"Quite impossible, my dear madam. He has gone."
"Mr. Kenyon gone, and left me here!"
"It is for your own good, my dear madam. I hope soon to restore you to him."
It was as she expected, and the first shockbeing over, she took the announcement calmly. But her soul was stirred with anger and resentment, for she was a woman of spirit.
"This is all a base plot," she said scornfully. "Has Mr. Kenyon—have you—the assurance to assert that my mind is disordered?"
"Unhappily there is no doubt of it," said the doctor, in a tone of affected regret. "Your present excitement shows it."
"My excitement! Who would not be excited at being entrapped in such a way? But I quite comprehend Mr. Kenyon's motives. How much does he pay you for your share in this conspiracy?"
"He pays your board on my usual terms," said Dr. Fox composedly. "I have agreed to do my best to cure you of your unhappy malady, but I can do little while you suffer yourself to become so excited."
His tone was significant, and contained a menace, but for this Mrs. Kenyon cared little. She had been blind, but she was clear-sighted now. She felt that it was her husband'sobject to keep her in perpetual imprisonment. Thus only could his ends be attained.
She was silent for a moment. She perceived that craft must be met with craft, and that it was best to control her excitement. She would speak her mind, however, to avoid being misunderstood.