“Yes, bring him to me at once!” he exclaimed, feverishly.
CHAPTER XLIV.
A TERRIBLE DEED!
Amber flew to her room to get ready for her trip to Bonnycastle. Her brain was on fire, she was on the verge of insanity.
She put her hand to her brow and stood wondering what she should do next.
“My fate hangs trembling in the balance of the next hour,” she muttered, hoarsely. “Shall I remain quiescent, and let them all triumph over me? or shall I strike one fatal blow and achieve my own happiness? Bah! who could hesitate in such an hour? Self-preservation is the first law of nature.”
Thought came in rushing waves, and all in an instant her plans were formed.
She dressed herself very richly and carefully for a drive, and packed a small hand-satchel with all of her jewelry, and a change of clothing. Then she slipped into her glove a tiny package containing a white powder, muttering:
“How fortunate for me that I contemplated suicide when I first lost the hope of Cecil Grant’s love, and bought this arsenic in Washington. It will serve a better purpose now.”
She laughed a hollow, mirthless laugh, blood-curdling in its malice, and leaving the satchel just within the door, ran down stairs.
She gave an order for her phaeton to be brought immediately, and returned to her grandfather’s room.