The assurance somewhat pacified me. Kate, whom my alarm seemed to impress very unfavourably, observed drily—
"It is not a matter to make so much of, and I never said you could not explain it, Daisy; at all events here it is."
With this she drew forth from her pocket, and laid on the table, the filagree bracelet.
"Is that all?" asked Cornelius, seeming much relieved.
"I think it quite enough, considering where it was found," shortly said
Kate.
"In the studio! What about it: was it not in the studio I gave it to her?"
"That is all very well, but I should like to know how it has got stained with the very same ochre that was used to daub the face of poor Medora."
"Even that is nothing, Kate; you know well enough that everything Daisy wears bears traces of the place where she spends her days."
Miriam had remained indifferent and calm, whilst all this was going on in her presence; she had not changed her attitude, scarcely had she raised her eyes, or cast a look around her. She now stretched forth her hand, took up the bracelet from the table where it lay, looked at it, laid it down again, and said very quietly—
"It is mine."