“Then Heaven help the stranger,” he rejoined with a cruel laugh, and pulling a rug over himself he lay down to sleep on the sofa.
He was up betimes in the morning, and had, indeed, been gone four hours when Mme. Estelle came lazily down to breakfast.
Melun had left no instructions in regard to Kathleen's food, and as she did not consider it advisable to let the unfortunate girl starve, Madame, after she had herself breakfasted, set a tray with the intention of carrying it up to Kathleen's room.
Before she could do this, however, it was necessary to send for Crow in order to obtain the key.
When she asked for it, Crow shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.
“What do you mean?” Madame demanded sharply. “What do you mean?”
“Simply that the master said that you and the young lady were not to get talking too much. He said nothing about food, or of waiting on her ladyship, and it didn't occur to me until this morning that it was a bit of a rum job for a chap like myself to wait on her.
“However,” he added, with a smirk, “I don't so much mind.”
But Crow's clumsy utterances had again aroused all Madame's sleeping suspicions. There was, moreover, no reason why she should keep silence now. Her treachery was a different matter altogether. The way was smooth for asking Kathleen the question the answer to which meant so much to her.
“It was hardly necessary for the captain to give you any orders, seeing that he gave certain instructions to me. He said that as there was no other woman in the house it would be my place to take Lady Kathleen anything that she actually needed. I am going to take up her breakfast now. Give me the key.”
Crow hesitated a moment, but finally handed over the key. Madame put it on the breakfast tray and went upstairs.
Kathleen, as she heard the bolts drawn back and the key turned in the lock, suffered fresh apprehension. For she had caught the rustle of Madame's skirts outside, and she would rather have faced Melun than the woman.
With very little apology Mme. Estelle entered, and, setting the breakfast down, immediately withdrew. Her impatience to ask the question was great, but she schooled herself to waiting.
In half an hour's time she went up for the tray, and then she faced Kathleen boldly and looked her in the eyes.