"Can you not give me some hint, Star? Think of my position: a child—the child of a valued friend—very, very ill, and I am unable to cope with her malady. You can cope with it. Will you?"
Star rose. "I will go and see her if you like," she said. "The other day I was angry; you would have been angry if you were in my place. I would not speak to her nor look at her. Oh! don't ask me to say any more; it is unfair to her."
"Of course, I must not question you, but your words alarm me. In spite of your efforts to conceal something, you are driving me to the conclusion that Christian has done something very wrong."
Star was silent.
"Is that so, Star? Please speak."
"I cannot tell you anything; I must not. There is one perhaps who could——"
"Ah! you allude to Susan Marsh. It is an extraordinary thing," continued Miss Lavinia, "that from the very first entrance of Christian into this school, Susan Marsh seems to have had a most pernicious influence on her. That such a girl as Susan could affect such a girl as Christian is a puzzle to me. Do you agree with me, Star, that Susan is at the bottom of this?"
"I ought not to say anything against Susan, but will you question her?"
"I will do so."