The Woman in White Wilkie Collins (bts books to read txt) š
- Author: Wilkie Collins
Book online Ā«The Woman in White Wilkie Collins (bts books to read txt) šĀ». Author Wilkie Collins
She had run on thus far, in her gracefully bantering way, with no other interruptions on my part than the unimportant replies which politeness required of me. The turn of the expression, however, in her last question, or rather the one chance word, āadventure,ā lightly as it fell from her lips, recalled my thoughts to my meeting with the woman in white, and urged me to discover the connection which the strangerās own reference to Mrs. Fairlie informed me must once have existed between the nameless fugitive from the asylum, and the former mistress of Limmeridge House.
āEven if I were the most restless of mankind,ā I said, āI should be in no danger of thirsting after adventures for some time to come. The very night before I arrived at this house, I met with an adventure; and the wonder and excitement of it, I can assure you, Miss Halcombe, will last me for the whole term of my stay in Cumberland, if not for a much longer period.ā
āYou donāt say so, Mr. Hartright! May I hear it?ā
āYou have a claim to hear it. The chief person in the adventure was a total stranger to me, and may perhaps be a total stranger to you; but she certainly mentioned the name of the late Mrs. Fairlie in terms of the sincerest gratitude and regard.ā
āMentioned my motherās name! You interest me indescribably. Pray go on.ā
I at once related the circumstances under which I had met the woman in white, exactly as they had occurred; and I repeated what she had said to me about Mrs. Fairlie and Limmeridge House, word for word.
Miss Halcombeās bright resolute eyes looked eagerly into mine, from the beginning of the narrative to the end. Her face expressed vivid interest and astonishment, but nothing more. She was evidently as far from knowing of any clue to the mystery as I was myself.
āAre you quite sure of those words referring to my mother?ā she asked.
āQuite sure,ā I replied. āWhoever she may be, the woman was once at school in the village of Limmeridge, was treated with especial kindness by Mrs. Fairlie, and, in grateful remembrance of that kindness, feels an affectionate interest in all surviving members of the family. She knew that Mrs. Fairlie and her husband were both dead; and she spoke of Miss Fairlie as if they had known each other when they were children.ā
āYou said, I think, that she denied belonging to this place?ā
āYes, she told me she came from Hampshire.ā
āAnd you entirely failed to find out her name?ā
āEntirely.ā
āVery strange. I think you were quite justified, Mr. Hartright, in giving the poor creature her liberty, for she seems to have done nothing in your presence to show herself unfit to enjoy it. But I wish you had been
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