“But, sir, he wasna jist sic a pattren o’ a guidman;” said the housekeeper. “An’ what for mak this room less?”
“May it not have been for the sake of shutting out, or hiding something?” suggested Donal.
“I do remember a certain thing!—Curious!—But what than as to the openin’ o’ ’t efter?”
“He has never done it!” said Donal significantly. “The thing takes shape to me in this way:—that he wanted to build something out of sight—to annihilate it; but in order to prevent speculation, he professed the intention of casting the one room into the other; then built the wall across, on the pretence that it was necessary for support when the other was broken through—or perhaps that two recesses with arches would look better; but when he had got the wall built, he put off opening the arches on one pretext or another, till the thing should be forgotten altogether—as you see it is already, almost entirely!—I have been at the back of that wall, and heard the earl moaning and crying on this side of it!”
“God bless me!” cried the good woman. “I’m no easy scaret, but that’s fearfu’ to think o’!”
“You would not care to come there with me?”
“No the nicht, sir. Come to my room again, an’ I s’ mak ye a cup o’ coffee, an’ tell ye the story—it’s a’ come back to me noo—the thing ’at made my aunt tell me aboot the buildin’ o’ this wa’. ’Deed, sir, I hae hardly a doobt the thing was jist as ye say!”
They went to her room: there was lady Arctura sitting by the fire!
“My leddy!” cried the housekeeper. “I thoucht I left ye soon’ asleep!”
“So I was, I daresay,” answered Arctura; “but I woke again, and finding you had not come up, I thought I would go down to you. I was certain you and Mr. Grant would be somewhere together! Have you been discovering anything more?”