"Oh!" said Claude, remembering Hilliston's opinion, "some believe him to be guilty."
"I cannot say for certain," replied Mrs. Bezel, shaking her head. "The flight of Mr. Jeringham certainly showed that he had something to conceal."
"What kind of a man was Mr. Jeringham?"
"Tall and fair. Amiable as a rule, but liable to violent passions."
"Was he not in love with my mother before she married my father?"
Mrs. Bezel turned away her head, and the color rose to her face. The nervous movement of her hands plucking at her dress showed how profoundly she was moved by this question.
"I believe so. But she—Mrs. Larcher loved her husband."
"Then why was my father jealous of Jeringham?" said Claude, who could not reconcile this statement with the evidence given at the trial.
"How should I know?" cried Mrs. Bezel, turning on him with sudden passion. "If George Larcher had not been so blinded by jealousy he would have seen that there was nothing between them. Your mother knew Jeringham all his life; they were like brother and sister. It is true he wished to marry her, but when he saw that her heart was given to your father, he bowed to her decision. He came to Horriston as her friend, not as her lover."
"But he was constantly with her."