“It doesn’t matter,” she replied absently. “It won’t inconvenience them, for Martha doesn’t expect me. I should be asleep, you know.“
“You should indeed,” he said, and she wondered at his emphatic tone. “This is no preparation for night duty.”
“But I am not going on duty to-night,” she broke in. “I’m leaving the case.”
“What?” Trenholm stopped abruptly and eyed her in concern. “Fired?”
“No, indeed!” She flushed hotly. “Do you suppose I can take care of Mrs. Nash after her husband’s treatment of me?”
He did not answer at once. “So you are running away,” he commented softly. “Frankly, I did not expect it of you.”
“Mr. Trenholm!”
“Running away,” he reiterated, paying not the slightest attention to her indignant ejaculation. “Running away under fire.”
“Nothing of the sort!” she flared back. “Do you suppose I’ll stay in any house where I’ve twice been called a liar?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to,” he retorted, with equal heat. “You cannot leave Abbott’s Lodge, Miss Ward.”