The Silent Woman by Eliza Margaret Jane Humphreys

One afternoon Rufus Myrthe returned to the Peak Hall somewhat earlier than his wont. The day was clouding in; the sky looked a stormy prophecy of rain and wind. He entered the fire-lit hall, and a sense of comfort and peace fell upon him. The group before the fire greeted him with a warm welcome, and little as he cared individually for any of them, he felt the gratitude of a stranger in a strange land for their appreciation of himself.

He suffered them to draw him into their midst, and give him tea and hot cakes, and other delicacies, which, as a rule, he despised, and made himself agreeable in his own fashion, until the fair Arabella let fall a piece of information which had an unexpected effect.