Nurse Kate and the cook were called, and afterwards Ethelwynn, who, dressed in black and wearing a veil, looked pale and fragile as she drew off her glove in order to take the oath.
As she stood there our eyes met for an instant; then she turned towards her questioner, bracing herself for the ordeal.
“When did you last see the deceased alive?” asked the coroner, after the usual formal inquiry as to her name and connection with the family.
“At ten o’clock in the evening. Dr. Boyd visited him, and found him much better. After the doctor had gone I went upstairs and found the nurse with him, giving him his medicine. He was still sitting before the fire.”
“Was he in his usual spirits?”
“Quite.”
“What was the character of your conversation with him? I understand that Mrs. Courtenay, your sister, was out at the time. Did he remark upon her absence?”
“Yes. He said it was a wet night, and he hoped she would not take cold, for she was so careless of herself.”
The coroner bent to his paper and wrote down her reply.
“And you did not see him alive again.”