Mild and gentle as he
seemed, Arthur could, if necessary, be very stern, and knowing
this, old Hannah concluded at last that if Nina did not betray
herself she would not, and when Arthur came, expressing his
surprise at the change, and asking for its cause, she told glibly
"how restless and onquiet Miss Nina done been flirtin' round till
the blood all got in her head and she was dreadful."
"You should have called me," Arthur said, sitting down by Nina,
whose feverish hands he clasped, while he asked, "Is my little
girl's head very bad this morning?"
Nina merely nodded, for she really was too weak to talk, and
Arthur watched her uneasily, wondering why it was that her eyes
were fixed so constantly upon the door, as if expecting some one.
When breakfast was announced she insisted that both he and Edith
should leave her, and, the moment they were gone, she asked for
Victor, who came at once, half guessing why he was sent for.
"Under my pillow," she whispered, as he bent over her, and in an
instant the letter, of whose existence neither Arthur nor Edith
suspected, was safe in Victor's pocket.
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