"Mallard!"
"Of Richard Mallard, whom you deceived, and deserted, and ruined!"
Before the last words left his mouth, she had fallen fainting on the floor. The name evidently recalled some painful memory, as Dan, on remembering the anguish of Merle, guessed it would. He was sorry that he had mentioned it, but, so awkwardly was he placed, that he saw no way out of the position but to act in what he considered a brutal fashion. It proved efficacious, for Miss Linisfarne lay at his feet in a swoon, and he was free to go.
Ringing the bell hastily he committed the insensible woman to the care of the astonished housekeeper, and rushed away with his brain on fire.
"She is mad! mad!" he said, as he ran down the avenue. "But what else could I do? Mallard! Mallard and Merle! What does it all mean? Only one person can solve the mystery of Miss Linisfarne, and that is Tinker Tim."
[CHAPTER XXV.]
JEALOUSY.
Miss Linisfarne recovered from her swoon to find that her machinations had proved unsuccessful. She had lied in saying that Meg was engaged to be married, and she had humiliated herself at the feet of a man who scorned her. These things were sufficient in themselves to cause her to repent of her folly, but, in place of learning a lesson from such rebuffs, she became still more inflamed against the girl whom she professed to love. Enraged by her failure and humiliation, she cast about for some means whereby to punish Meg, whom she unjustly regarded as the cause of her sufferings. No one was more prone than Miss Linisfarne to lay the burden of her follies on others.
The reference by Dan to her lover of twenty years before, led her to fancy that he knew more about her life than was actually the case. She began to believe that this unknown man was well acquainted with the shameful history which had led to her retirement, and had come down to Farbis for the express purpose of recalling it to her mind. Ignorant of the identity of Dr. Merle with Mallard, she could not conceive how Dan had learned her secret, since she had confided it to no one in Farbis. Yet it was known to him, as was apparent from his utterance of the name, and he had used it in order to humiliate her to the dust. Her mad love for him gave place to rage and resentment, and she longed to find an opportunity to punish him for his disdain and knowledge.
On calm reflection, she saw that, by parting him from Meg, she could render him miserable, and so resolved to see the girl, and, by lying to her as she had to Dan, to effectually prevent their marriage. Well aware that by her own acts she had prevented Meg from visiting at the Court, she resolved to go in person to Dr. Merle's house and see her rival. Her plan of action was not clear in her mind, but all she wanted was to achieve a lifelong separation between the pair. With this amiable object she repaired that same afternoon, alone and on foot, to the house of the doctor.