Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 260: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. DAT The dame did not immediately answer: but at |in the short space of five minutes be taken ad- length she said, “Come! Thera must be all : vantage of.” frankness between us; for you are liberal, and you | Agatha listened to me with an unmoved ex- keep your promises. Well then, I reply, Yes / | pression of countenance,—an expression which IL Lady Kelvedon is suffering under the influence of | did not altogether like, for methought that there the brown lozenges manufactured by me. For! was a sort of stubborn sullenness in it, and that the rest you must draw your own conclusions.” this was likewise the cause of the steady patience With these words she hobbled away ; and I| with which she remained silent until I had began to retrace my steps, my heart beating with | finished. joy at the’ positive assurances I had received in *“T do not understand, Miss,’ she now said, respect to the final recovery of Lady Kelvedon ; | * what you mean by taking advantage of your in- for I felt confident that Dame Betty knew her busi- | advertence.” ness too well to incur a chance of failure after) “Imean that the private door was shut, though all she had said. not locked,” I rejoined. “ You must have tried it Having threaded the avenue in the garden, I | to see whether it were fastened or not.” reached the door at the bottom of the private stair- ** Of course I did, Miss,” answered Agatha, with case,—when all in a moment it struck me that I | a cool unconcern which [ fancied to savour very had inadvertently omitted to lock that door on | much of a dogged insolence, and which increased issuing thence a few minutes back with the old | my dislike for the young woman, “I did not for woman. How I could have been so forgetful 1 | a moment pretend that I had not tried the door : cannot possibly conceive: but such was the fact— | I did not want you to believe such a thing; and and it is useless to pause for the sake of explana- | if you had asked me the question point-blank, [ tion or excuse. The key was in the lock on the | should have at once told you that I did try it.” inner side ; so that when passing that way just Agatha was looking steadily at meas she thus now With the gipsy-woman, I had merely closed | spoke ; and I was gazing fixedly upon her. For the door behind me. an instant it struck me that her manner was I was excessively anery with myself; but still | nothing more nor less than the calm composure of as I found the door shut and no one was to be| complete innocence: but the next moment sus- seen in the rear of the premises, I caught at the | picion again sprang up in my mind as | caught idea that my negligence had produced no evil/| the sullen expression of her countenance, and as L effect. Now, therefore, taking the most particular | remembered that beneath the roof of that mansion care to lock the door, and to try it to assure my- | there must be some one who for the most fearful self that it was completely secured, I ascended the | reasons had become an adept in the art of dis- staircase. I had left a light burning in the bath- | simulation and hypocrisy. room; and as I reached the landing, a shadow was| “And might I ask, Agatha,” I said, “why you thrown across it from just within the threshold of | happened to try the door ?” that room, the door of which stood open. The “To be sure you may ask,” she responded ; next moment a female form appeared: and my | “and I might, if I chose, refuse to answer you ; first impression was that it must be Lady Kelve- | for I do not acknowledge you as my mistress, nor don herself who had come to meet me for some | have I yet been told that you are installed as her purpose or another. But the next instant I saw | ladyship’s deputy. But as I have done no wrong, that it was one of her ladyship’s attendants, who | I will explain what I have done. You see that bore the name of Agatha. She was a young| here isa bath: but there is no cistern. When woman of about eighteen, tolerably good-looking, | the bath is to be used, the hot water has to be but with a somewhat reserved expression of coun- | brought in pails from the kitchen and carried up tenance. this private staircase! Now, I foo, as well as I beg your pardon, Miss,” she immediately | yourself, Miss Percy, happened to have a headache said, with the most perfect self-possession: ‘“ {| this evening * did not know that it was you.” Here she blushed, stammered, and for a few Why should you beg my pardon ?” I asked, | moments looked so confused that [ thought she advancing into the bath-room, so that I might | was about to break down in the midst of excuses. bring the young woman herself within the rays/| But I was wrong: for she quickly regained her of the wax-light which I had left there. self-possession, and proceeded in the following “JT meant, Miss,” responded Agatha, “ that I | manner :— did not know it was you who had gone out by the| “So like yourself, Miss Perey, I went out to private door.” get a little fresh air. I saw a light in this room; “Ah!” I said: “then you just now came up | andit at once struck me that her ladyship must the private staircase P” be going to take a bath. I wondered I had heard “Yes, Miss,’ was Agatha’s response; and still | nothing of it, because whatever instructions are she maintained the most perfect calmness and | given either to Matilda or myself, we generally self-possession. communicate to each other, as we are the two “Are you accustomed to use that staircase?” I | principal maids. So I came to see whether the inquired. “But stop! I will tell you why I ask. | bath was really being prepared: the door was I had a headache—I wished to take a turn or two | unfastened—lI ascended the stairs—I looked into in the garden—and Lady Kelvedon gave me the | this room—I had not been here a moment before key of the door at the bottom of the staircase,| you made your appearance. That’s all, Mise telling me that I had better lock it on going out. | Percy:—and perhaps you will now tell me whether _ This I forgot to do; and now you may perhaps | there is anything extraordinary in it?” understand that I am more or less surprised to| I was bewildered what to think, or how to find this little inadvertence on my part should’ answer. Suspicion was strong in my mind; but (SO)