Mr. Wyvern was addicted to night-rambling, and he
often covered considerable stretches of country in the hours when
other mortals slept. To-night he was in the mood for such exercise;
it worked off unwholesome accumulations of thought and feeling, and
good counsel often came to him in what the Greeks called the kindly
time. He did not hurry on his way back to Wanley, for just at
present he was much in need of calm reflection.
On his arrival at the Vicarage about eleven o'clock the servant
informed him of Miss Waltham's having called. Mr. Wyvern heard this
with pleasure. He thought at first of writing a note to Adela,
begging her to come to the Vicarage again, but by the morning he had
decided to be himself the visitor.
He gathered at once from Mrs. Waltham's face that events of some
agitating kind were in progress. She did not keep him long in
uncertainty. Upon his asking if he might speak a few words with
Adela, Mrs. Waltham examined him curiously.
'I am afraid,' she said, 'that I must ask you to excuse her this
morning, Mr. Wyvern. She is not quite prepared to see anyone at
present. In fact,' she lowered her voice and smiled very graciously,
'she has just had an--an agitating interview with Mr. Mutimer--she
has consented to be his wife.'
'In that case I cannot of course trouble her,' the vicar replied,
with gravity which to Mrs.
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