Mercystarted，andfaintlyflushed，asthesecondvoiceansweredthefirst。Shestoodirresoluteclosetothebilliard-room，hesitatingwhattodonext。
Afteranintervalthesecondvoicemadeitselfheardagain，advancingnearertothedining-room：\"Areyouthere，aunt？\"itaskedcautiously。Therewasamoment\'spause。Thenthevoicespokeforthethirdtime，soundinglouderandnearer。\"Areyouthere？\"itreiterated；\"Ihavesomethingtotellyou。\"Mercysummonedherresolutionandanswered：\"LadyJanetisnothere。\"Sheturnedasshespoketowardtheconservatorydoor，andconfrontedonthethresholdJulianGray。
Theylookedatoneanotherwithoutexchangingawordoneitherside。Thesituation——forwidelydifferentreasons——wasequallyembarrassingtobothofthem。
There——asJuliansawher——wasthewomanforbiddentohim，thewomanwhomheloved。
There——asMercysawhim——wasthemanwhomshedreaded，themanwhoseactionsassheinterpretedthemprovedthathesuspectedher。