After thinking it
over to the best of my ability, I made it out that the thing wasn't
likely, for a reason that I will tell you. If you had been in Miss
Rachel's sitting-room, at that time of night, with Miss Rachel's
knowledge (and if you had been foolish enough to forget to take care of
the wet door) SHE would have reminded you--SHE would never have let you
carry away such a witness against her, as the witness I was looking at
now! At the same time, I own I was not completely certain in my own
mind that I had proved my own suspicion to be wrong. You will not have
forgotten that I have owned to hating Miss Rachel. Try to think, if you
can, that there was a little of that hatred in all this. It ended in my
determining to keep the nightgown, and to wait, and watch, and see what
use I might make of it. At that time, please to remember, not the ghost
of an idea entered my head that you had stolen the Diamond."
There, I broke off in the reading of the letter for the second time.
I had read those portions of the miserable woman's confession which
related to myself, with unaffected surprise, and, I can honestly add,
with sincere distress.
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