human
What am I going to do? she said, shaking her head, hopelessly.
gpt
I don't know. I haven't the slightest idea, Mr. Glover. It is so bewildering. Do I understand that all this property is mine?
human
Not yet, said Jack with a smile,
gpt
he added,
human
Twenty guineas a week! gasped the horrified girl,
gpt
I suppose I had better move, she said dubiously.
human
Mrs. Morgan is giving up this house, and she asked me whether I had any plans. I think she'd be willing to come as my housekeeper.
gpt
Excellent, nodded Jack.
human
You'll want a maid as well and, of course, you will have to put up Jaggs for the nights.
gpt
Jaggs?
human
Jaggs, repeated Jack solemnly.
gpt
You see, Miss--I beg your pardon, Mrs. Meredith, I'm rather concerned about you, and I want you to have somebody on hand I can rely on, sleeping in your flat at night. I dare say you think I am an old woman, he said as he saw her smile,
human
But really, Mr. Glover, you don't mean that I am in any serious danger--from whom?
gpt
From a lot of people,
human
From poor Miss Briggerland?
gpt
Poor Miss Briggerland, he said softly.
human
She certainly is poorer than she expected to be.
gpt
Nonsense, scoffed the girl. She was irritated, which was unusual in her.
human
My dear Mr. Glover, why do you pursue your vendetta against her? Do you think it is playing the game, honestly now? Isn't it a case of wounded vanity on your part?
gpt
Wounded vanity? Do you mean pique?
human
Why should I be piqued?
gpt
You know best,
human
Have I been making love to Miss Briggerland by any chance?
gpt
You know best,
human
Good Lord!
gpt
I suppose I made love to her, and she was angry because I dared to commit such an act of treachery to her fiancé! Yes, that was it. I made love to her behind poor Jim's back, and she 'ticked me off,' and that's why I'm so annoyed with her?
human
You have a very good memory,
gpt
My memory isn't as good as Miss Briggerland's power of invention, said Jack.
human
Doesn't it strike you, Mrs. Meredith, that if I had made love to that young lady, I should not be seen here to-day?
gpt
What do you mean?
human
I mean, said Jack Glover soberly,
gpt
What a preposterous charge to make! she said at last indignantly.
human
Do you suggest that this girl has connived at a murder?
gpt
I not only suggest that she connived at it, but I stake my life that she planned it,
human
But the pistol was found near Mr. Bulford's body,
gpt
From Bulford's body to the drawing-room window was exactly nine feet. It was possible to pitch the pistol so that it fell near him. Bulford was waiting there by the instructions of Jean Briggerland. We have traced the telephone call that came through to him from the club--it came from the Briggerlands' house in Berkeley Street, and the attendant at the club was sure it was a woman's voice. We didn't find that out till after the trial. Poor Meredith was in the hall when the shot was fired. The signal was given when he turned the handle to let himself out. He heard the shot, rushed down the steps and saw the body. Whether he picked up the pistol or not, I do not know. Jean Briggerland swears he had it in his hand, but, of course, Jean Briggerland is a hopeless liar!
human
You can't know what you're saying, said Lydia in a low voice.
gpt
It is a dreadful charge to make, dreadful, against a girl whose very face refutes such an accusation.
human
Her face is her fortune, snapped Jack, and then penitently,
gpt
I'm sorry I'm rude, but somehow the very mention of Jean Briggerland arouses all that is worst in me. Now, you will accept Jaggs, won't you?
human
Who is he?
gpt
He is an old army pensioner. A weird bird, as shrewd as the dickens, in spite of his age a pretty powerful old fellow.
human
Oh, he's old,
gpt
He's old, and in some ways, incapacitated. He hasn't the use of his right arm, and he's a bit groggy in one of his ankles as the result of a Boer bullet.
human
He doesn't sound a very attractive kind of guardian. He's a perfectly clean old bird, though I confess he doesn't look it, and he won't bother you or your servants. You can give him a room where he can sit, and you can give him a bit of bread and cheese, and a glass of beer, and he'll not bother you.