"Show him here directly," said Mr. Redmain. Then turning to Mary,
"Go out that way, Miss Marston, if you will go," he said, and
pointed to the dressing-room.
Mary, without a suspicion, obeyed; but, just as she discovered
that the door into the bedroom beyond was locked, she heard the
door behind her locked also. She turned, and knocked.
"Stay where you are," said Mr. Redmain, in a low but imperative
voice. "I can not let you out till this gentleman is gone. You
must hear what passes: I want you for a witness."
Bewildered and annoyed, Mary stood motionless in the middle of
the room, and presently heard a man, whose voice seemed not quite
strange to her, greet Mr. Redmain like an old friend. The latter
made a slight apology for having sent for him to his study--
claiming the privilege, he said, of an invalid, who could not for
a time have the pleasure of meeting him either at the club or at
his wife's parties. The visitor answered agreeably, with a touch
of merriment that seemed to indicate a soul at ease with itself
and with the world.
But here Mary all at once came to herself, and was aware that she
was in quite a false position. She withdrew therefore to the
farthest corner, sat down, closed her ears with the palms of her
hands, and waited.
She had sat thus for a long time, not weary, but occupied with
such thoughts as could hardly for a century or two cross the
horizon line of such a soul as Mr.
Pages:
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508