Lady Bassett hesitated.
“What did he say to Sir Charles?”
“He did not speak to him. His child and nurse were there, and he called out loud, for Sir Charles to hear, and told the nurse to hold up his child to look at his inheritance.”
“Malicious fool! But did this enrage Sir Charles so much as to give him a fit?”
“Yes.”
“He must be very sensitive.”
“On that subject.”
Mr. Rolfe was silent; and now, for the first time, appeared to think intently.
His study bore fruit, apparently; for he turned to Lady Bassett and said, suddenly, “What is the strangest thing Sir Charles has said of late—the very strangest?”
Lady Bassett turned red, and then pale, and made no reply.