Penny Blood Serial Fiction — page 39: what you’re looking at

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

22 REYNOLDS’ WORKS and her face, already pale this night, grew paler still. ‘‘ But proceed. What did they require of you? ”’ “They told me that Mr. Deveril was at Gainsborough when your ladyship posted that note to me, that he saw it posted, and that he knew it was you that posted it, and what’s more, too, he saw the address.”’ ‘But this is absolutely impossible!” cried Lady Saxon- dale, in mingled amazement and consternation. ‘‘ You are deceiving me — you have betrayed me.’’ ‘Oh, well, if that’s your opinion,’’ observed the Cannibal, gruffly, “ | may as well be off.’’ “No, no; proceed with what you have to say. Go on, TY will not interrupt you again.”’ ‘‘ Well, ma’am, that’s what the gentlemen said,” continued Chiffin, ‘“‘ and they further stated that for certain reasons of their own they were uncommon anxious to see the con- tents of the letter. So, as there was nothing particular in it, I did show it to them.” ‘You showed it to them?” ejaculated Lady Saxondale, anerily, and also in terror. “Well, I thought it best; they seemed so positive that you had written it, and I couldn’t possibly deny it.”’ “ But what in Heaven’s name must they think now? ”’ murmured Lady Saxondale, in accents of despair. “ Don’t you see, ma’am, I was acting in your interest? I wanted to draw the gentlemen out, and ascertain what object they had in view. So I pretended to tumble into their schemes, and they said that whatever reward you offered me for doing what you required, they would double it. Then they said that they should come down here into Lincolnshire, and I must manage to make them overhear what was to take place betwixt you and me. Now you know how it was they were in these parts to-night. But a very few minutes after I had joined them, we heard the report of pistol-shots; we rushed along the bank, and found the two dead bodies. Then the gentlemen got frightened at my being with them; they didn’t think me quite respectable enough, I suppose, and so they bundled me off at once, giving up their scheme of getting into the castle. At first I thought of cutting away out of the neighbourhood as hard as I could, but then I reflected that it was better to come and see your ladyship, and tell you what is in the wind in respect to Mr. !”? Gomilecbooks (EO)