Poor, tired Prudence, weary of scheming, and lying, and being badgered, felt the change and rejoiced. If they only would question her no more, how happy she might be! A fortnight would soon pass, and by that time, all suspicion being averted, she might safely give notice and join her sister. Meantime, to leave no room for speculation as to her movements, she went out very little, appeared at every meal, and told old Mrs. Belcher, the most sympathetic of the boarders, who immediately spread the story, that her sister had gone to the seaside for a change, and that if she did not speedily improve in health, she, Prudence, would soon join her there.
All suspicions were now apparently tranquillized, and Prudence, having despatched by the first post a cheque for £30 to good Mrs. Brown, felt sufficiently calm to await events.
CHAPTER XIV.
AN UNEXPECTED VISITOR.
The two following days passed peacefully over. Prudence told her carefully-concocted story to Mrs. Wilcox, and said she would probably follow her sister in a fortnight. She despatched a great box, avowedly for the use of Augusta, to Paddington Station, and left it at the cloak-room to be kept till called for. She took every precaution that suggested itself to her, and even contemplated announcing at table the receipt of a letter from her sister declaring she was enjoying the fine sea air.
In fact, she felt she was beginning to lie with an aplomb that at once frightened and delighted her, but was accompanied by twinges of conscience. Many tears she shed in secret over the deception she was forced to practise.
The interest and excitement about Miss Semaphore had already abated somewhat. Her room had been turned out, cleaned, and made ready for a new boarder, and Prudence, who had sent on the additional thirty pounds to good Mrs. Brown, was congratulating herself on having acted with great promptitude, foresight, and caution, under trying and exceptional circumstances.
Her main idea now was to hear from the widow of the explorer whose fatal Water of Youth had proved the direful spring of all her woes. Night and day she considered the subject. Was there an antidote? If not, would her sister ever grow up? If she did grow up, would she grow up normally? Had she really, as Prudence thought, preserved her memory and understanding? Was she to be treated exactly like an ordinary baby? and, if not, in what respects should a difference be made? Should she be sent to school later on? Would her intelligence grow or lessen? All these racking questions, to which she could give no answer, tormented the younger Miss Semaphore continually.
When, sooner than she had ventured to hope, she found a letter lying on the hall-table addressed to her, in a foreign handwriting, and bearing the Paris post-mark, the poor lady was so overcome between fear and hope that she scarcely had courage to open it. With tottering limbs, she made her way upstairs, locked her door, and sat down to read the most important missive she had ever received.
Mrs. Geldheraus expressed herself shocked and surprised at the sad story unfolded by Miss Prudence Semaphore, but, unfortunately, was not very helpful. She had never before heard of anyone taking too much of the Water of Youth, and knew of no method of counteracting its effects.
“I explained to your sister,” she said, “that a tablespoonful took about ten years off one’s age. Thus a woman of forty, taking two tablespoonfuls, would, in effect, be twenty. After that, a tea-spoonful every two years, would keep her at twenty as long as the Water lasted. She seemed quite to understand my directions. As such a case as you describe has never entered into my experience, I fear, dear madam, I can only recommend you to be patient under these distressing circumstances. I can give you no idea of how long the effects will last. Usually, the greater the quantity required in the first instance, the sooner the dose must be repeated, as the acquired youth wears off with a rapidity in proportion to one’s actual age. Whether this, however, will be the case with your sister, I cannot say. No one who has hitherto tried the Water has returned to infancy, so your sister’s is a very exceptional and awkward position, especially, as you tell me, you are living at a boarding-house. You may be thankful that your sister did not take a little more, or she would probably have vanished for ever, and your circumstances would be even more painful than they are. It is most probable that she retains her adult memory and understanding unimpaired, remaining a woman in mind though not in body. I regret, dear madam, that I cannot be more helpful, and am, yours faithfully,