"You needn't be afraid of harming the girl, sir," he said to Mr.
Franklin, speaking in a loud voice, so that Rosanna might hear him. "On
the contrary, I recommend you to honour me with your confidence, if you
feel any interest in Rosanna Spearman."
Mr. Franklin instantly took on not to have noticed the girls either. He
answered, speaking loudly on his side: "I take no interest whatever in Rosanna Spearman."
I looked towards the end of the walk. All I saw at the distance was
that Rosanna suddenly turned round, the moment Mr. Franklin had spoken.
Instead of resisting Penelope, as she had done the moment before, she
now let my daughter take her by the arm and lead her back to the house.
The breakfast-bell rang as the two girls disappeared--and even Sergeant
Cuff was now obliged to give it up as a bad job! He said to me quietly,
"I shall go to Frizinghall, Mr. Betteredge; and I shall be back before
two." He went his way without a word more--and for some few hours we
were well rid of him.
"You must make it right with Rosanna," Mr. Franklin said to me, when we
were alone. "I seem to be fated to say or do something awkward, before
that unlucky girl. You must have seen yourself that Sergeant Cuff laid
a trap for both of us. If he could confuse ME, or irritate HER into
breaking out, either she or I might have said something which would
answer his purpose. On the spur of the moment, I saw no better way out
of it than the way I took. It stopped the girl from saying anything,
and it showed the Sergeant that I saw through him. He was evidently
listening, Betteredge, when I was speaking to you last night."
He had done worse than listen, as I privately thought to myself. He had
remembered my telling him that the girl was in love with Mr. Franklin;
and he had calculated on THAT, when he appealed to Mr. Franklin's
interest in Rosanna--in Rosanna's hearing.
"As to listening, sir," I remarked (keeping the other point to myself),
"we shall all be rowing in the same boat if this sort of thing goes
on much longer. Prying, and peeping, and listening are the natural
occupations of people situated as we are. In another day or two, Mr.
Franklin, we shall all be struck dumb together--for this reason, that
we shall all be listening to surprise each other's secrets, and all know
it. Excuse my breaking out, sir. The horrid mystery hanging over us in
this house gets into my head like liquor, and makes me wild. I won't
forget what you have told me. I'll take the first opportunity of making
it right with Rosanna Spearman."