“For heaven’s sake what is it?” said Clide, a horrible thought darting through him like a sting. Why did his uncle keep looking away from him? “Uncle, what is it?”
“It is a letter from Ralph Cromer—you remember your uncle’s old valet?—he is in London now; he was at Glanworth on that dreadful night.… My dear boy,” laying her hand kindly on his arm, “it may be a mere fancy of his; in fact, it seems impossible for a moment to admit of its being anything else; but Cromer says he has seen her.…”
“Seen whom? My dead wife … Isabel! The man is mad!”
“It must be a delusion; we are certain it is; but still it has given us a shock,” said his stepmother.
“What does the man say? Show me his letter!”
She handed it to him.
“Honored Master: I am hard set to believe it; but if it an’t her, it’s her ghost as I seen this mornin’ comin’ out of a house in Wimpole Street, and though I ran after her as hard as my bad leg ’ud let me, she jumped into a cab and was off before I could get another look of her. It was the young missis, Master Clide’s wife, as you buried eight year ago, Sir, as I’m a live man; unless I went blind of a sudden and saw wrong, which an’t likely, as you know to the last my eyes was strong and far-seein’. I went back to the house, but the man could tell me nothin’ except as all sorts of people keep comin’ and goin’ with the toothache, in and out, his employer bein’ a dentist, and too busy to be disturbed with questions as didn’t pay. I lose no time in acquaintin’ you of, honored master, and remain yours dutifully to command,
Ralph Cromer.”
There was a dead silence in the room while Clide read the letter. Every one of the six eyes was fixed on him eagerly. He crushed the paper in his hand, and sat down without uttering a word.
“Don’t let yourself be scared too quickly, De Winton,” said Sir Simon; “it is perfectly clear to my mind that the thing is a mere imagination of Cromer’s; he’s nearly in his dotage; he sees somebody who bears a strong likeness to a person he knew nearly eight years ago, and he jumps at the conclusion that it is that person.”