"Are you trying to stop me?"
"Yes; I think I am."
"Don't stop me, please."
"But surely it would be better to consult your own people."
Miss Keating paused. Miss Lucy had suggested the obvious course, which she had avoided for reasons which were not obvious even to herself.
"My own people?" she murmured pensively. "They are not here."
It was not her fault if Miss Lucy jumped to the conclusion that they were dead.
"I wonder," she said, "if you see my difficulty?"
"I see it plainly enough. Mrs. Tailleur has been very kind to you, and you want to leave her. Why?"
"I'm not sure that I ought to stay."