And it was Mr. Bustard who at once took command—command of Althea, whom he ultimately ordered to bed; command of the excited household, whose excitement he sternly suppressed; it was Mr. Bustard who, believing he told truth, lied for Althea, first to the doctor, and later to the coroner.
"How fortunate it was for poor Althea that Mr. Bustard, that nice little man in the Privy Council Office, was actually in the house when poor Perceval Scrope's death took place!" bold and cruel people would say to Mrs. Panfillen, watching the while to see how she took their mention of the dead man's name.
"Yes," she would answer them quietly. "Very fortunate indeed. And it was so kind of Mr. Bustard to get his sister to go away with Althea. Poor Althea is so alone in the world. I hope she will come and stay with us when she comes back to town; we were Perceval Scrope's oldest, I might say closest, friends. You know that their marriage—his and Althea's—took place from our house?"
The only human being who scented a mystery was Dockett—Dockett, who was mindful, as he had a right to be, of his lawful perquisites, and who will never forgive himself for having been out on that fateful afternoon.
"I'd give something to know the whereabouts of Mr. Scrope's overcoat, to say nothing of his hat and stick. That common ash stick's a relic—it may be worth money some day!" he observed threateningly to the footman. But Luke, as only answer, stared at him with stolid dislike.
Luke had seen nothing of the hat and stick; no doubt they had been left in the cab in which Mr. Scrope had come back, ill, from the House. As for the overcoat, it had probably disappeared in the confusion, the hurried coming and going, of that evening when Luke had been almost run off his legs answering the door, and his h
Get ALL YOU CAN BOOKS absolutely FREE for 30 days. Download our FREE app and enjoy unlimited downloads of our entire library with no restrictions.
Have immediate access and unlimited downloads to over 200,000 books, courses, podcasts, and more with no restrictions.
Everything you download during your trial is yours to keep and enjoy for free, even if you cancel during the trial. Cancel Anytime. No risk. No obligations.
For just $19.99 per month, you can continue to have unlimited access to our entire library. To put that into perspective, most other services charge the same amount for just one book!
As avid readers, we understand the joy of immersing ourselves in a captivating story or getting lost in the pages of a good book. That's why we founded All You Can Books back in 2010, to create a platform where people can access an extensive library of quality content and discover new favorites.
Since our founding days, we’ve continuously added to our vast library and currently have over 200,000 titles, including ebooks, audiobooks, language learning courses, podcasts, bestseller summaries, travel books, and more! Our goal at All You Can Books is to ensure we have something for everyone.
Join our community of book lovers and explore the world of literature and beyond!