“Of course,” he went on, “her nerves are completely unstrung. She seems to have been under a great mental strain and her surroundings are not—” He paused, and then added, “Is the young lady a relative of yours?”
“Ye—es, I suppose—She is a distant relative, yes.”
“Humph! Has she no near relatives? Here in England, I mean. You and the lady with you are Americans, I judge.”
I ignored the last sentence. I could not see that our being Americans concerned him.
“She has no near relatives in England, so far as I know,” I answered. “Why do you ask?”
“Merely because—Well, to be frank, because if she had such relatives I should strongly recommend their taking charge of her. She is very weak and in a condition where she knight become seriously ill.”
“I see. You mean that she should not remain here.”
“I do mean that, decidedly. This,” with a wave of the hand and a glance about the bare, dirty, dark hall, “is not—Well, she seems to be a young person of some refinement and—”
He did not finish the sentence, but I understood.
“I see,” I interrupted. “And yet she is not seriously ill.”