She laid her hand upon one of the papers, as if to remove it, then drew back.
"No," she said, "I will touch nothing else; I have what I came to seek, and have no right to meddle with what does not concern me. Let her keep her other vile secrets to herself; my victory is already complete."
She replaced the velvet cushion, pressing it hard down into its place.
She then restored the trays as she had found them, but did not close the casket, since she had found it open.
She retraced her steps into the boudoir, where, as she was passing out, she trod upon something that attracted her attention.
She stooped to ascertain what it was, and discovered a gentleman's glove.
"Ah," she said, as she picked it up and examined it, "I should say it belongs to madam's brother! In that case, he must have returned this evening to attend the grand finale, although I am sure he was not at the dinner-table."
She dropped the glove upon the floor where she had found it, but there was a look of perplexity upon her face as she did so.
"It seems a little strange," she mused, "that the young man should have been away all this time; and if he was to return at all, I cannot understand why there should have been this air of secrecy about it. He has evidently been in this room to-night, but I am sure he has not been seen about the house."
She opened the door and passed out into the hall, when she was startled to hear the voice of Mrs. Goddard talking, in the hall below, with the butler.