"May I look in the spare room?" she asked, expecting to be roughly
refused.
"By all means--by all means," said the doctor, blandly. "You know your
way about. If there is anything left belonging to your mistress or to
you, pray take it."
She tried one more question.
"How is my patient? How is Mr. Oxbye?"
"He is gone."
"Gone? Where has he gone to? Gone?"
"He went away yesterday--Friday. He was a grateful creature. I wish we
had more such grateful creatures as well as more such faithful
servants. He said something about finding his way to London in order to
thank you properly. A good soul, indeed!"
"Gone?" she repeated. "Why, on Thursday morning I saw him--" She
checked herself in time.
"It was on Wednesday morning that you saw him, and he was then
recovering rapidly."
"But he was far too weak to travel."
"You may be quite certain that I should not have allowed him to go away
unless he was strong enough."
Fanny made no reply. She had seen with her own eyes the man lying still
and white, as if in death; she had seen the new nurse rushing off,
crying that he was dead. Now she was told that he was quite well, and
that he had gone away! But it was no time for thought.
She was on the point of asking where the new nurse was, but she
remembered in time that it was best for her to know nothing, and to
awaken no suspicions. She opened the door of the spare room and looked
in. Yes; the man was gone--dead or alive--and there were no traces left
of his presence. The place was cleared up; the cupboard stood with open
doors, empty; the bed was made; the curtain pushed back; the sofa was
in its place against the wall; the window stood open. Nothing in the
room at all to show that there had been an occupant only two days
before. She stared blankly. The dead man was gone, then. Had her senses
altogether deceived her? Was he not dead, but only sleeping? Was her
horror only a thing of imagination? Behind her, in the hall, stood the
doctor, smiling, cheerful.
She remembered that her first business was to find her mistress. She
was not connected with the Dane. She closed the door and returned to
the hall.
"Well," asked the doctor, "have you made any discoveries? You see that
the house is deserted. You will perhaps learn before long why. Now what
will you do? Will you go back to London?"