But, at the same time, he let me
see--purposely, as I thought--that he did not consider me as the person
chiefly answerable for the loss of the jewel. He appeared to think that
I had been acting under the direction of somebody else. Who that person
might be, I couldn't guess then, and can't guess now.
"In this uncertainty, one thing was plain--that Sergeant Cuff was
miles away from knowing the whole truth. You were safe as long as the
nightgown was safe--and not a moment longer.
"I quite despair of making you understand the distress and terror which
pressed upon me now. It was impossible for me to risk wearing your
nightgown any longer. I might find myself taken off, at a moment's
notice, to the police court at Frizinghall, to be charged on suspicion,
and searched accordingly. While Sergeant Cuff still left me free, I had
to choose--and at once--between destroying the nightgown, or hiding it
in some safe place, at some safe distance from the house.
"If I had only been a little less fond of you, I think I should have
destroyed it. But oh! how could destroy the only thing I had which
proved that I had saved you from discovery? If we did come to an
explanation together, and if you suspected me of having some bad motive,
and denied it all, how could I win upon you to trust me, unless I had
the nightgown to produce? Was it wronging you to believe, as I did and
do still, that you might hesitate to let a poor girl like me be the
sharer of your secret, and your accomplice in the theft which your
money-troubles had tempted you to commit? Think of your cold behaviour
to me, sir, and you will hardly wonder at my unwillingness to destroy
the only claim on your confidence and your gratitude which it was my
fortune to possess.
Pages:
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635