"I advertised for her, my lord. Mrs. Valdriguez's eyes are not what they were and so she 'ad to have somebody to do the mending. I must say foreigners sew beautifully, so it was some time before I could get any one whose work suited Mrs. Valdriguez." "What references did the girl give?" "It was this way, my lord. She's very young, and this is her first place. But she was excellently recommended by Mr. Vaughan, vicar of Plumtree, who wrote that she was a most respectable girl and that he could vouch for her character. Those are his very words, my lord." "That certainly sounded satisfactory." "I'm glad you think so, my lord. So she came. Such a nice young woman she seemed, so 'ard-working and conscientious; one who kept 'erself to 'erself; never a word with the men--never, though she is so pretty." "Oh, she is pretty, is she?" A faint but horrible suspicion flashed through Cyril's mind. "Yes, my lord, as pretty as a picture." "What does she look like?" "She is tall and slight with dark hair and blue eyes," Mrs. Eversley answered. She was evidently taken aback at her master's interest in a servant's appearance and a certain reserve crept into her voice. "Could she--would it be possible to mistake her for a lady?" stammered Cyril. Mrs. Eversley started. "Well, my lord, it's strange you should ask that, for Douglas, he always has said, 'Mark my words, Miss Prentice isn't what she seems,' and I must say she is very superior, very." It wasn't, it couldn't be possible, thought Cyril; and yet---- "Did she see much of her ladyship?" he asked. "Lately, Mrs. Valdriguez, seeing as what she was such a quiet girl, has allowed her to put the things she has mended back into her ladyship's room, and I know her ladyship has spoken to her, but how often she has done so I couldn't really say. Prentice didn't talk much." "Did she seem much interested in her ladyship?" "At first very much so. If we were talking about her ladyship, she would always stay and listen. Once, when one of the housemaids 'ad said something about her being crazy, I think, Prentice got quite excited, and when Mrs. Valdriguez had left the room, she said to me, 'I don't believe there is anything the matter with her ladyship; I think it just cruel the way she is kept locked up!' Begging your pardon, my lord, those were her very words. She made me promise not to repeat what she had said--least of all to Mrs. Valdriguez, and I never have, not till this minute." "Did she ever suggest that she would like to help her ladyship to escape?" "Why, my lord!" exclaimed Mrs. Eversley, staring at her master in astonishment. "That's just what she did do, just once--oh, you don't think she did it! And yet that's what they're all saying----" "Is anything missing from her room?" he asked. "I can't say, my lord; her trunk is locked and she took a small bag with her. But there are things in the drawers and a skirt and a pair of shoes in the wardrobe."