No notice was taken of her absence at first; they thought she had gone out and had been detained; but when midnight arrived, and there was still no news of her, Lord Atherton became alarmed.

He went into her dressing-room, and there his eyes fell upon the letter.

He opened and read it, bewildered by its contents.

At first he did not understand it, then he began to see what it meant.
Gradually the meaning grew clear to him.

This villain was trading upon some secret of poor Marion, and she in fear and trembling had fled.