“What—you——” And then as she met Anne’s eyes she gave a piercing scream, and her maid rushed in. “The sal volatile!” she gasped. “The salts.”
She fell back limp, and Anne, who was unaccustomed to the easy fainting of fine ladies, was terrified and administered the restoratives. But Mrs. Nunn may have been less time reviving than Anne fancied, for when she finally opened her eyes they were very hard and her features singularly composed.
“You may go, Claire,” she said to the maid. “Return in an hour and pack my boxes. We leave by the packet to-morrow. Now,” she added, turning to Anne, “I am prepared to talk to you. Only kindly remember, if you have anything further of a startling nature to communicate, that I am accustomed to less direct and brutal methods.”
“I am sorry,” said Anne humbly. Mrs. Nunn waved apology aside.
“Of course you know that I shall never give my consent. Are you determined to marry without it?”
“Yes.”
“‘I never wish to see you again’”