Explore "Lady Kilpatrick" by Robert W. Buchanan on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Peebles, returning home to the Castle after his midnight interview with Moya Macartney in the churchyard, passed a sleepless and troubled night, revolving in his mind all the events of the sad history in which the unfortunate woman had played so strange a part, and canvassing all that her mysterious and unexpected return to life might mean to herself and others. More than once he determined to disregard Moya's strenuous injunction to silence, and at once break to Lord Kilpatrick the news of her existence, and of her presence in the district; but again and again the memory of the solemn promise of secrecy he had given, and the thought that so sudden and heavy a shock might be fatal to one of his lordship's age and feeble health, dissipated that intention.
‘Eh! ' he murmured to himself as he tossed and tumbled in vain effort to discover a way out of the labyrinth of difficulties the business presented, ‘it's a troublous affair. I'd like to do justice, if I could see my way clear to the doing o't. I'd like fine to bowl out that smugfaced hypocrite Conseltine, and that lump o' malignity his son. 'Twould be the grandest day's work I ever did. But I promised, like an old fool, and I must keep my promise, and just await the decrees o' Providence.'