“What!” he exclaimed. “Maddy didn’t write that? You wrote it?”
“Yes,” asserted Cicely, looking Tom squarely in the eyes.
“When did you write it?” asked the coroner.
“A week or more ago.”
“Why did you write it?”
“I refuse to tell.”
“Who is the S. mentioned on this paper?”
“I refuse to tell.”
“You needn’t tell. That is outside the case. It is sufficient for us to know that Miss Van Norman did not write this paper. If you wrote it, it has no bearing on the case. Your penmanship is very like hers.”
“I practised to make it so,” said Cicely. “Miss Van Norman desired me to do so, that I might answer unimportant notes and sign her name to them. They were in no sense forgeries. Ladies frequently have their own names signed by their secretaries. Miss Van Norman often received notes like that.”