"You say his hat and the flower were lying beside the dead man?" she breathed. "What do you mean? What do they all mean? They do not say he killed him!" and, with a faint cry, she fell back.
The captain caught her, with a cry of alarm.
Mrs. Mildmay rushed to the bell.
The door opened, and the footman appeared.
"Did you ring, ma'am? Mr. Thaxton has arrived."
At his name, Violet seemed relieved.
She drew herself upright from the captain's arms, and, pushing her hair from her white forehead, said, with unnatural calm:
"Mr. Thaxton, the lawyer? Show him in!"
There entered a short, wiry, old gentleman, with a pleasant, but shrewd, face, crowned by smoothly parted white hair.