Lecount wasted neither time nor temper in unprofitable guess-work. She
left the mystery to thicken or to clear, as the future might decide,
and looked exclusively at the uses to which she might put the morning's
event in her own interests. Whatever might have become of the family at
North Shingles, the servant was left behind, and the servant was exactly
the person whose assistance might now be of vital importance to the
housekeeper's projects. Mrs. Lecount put on her bonnet, inspected the
collection of loose silver in her purse, and set forth on the spot to
make the servant's acquaintance.
She went first to the cottage at which Mr. Bygrave had left the key
of North Shingles, to discover the servant's present address from
the landlord. So far as this object was concerned, her errand proved
successful. The landlord knew that the girl had been allowed to go home
for a few days to her friends, and knew in what part of Aldborough her
friends lived. But here his sources of information suddenly dried up. He
knew nothing of the destination to which Mr. Bygrave and his family had
betaken themselves, and he was perfectly ignorant of the number of days
over which their absence might be expected to extend.
Pages:
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733