"You don't mean to say that they have put us in this house to sleep alone?"
"Why not? It is an adjunct to the other house, which is, besides, quite full of guests. It was so when I came."
"And where did you sleep?"
"Here."
"Alone?"
"Certainly."
She looked at me with astonishment. And had my mind been sufficiently at ease I should have enjoyed her naïve admiration. But it was not so; and when I saw her draw her chair up in front of the fire, and sit down immediately over that spot, I shuddered and spoke to her.
"Rachel, dear, don't sit directly in front of the fire; it is injurious to the eyes."
She moved to one side and began to unfasten her dress preparatory to going to bed. We were now ready. But before lying down, Rachel asked me:
"Is the door secure?"