She stayed nearly four years, and he went over
every few months to spend a week with her; and at last she came home
to die, bringing her child with her. That was the first time any of us
ever saw Miss Frances."
"Mr. Holladay thought a great deal of her?"
"You may well say so, sir; she took his wife's place," said the old
man simply.
"And she thought a great deal of him?"
"More than that, sir; she fairly worshiped him. She was always at the
door to meet him; always dined with him; they almost always spent
their evenings together. She didn't care much for society--I've often
heard her tell him that she'd much rather just stay at home with him.
It was he who rather insisted on her going out; for he was proud of
her, as he'd a right to be."
"Yes," I said: for all this fitted in exactly with what I had always
heard about the family. "There were no other relatives, were there?"
"None at all, sir; both Mr. Holladay and his wife were only children;
their parents, of course, have been dead for years."
"Nor any intimate friends?"
"None I'd call intimate, sir; Miss Frances had some school friends,
but she was always--well--reserved, sir."
"Yes." I nodded again. "And now," I added, "tell me, as fully as you
can, what has happened within the last three weeks."
"Well, sir," he began slowly, "after her father's death, she seemed
quite distracted for a while--wandered about the house, sat in the
library of evenings, ate scarcely anything.
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