“It is useless to talk to him now, Mrs. Swinton,” said Trimmer, with a suggestive glance toward the door.
She departed without another word, full of a new idea. Her position was such that only a lawyer could help her; and she was resolved to have legal advice. It was a forlorn hope, but one not to be despised; and there was not a moment to lose. As if by an inspiration, she remembered the name of a 248 lawyer who used to be her mother’s adviser—a Mr. Jevons, who used to come to Asherton Hall before her mother died, and afterward quarreled with Herresford. This was the man to advise her. He would be sure to know the truth about the private fortune of Mrs. Herresford, which the husband had absorbed after his wife’s death.
CHAPTER XXIII
DORA SEES HERRESFORD
Herresford recovered his composure very quickly after the departure of his daughter. A few harsh words from Trimmer silenced him, and he remained sitting up, staring out of the window. The next time Trimmer came into the room, he called him to his side, and gazed into his face with a look that the valet understood. Trimmer knew every mood, and there were some when the master ruled the servant and commands were not to be questioned.
“Trimmer, I have a commission for you. Go to the residence of Colonel Dundas. See his daughter, Dora. She has been here—you remember her?”
“I’m afraid not, sir.”
“Pretty girl, brown hair, determined mouth, steady eyes, quietly dressed—no thousand-dollar sables and coats of ermine. Came to tea—and didn’t cackle!”