He came close, and placed his hand on the poppy-head of the seat.
'I have received a communication,' he resumed haltingly, 'in which I am
requested to prepare you for the contents of a letter that you will
receive to-morrow morning.' 'I am quite ready.' 'The subject is briefly this, Lady Constantine: that you have been a widow for more than eighteen months.' 'Dead!' 'Yes. Sir Blount was attacked by dysentery and malarious fever, on the banks of the Zouga in South Africa, so long ago as last October twelvemonths, and it carried him off. Of the three men who were with
him, two succumbed to the same illness, a hundred miles further on; while
the third, retracing his steps into a healthier district, remained there
with a native tribe, and took no pains to make the circumstances known.
It seems to be only by the mere accident of his having told some third
party that we know of the matter now. This is all I can tell you at
present.' She was greatly agitated for a few moments; and the Table of the Law
opposite, which now seemed to appertain to another dispensation,
glistened indistinctly upon a vision still obscured by the old tears.
'Shall I conduct you home?' asked the parson.
'No thank you,' said Lady Constantine. 'I would rather go alone.'