swick, "my breakfast was brought up-stairs to me."
And with that she turned and went out of the room. She closed the door
behind her, but scarcely had she done so, when she opened it again
and looked in. It was quite plain, to the two silent and astonished
observers of her actions, that she was engaged in the occupation, very
unusual with her, of controlling an excited condition of mind. She
looked first at one, and then at the other, and then she said, in a
voice which seemed to meet with occasional obstructions in its course:
"I have nothing more to say about anything. Do just what you please,
only don't talk to me about it." And she closed the door.

"What is the meaning of all this?" said Lawrence, advancing towards
Annie. "What has come over her?"

"I am sure I don't know," said Annie, and with this she burst into
tears, and cried as she would have scorned to cry, during the terrible
storm of the day before.

That morning, Lawrence Croft was a very much puzzled man. What had
happened to Mrs Keswick he could not divine, and at times he imagined
that her changed demeanor was perhaps nothing but an artful cover to
some new and more ruthless attack.

Annie took occasion to be with her aunt a good deal during the
morning, but she reported to Lawrence that the old lady had said very
little, and that little related entirely to household affairs.

Mrs Keswick ate dinner with them. Her manner was grave, and even
stern; but she made a few remarks in regard to the weather and some
neighborhood matters; and before the end of the meal both Lawrence and
Annie fancied that they could see some little signs of a return to her
usual humor, which was pleasant enough when nothing happened to make
it otherwise. But expectations of an early return to her ordinary
manner of life were fallacious; she did not appear at supper; and she
spent the evening in her own room. Lawrence and Annie had thus ample
opportunity to discuss this novel and most unexpected state of
affairs. They did not understand it, but it could not fail to cheer
and encourage them. Only one thing they decided upon, and that was
that Lawrence could not go away until he had had an opportunity of
fully comprehending the position, in relation to Mrs Keswick, in which
he and Annie stood.

About the middle of the evening, as Lawrence was thinking that it was
time for him to retire to his room in the little house in the yard,
Letty came in with a letter which she said ha