to joyce, the moment that the drawing-room door was pushed open will always seem, with perhaps one exception, the most intense of all her life. she fully expected to see a man stride in—more likely half a dozen!—and demand the meaning of the unwarrantable intrusion and illumination. instead of that, the slight figure of a woman dressed all in black, and with a long heavy dark veil over her face, stepped into the room!
for a moment she paused, surprised, uncertain, almost trembling. then, with a firm movement, she threw back her veil, and, in the soft light of the candles, stood revealed. joyce gave a tiny gasp. in all her life she had never seen so beautiful an old lady. masses of soft wavy white hair framed a face of singular charm, despite its age, and the biggest, saddest brown eyes in all the world, looked out inquiringly on the two girls. there was complete silence. the three could hear each other breathe. then the newcomer spoke:
"which of you two friends was it, may i ask, who sent me the letter?" her voice was sweet and low and soft, and as sad as her eyes. joyce gave a start and opened her lips to speak, but cynthia was before her.
"i did!" she announced calmly. the lady turned to her.
"that was very lovely of you,—and very thoughtful. i began planning to come soon after i received it, and tried to arrive at about the time you mentioned. but i do not quite understand all—all this!" she glanced toward the burning candles. "and i'm afraid i do not understand how you—how you came to be in here!"
"oh," began cynthia, stumblingly, "i— i couldn't quite explain it all in a letter—and i didn't even know you'd pay any attention to what i wrote, anyway. but we'll tell you all about it right now, if you care to hear." a light was beginning to dawn on the bewildered joyce. suddenly she sprang forward and seized the lady's hand.
"tell me—oh, please tell me," she cried, "are you mrs. collingwood?"
"yes, my dear!" said the lady.
and to the amazement of every one joyce broke down and began to sob hysterically, exclaiming, "oh, i'm so glad—so glad!" between every other sob.
"i think i'll sit down," said mrs. collingwood, when joyce had regained control of herself. "i'm very tired—and very, very—bewildered!" she sat down on the sofa, and drew each of the girls down beside her.
"now tell me," she said to cynthia. "explain it all, and then show me what you think will interest me so. you see, i have traveled many weary miles to hear this strange story."
so cynthia began at the beginning and told how they had first found their way in, and had then become interested in unraveling the mystery of the old house. mrs. collingwood listened[pg 169] with deep attention; but when cynthia reached the tale of the hidden stairway, she started in surprise.
"why, i never dreamed there was such a thing in the house!" she exclaimed. "the rooms were re-papered once, but i was away when it was done. none of us knew!"
"no, we thought you didn't," continued cynthia. "and so we went into the locked-up room. and there we found something,—oh!—mrs. collingwood! we felt sure you had never seen it, and that you ought to! you see, we knew all the rest of the—the story, from joyce's great-aunt, lucia kenway. and we felt you ought to see it,—at least i felt that way, and so i wrote you the letter. i didn't even tell joyce i'd done it, because—because i was afraid she'd think i was meddling in what didn't concern me! but i couldn't help it. i couldn't sleep nights till i'd sent that letter, because it all haunted me so! i just sent it to chesterton, south carolina, because that was all the address i knew. i didn't even feel sure it would ever reach you.
"and i set a special date for you to get here on purpose, because—well, because i thought we ought to be here to receive you, and have the place look sort of—homelike. it would be terrible, seems to me, to come back to a dark, deserted house that you'd left so long ago, and nobody here to—to welcome you. well, that's all, i guess. but mrs. collingwood, i'm so afraid we haven't done right,—that we meddled in what was no business of ours, and trespassed in a house we should never have entered! i only hope you can forgive us!" thus ended cynthia, brokenly, and mrs. collingwood put out her hands to take a hand of each girl in her clasp.
"you dear little meddlers!" she exclaimed. "this is all so astonishing to me; but i feel sure, nevertheless, that you have done nothing but good! and now will you—will you show me what you spoke of?"
cynthia rose, handed her a lighted candle, and led her to the opening of the little stairway in the library. "it's up these stairs, in the room above—on the desk," she said. "you will find it all lit up there. and i think that—you would rather go—alone!" mrs. collingwood took the candle, and cynthia helped her into the opening at the foot of the stairs. then she went back to joyce.
when they were alone, the two girls stood staring at one another and cynthia's cheeks grew fiery red.
"i don't know what—what you must think of me, joyce!" she stammered. "i ought never to have done this, i suppose, without telling you."
"why didn't you tell me?" demanded joyce.
"why, i was so afraid you'd think me silly and—and meddling, and you mightn't approve of it. i was unhappy,—i—somehow felt as though i'd committed a crime, and the only way to right it was this!"
"how long ago did you send your letter?" asked joyce, presently.
cynthia considered. "i think i posted it a week ago thursday."
"and you knew all the time, last night, that this was going to happen to-day?" asked joyce incredulously.
"well, i sort of expected it,—that is, i really didn't know whether she'd come or not. it made me dreadfully nervous, and that's the reason i was so cross to you, joyce, i suppose. will you forgive me, now that you know?"
"why, of course!" said joyce. then, suddenly, "but, oh!— i wish i'd known this all at the time!"
"what for? what difference would it have made?" demanded cynthia.
but joyce only replied: "hush! is that mrs. collingwood coming down?"
