"Snatching up the paper to see what could have caused her such
agitation, I was horrified to read that the man who was found
murdered in our apartment house was now supposed to be Maurice
Greywood. Imagine my feelings! As soon as she had recovered
sufficiently to be questioned, I begged her to confide in me--her
mother. But she assured me that she had told me everything, and
that the man who had been killed was a perfect stranger to her and
not Mr. Greywood. She insists that the two do not even look very
much alike, as the deceased is much larger, coarser, and darker
than the young artist. It was, of course, the greatest relief to
know this. Had Greywood really been at the Rosemere on the evening
she spent there, I should always have believed that they had met by
appointment. 'Yes, I should; I know I should,' she repeated, as I
shook my head in dissent.
"When I was ready to go to church, I was astonished to find May
waiting for me in the hall. She was perfectly composed, but a
crimson spot burned in either cheek and her eyes were unnaturally
bright. I noticed, also, that she had taken great pains with her
appearance, and had put on one of her prettiest dresses. I could
not account in any way for the change in her behaviour. As we
neared the village, she almost took my breath away by begging me
to telegraph to Mr. Norman to ask him to come and stay with us!
'Telegraph him now!' I exclaimed. 'Yes,' she replied; 'I would like
to see him. If we telegraph immediately, he could get here by five
o'clock.' 'But why this hurry?' I asked. She flushed angrily,
and kept repeating: 'I want to see him.' 'But, my child,' I
remonstrated, 'I don't even know where Mr. Norman is. He certainly
is not in town at this time of the year.' 'Telegraph to his town
address, anyhow, and if he isn't there it doesn't matter,' she
urged.--'But, May, what is the meaning of this change? The last
time he came down here you wouldn't even see him. Do you now mean
to encourage him?' 'No, no,' she asserted. 'Then I shall certainly
not send him such a crazy message,' I said. 'If you don't, I will,'
she insisted. We were now opposite the post office. She stopped and
I saw that she was trembling, and that her eyes were full of tears.
'My darling,' I begged her, 'tell me the meaning of all this?' 'I
wish to see Mr. Norman,' is all she would say. Now, I suppose you
will think me very weak, but I sent that telegram. Fred, tell me,
do you think the child is going insane?" and the poor mother burst
into tears.
"Dear, dear lady, I am sure you are unnecessarily alarmed. If I
could see May, I could judge better."
"Yes, yes," she interrupted, eagerly, "that is what I wish. I
thought if you came to the house as a visitor you could give me
your professional opinion about May without her knowing anything
about it. The difficulty is, how can you get to us with your poor
leg?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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