第49章

“Ihavesomethingtotell——somebadnews。”shesaid。“Butyoumustnotbealarmed，asitisnotsobadasitmighthavebeen。

Edgarhasbeenthrownoffhishorse。Wedon’tthinkheishurtmuch。IthappenedinthewoodtheothersideofNellcombeBottom，where’tissaidtheghostsofthebrotherswalk。”

Shewentontogiveafewoftheparticulars，butnoneoftheinventedhorrorsthathadbeencommunicatedbytheboy。“I

thoughtitbettertotellyouatonce。”sheadded，“incaseheshouldnotbeverywellabletowalkhome，andsomebodyshouldbringhim。”

Mrs。Melburyreallythoughtmattersmuchworsethansherepresented，andGraceknewthatshethoughtso。Shesatdowndazedforafewminutes，returninganegativetoherstep-mother’sinquiryifshecoulddoanythingforher。“Butpleasegointothebedroom。”Gracesaid，onsecondthoughts，“andseeifallisreadythere——incaseitisserious。”Mrs。MelburythereuponcalledGrammer，andtheydidasdirected，supplyingtheroomwitheverythingtheycouldthinkoffortheaccommodationofaninjuredman。

Nobodywasleftinthelowerpartofthehouse。NotmanyminutespassedwhenGraceheardaknockatthedoor——asingleknock，notloudenoughtoreachtheearsofthoseinthebedroom。Shewenttothetopofthestairsandsaid，faintly，“Comeup。”knowingthatthedoorstood，asusualinsuchhouses，wideopen。

Retreatingintothegloomofthebroadlandingshesawriseupthestairsawomanwhomatfirstshedidnotrecognize，tillhervoicerevealedhertobeSukeDamson，ingreatfrightandsorrow。A

streakoflightfromthepartiallycloseddoorofGrace’sroomfelluponherfaceasshecameforward，anditwasdrawnandpale。

“Oh，MissMelbury——IwouldsayMrs。Fitzpiers。”shesaid，wringingherhands。“Thisterriblenews。Ishedead？Ishehurtedverybad？Tellme；Icouldn’thelpcoming；pleaseforgiveme，MissMelbury——Mrs。FitzpiersIwouldsay！”

Gracesankdownontheoakchestwhichstoodonthelanding，andputherhandstohernowflushedfaceandhead。CouldsheorderSukeDamsondown-stairsandoutofthehouse？Herhusbandmightbebroughtinatanymoment，andwhatwouldhappen？Butcouldsheorderthisgenuinelygrievedwomanaway？

Therewasadeadsilenceofhalfaminuteorso，tillSukesaid，“Whydon’tyespeak？Ishehere？Ishedead？Ifso，whycan’tI

seehim——woulditbesoverywrong？”

BeforeGracehadansweredsomebodyelsecametothedoorbelow——afoot-falllightasaroe’s。Therewasahurriedtappinguponthepanel，asifwiththeimpatienttipsoffingerswhoseownerthoughtnotwhetheraknockerwerethereorno。Withoutapause，andpossiblyguidedbythestraybeamoflightonthelanding，thenewcomerascendedthestaircaseasthefirsthaddone。Gracewassufficientlyvisible，andthelady，foraladyitwas，cametoherside。

“Icouldmakenobodyheardown-stairs。”saidFeliceCharmond，withlipswhosedrynesscouldalmostbeheard，andpanting，asshestoodlikeonereadytosinkonthefloorwithdistress。“Whatis——thematter——tellmetheworst！Canhelive？”ShelookedatGraceimploringly，withoutperceivingpoorSuke，who，dismayedatsuchapresence，hadshrunkawayintotheshade。

Mrs。Charmond’slittlefeetwerecoveredwithmud；shewasquiteunconsciousofherappearancenow。“Ihaveheardsuchadreadfulreport。”shewenton；“Icametoascertainthetruthofit。Ishe——killed？”

“Shewon’ttellus——he’sdying——he’sinthatroom！”burstoutSuke，regardlessofconsequences，assheheardthedistantmovementsofMrs。MelburyandGrammerinthebedroomattheendofthepassage。

“Where？”saidMrs。Charmond；andonSukepointingoutthedirection，shemadeasiftogothither。

Gracebarredtheway。“Heisnotthere。”shesaid。“Ihavenotseenhimanymorethanyou。Ihaveheardareportonly——notsobadasyouthink。Itmusthavebeenexaggeratedtoyou。”

“Pleasedonotconcealanything——letmeknowall！”saidFelice，doubtingly。

“YoushallknowallIknow——youhaveaperfectrighttoknow——whocanhaveabetterthaneitherofyou？”saidGrace，withadelicatestingwhichwaslostuponFeliceCharmondnow。“Irepeat，Ihaveonlyheardalessalarmingaccountthanyouhaveheard；howmuchitmeans，andhowlittle，Icannotsay。IprayGodthatitmeansnotmuch——incommonhumanity。Yo