"Indeed I did not!" cried Katherine.
"I did not suppose you did, but her appearance seems to have given Mr. Liddell a shock." Mr. Newton paused, and then asked in a slow tone, as if thinking hard, "What was your sister-in-law's maiden name?"
"Sandford," said Katherine.
"Sandford? That is rather a curious coincidence. The late Mrs. John Liddell was a Miss Sandford."
"Is she dead, then?"
"Yes; she died eight or nine years ago."
"Could they have been related?"
"Possibly. Some likeness seems to have struck your uncle."
There was a short silence, and Mr. Newton resumed. "I trust you do not find your stay here too trying? I consider it very important that you should persevere, though it is only right to tell you that Mr. Liddell has made a will—not a just one, in my opinion—and it is extremely unlikely he will ever change it."
"That does not really affect me. Of course I should be very glad if he chose to leave anything to my mother or myself, but I shall do my best for him under any circumstances. Besides, I have a sort of desire to make him speak to me and like me—perhaps it is vanity—quite apart from a sense of duty. He is so like a frozen man!"