"Besides," she added, "his experience of Mrs. Carew could have been but slight. Almost immediately after he gave Mr. Carew his opinion of my mistress, they left for England, as I have told you." "Yes," I remarked, "and he may, after all, have been mistaken." She shrank a little, I fancied, but she said firmly, "He may have been, I was not." "I am not doubting you, Mrs. Fortress," I said. She interposed here by saying, "It is immaterial whether you are or not. The facts are as I have stated them." "I understand, of course, that you have spoken honestly, but is it not possible you may have judged wrongly?" "I cannot admit it, sir," she replied with calm dignity. "It is not possible." Certainly she maintained her ground. I continued my inquiry. "Before Mr. Carew came into his second fortune he lived humbly in London?" "Yes; in poor lodgings." "Did the house contain other lodgers?" "Yes." "And did not any of them suspect or discover the mystery so close to them?" "In my belief not another person in the house had any suspicion." "You lived for many years in Rosemullion?" "Yes." "Did not Mrs. Carew have a medical adviser?" "A doctor called and saw her from time to time." "Was he not aware of her condition?" "He was not. His visits were a mere matter of form, and he frequently called at the house without seeing my mistress." "By whose directions was she denied to him?" "By mine. It was part of my duty to preserve my master's secret." "I am sure you did your duty, Mrs. Fortress." Her lip curled. She did not thank me. "Did this doctor ever see Mrs. Carew alone?" "Never. I took care always to be present, and I always prepared my mistress for his visits, warning her to be careful." "Did she never rebel?" "With respect to the doctor, never. I had my difficult days with her, but that was my business, and mine alone." "He must have been a careful and conscientious man," I said somewhat sarcastically. She capped me by replying, "His accounts were regularly paid. Perhaps that was sufficient for him." "Perhaps," I said, and I could not avoid a smile, though I was really indignant. "Can you tell me anything more to guide me? Do you think it was Mr. Carew's intention to keep his son in complete ignorance of this misfortune, even after the death of your mistress?" "I am not positive. My master died during a visit to Wales, while my mistress was still living. It is probable, had he survived his wife, that he would have spoken to his son on the subject. I cannot say for certain, but, from certain words he once used I believe he left some record behind him." This suggestion aroused me. "Some written record?" I asked. "Yes." "Where would he have deposited it?"