Nobody whispered MURDER. Everybody dwelt on the utter absence of
motive--a model husband!--such a charming young wife, and such a devoted
stepmother. We three alone knew--we three, and the children.
On the day when the jury brought in their verdict at the adjourned
inquest on Mrs. Le Geyt, Hilda Wade stood in the room, trembling and
white-faced, awaiting their decision. When the foreman uttered the
words, "Death by misadventure," she burst into tears of relief. "He did
well!" she cried to me, passionately. "He did well, that poor father! He
placed his life in the hands of his Maker, asking only for mercy to his
innocent children. And mercy has been shown to him and to them. He was
taken gently in the way he wished. It would have broken my heart for
those two poor girls if the verdict had gone otherwise. He knew how
terrible a lot it is to be called a murderer's daughter."
I did not realise at the time with what profound depth of personal
feeling she said it.
CHAPTER V
THE EPISODE OF THE NEEDLE THAT DID NOT MATCH
"Sebastian is a great man," I said to Hilda Wade, as I sat one afternoon
over a cup of tea she had brewed for me in her own little sitting-room.
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