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Updated: June 28, 2025
But the night passed, and the next day followed, and the next; but Cynthia never came. In the meantime there was one person in the house who knew more of her than she chose to say. Miss Sabina Meldreth had been keeping her eye, by Mrs. Vane's orders, upon Cynthia West. She had listened at the door during the conversation between Enid and Hubert, but without much result.
Oh, kindness is all very well!" said Miss Meldreth, with an angry toss of her fair head. "But I don't know what kindness there is in disturbing my poor mother reading hymns and psalms, and all that sort of thing!" Mr. Evandale had hitherto wondered whether or no Miss Vane heard a word of Sabina Meldreth's acid utterances, but he had henceforward no room for doubt.
He passed through the shop and ascended the stairs, with every step of which he was familiar, as he had already visited Mrs. Meldreth during one or two previous attacks of illness, and was heard to knock at the sick woman's bed-room door. "Oh, my," exclaimed Polly, as soon as he was out of reach, "and if I didn't go for to forget to tell him as 'ow Miss Enid was up there! Oh, my!
They had left Miss Vane with Florence, who seemed more manageable when her aunt touched her and spoke to her than with anybody else. And, as soon as they came in, Cynthia went up to Hubert, kissed him, and sat down beside him, holding her hand in his. But Sabina Meldreth looked fixedly at the General. "Don't take on, sir!" she said, going up to the table and speaking rather softly.
It was already dark, but the girl's tall graceful figure was easily discernible at some little distance. Miss Meldreth followed her hurriedly; she was determined to lose no chance of discovering Westwood and delivering him up to the authorities. Down one street after another did she track the convict's daughter.
Polly Moss, a girl whose mouth looked as if it would never close, beamed at him with radiant satisfaction, and replied "Yes, sir I'm minding the shop, sir. Did you want any groceries to-day, please, sir?" "No, thank you," said the Rector, smiling. "I have come to see Mrs. Meldreth, who, I hear, is ill." "Yes, sir," said Polly, in a tone of resigned affliction.
Meldreth was almost unconscious of the disturbance. Her eyes were glazing, her sight was growing feeble, the words that fell from her lips were broken and disconnected. But still she spoke still she went on pouring her story into Enid's listening ears. When the Rector at last looked round, he saw an expression on Enid's face which chilled him to the bone.
Meldreth and her daughter some secret which the mother would gladly confess and the girl was fain to hide? A feeble voice sounded from the bed. "Is it Miss Enid?" said Mrs. Meldreth. "Has she come?" "No," said Sabina boldly and loudly. "You go to sleep, mother, and don't you bother about Miss Enid."
Turning her face suddenly, she saw that there had been a spectator of the little scene a spectator at the sight of whom Sabina Meldreth turned deadly white. Miss Vane stood at the nursery door. She had been sitting there, and had heard Sabina's words and poor little Dick's innocent reply. "You are wrong," she said gravely, with her eyes intent on Sabina's pale distorted face.
"The bird has flown, ma'am," said the inspector, entering the office where she sat, with a rather crestfallen air. "He must have got some notion of what was in the wind; for he went out this morning soon after Miss Meldreth left the house, and evidently does not intend to come back again.
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