“Don’t be so fussy!” I snapped. “Damn your pardon, and go on!”
“He wanted you to study out the place for yourself, sir. It was dear to his heart, this house. He set his heart upon having you enjoy it—”
“I like the word—go ahead.”
“And I suppose there are things about it that he wished you to learn for yourself.”
“You know them, of course, and are watching me to see when I’m hot or cold, like kids playing hide the handkerchief.”
The fellow turned and faced me across the table.
“Mr. Glenarm, as I hope God may be merciful to me in the last judgment, I don’t know any more than you do.”
“You were here with Mr. Glenarm all the time he was building the house, but you never saw walls built that weren’t what they appeared to be, or doors made that didn’t lead anywhere.”
I summoned all my irony and contempt for this arraignment. He lifted his hand, as though making oath.
“As God sees me, that is all true. I was here to care for the dead master’s comfort and not to spy on him.”