“Was she not related to thee, Friend Barnard?” inquired Madame Yvonett, turning to him.
“I was only her nephew by marriage, but she was a good friend to me.” The regret in his voice and manner rang true, even to Marjorie’s watchful ears. “Mrs. Lawrence was a noble woman, and will be missed by many.”
“She was very, very good to me,” a lump rose in Marjorie’s throat, and she hastily cleared her voice. “Did you learn any particulars of her death, Cousin Becky?”
“Yes, I saw the nurse.” Miss Rebekah was in her element. She enjoyed nothing so much as the sound of her own voice, and particularly reveled in funereal topics; she attended her relatives’ obsequies both near and far, and the more harrowing the circumstances surrounding their deaths, the more her soul thrilled in morbid enjoyment. “The nurse—what’s her name, Marjorie?”
“Do you mean Kathryn Allen?”
“Yes, that’s she; such a pretty girl,” she interpolated. “Well, Nurse Allen told me that Cousin Margaret did not suffer toward the last; in fact, that during the past six weeks she never regained consciousness.”
“Never regained consciousness,” repeated Barnard slowly. “What a blessed relief.”
“Yes, wasn’t it,” went on Miss Rebekah, addressing him directly. “I knew you would understand. Poor Cousin Margaret was in torment until she became delirious and later lapsed into a comatose condition. I saw Admiral Lawrence for a few minutes; he inquired particularly for you, Marjorie, and desired to know where you could be found quickly.”
“Oh!” A faint, very faint inflection of fear in the monosyllable caught Duncan’s quick ear, and he darted a keen look at Marjorie, but she was crumbling the end of her sandwich between her fingers, and he learned nothing from her blank expression.
“I suppose he wanted to get you to answer notes, and attend to things generally,” continued Miss Rebekah, pouring out a cup of tea from the pot Minerva set before her. “I told the Admiral where you were, Marjorie, and how kind Mrs. Fordyce has been to you. I went quite into details,” she smiled at Duncan. “I even mentioned some of the things Marjorie told me about you....”