"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" she asked.
"It is a surprise to find you in London," I said, coming forward.
Quarles had crossed toward the woman in the arm-chair.
"I am glad to see the journey has not hurt you, Mrs. Jardine," he said quietly.
It was a bow drawn at a venture, but Martha Wakeling's little cry of consternation was enough to prove that Quarles was right.
The arrest of Mrs. Jardine for the murder of her companion created a sensation, and I am doubtful whether the plea of insanity which saved her from the gallows and sent her to a criminal lunatic asylum was altogether justified.
The method in her madness was so extraordinary that the result of the trial would have been different, I fancy, had not Martha Wakeling's courage and care of her mistress aroused everybody's sympathy.