Was there no
way of stopping it? Ah! what is that? The poison--no! no! anything
but that. Madame had been kind to her, and she could not repay her
trust with treachery. No, she was not weak enough for that. And yet
suppose Madame died? no one could tell she had been poisoned, and
then she could marry Vandeloup. Madame was sleeping in yonder bed,
and on the table there was a glass with some liquid in it. She would
only have to go to her room, fetch the poison, and put it in there--
then retire to bed. Madame would surely drink during the night, and
then--yes, there was only one way--the poison!
How still the house was: not a sound but the ticking of the clock in
the hall and the rushing scamper of a rat or mouse. The dawn reddens
faintly in the east and the chill morning breeze comes up from the
south, salt with the odours of the ocean. Ah! what is that? a
scream--a woman's voice--then another, and the bell rings furiously.
The frightened servants collect from all parts of the house, in all
shapes of dress and undress. The bell sounds from the bedroom of Mrs
Villiers, and having ascertained this they all rush in. What a sight
meets their eyes. Kitty Marchurst, still in her ball dress, clinging
convulsively to the chair; Madame Midas, pale but calm, ringing the
bell; and on the bed, with one arm hanging over, lies Selina
Sprotts--dead! The table near the bed was overturned on the floor,
and the glass and the night-lamp both lie smashed to pieces on the
carpet.
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