it
to
Archer
.
"
What
a
pity
,
"
she
said
,
"
that
you
and
Ellen
will
cross
each
other
on
the
way
!
--
Newland
,
"
she
added
,
turning
to
her
mother
and
aunt
,
"
is
obliged
to
go
to
Washington
about
a
patent
law-suit
that
is
coming
up
before
the
Supreme
Court
.
I
suppose
Uncle
Lovell
will
be
back
by
tomorrow
night
,
and
with
Granny
improving
so
much
it
does
n't
seem
right
to
ask
Newland
to
give
up
an
important
engagement
for
the
firm
--
does
it
?
"
She
paused
,
as
if
for
an
answer
,
and
Mrs.
Welland
hastily
declared
:
"
Oh
,
of
course
not
,
darling
.
Your
Granny
would
be
the
last
person
to
wish
it
.
"
As
Archer
left
the
room
with
the
telegram
,
he
heard
his
mother-in-law
add
,
presumably
to
Mrs.
Lovell
Mingott
:
"
But
why
on
earth
she
should
make
you
telegraph
for
Ellen
Olenska
--
"
and
May
's
clear
voice
rejoin
:
"
Perhaps
it
's
to
urge
on
her
again
that
after
all
her
duty
is
with
her
husband
.
"
The
outer
door
closed
on
Archer
and
he
walked
hastily
away
toward
the
telegraph
office
.
"
Ol-ol
--
howjer
spell
it
,
anyhow
?
"
asked
the
tart
young
lady
to
whom
Archer
had
pushed
his
wife
's
telegram
across
the
brass
ledge
of
the
Western
Union
office
.
"
Olenska
--
O-len-ska
,
"
he
repeated
,
drawing
back
the
message
in
order
to
print
out
the
foreign
syllables
above
May
's
rambling
script
.
"
It
's
an
unlikely
name
for
a
New
York
telegraph
office
;
at
least
in
this
quarter
,
"
an
unexpected
voice
observed
;
and
turning
around
Archer
saw
Lawrence
Lefferts
at
his
elbow
,
pulling
an
imperturbable
moustache
and
affecting
not
to
glance
at
the
message
.
"
Hallo
,
Newland
:
thought
I
'd
catch
you
here
.
I
've
just
heard
of
old
Mrs.
Mingott
's
stroke
;
and
as
I
was
on
my
way
to
the
house
I
saw
you
turning
down
this
street
and
nipped
after
you
.
I
suppose
you
've
come
from
there
?
"
Archer
nodded
,
and
pushed
his
telegram
under
the
lattice
.
"
Very
bad
,
eh
?
"
Lefferts
continued
.
"
Wiring
to
the
family
,
I
suppose
.
I
gather
it
IS
bad
,
if
you
're
including
Countess
Olenska
.
"
Archer
's
lips
stiffened
;
he
felt
a
savage
impulse
to
dash
his
fist
into
the
long
vain
handsome
face
at
his
side
.
"
Why
?
"
he
questioned.Lefferts
,
who
was
known
to
shrink
from
discussion
,
raised
his
eye-brows
with
an
ironic
grimace
that
warned
the
other
of
the
watching
damsel
behind
the
lattice
.
Nothing
could
be
worse
"
form
"
the
look
reminded
Archer
,
than
any
display
of
temper
in
a
public
place.Archer
had
never
been
more
indifferent
to
the
requirements
of
form
;
but
his
impulse
to
do
Lawrence
Lefferts
a
physical
injury
was
only
momentary
.
The
idea
of
bandying
Ellen
Olenska
's
name
with
him
at
such
a
time
,
and
on
whatsoever
provocation
,
was
unthinkable
.
He
paid
for
his
telegram
,
and
the
two
young
men
went
out
together
into
the
street
.
There
Archer
,
having
regained
his
self-control
,
went
on
:
"
Mrs.
Mingott
is
much
better
:
the
doctor
feels
no
anxiety
whatever
"
;
and
Lefferts
,
with
profuse
expressions
of
relief
,
asked
him
if
he
had
heard
that
there
were
beastly
bad
rumours
again
about
Beaufort
...
That
afternoon
the
announcement
of
the
Beaufort
failure
was
in
all
the
papers
.
It
overshadowed
the
report
of
Mrs.
Manson
Mingott
's
stroke
,
and
only
the
few
who
had
heard
of
the
mysterious
connection
between
the
two
events
thought
of
ascribing
old
Catherine
's
illness
to
anything
but
the
accumulation
of
flesh
and
years.The
whole
of
New
York
was
darkened
by
the
tale
of
Beaufort
's
dishonour
.
There
had
never
,
as
Mr.
Letterblair
said
,
been
a
worse
case
in
his
memory
,
nor
,
for
that
matter
,
in
the
memory
of
the
far-off
Letterblair
who
had
given
his
name
to
the
firm
.
The
bank
had
continued
to
take
in
money
for
a
whole
day
after
its
failure
was
inevitable
;
and
as
many
of
its
clients
belonged
to
one
or
another
of
the
ruling
clans
,
Beaufort
's
duplicity
seemed
doubly
cynical
.
If
Mrs.
Beaufort
had
not
taken
the
tone
that
such
misfortunes
(
the
word
was
her
own
)
were
"
the
test
of
friendship
,
"
compassion
for
her
might
have
tempered
the
general
indignation
against
her
husband
.
As
it
was
--
and
especially
after
the
object
of
her
nocturnal
visit
to
Mrs.
Manson
Mingott
had
become
known
--
her
cynicism
was
held
to
exceed
his
;
and
she
had
not
the
excuse
--
nor
her
detractors
the
satisfaction
--
of
pleading
that
she
was
"
a
foreigner
.
"
It
was
some
comfort
(
to
those
whose
securities
were
not
in
jeopardy
)
to
be
able
to
remind
themselves
that
Beaufort
WAS
;
but
,
after
all
,
if
a
Dallas
of
South
Carolina
took
his
view
of
the
case
,
and
glibly
talked
of
his
soon
being
"
on
his
feet
again
,
"
the
argument
lost
its
edge
,
and
there
was
nothing
to
do
but
to
accept
this
awful
evidence
of
the
indissolubility
of
marriage
.
Society
must
manage
to
get
on
without
the
Beauforts
,
and
there
was
an
end
of
it
--
except
indeed
for
such
hapless
victims
of
the
disaster
as
Medora
Manson
,
the
poor
old
Miss
Lannings
,
and
certain
other
misguided
ladies
of
good
family
who
,
if
only
they
had
listened
to
Mr.
Henry
van
der
Luyden
...
"
The
best
thing
the
Beauforts
can
do
,
"
said
Mrs.
Archer
,
summing
it
up
as
if
she
were
pronouncing
a
diagnosis
and
prescribing
a
course
of
treatment
,
"
is
to
go
and
live
at
Regina
's
little
place
in
North
Carolina
.
Beaufort
has
always
kept
a
racing
stable
,
and
he
had
better
breed
trotting
horses
.
I
should
say
he
had
all
the
qualities
of
a
successful
horsedealer
.
"
Every
one
agreed
with
her
,
but
no
one
condescended
to
enquire
what
the
Beauforts
really
meant
to
do.The
next
day
Mrs.
Manson
Mingott
was
much
better
:
she
recovered
her
voice
sufficiently
to
give
orders
that
no
one
should
mention
the
Beauforts
to
her
again
,
and
asked
--
when
Dr.
Bencomb
appeared
--
what
in
the
world
her
family
meant
by
making
such
a
fuss
about
her
health
.
"
If
people
of
my
age
WILL
eat
chicken-salad
in
the
evening
what
are
they
to
expect
?
"
she
enquired
;
and
,
the
doctor
having
opportunely
modified
her
dietary
,
the
stroke
was
transformed
into
an
attack
of
indigestion
.
But
in
spite
of
her
firm
tone
old
Catherine
did
not
wholly
recover
her
former
attitude
toward
life
.
The
growing
remoteness
of
old
age
,
though
it
had
not
diminished
her
curiosity
about
her
neighbours
,
had
blunted
her
never
very
lively
compassion
for
their
troubles
;
and
she
seemed
to
have
no
difficulty
in
putting
the
Beaufort
disaster
out
of
her
mind
.
But
for
the
first
time
she
became
absorbed
in
her
own
symptoms
,
and
began
to
take
a
sentimental
interest
in
certain
members
of
her
family
to
whom
she
had
hitherto
been
contemptuously
indifferent.Mr
.
Welland
,
in
particular
,
had
the
privilege
of
attracting
her
notice
.
Of
her
sons-in-law
he
was
the
one
she
had
most
consistently
ignored
;
and
all
his
wife
's
efforts
to
represent
him
as
a
man
of
forceful
character
and
marked
intellectual
ability
(
if
he
had
only
"
chosen
"
)
had
been
met
with
a
derisive
chuckle
.
But
his
eminence
as
a
valetudinarian
now
made
him
an
object
of
engrossing
interest
,
and
Mrs.
Mingott
issued
an
imperial
summons
to
him
to
come
and
compare
diets
as
soon
as
his
temperature
permitted
;
for
old
Catherine
was
now
the
first
to
recognise
that
one
could
not
be
too
careful
about
temperatures.Twenty-four
hours
after
Madame
Olenska
's
summons
a
telegram
announced
that
she
would
arrive
from
Washington
on
the
evening
of
the
following
day
.
At
the
Wellands
'
,
where
the
Newland
Archers
chanced
to
be
lunching
,
the
question
as
to
who
should
meet
her
at
Jersey
City
was
immediately
raised
;
and
the
material
difficulties
amid
which
the
Welland
household
struggled
as
if
it
had
been
a
frontier
outpost
,
lent
animation
to
the
debate
.
It
was
agreed
that
Mrs.
