There he will receive ample evidence of her real character. He may have
to wait; but the friend who writes this advises him to wait patiently.
He will not wait in vain_.
"A NAMELESS COUNSELLOR."
A fortnight before, Sir Oswald would have flung such a letter as this
away from him with indignant scorn; but the poison of suspicion had
done its corroding work.
For a little time Sir Oswald hesitated, half-inclined to despise the
mysterious warning. All his better feelings prompted him to disregard
this nameless correspondent--all his noblest impulses urged him to
confide blindly and unquestioningly in the truth of the wife he loved;
but jealousy--that dark and fatal passion--triumphed over every
generous feeling, and he yielded to the influence of his hidden
counsellor.
"No harm can arise from my return to Raynham," he thought. "My friends
yonder are enjoying themselves too much to trouble themselves about my
absence. If this anonymous correspondent is fooling me, I shall soon
discover my mistake."
Having once arrived at this determination, Sir Oswald lost no time in
putting it into execution. He ordered his horse, Orestes, and rode away
as fast as the animal would carry him.
Arrived at Raynham, he inquired if any one had asked for him, but was
told there had not been any visitors at the castle throughout the day.
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