"I am not in the least afraid of burglars," she said almost pettishly, but I could see that her hands were trembling as they toyed with her parasol. I knew that she spoke the truth, for instinctively I guessed who the man was.
"Here comes Mr. Faulkner!" cried Miss Cottrell eagerly. "Now we shall hear all about it."
But Alan Faulkner's brief statement hardly sufficed to satisfy her curiosity.
"Oh, no, he is not a burglar," he said. "I believe he considers himself a gentleman, but he certainly took a most unwarrantable liberty."
I had never heard Alan Faulkner speak in such an angry, scornful tone, nor seen such a fire in his eyes. What did it all mean? I felt sick of these mysterious, underhand ways, and quite angry with my cousin, who disappeared as soon as she had heard what Alan had to say.
[CHAPTER XV]
AN ACT OF INDISCRETION
WHEN we all met at breakfast the next morning there was a good deal of laughing and joking about the burglar, as we congratulated each other that he had not disturbed our rest. Agneta took no part in it. She feigned not to hear what was going on as she studied the envelopes of the letters which lay beside her plate; but I saw that her colour had risen, and felt sure that she was not so indifferent as she appeared.
There was another person at the table who took no part in the talk. Alan Faulkner was unusually grave that morning. Suddenly glancing up, I became aware that his eyes were upon me, studying me with an earnest, questioning glance I could not understand. My eyes fell beneath it and my colour rose. I fancied there was something reproachful in his look; but, as I had done nothing to deserve this, I tried to persuade myself that my imagination was wholly at fault. Yet the mere fancy had a lowering effect upon my spirits. It was with a sense of flatness and depression that I set about my daily duties.
Ere long Agneta claimed my attention. She had risen with a headache, which increased in violence as the day wore on. In vain she struggled against it with all the power of her strong will; she had to succumb at last, and spent the afternoon lying on her bed, while I kept applying cold bandages to her forehead. At last she said that she was better and felt inclined to sleep, so I darkened the room and left her.