" Then, with a
certain _bonhomie,_ "So lay aside your nervousness; let us go into this
matter sensibly, like a big man and a little man, or like an old woman
and a young woman, whichever you prefer."
Lady Bassett looked at him and smiled assent. She felt a great deal
more at her ease after this opening.
"I dare not advise you yet. I must know more than Mr. Angelo has told
me. Will you answer my questions frankly?"
"I will try, sir."
"Whose idea was it confining Sir Charles Bassett to the house so much?"
"His own. He felt himself unfit for society."
"Did he describe his ailment to you then?"
"Yes."
"All the better; what did he say?"
"He said that, at times, a cloud seemed to come into his head, and then
he lost all power of mind; and he could not bear to be seen in that
condition."
"This was after the epileptic seizure?"
"Yes, sir."
"Humph! Now will you tell me how Mr. Bassett, by mere words, could so
enrage Sir Charles as to give him a fit?"
Lady Bassett hesitated.
"What did he say to Sir Charles?"
"He did not speak to him. His child and nurse were there, and he called
out loud, for Sir Charles to hear, and told the nurse to hold up his
child to look at his inheritance."
"Malicious fool! But did this enrage Sir Charles so much as to give him
a fit?"
"Yes.
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