To what end had the shell struck the woman who had some hope in
her life, and spared the woman who had none? The words she had
herself spoken to Grace Roseberry came back to her as she thought
of it. "If I only had your chance! If I only had your reputation
and your prospects!" And there was the chance wasted! there were
the enviable prospects thrown away! It was almost maddening to
contemplate that result, feeling her own position as she felt it.
In the bitter mockery of despair she bent over the lifeless
figure, and spoke to it as if it had ears to hear her. "Oh!" she
said, longingly, "if you could be Mercy Merrick, and if I could
be Grace Roseberry, _now!_"
The instant the words passed her lips she started into an erect
position. She stood by the bed with her eyes staring wildly into
empty space; with her brain in a flame; with her heart beating as
if it would stifle her. "If you could be Mercy Merrick, and if I
could be Grace Roseberry, now!" In one breathless moment the
thought assumed a new development in her mind. In one breathless
moment the conviction struck her like an electric shock. _She
might be Grace Roseberry if she dared!_ There was absolutely
nothing to stop her from presenting herself to Lady Janet Roy
under Grace's name and in Grace's place!
What were the risks? Where was the weak point in the scheme?
Grace had said it herself in so many words--she and Lady Janet
had never seen each other.
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