the responsibility of disobeying
Giles.'

'I will take the responsibility on myself,' I returned coolly. 'You
forget that I am a nurse, Miss Darrell. I shall do Gladys no harm.'

'Excuse me if I must be the judge of that,' she returned, and her thin
lips closed in an inflexible curve: 'in my cousin's absence I could not
allow any one to go near Gladys. Leah is with her now trying to induce
her to take her sleeping-draught.'

I looked at Miss Darrell, and wondered if I could defy her to her face,
or whether I had better wait until I could speak to Mr. Hamilton. If
Gladys were really taking her sleeping-draught, my presence in her room
might excite her. If I could only know if she were telling me the truth!

My doubts were answered by Leah's entrance. Miss Darrell addressed her
eagerly:

'Have you given Miss Gladys the draught, Leah?'

'Yes, ma'am, and she seems nicely inclined to sleep. She heard Miss
Garston's voice, and sent me down with her love, and she is sorry not
to be able to see her to-night.'

I thought it better to take my leave after this, hoping for better
success next time. I watched anxiously for Mr. Hamilton the next day, but
unfortunately I missed him. When I arrived at Janet's he had just left
the house, and I did not meet him in the village. I was growing desperate
at hearing no news of Gladys, and had determined to go up boldly to
Gladwyn that very evening, when I saw Chatty coming in the direction of
the cottage. She looked very nicely dressed, and her round face broke
into dimples as she told me that Miss Darrell had sent her to the
station, and that she meant to call in and have a chat with Mrs. Hathaway
on her way, as she need not hurry back.

Jem Hathaway was pretty Chatty's sweetheart. I knew him well. He was
a blacksmith, and lived with his mother in the little stone-coloured
cottage that faced the green. He was an honest, steady young fellow,
a great friend of Nathaniel, and Mrs. Barton often told me that she
considered Chatty a lucky girl to have Jem for a sweetheart.

'And if you please, ma'am,' went on Chatty, looking round-eyed and
serious, 'my mistress said that I was to give you this.' And she produced
a slip of paper with a pencilled message. I knew Chatty always called
Gladys her mistress: so I opened the paper eagerly:

'Why did you go away on Sunday evening without seeing me? I implored Leah
to bring you up when I heard your voice talking to Etta, and when the
door closed