'
'Fudge, lass! who'd send for the doctor? 'Twasn't he, I tell you. What was
he like?' said Milly.
'I could only see clearly that he, or _she_, was tall, and wore a cloak,' I
replied.
'Then 'twasn't him nor t'other I was thinking on, neither; and I'll be
hanged but I think it will be Cormoran,' cried Milly, with a thoughtful rap
with her knuckle on the table.
Precisely at this juncture a tapping came to the door.
'Come in,' said I.
And old L'Amour entered the room, with a courtesy.
'I came to tell Miss Quince her breakfast's ready,' said the old lady.
'Who came in the chaise, L'Amour?' demanded Milly.
'What chaise?' spluttered the beldame tartly.
'The chaise that came last night, past two o'clock,' said Milly.
'That's a lie, and a damn lie!' cried the beldame. 'There worn't no chaise
at the door since Miss Maud there come from Knowl.'
I stared at the audacious old menial who could utter such language.
'Yes, there was a chaise, and Cormoran, as I think, be come in it,' said
Milly, who seemed accustomed to L'Amour's daring address.
'And there's another damn lie, as big as the t'other,' said the crone, her
haggard and withered face flushing orange all over.
Pages:
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408