As she said the words, there was a knock at the library door. The footman appeared, and addressed himself to Miss Garth.
“A person wishes to see you, ma’am.”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know, ma’am. A stranger to me—a respectable-looking man—and he said he particularly wished to see you.”
Miss Garth went out into the hall. The footman closed the library door after her, and withdrew down the kitchen stairs.
The man stood just inside the door, on the mat. His eyes wandered, his face was pale—he looked ill; he looked frightened. He trifled nervously with his cap, and shifted it backward and forward, from one hand to the other.
“You wanted to see me?” said Miss Garth.
“I beg your pardon, ma’am.—You are not Mrs. Vanstone, are you?”
“Certainly not. I am Miss Garth. Why do you ask the question?”
“I am employed in the clerk’s office at Grailsea Station—”