And so Mrs. Withers wrote to her sister, and ten days later Mr. Withers started with Mabel for Bath.

Mrs. Conway had some difficulty in restraining all show of excitement, and in assuming a passive and indifferent air as upon the first of the month Miss Penfold unlocked the door of the library and led the way into the room.

“This was my brother’s library.  You will understand, Anna, that I wish everything to remain exactly as it is.  You will therefore be careful to place everything as you find it—­each article of furniture, and the books and papers on the table.  You will just sweep the floor and dust everything.  Beyond that we wish nothing done to the room.”

Mrs. Conway began her work quietly.  Miss Penfold watched her for some little time, and then said: 

“You will leave the door open, Anna; it is better to let the air circulate as much as possible.  When the weather gets warmer you will also leave the windows open while you are at work; but the air is too damp at present.”

“Would you like me to light a fire to air the room, Miss Penfold?”

“Certainly not,” Miss Penfold said decidedly, “there is no occasion whatever for it.  If I have not returned by the time you have finished the room, come and tell me when you have done.  I always make a point of locking the door myself.”

So saying Miss Penfold went out, leaving the door wide open behind her.

“Have you left her alone there?” Eleanor asked her sister as she entered the sitting-room.

“Certainly I have,” Miss Penfold said coldly.  “I do wish you would not be so nervous, Eleanor.  The woman can have no interest in this matter.  She may have heard of it from the other servants, but it can be nothing to her.  You know as well as I do that there is no chance of her stumbling upon it by accident.  It was different with the last girl.  Of course they were always talking about the will, and she might have tried, as a matter of curiosity, to find it, or she might have been bribed by those Withers or by that man Tallboys; but it is different now.  This woman can have no interest in it, and will only want to get her work done as soon as possible.  My being always in the room with her as I was with Martha might excite comment.  I should never have done it in Martha’s case if you had not been so absurdly nervous; for you know very well there was no real danger of her ever finding the place however closely she looked for it.  But now there’s a change it is quite time to drop it, or a rumor will be getting about that we are afraid of any of our servants remaining for a moment alone in the library.”

“I wish we had never done it.  I do wish we had never done it,” Eleanor murmured pitifully.

“I am ashamed of you, Eleanor,” Miss Penfold said coldly.  “You are worse than a child with your laments and complainings.  What have we done?  Nothing.  We have no certainty that there is a will in existence; and if we had, it’s not our business to assist to carry out a monstrous wrong against ourselves, and to put that woman’s son as master here.  How many times have we talked this over, and it’s always the same.  You keep on trembling at shadows.”