“A great shock,” she repeated, “what great shock? He did not know—”
She stopped short. With lightning-like rapidity her mind flew back to the events of that evening—could her father have come to the knowledge of what she had discovered? But almost before she had time to dismiss the idea as wild and improbable in the last degree, Mr. Guildford’s next words put it altogether to flight.
“It was some news that came in a telegram this evening, that—that brought on this attack,” he said reluctantly, not feeling sure of his ground with Cicely, but judging it wisest to put her in possession at once of all that there was to tell. By the expression of her face, he saw at once that she did not in the least know to what he referred.
“What was the telegram about? Did you see it?” she demanded.
He hesitated again. “You had better tell me,” said Cicely, “that is, unless mamma did not want me to know.”
“Oh! no; Mrs. Methvyn wished me to tell you everything. The telegram was about the failure of some company in which Colonel Methvyn had largely invested. It told him of a great loss of property.”
“And was that all?” said Cicely. “As if that would have mattered! Oh! Mr. Guildford, why should he have taken that to heart so?”
“It was only natural that he should do so,” said Mr. Guildford. There was no necessity at present for telling her how great he suspected the extent of the calamity to be, and indeed just now the loss of a few hundred pounds or of a quarter of a million would have been looked upon by Cicely as matters of equal indifference. “It was only natural he should have felt it as he did,” he repeated. “That is why I think, perhaps, it is best his consciousness never returned. He would only have awakened to distress and anxiety, and at the very best his life could only have been prolonged for a few hours.”
“But he would have known us, he could have said good-bye; we could have told him how little we cared about the loss of the money,” cried Cicely. “Oh! I cannot think it is better never to have seen him again—I cannot.”
For the first time the tears came into her eyes. She sat down and cried unrestrainedly, refusing to be comforted.