"Is this a joke?" he
asked, sternly. "If it is, I for one don't see the humor of it."
Julian pointed to the closely written pages of the consul's
letter. "A man writes in earnest," he said, "when he writes at
such length as this. The woman seriously gave the name of Grace
Roseberry, and when she left Mannheim she traveled to England for
the express purpose of presenting herself to Lady Janet Roy." He
turned to his aunt. "You saw me start," he went on, "when you
first mentioned Miss Roseberry's name in my hearing. Now you know
why." He addressed himself once more to Horace. "You heard me say
that you, as Miss Roseberry's future husband, had an interest in
being present at my interview with Lady Janet. Now _you_ know
why."
"The woman is plainly mad," said Lady Janet. "But it is certainly
a startling form of madness when one first hears of it. Of course
we must keep the matter, for the present at least, a secret from
Grace."
"There can be no doubt," Horace agreed, "that Grace must be kept
in the dark, in her present state of health. The servants had
better be warned beforehand, in case of this adventuress or
madwoman, whichever she may be, attempting to make her way into
the house.
Pages:
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150