第5章

`Didyouhearanybodycallingafterus？’sheasked，lookingupanddowntheroadaffrightedly，theinstantIstopped。

`No，no。IwasonlystruckbythenameofLimmeridgeHouse。IhearditmentionedbysomeCumberlandpeopleafewdayssince。’

`Ah！notmypeople。MrsFairlieisdead；andherhusbandisdead；andtheirlittlegirlmaybemarriedandgoneawaybythistime。Ican’tsaywholivesatLimmeridgenow。Ifanymoreareleftthereofthatname，I

onlyknowIlovethemforMrsFairlie’ssake。’

Sheseemedabouttosaymore；butwhileshewasspeaking，wecamewithinviewoftheturnpike，atthetopoftheAvenueRoad。Herhandtightenedroundmyarm，andshelookedanxiouslyatthegatebeforeus。

`Istheturnpikemanlookingout？’sheasked。

Hewasnotlookingout；nooneelsewasneartheplacewhenwepassedthroughthegate。Thesightofthegas-lampsandhousesseemedtoagitateher，andtomakeherimpatient。

`ThisisLondon，’shesaid。`DoyouseeanycarriageIcanget？Iamtiredandfrightened。Iwanttoshutmyselfinandbedrivenaway。’

Iexplainedtoherthatwemustwalkalittlefurthertogettoacab-stand，unlesswewerefortunateenoughtomeetwithanemptyvehicle；andthentriedtoresumethesubjectofCumberland。Itwasuseless。Thatideaofshuttingherselfin，andbeingdrivenaway，hadnowgotfullpossessionofhermind。Shecouldthinkandtalkofnothingelse。

WehadhardlyproceededathirdofthewaydowntheAvenueRoadwhenIsawacabdrawupatahouseafewdoorsbelowus，ontheoppositesideoftheway。Agentlemangotoutandlethimselfinatthegardendoor。

Ihailedthecab，asthedrivermountedtheboxagain。Whenwecrossedtheroad，mycompanion’simpatienceincreasedtosuchanextentthatshealmostforcedmetorun。

`It’ssolate，’shesaid。`Iamonlyinahurrybecauseit’ssolate。’

`Ican’ttakeyou，sir，ifyou’renotgoingtowardsTottenhamCourtRoad，’saidthedrivercivilly，whenIopenedthecabdoor。`Myhorseisdeadbeat，andIcan’tgethimnofurtherthanthestable。’

`Yes，yes。Thatwilldoforme。I’mgoingthatway——I’mgoingthatway。’Shespokewithbreathlesseagerness，andpressedbymeintothecab。

IhadassuredmyselfthatthemanwassoberaswellascivilbeforeIletherenterthevehicle。Andnow，whenshewasseatedinside，Ientreatedhertoletmeseehersetdownsafelyatherdestination。

`No，no，no，’shesaidvehemently。`I’mquitesafe，andquitehappynow。Ifyouareagentleman，rememberyourpromise。LethimdriveontillIstophim。Thankyou——oh！thankyou，thankyou！’

Myhandwasonthecabdoor。Shecaughtitinhers，kissedit，andpusheditaway。Thecabdroveoffatthesamemoment——Istartedintotheroad，withsomevagueideaofstoppingitagain，Ihardlyknewwhy——hesitatedfromdreadoffrighteninganddistressingher——called，atlast，butnotloudlyenoughtoattractthedriver’sattention。Thesoundofthewheelsgrewfainterinthedistance——thecabmeltedintotheblackshadowsontheroad——thewomaninwhitewasgone。

Tenminutesormorehadpassed。Iwasstillonthesamesideoftheway；nowmechanicallywalkingforwardafewpaces；nowstoppingagainabsently。

AtonemomentIfoundmyselfdoubtingtherealityofmyownadventure；

atanotherIwasperplexedanddistressedbyanuneasysenseofhavingdonewrong，whichyetleftmeconfusedlyignorantofhowIcouldhavedoneright。IhardlyknewwhereIwasgoing，orwhatImeanttodonext；Iwasconsciousofnothingbuttheconfusionofmyownthoughts，whenIwasabruptlyrecalledtomyself——awakened，Imightalmostsay——bythesoundofrapidlyapproachingwheelsclosebehindme。

Iwasonthedarksideoftheroad，inthethickshadowofsomegardentrees，whenIstoppedtolookround。Ontheoppositeandlightersideoftheway，ashortdistancebelowme，apolicemanwasstrollingalonginthedirectionoftheRegent’sPark。

Thecarriagepassedme——anopenchaisedrivenbytwomen。

`Stop！’criedone。`There’sapoliceman。Let’saskhim-’

Thehorsewasinstantlypulledup，afewyardsbeyondthedarkplacewhereIstood。

`Policeman！’criedthefirstspeaker。`Haveyouseenawomanpassthisway？’

`Whatsortofwoman，sir？’

`Awomaninalavender-colouredgown——’

`No，no，’interposedthesecondman。`Theclotheswegaveherwerefoundonherbed。Shemusthavegoneawayintheclothessheworewhenshecametous。Inwhite，policeman。Awomaninwhite。’

`Ihaven’tseenher，sir。’

`Ifyouoranyofyourmenmeetwiththewoman，stopher，andsendherincarefulkeepingtothataddress。I’llpayallexpenses，andafairrewardintothebargain。’

Thepolicemanlookedatthecardthatwashandeddowntohim。

`Whyarewetostopher，sir？Whathasshedone？’

`Done！ShehasescapedfrommyAsylum。Don’tforget；awomaninwhite。

Driveon。’

[NextChapter][TableofContents]WomaninWhite：Chapter2[TableofContents]Chapter2IV`ShehasescapedfrommyAsylum！’

Icannotsaywithtruththattheterribleinferencewhichthesewordssuggestedflasheduponmelikeanewrevelation。Someofthestrangequestionsputtomebythewomaninwhite，aftermyill-consideredpromisetoleaveherfreetoactasshepleased，hadsuggestedtheconclusioneitherthatshewasnaturallyflightyandunsettled，orthatsomerecentshockofterrorhaddisturbedthebalanceofherfaculties。ButtheideaofabsoluteinsanitywhichweallassociatewiththeverynameofanAsylum，had，Icanhonestlydeclare，neveroccurredtome，inconnectionwithher。Ihadseennothing，inherlanguageorheractions，tojustifyitatthetime；andevenwiththenewlightthrownonherbythewordswhichthestrangerhadaddressedtothepoliceman，Icouldseenothingtojustifyitnow。

WhathadIdone？Assistedthevictimofthemosthorribleofallfalseimprisonmentstoescape；orcastlooseonthewideworldofLondonanunfortunatecreature，whoseactionsitwasmyduty，andeveryman’sduty，mercifullytocontrol？Iturnedsickatheartwhenthequestionoccurredtome，andwhenIfeltself-reproachfullythatitwasaskedtoolate。

Inthedisturbedstateofmymind，itwasuselesstothinkofgoingtobed，whenIatlastgotbacktomychambersinClement’sInn。BeforemanyhourselapseditwouldbenecessarytostartonmyjourneytoCumberland。

Isatdownandtried，firsttosketch，thentoread——butthewomaninwhitegotbetweenmeandmypencil，betweenmeandmybook。Hadtheforlorncreaturecometoanyharm？Thatwasmyfirstthought，thoughIshrankselfishlyfromconfrontingit。Otherthoughtsfollowed，onwhichitwaslessharrowingtodwell。Wherehadshestoppedthecab？Whathadbecomeofhernow？Hadshebeentracedandcapturedbythemeninthechaise？Orwasshestillcapableofcontrollingherownactions；andwerewetwofollowingourwidelypartedroadstowardsonepointinthemysteriousfuture，atwhichweweretomeetoncemore？

Itwasareliefwhenthehourcametolockmydoor，tohidfarewelltoLondonpursuits，Londonpupils，andLondonfriends，andtobeinmovementagaintowardsnewinterestsandanewlife。Eventhehustleandconfusionattherailwayterminus，sowearisomeandbewilderingatothertimes，rousedmeanddidmegood。

MytravellinginstructionsdirectedmetogotoCarlisle，andthentodivergebyabranchrailwaywhichraninthedirectionofthecoast。Asamisfortunetobeginwith，ourenginebrokedownbetweenLancasterandCarlisle。Thedelayoccasionedbythisaccidentcausedmetobetoolateforthebranchtrain，bywhichIwastohavegoneonimmediately。Ihadtowaitsomehours；andwhenalatertrainfinallydepositedmeattheneareststationtoLimmeridgeHouse，itwaspastten，andthenightwassodarkthatIcouldhardlyseemywaytothepony-chaisewhichMrFairliehadorderedtobeinwaitingforme。

Thedriverwasevidentlydiscomposedbythelatenessofmyarrival。

HewasinthatstateofhighlyrespectfulsulkinesswhichispeculiartoEnglishservants。Wedroveawayslowlythroughthedarknessinperfectsilence-Theroadswerehad，andthedenseobscurityofthenightincreasedthedifficultyofgettingoverthegroundquickly。Itwas，bymywatch，nearlyanhourandahalffromthetimeofourleavingthestationbeforeIheardthesoundoftheseainthedistance，andthecrunchofourwheelsonasmoothgraveldrive。Wehadpassedonegatebeforeenteringthedrive，andwepassedanotherbeforewedrewupatthehouse。Iwasreceivedbyasolemnman-servantoutoflivery，wasinformedthatthefamilyhadretiredforthenight，andwasthenledintoalargeandloftyroomwheremysupperwasawaitingme，inaforlornmanner，atoneextremityofalonesomemahoganywildernessofdining-table。

Iwastootiredandoutofspiritstoeatordrinkmuch，especiallywiththesolemnservantwaitingonmeaselaboratelyasifasmalldinnerpartyhadarrivedatthehouseinsteadofasolitaryman。InaquarterofanhourIwasreadytobetakenuptomybedchamber。Thesolemnservantconductedmeintoaprettilyfurnishedroom——said，`Breakfastatnineo’clock，sir’——lookedallroundhimtoseethateverythingwasinitsproperplace，andnoiselesslywithdrew。

`WhatshallIseeinmydreamstonight？’Ithoughttomyself，asIputoutthecandle；`thewomaninwhite？ortheunknowninhabitantsofthisCumberlandmansion？’Itwasastrangesensationtobesleepinginthehouse，likeafriendofthefamily，andyetnottoknowoneoftheinmates，evenbysight！VWhenIrosethenextmorninganddrewupmyblind，theseaopenedbeforemejoyouslyunderthebroadAugustsunlight，andthedistantcoastofScotlandfringedthehorizonwithitslinesofmeltingblue。