This short
sentence, however, was, to my alarmed imagination, pregnant with fearful
meaning. The storm at length subsided, though not until after a conference of
more than two long hours. Lord Glenfallen then returned, pale and
agitated. "That unfortunate woman," said he, "is out of her mind. I daresay she
treated you to some of her ravings; but you need not dread any further
interruption from her: I have brought her so far to reason. She did not
hurt you, I trust." "No, no," said I; "but she terrified me beyond measure." "Well," said he, "she is likely to behave better for the future; and I
dare swear that neither you nor she would desire, after what has passed,
to meet again." This occurrence, so startling and unpleasant, so involved in mystery,
and giving rise to so many painful surmises, afforded me no very
agreeable food for rumination. All attempts on my part to arrive at the truth were baffled; Lord
Glenfallen evaded all my inquiries, and at length peremptorily forbade
any further allusion to the matter. I was thus obliged to rest satisfied
with what I had actually seen, and to trust to time to resolve the
perplexities in which the whole transaction had involved me. Lord Glenfallen's temper and spirits gradually underwent a complete and
most painful change; he became silent and abstracted, his manner to me
was abrupt and often harsh, some grievous anxiety seemed ever present to
his mind; and under its influence his spirits sank and his temper became
soured. I soon perceived that his gaiety was rather that which the stir and
excitement of society produce, than the result of a healthy habit of
mind; every day confirmed me in the opinion, that the considerate
good-nature which I had so much admired in him was little more than
a mere manner; and to my infinite grief and surprise, the gay, kind,
open-hearted nobleman who had for months followed and flattered me, was
rapidly assuming the form of a gloomy, morose, and singularly selfish
man. This was a bitter discovery, and I strove to conceal it from myself
as long as I could; but the truth was not to be denied, and I was forced
to believe that my husband no longer loved me, and that he was at little
pains to conceal the alteration in his sentiments. One morning after breakfast, Lord Glenfallen had been for some time
walking silently up and down the room, buried in his moody reflections,
when pausing suddenly, and turning towards me, he exclaimed:

"I have it--I have it! We must go abroad, and stay there too; and
if that does not answer, why--why, we must try some more effectual
expedient. Lady Glenfallen, I have become involved in heavy
embarrassments. A wife, you know, must share the fortunes of her
husband, for better for worse; but I will waive my right if you prefer
remaining here--here at Cahergillagh. For I would not have you seen
elsewhere without the state to which your rank entitles you; besides, it
would break your poor mother's heart," he added, with sneering gravity. "So make up your mind--Cahergillagh or France. I will start if possible
in a week, so determine between this and then." He left the room, and in a few moments I saw him ride past the window,
followed by a mounted servant. He had directed a domestic to inform me
that he should not be back until the next day. I was in very great doubt as to what course of conduct I should pursue
as to accompanying him in the continental tour so suddenly determined
upon. I felt that it would be a hazard too great to encounter; for at
Cahergillagh I had always the consciousness to sustain me, that if his
temper at any time led him into violent or unwarrantable treatment of
me, I had a remedy within reach, in the protection and support of my own
family, from all useful and effective communication with whom, if once
in France, I should be entirely debarred. As to remaining at Cahergillagh in solitude, and, for aught I
knew, exposed to hidden dangers, it appeared to me scarcely less
objectionable than the former proposition; and yet I feared that with
one or other I must comply, unless I was prepared to come to an actual
breach with Lord Glenfallen. Full of these unpleasing doubts and
perplexities, I retired to rest. I was wakened, after having slept uneasily for some hours, by some
person shaking me rudely by the shoulder; a small lamp burned in my
room, and by its light, to my horror and amazement, I discovered that my
visitant was the self-same blind old lady who had so terrified me a few
weeks before. I started up in the bed, with a view to ring the bell, and alarm the
domestics; but she instantly anticipated me by saying:

"Do not be frightened, silly girl! If I had wished to harm you, I could
have done it while you were sleeping; I need not have wakened you. Listen to me, now, attentively and fearlessly, for what I have to say
interests you to the full as much as it does me. Tell me here, in the
presence of God, did Lord Glenfallen marry you--_actually marry you_? Speak the truth, woman." "As surely as I live and speak," I replied, "did Lord Glenfallen marry
me, in presence of more than a hundred witnesses." "Well," continued she, "he should have told you _then_, before you
married him, that he had a wife living,--that I am his wife. I feel you
tremble--tush! do not be frightened. I do not mean to harm you. Mark me
now--you are _not_ his wife. When I make my story known you will be so
neither in the eye of God nor of man. You must leave this house upon
to-morrow. Let the world know that your husband has another wife living;
go you into retirement, and leave him to justice, which will surely
overtake him. If you remain in this house after to-morrow, you will reap
the bitter fruits of your sin." So saying, she quitted the room, leaving me very little disposed to
sleep. Here was food for my very worst and most terrible suspicions; still
there was not enough to remove all doubt. I had no proof of the truth of
this woman's statement. Taken by itself, there was nothing to induce me to attach weight to
it; but when I viewed it in connection with the extraordinary mystery
of some of Lord Glenfallen's proceedings, his strange anxiety to
exclude me from certain portions of the mansion, doubtless lest I
should encounter this person--the strong influence, nay, command which
she possessed over him, a circumstance clearly established by the very
fact of her residing in the very place where, of all others, he should
least have desired to find her--her thus acting, and continuing to act
in direct contradiction to his wishes; when, I say, I viewed her
disclosure in connection with all these circumstances, I could not
help feeling that there was at least a fearful verisimilitude in the
allegations which she had made. Still I was not satisfied, nor nearly so.