"Tired!" exclaimed Louise; "Madame is always tired in Oxford."
"Relaxing climate," said Mrs. Potten as she wrote.
"And this house does not suit Madame," continued Louise, motionless at the door.
"The drains wrong, perhaps," said Mrs. Potten, with absolute indifference.
"I know nothing of drains, Madame," said Louise, "I speak of other things."
"Sans doute il y a du 'dry rot,'" said Mrs. Potten, looking at what she had written.
"Ah!" exclaimed Louise, clasping her hands, "Madame has heard; I did not know his name, but what matter? Ghosts are always ghosts, and my Lady Dashwood has never been the same since that night, never!"
Mrs. Potten stared but she did not express surprise, she wanted to hear more without asking for more.
"Madame knows that the ghost comes to bring bad news about the Warden!"
"Bad news!" said Mrs. Potten, and she put her pencil back into her bag and wondered whether the news of the Warden's engagement had reached the servants' quarters.