“Yes, ma’am. I’m ’Bije’s brother. Oh, don’t worry. It’s all right. And don’t fret yourself about me, either. I’ll set right down out here and read my paper and wait till Caroline or Stephen get home. They’re expectin’ me. Mr. Graves, the lawyer, told ’em I was comin’.”
He calmly seated himself and adjusted his spectacles. Mrs. Dunn stared at him, then at Edwards. After an instant’s indecision, she stepped back into the library and walked to the window. She beckoned, with an agitated finger, to the butler, who joined her.
“Edwards,” she whispered, “did you hear what he said?”
“Yes, ma’am,” replied Edwards, wide-eyed and wondering.
“Is it true?”
“I don’t know, ma’am.”
“Did Mr. Warren have a brother?”
“I didn’t know that he had, ma’am.”
“Do you—do you think it likely that he would have a brother like—like that?”
“I don’t know, ma’am.”