“Leonora! _Killed_ Leonora!” he gasped, with a face of ashes; “who told you such a--a--lie? What do you mean by speaking to me like that--of accusing me--of--of----” Hannah stood where she was, and laughed at him. “Ah! who?--_who?_” she said. “Find out! It isn’t all jam to have a medium in the house, Professor! If sperrits come for one, they will for another, and you don’t s’pose they’d keep any secrets from me! Poor Leonora! I wouldn’t ’ave been ’er, by long chalks! And _you_--who pretended to be so fond of ’er! Ugh! go along with yer! If you’d had your rights, you’d been hung on a gallows tree long afore this!” The wretched Professor could not answer her! He could only hide his face in his hands, and groan. His dread secret dragged from him, as it were, and spread out for the coarse criticism of Mrs. Battleby’s maid-of-all-work! He did indeed feel at that moment, as though his punishment was greater than he could bear. CHAPTER XV. “It’s of no good crying over it now,” taunted Hannah, as the unhappy man stirred in his seat; “you didn’t mind how much _she_ cried--did you? You found her on a sofa with young Centi, singing a song for him, maybe, or playing at cat’s-cradle, like a couple of babies together--and you took out your knife, and ran her through the ’eart, without a thought, or a pang----” “No! no! not without a pang, God knows!” moaned the unfortunate Professor. “You drove your murdering weapon through ’er ’eart,” continued the girl, without noticing his interpolation, “with no more mercy, than if she had been a dangerous animal. “She ’ad youth and beauty, and all ’er life before ’er, but you cut it short, without waiting for an explanation of what you saw! Do you know what she was thinking of, just as she was dying, and you watched the film steal over her eyes and the blood spirting in little jets from her blue lips. If she could ’ave spoke to you in that moment, ’er last words would ’ave been, ‘_I ’ate you!_’” “Let me go! Let me go! I can stand no more!” cried Ricardo, as he rushed past her, and mounted the stairs to his own room. Even there, Hannah would have followed him, and continued her mental torture, but he was too quick for her, and had locked the door before she reached it. So she was compelled to go downstairs again, and think of some way of passing the afternoon. The Baron had begged her to provide a tasty supper for Ricardo, and she would not have liked him to hear that she had neglected his advice, so she arrayed herself in her walking attire and sallied forth to purchase it.