Winifred, 'she has been possessed by this astounding
delusion, and it used to bring on fits which were appalling to
witness. They are passed now, however.'

'Is she recovered now?'

'Mr. D'Arcy,' said Winnie, 'assured me that, in the opinion of the
doctor, the delusion would not he permanent, but that Sinfi would
soon be entirely restored to health. While Mr. D'Arcy and I were
talking about her Sinfi came through the wicket again. Rushing up to
me and seizing my hand, she said,

'"Oh, Winnie, how I must have skeared you! I dare say Mr. D'Arcy has
told you that I've been subject to fits o' late. It was comin' on you
suddint as I did under the tree that brought it on. I wouldn't let
Mr. D'Arcy tell you I wur here until I wur quite sure I should have
no more on 'em, but the doctor said this very day that I wur now
quite well."

'My mind ran all night long upon the mystery of Sinfi Lovell. Mr.
D'Arcy's explanation of her appearance at Hurstcote Manor was
certainly clear enough, but somehow its very clearness aroused
suspicion--no, I will not say suspicion--misgivings. If he had been
able, while he seemed so frank and open, to keep away from me a
secret--I mean the secret of Sinfi Lovell's being concealed in the
house--what secrets might he not be concealing from me about my own
mystery? Did he not know everything that occurred during that period
which was a blank in my mind, the period from my sinking down on the
sands to my waking up in his house?

'From the very first, indeed, a feeling of mystery had haunted me. I
had often pondered over every circumstance that attended my waking
into life, but that incident which was the most firmly fixed in my
mind was the sight of the feet of a tall woman whose body was hid by
the screen between my couch and the other one. When I asked Mr.
D'Arcy about this, he did not say in so many words that I was
suffering from a delusion about those feet, but he talked about the
illusion which generally accompanied a recovery from such illnesses
as mine. Now of course I felt sure that Sinfi was the person I had
seen on the couch. But why was she there?

'I did not see Mr. D'Arcy until the afternoon after the guests had
left, for in order to avoid seeing him and them, I took a long stroll
by the river and then got into the punt. I had scarcely done so when
Sinfi appeared on the bank and hailed me. I took her into the punt.
She was so entirely herself that I found it difficult to believe i