"By chance!" repeated Bellaria scornfully. "When you deliberately came where you had no business to come. I know all!"
"How did you find out?" Gerald was perfectly calm when he asked this question, as she did not seem to be hostile.
"I saw that Mavis was not herself, that she was disturbed, and guessed that she was keeping something secret from me. I watched, and saw her lead a man across the quadrangle. When she came in that night I told her what I had seen, and so--she confessed about the sealed message, and about her secret meetings with you. Also that you desired to marry her. Fool!" cried Bellaria pointing a scornful finger at her host, "would you marry a madwoman?"
"Not in making Mavis Durham my wife," said Haskins coolly. "She is perfectly sane."
"And I--Bellaria Dondi--say that she is not."
"Are you sane yourself?" asked Haskins, turning the tables on her.
The woman reared herself in her chair, gripping the arms, and directed a fierce gaze at him. "What do you mean?" she demanded.
"Why did you not come out and face me when Mavis talked with me in the garden?" he remarked, meeting her gaze firmly and fairly.
"Because--because---- Oh, there is no explanation."
"I think there is. You dare not venture out after dark, so you waited until Mavis entered the house to question her."