Polly laid down her fork. She had been merely toying with the salad on the plate before her.
“Has Miss Judith lost her appetite?” she asked.
“Yes, miss.” Anna stepped nearer and spoke more rapidly. “Miss Judith appears sort of—of in a trance, like.”
“Trance!” Anna had no occasion to complain of inattention. Polly was regarding the girl’s comely face with deep interest. For the first time she observed the dark lines under the large eyes and saw that the soft cream-tint of Anna’s perfect complexion, which she had frequently envied in the past, was an unhealthy white. “Trance,” she repeated. “What do you mean, Anna?”
“Exactly that, miss.” Anna spoke with positiveness. “She moves as if she was in a dream. She don’t eat, don’t talk, and I don’t believe she sleeps.”
“Dear me!” Polly bit viciously into a piece of chocolate cake. “Well, it is not surprising, Anna, that Miss Judith is upset. She and Mr. Austin were very fond of each other.”
“Until he wished to marry her,” was Anna’s shrewd retort. “Oh, we servants aren’t blind, miss.”
“No, worse luck!” The low-spoken ejaculation escaped Polly unawares, and she bit her lip. Apparently it was not overheard, for Anna made no comment, and Polly asked in haste, “How did you know that Mr. Austin desired to marry Miss Judith? You were not here at that time.”
“No, miss; but when the cablegram came telling of Miss Judith’s unexpected marriage to Major Richards, cook told me all about Mr. Austin’s courtship, and how Mr. Hale encouraged him. It was common gossip, miss, not only below stairs but in society as well.” Seeing that Polly had about completed her hastily eaten meal, Anna rearranged the tray, preparatory to carrying it away. “You weren’t here then either, miss, were you?”
“N—no.” Polly folded her napkin in its exact creases with due regard to detail. “Don’t worry about Miss Judith, she will be all right as soon as the shock of Mr. Austin’s death wears off.”