“Well? What then?”
“Oh, nothink, sir. I was only thinkin’ that, as madam was no longer ’ere––”
Allerton wheeled round, his fingers clawing at the collar-stud, his face growing bloodless. “No longer here? What the deuce do you mean?”
“Oh, didn’t Mr. Rash know? Madam seems to ’ave left us. I supposed that after I’d gone upstairs last night Mr. Rash and ’er must ’ave ’ad some sort of hunderstandin’—and she went.”
“Went?” Allerton’s tone was almost a scream. Leaping on the old man he took him by the shoulders, snaking him. “Damn you! Get it out! What are you trying to tell me?”
Steptoe quaked and cowered. “Why, nothink, sir. Only when William said as madam didn’t come down to ’er breakfast I went to ’er door and tapped—and there wasn’t no one in the room. Mr. Rash ’ad better go and see for ’imself.”
The young man not only released the older one, but pushed him aside with a force which sent him staggering backwards. Over the stairs he scrambled, he plunged. Though he had never entered the back spare room since allotting it to Letty as her own he threw the door open now as if the place was on fire.
But by the time Steptoe had followed and reached the threshold Allerton had calmed suddenly. He stood 282 in front of the open closet vaguely examining its contents. He picked up the little gold band, chucked it a few inches into the air, caught it, and put it down. He looked into the little leather purse, poured out its notes and pennies into his hand, replaced them, and put that also down again. He opened the old red volume lying on the table by the bed, finding The Little Mermaid marked by two stiff dried sprays of dust flower, which more than ever merited its name. When he turned round to where Steptoe, white and scared by this time, was standing in the open doorway, his, Allerton’s, face was drawn, in mingled convulsion and bewilderment. With two strides he was across the room.
“Tell me what you know about this, you confounded old schemer, before I kick you out.”
Shivering and shaking, Steptoe nevertheless held himself with dignity. “I’ll tell you what I know, Mr. Rash, though it ain’t very much. I know that madam ’as ’ad it in ’er mind for some time past that unless she took steps Mr. Rash’d never be free to marry the young lydy what ’e was in love with.”